A ruling party member of the committee held a separate news briefing and delivered a similar report. The removal of Jang, blog a key figure in the power transition following the 2011 death of Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, could tip the balance in the fiercely competitive group of confidants surrounding the current leader but was unlikely to impact on Kim Jong Un’s hold on power, experts said. WHAT HAPPENS TO ECONOMIC REFORMS? “Jang Song Thaek is a person who at one point Kim Jong Un had to cut out as he solidifies his own power structure,” said Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University in Seoul, a leading expert on the North’s leadership. “I think the young elite had Kim get rid of Jang, meaning that he will rule without a guardian.” Accordion-playing Jang, 67, is married to Kim Jong Un’s aunt, Kyong Hui, who is a daughter of the North’s founding leader and its “eternal President”, Kim Il Sung. Jang, who is widely seen as an advocate of original site economic reform, was purged in a power struggle in 2004 under Kim Jong Il’s rule but was reinstated two years later.
Full story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/03/korea-north-idUSL4N0JI1R320131203
Melanie Morgan 