GOVERNMENT
North
Korea has a centralized government under the rigid control of
the communist Korean Workers' Party (KWP), to which all government
officials belong. A few minor political parties are allowed to
exist in name only. Kim Il Sung ruled North Korea from 1948 until
his death in July 1994. Kim served both as Secretary General of
the KWP and as President of North Korea.
Little is known about the actual lines of power and authority in the North Korean Government despite the formal structure set forth in the constitution. Following the death of Kim Il Sung, his son--Kim Jong Il--inherited supreme power. Kim Jong Il was named General Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party in October 1997, and in September 1998, the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reconfirmed Kim Jong Il as Chairman of the National Defense Commission and declared that position as the "highest office of state." However, the President of the Presidium of the National Assembly, Kim Yong Nam, serves as the nominal head of state. North Korea's 1972 constitution was amended in late 1992 and in September 1998.
The constitution
designates the Central People's Committee (CPC) as the government's
top policymaking body. The CPC makes policy decisions and supervises
the cabinet, or State Administration Council (SAC). The SAC is
headed by a premier and is the dominant administrative and executive
agency.
Officially,
the legislature, the Supreme People's Assembly, is the highest
organ of state power. Its members are elected every four years.
Usually only two meetings are held annually, each lasting a few
days. A standing committee elected by the SPA performs legislative
functions when the Assembly is not in session. In reality, the
Assembly serves only to ratify decisions made by the ruling KWP.
North
Korea's judiciary is "accountable" to the SPA and the
president. The SPA's standing committee also appoints judges to
the highest court for four-year terms that are concurrent with
those of the Assembly.
Administratively, North Korea is divided into nine provinces and two provincial-level municipalities--Pyongyang and Nasun, or Najin-Sonbong. It also appears to be divided into nine military districts.
Principal
Party and Government Officials
Kim Jong-il--General Secretary of the KWP; Supreme Commander of the People's Armed Forces; Chairman of the National Defense Commission; son of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung
Kim Yong-nam--President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly; titular head of state
Sin Son-ho--Ambassador to D.P.R.K. Permanent Mission to the UN
Pak Ui-chun--Minister of Foreign Affairs
Government
Type: Highly centralized communist state.
Independence: August 15, 1945--Korean liberation from Japan; September 9, 1948--establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K., or North Korea), marking its separation from the Republic of Korea (R.O.K., or South Korea).
Constitution: 1948; 1972, revised in 1992 and 1998.
Branches: Executive--President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (chief of state); Chairman of the National Defense Commission (head of government). Legislative--Supreme People's Assembly. Judicial--Central Court; provincial, city, county, and military courts.
Subdivisions: Nine provinces; two province-level municipalities (Pyongyang, Nasun, or Najin-Sonbong free trade zone); one special city (Nampo), 24 cities.
Political party: Korean Workers' Party (communist).
Suffrage: Universal at 17.
