Cabinet of North Korea

Last updated
Cabinet of North Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg
Government overview
Formed1948
Jurisdiction North Korea
Headquarters Pyongyang
Government executives
Website Minju Choson, the official newspaper of the Cabinet OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Cabinet of Democratic People's Republic of Korea or North Korea (Naegak [1] ) is, according to the Constitution of North Korea, the administrative and executive body and a general state-management organ in the Government of North Korea. [2] The Cabinet's principal newspaper is Minju Choson .

Contents

History

The cabinet, headed by Kim Il Sung, visiting Moscow in 1949 Park Hon-youn and Ather 1949.jpg
The cabinet, headed by Kim Il Sung, visiting Moscow in 1949

In North Korea's first constitution, adopted in 1948, the executive powers were vested in the Cabinet, chaired by Kim Il Sung himself.

The 1972 constitution saw the establishment of the post of President of North Korea which led the executive branch, and the cabinet was split into two organizations: The Central People's Committee (Korean : 중앙인민위원회) and the State Administration Council (Korean : 정무원). The Central People's Committee provided the highest visible institutional link between the government and the party and served in effect as a de facto super-cabinet. According to the 1972 constitution, the Central People's Committee exercised various functions and powers such as shaping the internal and external policies of the state, direct the work of the Administration Council and provincial people's committee, supervising the execution of the constitution, laws and ordinances of the Supreme People's Assembly, establish or abolish ministries, executive bodies of the Administration Council and appoint or remove vice premiers, ministers and other members of the Administration Council and also to declare a state of war and enacting mobilization orders in case of emergency. Article 104 gave the authority to the CPC to adopt decrees and decisions and issue directives. [3]

The National Defence Commission was then sub-committee of this body. [4] The CPC's formal powers were all-inclusive and it was chaired by the President. [5] Among its responsibilities are formulating domestic and foreign policies, directing the work of the State Administration Council and its local organs, directing the judiciary, ensuring the enforcement of the constitution and other laws, appointing or removing the vice premiers and cabinet members, establishing or changing administrative subdivisions or their boundaries, and ratifying or abolishing treaties signed with foreign countries. The CPC also may issue decrees, decisions, and instructions. The State Administration Council was guided by the CPC and was led by a premier (chong-ri) and included vice premiers (bochong-ri), ministers (boojang), committee chairmen, and other cabinet-level members of central agencies. It was responsible for the formulation of state economic development plans and measures for implementing them, the preparation of the state budget, and the handling of other monetary and fiscal matters. [6]

1982 saw the People's Armed Forces and Public Security Ministries assigned directly to the President together with the State Inspection Commission.

In 1990, by a CPC decision, the National Defense Commission became fully independent from it as a separate institution, and 1992 constitutional amendments assigned it directly to the Supreme People's Assembly. In 1998 amendments to the Constitution, the Central People's Committee and the State Administration were abolished, and the Cabinet was re-created. Thus, the Cabinet is not only the highest executive enforcement organ but was also expanded to become the general State management organ.

Emphasizing its expanded role, in January 1999 Kim Jong Il stated that

"The party organizations and party cadres should not intervene in administrative matters. The party should help the cabinet to be responsible for all economic affairs. Last year we made a new governmental system where the cabinet is supposed to be the control tower of the economy...No organizational unit should handle economic problems without consulting the cabinet". [7]

Selection

The cabinet is appointed and accountable to the Supreme People's Assembly, the North Korean unicameral parliament. The SPA chooses the Premier of North Korea who appoints three vice premiers and the cabinet's ministers. All members of the cabinet are members of the Workers' Party of Korea which rules the country since its establishment in 1948. While the SPA is not in session, the cabinet is accountable to the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. [8]

As of 2000, some 260 people have served as cabinet ministers. Six of them have been women: [9] Ho Jong-suk (Minister of Culture, Justice), Pak Chong-ae (Agriculture), Yi Yang-suk (Commerce, Textile and Paper Industries), Pak Yong-sin (Culture), Yi Ho-hyok (Foodstuff and Daily Necessities Industries), and Yun Gi-jong (Finance). [10]

Powers and responsibilities

The Cabinet, as the executive branch of the North Korean state, is responsible for implementing the state's economic policies, as guided by the Workers' Party. The cabinet is not responsible for defense and security issues, as those are handled by the State Affairs Commission. Thus, the security organizations such as the Korean People's Army, Ministry of Social Security and State Security Department report and subordinated directly to the SAC, whose chairman holds full power as the supreme leader of the republic and the party and overall commander-in-chief of all uniformed forces. The Cabinet convenes a plenary meeting and an executive meeting. [11] The plenary meeting consists of all the Cabinet members, while the executive meeting is kind of a presidium, and comprises fewer people, including the Premier, vice premier and other Cabinet members whom the Premier nominates. The cabinet forms acts in the form of decisions and directives. In the performance of its mandate the Cabinet is empowered by the Constitution to: [12]

Those Cabinet ministries that oversee economic sectors also control groups of industries called "complexes". These complexes consist of partially or fully state-owned industrial facilities like factories, mines, or farms, depending on the sector. [13] At a local level, the Cabinet supervises the Local People's Committees.

Structure

As of 28 September 2023, the Cabinet consists of the following: [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

MinisterPolitical partyPositionRef
Kim Tok-un.jpg Kim Tok-hun Workers' Party of Korea [21]
Emblem of North Korea.svg Pak Jong-gun Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Jon Hyon-chol Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Song-ryong Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Ri Song-hak Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Pak Hun Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Ju Chol-gyu Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Kum-chol Workers' Party of Korea
  • Secretary-General
Choe Son-hui.jpg Choe Son-hui Workers' Party of Korea [22] [23]
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Yu-il Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Jon Hak-chol Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Chung-gol Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Ma Jong-son Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Jang Chung-song Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kang Jong-gwan Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Chol-su Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Chung-song Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Ko Kil-son Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Han Ryong-guk Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg An Kyong Gun Workers' Party of Korea [24]
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kang Chol-gu Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Wang Chang-uk Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Jae-song Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Ju Yong-il Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg So Jong-jin Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Ri Sun Chol Workers' Party of Korea [24]
Emblem of North Korea.svg Jang Kyong-il Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Jo Yong-chol Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Ri Kang-son
Emblem of North Korea.svg Song Chun-sop Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Ko Jong-bom Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Jin Kum-song Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Yun Jong-ho Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Ri Tu Il Workers' Party of Korea [23]
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Sung-jin Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Jon Chol Su Workers' Party of Korea [24]
Emblem of North Korea.svg Im Kyong-jae Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Kwang Jin Workers' Party of Korea [24]
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kwak Jong Jun Workers' Party of Korea [23]
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Sung-du Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Sung Chan Workers' Party of Korea [25]
Emblem of North Korea.svg Choe Kyong-chol Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Sung Jong-gyu Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Kim Il-guk Workers' Party of Korea
Emblem of North Korea.svg Paek Min Gwang Workers' Party of Korea [24]
Emblem of North Korea.svg Ri Chol-san Workers' Party of Korea

See also

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References

  1. "The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency: Korea, North. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  2. Article 123 of the Constitution of North Korea
  3. Dae-Sook Suh & Chae-Jin Lee. Political Leadership in Korea. The 1972 Constitution and Top Communist Leaders, p. 197
  4. Article 105 of the 1972 Constitution
  5. Articles 100-106 of the 1972 Constitution of North Korea
  6. A Country Study: North Korea- 1993- Library of Congress
  7. Jae-Cheon Lim. Kim Jong-il's Leadership of North Korea, p. 116
  8. Article 125 of the Constitution of North Korea
  9. Lankov, Andrei (2015). The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia . Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.  28. ISBN   978-0-19-939003-8.
  10. Park, Kyung Ae (1994). "Women and Revolution in South and North Korea". In Tétreault, Mary Ann (ed.). Women and Revolution in Africa, Asia, and the New World. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. p. 182. ISBN   978-1-57003-016-1.
  11. Article 121 of the Constitution of North Korea
  12. Article 119 of the Constitution of North Korea
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  14. "Members of DPRK Cabinet Appointed". KCNA Watch . 18 January 2021.
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  21. New Premier of DPRK Cabinet Appointed
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