Kim Jong Un and Consolidating Power: Explaining Elite Appointment in the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee, 2012–2019

Abstract

Despite concerns about the stability of the early days of the Kim Jong Un regime, he has firmly established his control over the existing system. How was he able to achieve this? Important insights are provided by Kim Jong Un’s patter of official appointments, particularly involving the members of the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK). This study scrutinizes the pattern of elite appointments under Kim Jong Un from 2012 to 2019, examining the personal data of 296 members of the WPK Central Committee. The results reveal that under Kim Jong Un’s leadership, party and military elites enjoyed the privilege of being appointed to key posts compared with cabinet elites. However, as his power consolidation advanced, this preferential treatment for party and military elites began to diminish starting in 2016. These findings suggest that certain tensions and conflicts may exist within North Korea under Kim’s rule.