 | |
 | |
| Government overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1948 |
| Jurisdiction | North Korea |
| Headquarters | Pyongyang |
| Government executives |
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| Website | Minju Choson, the official newspaper of the Cabinet |
TheCabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 내각;Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國 內閣) is the supreme administrative organ ofNorth Korea and theexecutive organ of theSupreme People's Assembly, thehighest organ of state power.[1] The Cabinet's official newspaper isMinju Choson.
In North Korea's first constitution, adopted in 1948, the executive powers were vested in the Cabinet, chaired byKim Il Sung himself.
The 1972 constitution saw the establishment of the post ofPresident 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 party and the government and served in effect as a de facto super-cabinet. According to the 1972 constitution, the Central People's Committee, chaired byPresident of North Korea, exercised wide range of 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.[2] TheNational Defence Commission was then one of the sub-committees of this body.[3]
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.[4]
1982 saw thePeople's Armed Forces andPublic Security Ministries assigned directly to the President together with the State Inspection Commission.
In 1990, by a CPC decision, theNational Defence Commission became fully independent from it as a separate institution, and 1992 constitutional amendments assigned it directly to theSupreme 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 administrative and executive organ but was also expanded to become the general State management organ.
Emphasizing its expanded role, in January 1999Kim 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".[5]
The cabinet is appointed and accountable to theSupreme People's Assembly, the North Koreanunicameralparliament. The SPA chooses thePremier of North Korea (Leader of the Cabinet) who appoints three vice premiers and the cabinet's ministers. All members of the cabinet are members of theWorkers' Party of Korea which rules the country since its establishment in 1948. While the SPA is not in session, the cabinet is accountable to thePresidium of the Supreme People's Assembly.[6]
As of 2000[update], some 260 people have served as cabinet ministers. Six of them have been women:[7]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), andYun Gi-jong (Finance).[8]
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 theState Affairs Commission. Thus, the security organizations such as theKorean People's Army,Ministry of Social Security andState 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.[9] The Cabinet convenes a plenary meeting and an executive meeting.[10] The plenary meeting consists of all the Cabinet members, while the executive meeting is kind of apresidium, and comprises fewer people, including the Premier, vice premier and other Cabinet members whom the Premier nominates. The cabinetacts in the form of decisions and directives.[11] 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 theLocal People's Committees.
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As of 28 September 2023[update], the Cabinet consists of the following:[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]
