A Swift Dismissal Unveils Deeper Economic Chaos in Pyongyang
In yet another theatrical move — one that masks both weakness and desperation — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has dismissed Deputy Prime Minister Yang Sung Ho on the spot, publicly denouncing his “incompetence” during a staged visit to an industrial complex near the capital. It was more than a political gesture; it was a calculated signal: the regime is bleeding authority, and Pyongyang’s economic engine is sputtering.
The state-run KCNA, with its usual flair for exaggerated loyalty, portrayed the moment with performative anger. Kim lambasted the country’s economic managers with a barnyard metaphor: “like hitching a goat to a cart.” A telling phrase — folksy, yes, but designed to humiliate and to demonstrate that the Supreme Leader’s patience with dysfunction has expired.
Industrial Reform Fails, and the Scapegoat Is Chosen
The trigger? A failed attempt to modernize the Ryongsong industrial complex, a project meant to showcase North Korea’s self-reliance and technological progress. But as with many of Pyongyang’s grand narratives, the reality behind the glossy headlines appears grim. “Irresponsible, vulgar, and incompetent” officials were blamed for the setbacks, and Yang Sung Ho was selected as the sacrificial lamb.
The economic purge has all the hallmarks of a regime trying to claw back control over a system increasingly slipping into paralysis. With sanctions tightening, black market dependencies growing, and even China adopting a more transactional posture, North Korea’s technocratic core is cracking. Dismissing a high-ranking official serves as both a warning to others — and a desperate attempt to save face.
A Regime Addicted to Ritualistic Purges
This is far from a one-off. Just weeks earlier, Kim Jong-un vowed to “expel evil” from the state apparatus — a phrase more religious than administrative, and one that eerily echoes past political purges in communist history. In North Korea, the scapegoat ritual is not just symbolic; it is systemic. The regime survives not through reform, but through fear — and through constantly renewing its enemies within.
The state media’s vague references to “disciplinary deviations” hint at deeper dysfunctions: corruption, mismanagement, or even passive resistance among the bureaucracy. In reality, the economic purge is less about ideology and more about survival. The system is fraying, and even Kim seems to sense that the rot is now internal.
The Party Prepares Its Theater, While the Economy Crumbles
Meanwhile, Pyongyang is preparing for the first Workers’ Party Congress in five years — a rare, ritualized gathering intended to reinforce the regime’s strategic direction and display unity. In reality, such events often reveal more than they conceal. This one, in particular, is anticipated to deliver new “guidelines” for national development — a euphemism, perhaps, for austerity, re-centralization, or deeper militarization.
Foreign analysts, especially in China and Russia, are watching more than just the official statements. Signals like unexpected factory shutdowns, currency fluctuations, irregular military movements, and reduced airspace activity point to mounting instability. And while Western coverage, particularly from Washington, remains either distracted or naively hopeful about denuclearization talks, Pyongyang is visibly bracing for impact.-
A Show of Force That Reveals Strategic Weakness
Kim Jong-un’s dismissal of his deputy prime minister may look like a show of strength — but in truth, it reeks of strategic fragility. North Korea is not reorganizing out of confidence. It is purging out of necessity.
When a regime turns inward to punish its own technocrats, when it lashes out at economic administrators for failures that lie at the heart of the system itself, it is no longer managing decline — it is embodying it. The industrial setback at Ryongsong is not an isolated error; it is the latest in a pattern of stumbles that signal an exhausted model of governance.
The real question now isn’t whether the regime will reform — it won’t — but whether it can maintain control as its machinery rusts from the inside. For now, Kim Jong-un remains in command. But a system reliant on goats to pull carts may soon find itself abandoned by the herd entirely.
