N. Korea Appoints New Prime Minister

North Korea has appointed Park Tae-sung, the General Secretary of the ruling Workers' Party, as the new Prime Minister, replacing Kim Dok-hun.

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) made the announcement after the conclusion of the party's annual meeting.

The reshuffle occurred at the meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, which was held from Monday to Friday under the leadership of Kim Jong-un.

Park, a prominent figure who has been seen alongside Kim during key public events, including last year’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia, was elected as the new head of government.

Park has been a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee since 2021, and this promotion marks his rise to a more influential position within the government.

As part of the leadership overhaul, Kim Dok-hun, who served as Prime Minister for over four years, stepped down from the role at the age of 59. He had been in office since August 2020.

In addition to the prime ministerial change, North Korea announced several other key appointments. Kim Jong-kwan was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, while Kwon Sung-hwan was named Minister of Resource Development, and Kim Young-sik was appointed Minister of Trade.