Choe Ryong Hae’s Power Network Threatens Kim Jong Un’s Regime: Report

News Summary

A South Korean analysis reveals that Choe Ryong Hae, North Korea’s parliamentary chief, has built an expansive informal power network that now rivals Kim Jong Un’s centralized authority.

Since taking over the powerful Organization and Guidance Department (OGD) in 2017, Choe has placed his own people in top positions across the military, party, and government, eroding traditional internal checks and balances among the elite.

The decline of high-profile purges and the sidelining of figures like Kim Yo Jong and Jo Yong Won suggest Kim Jong Un may be relying on Choe to maintain stability amid external pressures.

However, the report warns that this growing concentration of power could paradoxically undermine the regime's long-term stability by weakening internal checks and balances among the elite that are crucial pillars for North Korea's authoritarian Supreme Leader system.

Commentary

This report offers rare and invaluable insight into the shifting dynamics of North Korea’s internal power structure. At its core is a stark warning: Choe Ryong Hae’s expanding informal network poses a serious threat to the foundations of the Kim regime, which has historically rested on an unchallenged, singular Supreme Leader.

North Korea’s dynastic system was not designed to tolerate secondary power centers. That’s precisely why Kim Jong Un ordered the purge of his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, in 2013—his growing influence as the regime’s second-in-command became intolerable. Today, the parallels are increasingly hard to ignore.

Faced with crippling sanctions, economic stagnation, and a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, the young and inexperienced Kim Jong Un appears to have little choice but to lean on Choe’s experience and network.