He was a vice director of the WPK
Organization and Guidance Department (OGD). Jo was also a full member of the
7th Central Committee of the WPK since it was elected at the
7th Congress of the WPK in May 2016. Jo has been a member of the
Presidium of the
Politburo, and a secretary of the
Secretariat of the WPK since it was elected at the
8th WPK Central Committee in January 2021. Jo appears to serve as the First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea making him formally the principal day-to-day leader of the party second only to Kim Jong Un. Jo is a confidant of the country's leader,
Kim Jong Un, and accompanies him often on
guidance tours, mostly in relation to
the economy. According to
NK News, Jo was "once described as a 'rising star' of DPRK politics [and] remains one of the country's most important officials." Jo is often featured in
North Korean media; in 2018 his name was mentioned more often than that of any other official except Kim Jong Un. In March 2026 during the session of the
15th convocation of the
Supreme People's Assembly he was appointed
chairman of its standing committee. == Sanctions and travel ban ==