The politics of North Korea takes place within the framework of the official state philosophy, Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism. Juche, which is a part of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, is the belief that only through self-reliance and a strong independent state, can true socialism be achieved.
Juche, officially the Juche idea, is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il Sung, the country's founder and first leader. Juche was originally regarded as a variant of Marxism–Leninism until Kim Jong Il, Kim Il Sung's son and successor, declared it a distinct ideology in the 1970s. Kim Jong Il further developed Juche in the 1980s and 1990s by making ideological breaks from Marxism–Leninism and increasing the importance of his father's ideas.
The Supreme People's Assembly is the highest organ of state power of North Korea. It is the only branch of government in North Korea, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs are subservient to it. It consists of one deputy from each of North Korea's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year terms.
The premier of the Cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly called the premier of North Korea, is the head of government of North Korea and leader of the Cabinet.
The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the constitution of North Korea. It was approved by the 6th Supreme People's Assembly at its first session on 27 December 1972, and has been amended and supplemented in 1998, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2019 (twice), and in 2023. It replaced the country's first constitution which was approved in 1948.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the commander-in-chief of the Korean People's Army, the military of North Korea. The office was established on 4 July 1950 and abolished with the passing of a new constitution in 1972. Since then, the office of President of North Korea, the Chairman of the National Defence Commission and the President of the State Affairs Commission have been referred to as supreme commanders in accordance with the constitution.
The president of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the head of state of North Korea. The president chairs the State Affairs Commission (SAC), which is the highest leadership institution in North Korea, and serves as the commander-in-chief of the North Korean armed forces.
The National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (NDC) was the highest state institution for military and national defence leadership in North Korea, which also served as the highest governing institution of the country from 1998 until 2016 when it was replaced by the State Affairs Commission.
The Communist movement in Korea emerged as a political movement in the early 20th century. Although the movement had a minor role in pre-war politics, the division between the communist North Korea and the anti-communist South Korea came to dominate Korean political life in the post-World War II era. North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, continues to be a Jucheist state under the rule of the Workers' Party of Korea. In South Korea, the National Security Law has been used to criminalize advocacy of communism and groups suspected of alignment with North Korea. Due to the end of economic aid from the Soviet Union after its dissolution in 1991, due to the impractical ideological application of Stalinist policies in North Korea over years of economic slowdown in the 1980s and receding during the 1990s, North Korea continues to nominally uphold Communism, but has replaced Marxism-Leninism with the Juche idea. References to Communism were removed in the North Korean 1992 and 1998 constitutional revisions to make way for the personality cult of Kim's family dictatorship and the North Korean market economy reform. The Workers' Party of Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong Un later reconfirmed commitment to the establishment of a communist society, but orthodox Marxism has since been largely tabled in favor of "Socialism in our style". Officially, the DPRK still retains a command economy with complete state control of industry and agriculture. North Korea maintains collectivized farms and state-funded education and healthcare.
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is the oldest active party in Korea. It also controls the Korean People's Army, North Korea's armed forces. The WPK is the largest party represented in the Supreme People's Assembly and coexists with two other legal parties making up the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea. However, these minor parties are completely subservient to the WPK and must accept the WPK's "leading role" as a condition of their existence. The WPK is banned in the Republic of Korea under the National Security Act and is sanctioned by the United Nations, the European Union, Australia, and the United States.
The supreme leader of North Korea is the de facto paramount leader of the Workers' Party of Korea, the state and the Korean People's Army. The position is a de facto hereditary title held by the Kim family.
Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System are a set of ten principles and sixty-five clauses establishing standards for governance and guiding the behaviors of the people of North Korea. First published in 1974, the Ten Principles mandate absolute loyalty and obedience to the ideas of Kim Il Sung, and later his successor Kim Jong Il, establishing them as the country's supreme political authorities.
The State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SAC) is defined by the 2016 constitution as "the supreme policy-oriented leadership body of State power" over North Korea. The current president of the SAC, which is defined by the same constitution, is the head of state of the nation, the Supreme Leader of North Korea.
The president of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was the head of state of North Korea from 1972 to 1998. The position was only occupied by Kim Il Sung from 1972 until his death in 1994. Aside from being president, Kim was also the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the National Defence Commission and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army.
Officially, the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) – the ruling party of North Korea – is a communist party guided by Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism, a synthesis of the ideas of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The party is committed to Juche, an ideology attributed to Kim Il Sung which promotes national independence and development through the efforts of the popular masses. Although Juche was originally presented as the Korean interpretation of Marxism–Leninism, the party now presents it as a freestanding philosophy. The WPK recognizes the ruling Kim family as the ultimate source of its political thought. The fourth party conference, held in 2012, amended the party rules to state that Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism was "the only guiding idea of the party". Under Kim Jong Il, who governed as chairman of the National Defence Commission, communism was steadily removed from party and state documents in favour of Songun, or military-first politics. The military, rather than the working class, was established as the base of political power. However, his successor Kim Jong Un reversed this position in 2021, replacing Songun with "people-first politics" as the party's political method and reasserting the party's commitment to communism.
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