North Korea: Senior Military Official Removed from Ruling Party Over Corruption Allegations

SadaNews - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un described the alleged corruption of a senior military official, who was removed from the ruling party for accepting bribes, as a "political crime," according to state media on Saturday.

A report by the Korean Central News Agency stated that Kim made these remarks during a joint meeting of the ruling Workers' Party and the army in Pyongyang on Friday.

The report highlighted details of the corruption case involving Pak Hy Chol, the former deputy director of the General Political Bureau of the People’s Army.

The agency revealed that Pak received "large sums of bribes" and lived a "dissolute life," adding that the ruling party had removed him from its central leadership and referred him to the relevant authorities.

Kim was quoted as saying, "This is a political crime against the party's approach to building discipline, and a deliberate act of embezzlement and plunder targeting the interests of the state and the people."

Publicly criticizing high-ranking officials, especially by the Supreme Leader, is a rare occurrence in North Korea's authoritarian and closed regime.