North Korea ruling party revisions bolster Kim Jong Un's control, report says

North Korea's revision of rules governing the Workers' Party lays the groundwork for more centralised control under the reclusive state's leader Kim Jong Un, a South Korean security institute report said on Thursday.

The revisions, adopted at the ‌ruling Workers' Party of Korea's Ninth Congress in February, strengthened Kim's authority and further institutionalised party control over ‌the state and military, said the Institute for National Security Strategy, which is affiliated with South Korea's National Intelligence Service. The rules give the party's general secretary, a post held by Kim, explicit powers to convene and chair Politburo and Politburo Standing Committee meetings, appoint and dismiss key officials, ⁠admit ​or expel party members, and ⁠dissolve party organisations and departments.

The provisions allow Kim to exercise more direct control without relying on collective party decision-making bodies, the report said. Other ⁠changes were aimed at regularising party operations and tightening central oversight of government and military affairs.

The revised rules require Central Committee plenary ​meetings at least once every six months. They also allow the Politburo, when authorised by the Central ⁠Committee, to decide major issues in wartime, a step intended to avoid delays by allowing a smaller group of senior officials to act without ⁠convening ​the full committee. The report said the revisions removed remaining references to the achievements of Kim's grandfather, state founder Kim Il Sung, and his father, former leader Kim Jong Il, while emphasising Kim Jong Un's central role.

The revised ⁠rules also retained North Korea's abandonment of its longstanding unification policy toward South Korea, after Pyongyang deleted related language ⁠in 2024 under its "two hostile ⁠states" framework. Other changes raised the minimum party membership age to 20 from 18 and expanded disciplinary measures against members.

The institute described the revisions as part of a "Kim ‌Jong Un era 2.0", ‌further consolidating authority around the North Korean leader.