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The general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea is the head of the Workers' Party of Korea, the ruling party in North Korea, and considered as the supreme leader of North Korea. The general secretary is the chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, as well as a member of the Politburo Presidium, the Politburo and the Secretariat.
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and 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 South Korea under the National Security Act and is sanctioned by the United Nations, the European Union, Australia, and the United States.
Kim Il was a North Korean politician who was served as Premier of North Korea from 28 December 1972 to 19 April 1976.
The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (CMC) is an organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) which is responsible for coordinating the Party organizations within the Korean People's Army (KPA). One of the CMC's primary functions is to authorize defense and munitions spending and product orders, and to determine how natural resources and products from military-controlled production units are earmarked and distributed domestically and for sale abroad. According to the WPK Charter, the CMC directs WPK activities in the KPA and is chaired by the WPK General Secretary. The CMC relies on a number of organizations to carry out its mandate, including the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, the WPK Military Department, and the WPK Machine-Building Department. The CMC also uses the WPK Military Affairs Department to transmit guidance and indoctrination of North Korea's reserve military training units.
The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea is the highest party body between national meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. According to WPK rules, the Central Committee is elected by the party congress and the party conference can be conferred the right to renew its membership composition. In practice, the Central Committee has the ability to dismiss and appoint new members without consulting with the wider party at its own plenary sessions.
The Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea, formerly known as the Executive Policy Bureau (2016–21), manages the work of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea and its Presidium. The General Secretary leads the work of the Secretariat, and the body is composed of several members.
The 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was elected by the 6th Congress on 14 October 1980, and remained in session until the election of the 7th Central Committee on 9 May 2016. The Central Committee composition was replenished by the 3rd WPK Conference. In between party congresses and specially convened conferences the Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution in the WPK and North Korea. The Central Committee is not a permanent institution and delegates day-to-day work to elected bodies, such as the Presidium, the Politburo, the Secretariat, the Central Military Commission and the Control Commission in the case of the 6th Central Committee. It convenes meetings, known as "Plenary Session of the [term] Central Committee", to discuss major policies. Only full members have the right to vote, but if a full member cannot attend a plenary session, the person's spot is taken over by an alternate. Plenary session can also be attended by non-members, such meetings are known as "Enlarged Plenary Session", to participate in the committee's discussions.
The 1st Congress of the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPNK)(Korean: 북조선로동당 제 1차 대회) was held in Pyongyang, North Korea, from 28 to 30 August 1946, and established the Workers' Party of North Korea. The congress is the highest organ of the party, and is stipulated to be held every four years. A total of 801 delegates represented the party's 336,399 members. The 1st Central Committee, elected by the congress, elected Kim Tu-bong as WPNK Chairman, Kim Il Sung and Chu Yong-ha as deputy chairmen.
The 1st Central Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPNK) was elected by the 1st Congress on 30 August 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of North Korea and the New People's Party of Korea, and remained in session until the election of the 2nd Central Committee on 30 March 1948. In between party congresses and specially convened conferences the Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution in the party and North Korea. The 1st Central Committee was not a permanent institution and delegated day-to-day work to elected central guidance bodies, such as the Political Committee, the Standing Committee and the Organisation Committee. It convened meetings, known as Plenary Sessions of the 1st Central Committee, to discuss major policies. A plenary session could be attended by non-members. These meetings are known as Enlarged Plenary Sessions. The party rules approved at the 1st Congress stipulated that the Central Committee needed to convene for a plenary session every third month. In total, the 1st Central Committee convened for twelve plenary sessions, of which eight were convened in 1947.
Chu Yong-ha was a North Korean politician and diplomat. Chu was elected into several posts in the Workers' Party of North Korea, the predecessor of the Workers' Party of Korea, in its early days. Chu was the target of plots ensuing from factional strife within the party. As a member of the Domestic faction, Chu was opposed by the Guerrilla, Soviet and Yan'an factions.
The Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea are the by-laws of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). It sets the rules of the organization and membership of the party. According to the rules, the WPK Congress is the highest body of the party and it, along with the WPK Conference, can amend the rules. The rules defines the character, task, and methodology of the party. According to it, the Party strives to impose communism on the whole of the Korean Peninsula. Recent revisions of the rules have defined Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism as the ideology of the party.
The 2nd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was elected at the 2nd Congress on 30 March 1948, and remained in session until the election of the 3rd Central Committee on 29 April 1956. In between party congresses and specially convened conferences the Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution in the WPK and North Korea. The 2nd Central Committee was not a permanent institution and delegated day-to-day work to elected bodies, such as the Political Committee, the Standing Committee, the Organisation Committee and the Inspection Committee in this case. It convened meetings, known as "Plenary Session of the [term] Central Committee", to discuss major policies. Only full members had the right to vote, but if a full member could not attend a plenary session, the person's spot was taken over by an alternate. Plenary session could also be attended by non-members, such meetings are known as "Enlarged Plenary Session", to participate in the committee's discussions. During its tenure it held five plenary sessions, one enlarged session, seven joint plenary sessions and four stand-alone plenums.
The 5th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was elected at the 5th Congress on 13 November 1970. and remained in session until the election of the 6th Central Committee on 14 October 1980. In between party congresses and specially convened conferences the Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution in the WPK and North Korea. The Central Committee is not a permanent institution and delegates day-to-day work to elected bodies, such as the Political Committee, the Secretariat and the Inspection Committee in the case of the 5th Central Committee. It convenes meetings, known as "Plenary Session of the [term] Central Committee", to discuss major policies. Only full members have the right to vote, but if a full member cannot attend a plenary session, the person's spot is taken over by an alternate. Plenary session can also be attended by non-members, such meetings are known as "Enlarged Plenary Session", to participate in the committee's discussions.
The 4th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was elected at the 4th Congress on 18 September 1961. and remained in session until the election of the 5th Central Committee on 13 November 1970. In between party congresses and specially convened conferences the Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution in the WPK and North Korea. The Central Committee is not a permanent institution and delegates day-to-day work to elected bodies, such as the Political Committee, the Secretariat and the Inspection Committee in the case of the 4th Central Committee. It convenes meetings, known as "Plenary Session of the [term] Central Committee", to discuss major policies. Only full members have the right to vote, but if a full member cannot attend a plenary session, the person's spot is taken over by an alternate. Plenary session can also be attended by non-members, such meetings are known as "Enlarged Plenary Session", to participate in the committee's discussions.
The 2nd Political Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), officially the Political Committee of the 2nd Central Committee (2nd CC), was elected in the immediate aftermath of the 2nd WPK Congress on 30 March 1948 by the 2nd CC's 1st Plenary Session. The composition changed on the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea (WPSK) on 24 June 1953, and was again changed after a purge of WPSK-affiliated communists on 6 August 1953.
The 3rd Central Auditing Committee (CAC) of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), officially the Central Auditing Committee of the 3rd Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, was elected by the 3rd Congress on 29 April 1956.
Members of the Control Commission (CC) of the Workers' Party of Korea were elected by the 1st Plenary Session of a WPK Central Committee. In the two predecessor organisations, the Central Inspection Commission of the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPNK) and the Inspection Committee of the Workers' Party of South Korea (WPSK), members were elected by the party congress. Control Commission members were responsible for ensuring party discipline, enforcing and protecting the party rules, and punishing members who breached rules and regulations.
The 5th Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK)(5차 조선로동당 비서국), officially the Secretariat of the 5th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the 5th Central Committee on 13 November 1970.
The 4th Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK)(4차 조선로동당 비서국), officially the Secretariat of the 4th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, was elected by the 14th Plenary Session of the 4th Central Committee on 12 October 1966.
The Organisation Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea(조선로동당 중앙위원회 조직위원회) was established in 1946 and abolished at the 4th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea.
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
Books:
- Gause, Ken (2013). "The Role and Influence of the Party Apparatus". In Park, Kyung-ae; Snyder, Scott (eds.). North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economy, and Society. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 19–46. ISBN 978-1442218123.
- Suh, Dae-sook (1981). Korean Communism 1945–1980: A Reference Guide to the Political System (1st ed.). University Press of Hawaii. ISBN 0-8248-0740-5.
- Yonguso, Pyonghwa Tongil (1997). Korea and the World. University of California. Research Center for Peace and Unification.
Journal articles:
- Chong-sik Lee (1963). "Politics in North Korea: Pre-Korean War Stage". The China Quarterly . Cambridge University Press on behalf of the School of Oriental and African Studies (14): 3–16. JSTOR 651339.
