PYONGYANG: North Korean media is reporting that leader Kim Jong Un attended an expanded meeting of the Central Military Commission and called for greater military power on Saturday.
Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, reported that Kim attended the meeting the previous day, reported NHK World.
It said participants discussed “important tasks” related to national defense, with a focus on rapid changes in the situation around the Korean Peninsula and “the internal and external environment of our revolution.” Kim reportedly urged the military to be on “high alert” as it carries out its mission to defend the country.
Earlier in a major change to North Korea’s ruling party, Kim Jong Un had a new second-in-command.
The position was created in January as part of a revision to the rules of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), the communist political organ that rules the secretive country.
However, it is unclear who has filled it.
Experts believe it could be vacant or occupied by Jo Yong Won or Kim Tok Hun, two of the most powerful men in North Korea’s government.
Jo, who is in his 60s and believed to be one of Kim Jong Un’s longest-tenured and most-trusted aides, serves as the secretary of the WPK’s central committee.
He is often photographed alongside the young North Korean leader.
Kim Tok Hun is the premier of North Korea’s government.
Jo and Kim have, according to North Korean state media, chaired meetings or conducted official visits across the country this year that previously would have likely been handled by Kim Jong Un.