North Korea appoints new vice premier

North Korea appoints new vice premier

2011-05-31 17:35:56 GMT+7 (ICT)

PYONGYANG (BNO NEWS) -- North Korea on Tuesday appointed Ri Mu Yong as the country's new vice-premier, state-run media reported, replacing Ri Thae Nam who was relieved of his post last month.

A brief dispatch from the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the country's Supreme People's Assembly had appointed Ri Mu Yong as vice-premier to the North Korean Cabinet. It gave no other details.

The appointment comes more than a month after vice-premier Ri Thae Nam was relieved of his post for 'health reasons', although North Korean officials have not released details on Ri Thae Nam's condition.

Ri Thae Nam, who previously also served as chief secretary of the South Phyongan Provincial Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), was appointed as vice-premier in June 2010. He was an outspoken person who welcomed the country's close relationship with China.

The current premier of North Korea is Choe Yong-rim, who was appointed in June 2010 after his predecessor Kim Yong-il (not to be confused with the country's leader) made a rare apology during a meeting in Pyongyang. "I offer a sincere apology about the currency reform, as we pushed ahead with it without sufficient preparation and it caused a great pain to the people," Kim Yong-il said before he was fired.

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