| Eternal leaders of North Korea | |
.png) Bronze statues of former leadersKim Il Sung (left) andKim Jong Il (right) at theMansu Hill Grand Monument | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 주체조선의 영원한 수령 |
| Hanja | 主體朝鮮의 永遠한 首領 |
| Lit. | Eternal leaders of Juche Korea |
| RR | Juchejoseonui yeongwonhan suryeong |
| MR | Chuch'ejosŏnŭi yŏngwŏnhan suryŏng |
Theeternal leaders of North Korea (officially theeternal leaders ofJuche Korea) are titles accorded to deceasedleaders of North Korea. The phrase was used in a line of thepreamble to the Constitution, asamended on 30 June 2016, and in subsequent revisions.
It reads (in the original version):
Under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Korean people will uphold theGreat Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung as the eternal President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Comrade Kim Jong Il as the eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [...]
— Constitution of North Korea[1]
The post of "President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" was established in theConstitution of North Korea in 1972. Until then,Kim Il Sung held the posts ofpremier andgeneral secretary of theWorkers' Party of Korea.
In 1972, the presidency was established, and Kim Il Sung was elected to the position by theSupreme People's Assembly, the North Koreanlegislature, on28 December 1972. Kim served as president until 1994 when he died, and the position was left vacant and his son and successorKim Jong Il was not given the title.
The preamble of the Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as amended on 5 September 1998 reads:
Under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Korean people will hold the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung in high esteem as the eternal President of the Republic [...][2]
The president was thede jurehead of state of North Korea, but whose powers were exercised by the"sacred leader" of the nation'sstate ideology calledJuche. According toAshley J. Tellis and Michael Wills, this amendment to the preamble was an indication of the unique North Korean characteristic of being atheocratic state based on thepersonality cult surrounding Kim Il Sung. In addition, North Korea adopted aJuche calendar dating from 1912, the year of Kim Il Sung's birth.[3]
The 2012 constitution once again referred to Kim Il Sung as the "Eternal President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea".[1]
After thedeath of Kim Jong Il, the constitution was amended in 2012, declaring him Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission.[1]
In 2016, the title "eternal leaders of Juche Korea" was introduced by amending the preamble of the constitution, and it was given to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.[4]
The functions and powers previously belonging to the president were divided between numerous officials: thepremier of North Korea; thechairman of the Supreme People's Assembly,chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly; and the head of the military, thechairman of the National Defence Commission (replaced byState Affairs Commission of North Korea in 2016) andsupreme commander of the Korean People's Army. These positions are currently held byPak Thae-song,Choe Ryong-hae, andKim Jong Un respectively.
| Politics | |
|---|---|
| Elections | |
| Books | |
| Family |
|
| Related |
|
