North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has denounced a major corruption scandal involving a senior military official as a "political crime" that deliberately plundered state and public interests, signalling a rare public reckoning with graft inside the armed forces.
The ruling Workers' Party of Korea, the government, and the military held a joint meeting in Pyongyang on July 10 to address what state media described as a "specially large" corruption case. Pak Hi Chol, former deputy director of the General Political Bureau's organisation department, was accused of accepting large bribes, embezzling state funds, and leading a dissolute lifestyle. He has been stripped of his position in the party's central leadership and referred to judicial authorities, with the Supreme Court issuing a sentence whose details have not been disclosed.
The party declared an all-out campaign against abuse of power, bureaucracy, and corruption, underscoring the regime's push to reassert discipline within its ranks.