North Korea party rule changes strengthen Kim Jong Un’s control, report says

North Korea’s revised Workers’ Party rules give Kim Jong Un a more direct hand over the party, government and military, according to a report by a South Korean security institute affiliated with the National Intelligence Service.

The revisions were adopted at the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Ninth Congress in February. They explicitly authorize the party’s general secretary, a position held by Kim, to convene and chair meetings of the Politburo and its Standing Committee. They also give him powers to appoint and dismiss key officials, admit or expel party members, and dissolve party organisations and departments.

The institute said these provisions reduce Kim’s reliance on collective party decision-making bodies. Other changes seek to regularize party operations and tighten central oversight of government and military affairs. Central Committee plenary meetings must take place at least once every six months. When authorized by the Central Committee, the Politburo can decide major wartime issues, allowing a smaller group of senior officials to act without convening the full committee.

The revised rules remove remaining references to the achievements of Kim’s grandfather, state founder Kim Il Sung, and his father, former leader Kim Jong Il. Instead, they place greater emphasis on Kim Jong Un’s central role. The rules also retain Pyongyang’s abandonment of its longstanding unification policy toward South Korea, after related language was removed in 2024 under the “two hostile states” framework.

The changes raise the minimum age for party membership from 18 to 20 and expand disciplinary measures against members. The institute called the revisions part of a “Kim Jong Un era 2.0,” marking a further concentration of authority around the North Korean leader.

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Kim Jong Un era 2.0