| Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the Workers' Party of Korea | |
_12_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Style | Respected Comrade (informal)General Secretary (formal) |
| Type | |
| Residence | Ryongsong Residence |
| Seat | Pyongyang |
| Appointer | Hereditary |
| Term length | Life tenure |
| Formation | 9 September 1948; 77 years ago (1948-09-09) |
| First holder | Kim Il Sung |
| Supreme Leader | |
|---|---|
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 최고령도자 |
| Hanja | 最高領導者 |
Thesupreme leader (Korean: 최고령도자;MR: Ch'oego Ryŏngdoja) is thede factohereditary leader of theWorkers' Party of Korea, theDemocratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and theKorean People's Army. The title is honorary, given only after death in the first two cases. More broadly it can also refer to the "Supreme Leader system" (Suryeong-je), which is defined as "a system that aims to ensure continuous leadership by the Supreme Leader across generations."[1] Different titles were used in North Korean propaganda that could be translated from Korean as "Great Leader", "Dear Leader", or "Supreme Leader". Similar to otherone-party states, the post ofGeneral Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (titled as Chairman from 1948 to 1966, as First Secretary from 2012 to 2016, and Chairman again from 2016 to 2021) is the first priority political position of the supreme leader.[2]
"Supreme Leader" was originally a designation used for Kim Il Sung only, and only after his death.[1] During his lifetime he was known as "Great Leader" (위대한 수령), a title that to this day is most often used to refer to him.[1] His son, Kim Jong Il, was known as "Dear Leader" (친애하는 령도자) during his lifetime, and only after death did North Korean media begin calling him "Supreme Leader", in the tradition of his father.[1] The grandson, Kim Jong Un, was first called "Supreme Leader" in a North Korean newspaper article dated October 3, 2020, with the frequency increasing since then, including sometimes "great Supreme Leader".[1] He was the first to be frequently called "Supreme Leader" while still alive, and at the relatively young age of 37.[1] The 2020 newspaper article was part of the official preparations to appoint Kim Jong Un as the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea i.e. leader of the Workers' Party, the sole political body in the country and the top leader position.[3] Since November 2021, South Korean media have all reported that Kim Jong Un is called "Supreme Leader" (Suryeong) in North Korea.[1]
| No | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Title(s) | Period | Tenure (Time in office) | Ideological contribution(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Kim Il Sung 김일성 (1912–1994)  | Premier of theCabinet of theDPRK | 9 September 1948[4] – 28 December 1972[5] | 9 September 1948[4] — 8 July 1994[6] (45 years, 302 days) | Juche |
| Chairman of the WPK | 24 June 1949[7] – 12 October 1966[8] | |||||
| General Secretary of the WPK | 12 October 1966[8] – 8 July 1994[6] | |||||
| President of the DPRK | 28 December 1972[9] – 8 July 1994[6] | |||||
| 2 |  | Kim Jong Il 김정일 (1941–2011)  | Chairman of theNational Defence Commission of theDPRK | 9 April 1993[10] – 17 December 2011[11] | 8 July 1994[10] — 17 December 2011[11] (17 years, 162 days) | Kimilsungism Songun Ten Principles |
| General Secretary of the WPK | 8 October 1997[10] – 17 December 2011[11] | |||||
| 3 |  | Kim Jong Un 김정은 (born 1982 or 1983/1984)  | First Secretary of the WPK | 11 April 2012[12] – 9 May 2016[13] | 17 December 2011[14] — present (13 years, 344 days) | Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism Byungjin |
| First Chairman of theNational Defence Commission of theDPRK | 11 April 2012[15] – 29 June 2016[16] | |||||
| Chairman of the WPK | 9 May 2016[17] – 10 January 2021[18] | |||||
| President of theState Affairs Commission of theDPRK | 29 June 2016[16] – present | |||||
| General Secretary of the WPK | 10 January 2021[19] – present |
Kim Jong Un, ① general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), ② president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and ③ supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, observed the test-fire of a new-type tactical guided weapon.
Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, attended the ceremony.
the Korean Workers Party, under the chairmanship of Kim Il-sung, was formed on June 24, 1949, as the result of a merger between the North Korean Workers Party and the South Korean Workers Party
The chairmanship post was replaced by the office of the general secretary at the Fourteenth Plenum of the WPK Fourth Central Committee (CC) on October 12, 1966, and Kim has been the WPK's general secretary ever since
The governing Workers' Party ... declared Mr. Kim "supreme leader" on Wednesday and awarded him the title of first secretary.
Kim Jong Un, who has been first secretary of the ruling party, became chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea
Per note at end of NYT article: 'An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the day on which North Korea had elevated Kim Jong-un to chairman of the Workers' Party's central military commission and granted him membership in the Politburo and its presidium. It was on Wednesday (11 April), not Thursday (12 April).'
The Assembly revised North Korea's Constitution to create what the state media called a Commission on State Affairs, with Mr. Kim as its chairman. It replaces the National Defense Commission.
The major organizational change announced at the 7th Party Congress was the reinstatement of the WPK chairmanship, to which Kim Jong Un was elected
Titles throughout all party levels were changed from "chairman" to three levels of "secretary".
Kim Jong Un was elected as general secretary of the party. This is remarkable, considering that on April 11, 2012, Kim Jong Il had been named the "eternal general secretary".
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