N. Korean newspaper warns officials against corruption

SEOUL, March 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's main newspaper warned senior officials against corruption Monday, just days after leader Kim Jong-un fired a top Workers' Party official in a move seen as aimed in part at allaying public grievances amid deepening economic woes.

On Saturday, state media reported that Kim had presided over an expanded politburo meeting and dismissed Ri Man-gon and another official from the vice chairman posts of the Party Central Committee while disbanding the committee's cadre training base over corruption and irregularities.

"When officials abuse their power and bureaucracy and are only concerned with their own interests, it destroys the core of our party and revolution," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party, said Monday.

"Turning a blind eye and infringing on the rights of the people is a betrayal to them and an abandonment of our revolution," it added.

The article is seen as a warning to officials to strengthen their discipline.

North Korea has often used corruption as a pretext for purging senior officials. The regime has also used punishment of corrupt officials to rally internal support for the leader.

julesyi@yna.co.kr
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