North Korea dissolves all organizations related to inter-Korean issues

North Korea is believed to have dissolved all of about 10 official organizations responsible for handling inter-Korean affairs, after leader Kim Jong-un ordered the designation of South Korea as its "main enemy" late last year, a South Korean Unification Ministry official said on December 24.

The official made the assessment as South Korea's Unification Ministry released the latest edition of its annual directory of key officials in North Korea's party and government.

In the 2024 edition, 11 North Korean organizations listed as being in charge of inter-Korean relations in the 2023 edition were either removed or marked as "believed to have been dissolved."

Among them is the National Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a state body formerly in charge of negotiations with South Korea.

In addition, organizations such as the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, the National Reconciliation Council and five other agencies related to inter-Korean affairs were also announced to be abolished by North Korea through previous news reports.

North Korea appears to have carried out an organizational restructuring after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at a year-end Workers' Party plenary meeting in December last year, defined inter-Korean relations as those between "two hostile states" and ordered the elimination of agencies dealing with the issue.

As part of the move, the United Front Department, a key agency of the Workers' Party of Korea in charge of affairs with South Korea, was also renamed "Bureau 10 of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea."

“With the renaming, some of the agency’s functions appear to have been transferred to the Foreign Ministry, although the status of the organization remains largely unchanged, as shown by the roles and powers accorded to leaders such as adviser Kim Yong-chol and head Ri Son-gwon,” the official added.

In addition, Defense Minister No Kwang-chol, who took office in October this year, and new Public Security Minister Pang Tu-sop, were reportedly elected as full and alternate members of the Politburo, according to the South Korean Unification Ministry.