North Korea is one of the most closed countries 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 reports concerning news from North Korea, especially if this news is sensational, can only be guessed at.
Reuters, which disseminated information about the 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 reported back in 2006 about the upcoming nuclear tests). Lee Young Ho was considered one of the most influential people in the highest echelon of North Korea's leadership.
He was recently removed from his post as Chief of the General Staff, and also stripped of other influential positions: a member of the Presidium of the Politburo and Politburo of the Labor Party of Korea, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission. This is an event that could have far-reaching consequences. The fact is that the North Korean economy, extremely militarized, has always been under the strict control of the military. And Vice-Marshal Lee Yong-ho, being one of the confidants of the former leader of the country Kim Jong Il, categorically rejected the very possibility of involving civilian specialists in solving economic issues. Now the situation may change.
According to the South Korean publication The Chosun Ilbo, when Vice-Marshal Chae Ren Ha, following the order of the current head of North Korea Kim Jong-un, tried to force the disgraced dignitary to leave the office, Lee Young-ho's guards put up armed resistance. In the ensuing shootout, according to this publication, several dozen people were killed. Moreover, it is possible that Lee Yong Ho himself could be among them. Of course, this information needs to be checked and clarified. But in any case, it can be concluded with a high degree of probability that the current leadership of North Korea intends to begin a course of reforms in order to prevent a very real collapse of the economy. This is also evidenced by the information that a special group of economic reforms was created in the Labor Party of Korea by order 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, has made it clear to the North Korean leadership through diplomatic means that the previous course based on the Juche ideology has exhausted itself. How events will develop in the future - time will tell.
