North Korea is one of the most closed states in the world. All information coming from the media in this country is subject to strict censorship, and the work of foreign journalists is subject to significant restrictions. Therefore, the reliability of any messages relating to news from North Korea, especially if these news are classified as sensational, can only be guessed at.
Reuters, which disseminated information about events related to the resignation of North Korean Vice Marshal Lee Yong Ho, claims that the source of the information is very reliable (for example, the agency announced in 2006 about the upcoming nuclear tests). Lee Yong Ho was considered one of the most influential people in the highest echelon of North Korean leadership.
Recently, he was removed from the post of chief of the General Staff, and also deprived of other influential positions: a member of the Presidium of the Politburo and the Politburo of the Labor Party of Korea, and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission. This is an event that can have far-reaching consequences. The fact is that the North Korean economy, prohibitively militarized, has always been under the strict control of the military. And Vice-Marshal Lee Yong Ho, being one of the close associates of the former leader of the country, Kim Jong Il, categorically rejected the very possibility of attracting civilian specialists to resolve economic issues. Now the situation may change.
According to the South Korean publication The Chosun Ilbo, when Vice Marshal Chae Ren Ha, in obedience to the order of the current head of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, tried to force the disgraced dignitary to leave the office, Lee Yong Ho's guard put up armed resistance. According to this publication, several dozen people died in the ensuing shootout. Moreover, it is possible that among them could be Lee Yong Ho himself. Of course, this information needs to be verified and clarified. But in any case, it can be concluded with a high degree of probability that the current North Korean leadership intends to start a course of reform in order to prevent a very real economic collapse. This is also evidenced by information that a special group of economic reforms was created in the Korean Labor Party on the orders of Kim Jong-un, whose task is to analyze the experience of transformations in the economy and agriculture carried out by China.
It is likely that a powerful neighbor, China, which is interested in maintaining the stability of North Korea and preventing mass unrest there, diplomatically made it clear to the North Korean leadership that the previous course, based on the Juche ideology, has exhausted itself. How events will develop in the future - time will tell.
