Kim Jong Un fires vice premier, replaces top military officials over ‘assassination concerns'

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has fired the Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho, declaring him “incompetent” in a rare public rebuke of officials.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim fired the vice premier “on the spot” and also criticised other party members at the inauguration ceremony of the first stage of a modernisation project at the Ryongsong Machine Complex.

During his visit to the complex on Monday, Kim also lashed out at officials tasked with economic policy and condemned them for delaying the key modernisation projects.

Kim said, “Owing to the rude, irresponsible and incompetent economic guidance of officials, the first-stage modernisation project of the Ryongsong Machine Complex encountered difficulties.”

He said that appointing Yang, who is unfit to be trusted with heavy duties, was a rare mistake in the government’s official appointment process.

Kim drew an interesting analogy, stating that a goat cannot pull a cart, it must be an ox.

This rare development comes amid the North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party is set to hold its Ninth Party Congress to set major policy goals for the country.

Yang previously served as a machinery industry minister and was recently promoted to vice premier in charge of the machinery sector.

According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, Yang is also an alternate member of the party’s leadership council. 

Previously, it was revealed that North Korea had also replaced the top military officials responsible for guarding Kim over assasination concerns.