North Korea military official dumped from ruling party over graft

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has publicly denounced a senior military official for corruption, labeling it a "political crime" against the ruling party. Pak Hui Chol, former vice-director of the army's General Political Bureau, was removed from the party's central leadership body for allegedly accepting a large amount of bribes and leading a "dissipated life."

Kim made the strong remarks at a joint meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea and the army in Pyongyang. State media reported that the party dismissed Pak and referred him to law enforcement. The leader stated that the official's actions constituted embezzlement and plunder against the state and people's interests.

High-profile condemnations of senior officials by the top leader are uncommon in North Korea's tightly controlled and opaque government system. This incident underscores the regime's focus on maintaining party discipline and protecting state interests, even at the highest levels of the military.

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This is a political crime against the Party's line of building discipline and a deliberate act of embezzlement and plunder against the interests of the state and the people.