North Korea's Kim Jong Un announced the sacking of a vice premier during a speech in which the top leader called out "irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials," the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Tuesday.

Vice Premier Yang Sung Ho — who oversaw the ostracized nation's machine-building industry — was booted out "on the spot" for causing "unnecessary man-made confusion," Kim said in an address on Monday to mark the completion of a first-stage modernization project at the northeast Ryongsong Machine Complex.

"Please, Comrade Vice Premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late," Kim reportedly said.

Kim lambasts officials

During a tour of the new machine complex, Kim said that the project had suffered "not a small amount of economic loss" because of incompetent cadres.

He railed against officials who for "too long been accustomed to defeatism, irresponsibility and passiveness".

The North Korean leader said he had censured Yang during a party meeting and watched him closely, KCNA reported. 

Yang was "unfit to be entrusted with heavy duties," the agency quoted Kim as saying. 

"Put simply, it was like hitching a cart to a goat —  an accidental mistake in our cadre appointment process," Kim said.

"After all, it is an ox that pulls a cart, not a goat."

North Korea's economic woes

North Korea — one of the poorest countries in the world — took a major economic hit during the coronavirus pandemic.

In his attempts to address the economy, Kim has at times publicly scolded or dismissed his senior officials, blaming them for policy fiascos. 

According to South Korea's central bank, North Korea's economy grew 3.7 % in 2024.

However, analysts say that it would be difficult for Pyongyang to see rapid economic growth, because the country's scarce resources are earmarked for weapons programs, a highly centralized economy and long-standing international sanctions. 

In the coming weeks, North Korea is set to hold the first congress of its ruling party in five years. 

Economic policy is expected to be high on the docket, along with defense and military planning.

South Korea calls for better drone detection to avoid provoking North 

Meanwhile on Tuesday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that there seemed to be a loophole in Seoul's monitoring system to detect drones operated by civilians flying across the border into North Korea.

Lee cautioned that such incidents could fan tensions between the two Koreas and were "akin to starting a war."

"It should not happen for a civilian to send a drone to North Korea for ‍an illegal purpose," Lee said at a cabinet meeting which was televised. 

"How ​did ​we fail to check that a drone had been flown to the North?" he inquired as he called for a detailed probe.

North Korea claimed earlier this month that a drone from South Korea had flown into its airspace, furnishing pictures of debris and aerial shots of some key buildings that the drone had allegedly taken.

Edited by: Karl Sexton