Jo Yong-won, considered a close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has not appeared in North Korean media for nearly two months, leading our government to monitor the possibility of changes in his status.
A government official from the Ministry of Unification said on the 22nd at the Government Complex Seoul that they are "keeping an eye on the situation with the possibility of changes in the status of Jo Yong-won and Ri Il-hwan, Labor Party secretaries."
Jo Yong-won's last appearance was on Feb. 28 during the groundbreaking ceremony for a local industrial factory and comprehensive service center in the Kaepung District. Ri Il-hwan has disappeared from North Korean media since the New Year's photo session for diligent innovators and contributors on Jan. 2. In the report on the occasion of Kim Il-sung's birthday on the 15th of this month, although Cabinet Prime Minister Park Tae-sung and Supreme People's Assembly Chairman Choe Ryong-hae were mentioned among the members of the Party Politburo, Jo Yong-won's name was absent.
The timing of Jo Yong-won and Ri Il-hwan's disappearance from public reports coincides with the time earlier this year when North Korea began to tighten discipline among its officials. Kim Jong-un publicly criticized a local official's misconduct as a "huge crime" during the expanded meeting of the 30th Secretariat of the 8th Central Committee on Jan. 27.
The Ministry of Unification official noted, "It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that there has been no (public) activity for nearly two months," adding, "Based on past cases, there are various possibilities such as retirement due to old age, illness, revolutionary education, and purges."