The latest report raises speculation that Kim, who was known for his hard-line stance on the South, may once again oversee the North’s inter-Korean affairs as the North has continued to dial up tensions.

Kim, 77, served as the North’s top negotiator in denuclearization talks with the United States, but his political status was severely damaged following the breakdown of the Hanoi summit in 2019.

He was effectively demoted to the head of the UFD in 2021 from the North’s party secretary on South Korean affairs as the post was eliminated at a party congress.

In June last year, he was replaced by then Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon as the UFD chief, and last September, he was also removed as a member of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly.

Kim, former head of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, is suspected of having masterminded the North’s sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan in 2010. The torpedo attack left 46 sailors dead.

The North fired a record number of ballistic missiles last year and continued to ratchet up its provocations. Last week, it resumed its missile tests after pausing them for around two months, and on May 31, it launched a space rocket carrying a purported military spy satellite, which ended up crashing into the Yellow Sea.

Meanwhile, O Su-yong, 79, a former key party official handling economic affairs, has again assumed the posts of party secretary and director of the WPK’s economic department, after being dismissed from them a year earlier.

His return comes as the North is grappling with severe food shortages and economic hardships aggravated by biting global sanctions and the country’s COVID-19 border closure.

“O is a bureaucrat who has served in key posts for economic affairs. The North seems to have reappointed him to overcome (difficulties) as it currently lacks economic achievements,” Koo Byoung-sam, Seoul’s unification ministry spokesperson, told a regular press briefing.

Source: Yonhap News Agency