With regard to the establishment of the first secretary of the North Korean Workers' Party, South Korea predicted "Kim Yeo-jung", and US analysts divided into "standing member of the Politburo."
Former Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok (Sejong Research Institute) said about the revision of the party rules at the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party in January, "The position of 'first secretary' is newly established as an institutional measure for the stability of the Suryong regime." "Possibility of appointing Kim Yeo-jung as the first secretary in case of emergency. There is,” he told reporters on the 2nd.
Ken Goss, director of analysis at the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA), said, "The first secretary appears to be a position to relieve some of Chairman Kim's day-to-day responsibilities related to the management of the Labor Party. It's passing on authority, not power," he told VOA on the 2nd.
CNA researcher Sarah Vogler said, "The Politburo Standing Committee will take over, and will not be delegated to anyone lower than that." "My younger sister, Kim Yeo-jeong, vice-chairman of the party, has a low position within the party," he told VOA on the same day.
Former Minister Lee said, “This is a measure to secure the stability of the leader system in consideration of emergency situations related to the identity of the supreme leader. Due to the nature of the North Korean system, the representative of the supreme leader is basically only possible with Baekdu blood (direct line of Kim Il-sung).”
“Kim Jong-un is reorganizing the leadership dynamics among his close aides, and one of them is transferring powers down the chain of command,” said Goss, head of the analysis department. It is intended to govern more efficiently and effectively by including it,” he told VOA.
Researcher Vogler told VOA that “Chairman Kim Jong-un established the ‘first secretary’ this time to process orders more quickly,” and that “they are pursuing efficiency by differentiating their way of governing from his father, Kim Jong-il.”
Jeong Seong-jang, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute, said, “It is a part of Kim Jong-un-sik’s mandated rule. He pointed out to VOA on the 2nd and said, “If it is appointed, there is a high possibility of Cho Yong-won.
The North Korean Workers' Party revised its rules at the 8th congress in January, saying, "The plenary session of the Central Committee elects the first secretary and secretary. The first secretary of the Party Central Committee is the representative of the Party general secretary.”