Head of North Korea's armed forces
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Emblem of the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army until 2022; since 2022 its usage has become depreciated.
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Chos?n'g?l
| 조선민주주의인민공화국 武力 最高司令官
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Hancha
| 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國 武力 最高司令官
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Revised Romanization
| Joseonminjujuuiinmingonghwagug mulyeogchongsalyeong-gwan
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McCune?Reischauer
| Chos?nminjuju?iinmin'gonghwaguk mury?kch'ongsary?nggwan
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The
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(
Korean
:
조선민주주의인민공화국武力 總司令官
) 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.
As such, the only officeholder is
Kim Il Sung
. But the title has been bestowed on both
Kim Jong Il
and
Kim Jong Un
, and legally enforced through the offices of Chairman of the National Defense Commission and President of the State Affairs Commission respectively. All officeholders are also the Chairman of the
Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea
.
History
[
edit
]
As an office (1950?1972)
[
edit
]
The position was first known as the
Chief Commander of the Korean People's Army
(
朝鮮人民軍 總司令官
) which was established on 8 February 1948 along with the founding of the Korean People's Army.
Minister of National Defense
Choe Yong-gon
was appointed to this position.
On 4 July 1950, the
1st Standing Committee
of the
1st Supreme People's Assembly
issued a decree which created the position
Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army
(
朝鮮人民軍 最高司令官
) with
Kim Il Sung
being appointed to the position.
[1]
This was part of the reorganization of the Korean People's Army during the North Korean invasion of
South Korea
at the initial stages of the
Korean War
.
[2]
Following the end of the Korean War, Kim Il Sung continued to exercise his powers as KPA Supreme Commander.
As a title (1972?present)
[
edit
]
A
new constitution
was adopted in 1972 which stated that the President of North Korea is the supreme commander of the country's armed forces as well as the Chairman of the National Defense Commission.
On 24 December 1991,
Kim Jong Il
was appointed as the KPA Supreme Commander at the 19th plenary session of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. This appointment was part of the succession of Kim Jong Il, who was elected to the position of first vice chairman of the National Defense Commission on 22 May 1990.
Following Kim Jong Il's appointment as KPA Supreme Commander, a 1992 constitutional amendment removed any mention of the position of supreme commander. The amendment stated instead that the Chairman of the National Defense Commission has the power to command the country's armed forces. It also stated that the President is not automatically the Chairman of the National Defense Commission. This allowed for Kim Jong Il's election as Chairman of the National Defense Commission on 9 April 1993.
A 2009 constitutional amendment mentioned the position of supreme commander again and vested it in the Chairman of the National Defense Commission.
Kim Jong Il served as supreme commander until
his death on 17 December 2011.
Following this,
Kim Jong Un
was appointed as KPA Supreme Commander on 30 December 2011 by the
Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea
in accordance to Kim Jong Il's final instructions. At the time of his appointment as KPA Supreme Commander, he was the vice chairman of the
Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea
.
On 13 April 2012, the constitution was amended to transfer the powers of supreme commander to the First Chairman of the National Defense Commission to which Kim Jong Un was elected. Kim Jong Un was later elected as
President of the State Affairs Commission
on 29 June 2016 to which the powers of supreme commander were transferred to.
On 15 April 2015, Kim Jong Un began to be referred to as
Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
despite the constitution designating him as commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces.
[3]
The constitution was revised on 12 April 2019 which replaced the mention of "supreme commander" with "commander-in-chief."
[5]
[6]
References
[
edit
]
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Active forces
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Paramilitary and reserve forces
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Senior leadership
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History
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