North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has retained his most important leadership post as his rubber-stamp parliament made a slew of personnel changes that bolstered his diplomatic lineup amid stalemated nuclear diplomacy with the United States.
Some observers say the personnel appointments could show Kim’s desire to keep nuclear diplomacy alive rather than returning to a policy of ratcheting up tensions. In Washington, President Donald Trump and visiting South Korean President met Thursday and agreed on the importance of nuclear talks with North Korea.
The North’s Korean Central News Agency reported Friday that Kim was re-elected as chairman of the State Affairs Commission at the first session of the Supreme People’s Assembly on Thursday. It said the assembly re-elected Kim because of “his outstanding ideological and theoretical wisdom and experienced and seasoned leadership.”
KCNA also published a list of other officials elected to top state posts. Among them is Choe Ryong Hae, one of Kim’s top lieutenants who was made president of the assembly’s Presidium. Choe was also elected to first vice-chairman of the State Affairs Commission, a new post.