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Politics of North Korea 1 Politics of North Korea Politics of North Korea 1 Politics of North Korea The politics of North Korea take place within a nominally democratic multi-party system within the framework of the official state philosophy, Juche, a concept created by the founder of the North Korean state, Kim Il-sung, and his son and successor as leader, Kim Jong-il. In practice, North Korea functions as a single-party state with aspects of a family dictatorship.[1] It is widely considered to be a de facto totalitarian dictatorship[2] and the Economist Intelligence Unit, while admitting that "there is no consensus on how to measure democracy" and that "definitions of democracy are contested", lists North Korea in last place as the most authoritarian regime in its index of democracy assessing 167 countries.[3] North Korea's political system is built upon the principle of centralization. While the constitution guarantees the protection of human rights, in practice there are severe limits on freedom of expression, and the government supervises the lives of the people closely. The constitution defines North Korea as "a dictatorship of the people's democracy" under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea, which is de facto the only legally permitted party. Despite the constitution's provisions for democracy, in practice, until 2011, Kim Jong-il exercised absolute control over the government and the country. The ruling party, the WPK, is thought to allow some slight inner-party democracy (see Democratic centralism). The WPK has ruled since North Korea's independence in 1948. Two minor political parties exist but are legally bound to accept the ruling role of the WPK.[4] Elections occur only in single-candidate races where the candidate has been selected by the WPK beforehand. Kim Il-sung served as General Secretary of the WPK from 1948 until his death in July 1994, simultaneously holding the office of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and the office of President from 1972 to 1994. After his son won full power in 1998, the presidential post was written out of the constitution, and Kim Il-sung was designated the country's "Eternal President". Most analysts believe the title to be a product of the cult of personality he cultivated during his life. The Western world generally views North Korea as the world's last old-style Stalinist dictatorship, but the government has formally replaced references to Marxism-Leninism in its constitution with the locally developed concept of Juche, or self-reliance. In recent years, there has been great emphasis on the Songun or "military-first" philosophy. The constitution of North Korea declares that "the Democratic People's Republic of Korea shall, by carrying out a thorough cultural revolution, train all the people to be builders of socialism and communism".[4] It has since then removed all references to Communism in its revised 2009 constitution.[5] The status of the military has been enhanced and it appears to occupy the centre of the North Korean political system; all the social sectors are forced to follow the military spirit and adopt military methods. Kim Jong-il's public activity focused heavily on on-the-spot guidance of places and events related to the military. The enhanced status of the military and military-centred political system was confirmed at the first session of the 10th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) by the promotion of National Defense Commission (NDC) members in the official power hierarchy. All ten NDC members were ranked within the top twenty on September 5, and all but one occupied the top twenty at the fiftieth anniversary of National Foundation Day on September 9. Government The Cabinet of North Korea consists of the Premiers, Vice Premiers, and Ministers of the government. Their terms of office are concurrent with the Supreme People's Assembly. The Premier is the head of the cabinet. The cabinet exercises theoretical control over the executive ministries and has the authority to issue decrees concerning administration of the government, although in reality the government also took its directions from Kim Jong-il until 2011. The current cabinet consists of: • Premier: Choe Yong-rim[6] • Foreign Minister: Pak Ui-chun Politics of North Korea 2 • Vice Foreign Minister: Kim Kye Gwan • Vice Foreign Minister: Choe Su-hon • Minister of State Construction Control: Pae Tal-jun • President of the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea: Kim Wan Su • Minister of Public Security: Kwak Pum Ji • Deputy Director: Paek Hak-rim • Minister of People's Armed Forces: Vice Marshal Kim Il-Chol[7] Parliament According to the constitution, the legislative Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) is the highest organ of state power. It consists of 687 members, who are elected every five years. The Assembly usually holds only two meetings annually, each lasting a few days; this is the shortest meeting time of any parliament. A standing committee known as the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and elected by the Assembly performs legislative functions when the Assembly is not in session. The Assembly officially chooses between, compromises upon, and ratifies the political positions on subjects put forward by the three represented parties. The president of the Supreme People's Assembly is Kim Yong Nam. Nearly all outside sources regard the SPA as a rubberstamp body, due to the short period of its sessions, uncontested elections to office, and the fact that it passes all proposals submitted by the government over a period of a few days.[2] In theory, North Korea's judiciary is accountable to the SPA and the Presidium.[4] The SPA's standing committee also appoints judges to the highest court for 5-year terms that are concurrent with those of the Assembly. Legal system North Korea's judiciary is headed by the Central Court, which consists of a Chief Justice and two People's Assessors; three judges may be present in some cases. Their terms of office coincide with those of the members of the Supreme People's Assembly. Every court in North Korea has the same composition as the Central Court. The judicial system is theoretically held accountable to the SPA and the Presidium of the SPA when the legislature is not in session. The judiciary does not practice judicial review. The security forces so often interfere with the actions of the judiciary that the conclusion of most cases is foregone; experts outside North Korea and numerous defectors confirm this to be a widespread problem.[8] Freedom House states that, "North Korea does not have an independent judiciary and does not acknowledge individual rights...reports of arbitrary detentions, 'disappearances,' and extrajudicial killings are common; torture is widespread and severe"[2] North Korea's fifth and current constitution was approved and adopted in September 1998, replacing the one previously adopted in 1972. The former constitution had last been amended in 1992. Under the constitution, North Korea has an unusual legal system based upon German civil law and influenced by Japanese legal theory. Criminal penalties can be stiff; one of the basic functions of the system is to uphold the power of the regime. Because so little information is available concerning what actually occurs inside of the country, the extent to which there is any rule of law is uncertain. In any case, North Korea is known for its poor human rights situation and regularly detains thousands of dissidents without trial or benefit of legal advice. According to a US Department of State report on human rights practices, the government of North Korea often punishes the family of a criminal along with the perpetrator.[8] Politics of North Korea 3 National Defence Commission According to the Constitution of North Korea (조선민주주의인민공화국 사회주의 헌법) Article 100, "the National Defence Commission is the highest military leadership body of State power." According to Article 102, "the Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea commands and directs all the armed forces and guides national defence as a whole."[4] The position of Chairman of the National Defence Commission has been declared the "highest office of state" and has the "highest administrative authority" according to decrees issued by the Supreme People's Assembly. Few people correctly anticipated that Kim Jong Il would officially terminate the transitional period by resuming the chairmanship of the National Defense Commission (NDC) and abolishing the post of president. Under the 1998 constitution, the NDC's role and status was strengthened. The 1998 constitution defines the NDC as "the highest guiding organ of the military and the managing organ of military matters." The chairman of the NDC controls the armed forces. In a speech endorsing Kim Jong Il as NDC chairman, Kim Yong Nam made it clear that chairman of the NDC is the highest position in the country, in charge of all matters regarding the country's politics, economy, and military. Thus Kim Jong Il was, until 2011, in substance head of the state, but theoretically the chairman of the SPA Presidium represents the state and is responsible for foreign affairs, such as reception. In June 2010, Kim appointed his brother-in-law, Chang Sung-taek, as vice-chairman of the NDC, in a move seen as propping his own position. Chang was already regarded as the second-most powerful person in North Korea and his appointment strengthens the probability that Kim's third son, Kim Jong-un, will succeed him.[9] Party-Government relations The relationship between the party organ and the administrative organ is often compared to the relationship between the man who steers the boat and the man who rows the boat.
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