Government and society

Constitutional framework

The first constitution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was promulgated in 1948 and was replaced with a new constitution in 1972. Revisions were made in 1992, 1998, 2009, and 2016. The 1998 amendments, made in the years following the death of Kim Il-Sung—the country’s leader from 1948 until his death in 1994—were so extensive that a preamble was added to underline the continuity with the previous regime. The preamble concludes, “The DPRK Socialist Constitution is a Kim Il-Sung constitution which legally embodies Comrade Kim Il-Sung’s Juche state construction ideology and achievements.” The 1998 revision also enshrined Kim as “eternal president.” The 2009 constitutional revision enshrined as the country’s highest administrative authority the supreme leader and chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC). That position was held by Kim Jong Il, Kim Il-Sung’s son, until his death in 2011 and by Kim Jong Il’s successor, his son Kim Jong-Un. Subsequent revisions in 2016 created the State Affairs Commission, a new body that replaced the NDC as the highest government entity and represented an expansion of the powers given to Kim as its chairman.

The head of government is the premier, assisted by several vice-premiers and a cabinet, the members of which are appointed by the national legislature, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA). The president of the SPA is North Korea’s titular head of state. In practice, however, the government is under one-man leadership. During his lifetime, Kim Jong Il was also supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army and general secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP). After his death, Kim Jong-Un assumed those positions, and he was made chairman of the State Affairs Commission upon its creation.

The SPA, constitutionally the highest organ of state power and the primary legislative body, consists of a single chamber with 687 members elected to five-year terms by universal adult suffrage; it also has a 15-member SPA Presidium, or Standing Committee, with members chosen from within the SPA, that meets when the assembly is not in session. The SPA’s regular sessions last for about a week and are convened once or twice a year by the SPA Presidium. The Presidium handles most of the day-to-day legislative business and hence holds much power. The constitution stipulates that the SPA Presidium is the highest organ of power during the intervals between sessions of the SPA, although the Presidium remains accountable to the SPA.

Political power, as distinct from legislative power, is held by the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), whose highest authority is the Party Congress, led by an elected Central Committee. The KWP draws up lists of approved candidates for elections. Policy is directed by the KWP’s political bureau (Politburo).