Politics of North Korea

Kim Il Sung ruled the country from 1948 until his death in July 1994, holding the offices of General Secretary of the WPK from 1949 to 1994 (titled as Chairman from 1949 to 1972), Premier of North Korea from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to 1994. He was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Il. While the younger Kim had been his father's designated successor since the 1980s, it took him three years to consolidate his power. He was named to his father's old post of General Secretary in 1997, and in 1998 became Chairman of the National Defence Commission (NDC), which gave him command of the armed forces. The constitution was amended to make the NDC chairmanship "the highest post in the state."[18] At the same time, the presidential post was written out of the constitution, and Kim Il Sung was designated "Eternal leader of Juche Korea" in order to honor his memory forever. Most analysts believe the title to be a product of the cult of personality he cultivated during his life.

According to the Constitution of North Korea, the country is a democratic republic and the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) and Provincial People's Assemblies (PPA,도 인민회의) are elected by direct universal suffrage and secret ballot. Suffrage is guaranteed to all citizens aged 17 and over.[19] In reality, these elections are for show and feature single-candidate races only.[20] Those who want to vote against the sole candidate on the ballot must go to a special booth—in the presence of an electoral official—to cross out the candidate's name before dropping it into the ballot box—an act which, according to many North Korean defectors, is far too risky to even contemplate.[21]

All elected candidates are members of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea (DFRK), a popular front dominated by the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The two minor parties in the coalition are the Chondoist Chongu Party and the Korean Social Democratic Party, who also have a few elected officials. The WPK exercises direct control over the candidates selected for election by members of the other two parties.[5] In the past, elections were contested by other minor parties as well, including the Korea Buddhist Federation, Democratic Independent Party, Dongro People's Party, Gonmin People's Alliance, and People's Republic Party.[22]

The Juche Tower symbolizes the official state philosophy of Juche.

Originally a close ally of Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union, North Korea has increasingly emphasized Juche, an adoption of socialist self-reliance, which roots from Marxism–Leninism, its adoption of a certain ideological form of Marxism–Leninism is specific to the conditions of North Korea.[23] Juche was enshrined as the official ideology when the country adopted a new constitution in 1972.[24][25] In 2009, the constitution was amended again, quietly removing the brief references to communism (Korean: 공산주의).[26] However, North Korea continues to see itself as part of a worldwide leftist movement. The Workers' Party maintains a relationship with other leftist parties, sending a delegation to the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties.[27] North Korea has a strong relationship with Cuba;[28] in 2016, the North Korean government declared three days of mourning after Fidel Castro's death.[29]

Portraits of the Eternal President, Kim Il Sung (left), and the Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party, Kim Jong Il (right).

For much of its history, North Korean politics have been dominated by its adversarial relationship with South Korea. During the Cold War, North Korea aligned with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. The North Korean government invested heavily in its military, hoping to develop the capability to reunify Korea by force if possible and also preparing to repel any attack by South Korea or the United States. Following the doctrine of Juche, North Korea aimed for a high degree of economic independence and the mobilization of all the resources of the nation to defend Korean sovereignty against foreign powers.

In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and the loss of Soviet aid, North Korea faced a long period of economic crisis, including severe agricultural and industrial shortages. North Korea's main political issue has been to find a way to sustain its economy without compromising the internal stability of its government or its ability to respond to perceived external threats. Recently, North Korean efforts to improve relations with South Korea to increase trade and to receive development assistance have been mildly successful. North Korea has tried to improve its relations with South Korea by participating in the Pyeongchang Olympics, when Kim Jong Un sent his band and a few officials to visit South Korea. But North Korea's determination to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles has prevented stable relations with both South Korea and the United States. North Korea has also experimented with market economics in some sectors of its economy, but these have had limited impact.

Although there are occasional reports of signs of opposition to the government, these appear to be isolated, and there is no evidence of major internal threats to the current government. Some foreign analysts have pointed to widespread starvation, increased emigration through North Korea-China border, and new sources of information about the outside world for ordinary North Koreans as factors pointing to an imminent collapse of the regime. However, North Korea has remained stable in spite of more than a decade of such predictions. The Workers' Party of Korea maintains a monopoly on political power and Kim Jong Il remained the leader of the country until 2011, ever since he first gained power following the death of his father.

After the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994, his son, Kim Jong Il became the new leader, which marked the closure of one chapter of North Korean politics. Combined with external shocks and the less charismatic personality of Kim Jong Il, the transition of the leadership moved North Korea toward less centralized control. There are three key institutions: the Korean People's Army (KPA), the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), and the cabinet. Rather than dominate a unified system as his father had, each party has their own enduring goals, therefore providing checks and balances to the government. No one party could claim victory and power over the other ones. With changing internal situation, combined with external pressure, the cabinet started to endorse policies it had rejected for years.[30] North Korea politics is gradually becoming more open and negotiable with foreign countries. The fact that the leader of North Korea is willing to talk with other leaders shows a huge step towards peace and negotiation.

Under Kim Jong Il the status of the military was enhanced, and appeared to occupy the center of the North Korean political system; all the social sectors were 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-centered political system was confirmed in 1998 at the first session of the 10th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) by the promotion of NDC members into the official power hierarchy. All ten NDC members were ranked within the top twenty on 5 September, and all but one occupied the top twenty at the fiftieth anniversary of the Day of the Foundation of the Republic on 9 September. Under Kim Jong Un there has been an increased emphasis on economic matters, with major defence spending needing support from an economic standpoint.[17][31]

While the commonly accepted view is that no dissent can be expressed in North Korea, the notionally academic economic journal Kyo’ngje Yo’ngu and the philosophical and economic journals of Kim Il Sung University permit the presentation and discussion of the different views of various parts of the government.[17]

The foreign relations of North Korea have been shaped by its conflict with South Korea and its historical ties with world communism. Both the government of North Korea and the government of South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea) claim to be the sole legitimate government of the whole of Korea. The Korean War in the 1950s failed to resolve the issue, leaving North Korea locked in a military confrontation with South Korea and the United States Forces Korea across the Demilitarized Zone.

At the start of the Cold War, North Korea only had diplomatic recognition by communist countries. Over the following decades, it established relations with developing countries and joined the Non-Aligned Movement. When the Eastern Bloc collapsed in the years 1989–1992, North Korea made efforts to improve its diplomatic relations with developed capitalist countries. At the same time, there were international efforts to resolve the confrontation on the Korean peninsula (known as the Korean conflict). At the same time, North Korea acquired nuclear weapons, adding to the concerns of the international community.[36]

• Communism in Korea

• Buzo, Adrian (2018). The Guerilla Dynasty: Politics And Leadership In North Korea. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-97609-4.
• Heonik Kwon; Byung-Ho Chung (2012). North Korea: Beyond Charismatic Politics. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-1577-1.
• Uriminzokkiri.com Archived 11 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine
• Freedom House Country Report on North Korea Archived 14 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• "The North Korean Human Rights Act: Documents and Background Materials". Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
• The North Korean International Documentation Project Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
• North Korea Uncovered, a comprehensive mapping on Google Earth of the DPRK's political and economic infrastructure
• Politics of North Korea at Curlie