Kim Jong Un Dismisses Vice Premier Yang Sung Ho

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed Vice Premier Yang Sung Ho on the spot during an inspection of an industrial facility on Monday, state media reported Tuesday, in a rare public rebuke highlighting frustrations with economic management amid the country's ongoing challenges.

The dismissal occurred at the Ryongsong Machine Complex in South Hamgyong Province, a key site in North Korea's northeastern industrial belt. Kim was touring the completion of the facility's first-stage modernization project when he criticized officials for delays and mismanagement. According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim accused Yang, who oversaw the machine-building industry, of causing "unnecessary manmade confusion" and economic losses through incompetence. "Owing to the irresponsible, rude and incompetent economic guidance officials, the first-stage modernisation project of the Ryongsong Machine Complex encountered difficulties," Kim said, adding that such cadres had long been accustomed to "defeatism, irresponsibility and passiveness."

In a direct confrontation, Kim addressed Yang during the inspection. "Please, Comrade Vice Premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own...