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Commander-in-Chief of North Korea: Difference between revisions

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Adding local short description: "Head of North Korea's armed forces", overriding Wikidata description "commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of North Korea"
 
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{{Short description|Head of North Korea's armed forces}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Commander-in-Chief
| body = the Armed Forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
| native_name = 조선민주주의인민공화국무력 총사령관
| insignia = Emblem of the Korean People's Army.svg
| insigniacaption = Emblem of the [[Korean People's Army]]
| image = Kim Jong-un April 2019 (cropped).jpg
| incumbent = [[Kim Jong Un]]
| incumbentsince = 30 December 2011
| department = [[Korean People's Army]]
| style = Comrade Supreme Commander
| residence =
| appointer =
| termlength =
| formation = 8 February 1948
| first = [[Choe Yong-gon (army commander)|Choe Yong-gon]]
| succession =
| deputy =
| salary =
| website =
}}
{{Infobox Korean name
| image =File: Emblem_of_the_Supreme_Commander_of_the_Korean_People%27s_Army.png
| caption = Emblem of the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army until 2022; since 2022 its usage has become depreciated.
| hangul = 조선민주주의인민공화국 무력 최고사령관
| hanja = 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國 武力 最高司令官
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| context = north
|title=Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of North Korea}}
{{Politics of North Korea|expanded=State Affairs Commission}}
The '''Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Democratic People's Republic of Korea''' ([[{{Korean language|Korean]]: hangul=조선민주주의인민공화국무력 최고사령관총사령관}}) wasis 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 [[Eternal leaders of North Korea#Presidency_of_North_Korea_before_1994Presidency of North Korea before 1994|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 Sung]]. But the title has been bestowed on both [[Kim Jong-il Il]] and [[Kim Jong-un Un]], and legally enforced through the offices of Chairman of the National DefenceDefense 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==
===As an office (1950–72)===▼
The position was first known as the '''Chief Commander of the Korean People's Army''' ([[Korean language|Korean]]: 조선인민군 총사령관) which was established on 8 February 1948 along with the founding of the Korean People's Army. [[Ministry of People's Armed Forces|Minister of National Defense]] [[Choe Yong-gon (army commander)|Choe Yong-gon]] was appointed to this position.▼
 
▲===As an office (1950–721950–1972)===
On 4 July 1950, the [[1st Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly|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''' ([[Korean language|Korean]]: 조선인민군 최고사령관) with [[Kim Il-sung]] being appointed to the position.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Political Situation in Korea During the Period of Military Operations|url=https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/114916|website=Wilson Center Digital Archive|access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wada|first=Haruki|title=The Korean War: An International History|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2018|isbn=9781538116425|pages=99}}</ref>▼
▲The position was first known as the '''Chief Commander of the Korean People's Army''' ([[{{Korean language|Korean]]: hangul=조선인민군 총사령관|labels=no}}) which was established on 8 February 1948 along with the founding of the Korean People's Army. [[Ministry of People's Armed Forces|Minister of National Defense]] [[Choe Yong-gon (army commander)|Choe Yong-gon]] was appointed to this position.
 
▲On 4 July 1950, the [[1st Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea|1st Standing Committee]] of the [[1st Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea|1st Supreme People's Assembly]] issued a decree which created the position '''Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army''' ([[{{Korean language|Korean]]: hangul=조선인민군 최고사령관|labels=no}}) with [[Kim Il-sung Sung]] being appointed to the position.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Political Situation in Korea During the Period of Military Operations|url=https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/114916|website=Wilson Center Digital Archive|access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wada|first=Haruki|title=The Korean War: An International History|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2018|isbn=9781538116425|pages=99}}</ref>
Following the end of the Korean War, Kim Il-sung continued to exercise his powers as KPA Supreme Commander.▼
 
▲Following the end of the Korean War, Kim Il-sung Sung continued to exercise his powers as KPA Supreme Commander.
 
===As a title (1972–present)===
A [[Constitution of North Korea|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 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 Il, who was elected to the position of first vice chairman of the National Defense Commission on 22 May 1990.
 
Following Kim Jong-il 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 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 Il served as supreme commander until [[Death and state funeral of Kim Jong-il Il|his death on 17 December 2011.]] Following this, [[Kim Jong-un Un]] was appointed as KPA Supreme Commander on 30 December 2011 by the [[Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea]] in accordance to Kim Jong-il 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.▼
 
The constitution was revised on 12 April 2019 which replaced the mention of "supreme commander" with "commander-in-chief."
 
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.▼
 
▲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 Un was elected. Kim Jong-un 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.
== Powers ==
The North Korean constitution gives the Supreme Commander with the power to command the entire armed forces of the country.
 
▲On 15 April 2015, Kim Jong-un 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.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Yonhap |title=NK leader newly called 'supreme commander of Armed Forces of DPRK' |url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190416000663 |access-date=11 May 2020 |work=[[The Korea Herald]] |agency=The Korea Herald |publisher=[[Herald Corporation]] |date=16 April 2019}}</ref>
Aside from issuing orders, the specific powers of the Supreme Commander are unknown.
[[File:Standard of the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army.svg|thumb|Standard of the Supreme Commander until 2022<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-17 |title=North Korea completes erasure of Kim Jong Un's 'supreme commander' symbol |url=https://www.nknews.org/2022/02/north-korea-completes-erasure-of-kim-jong-uns-supreme-commander-symbol/ |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=[[NK News]] |language=en-US}}</ref>]]
 
The constitution was revised on 12 April 2019 which replaced the mention of "supreme commander" with "commander-in-chief."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nknews.org/2020/05/north-korean-tv-erasing-kim-jong-uns-supreme-commander-emblem/ |title=North Korean TV erasing Kim Jong Un's Supreme Commander emblem |work=NK News |date=22 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncnk.org/sites/default/files/DPRK%20constitution%20(2019).pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725062836/https://www.ncnk.org/sites/default/files/DPRK%20constitution%20(2019).pdf |archive-date=2021-07-25 |title=Socialist Constitution of The Democratic People's Republic of Korea}}</ref>
Starting in 2018, Kim Jong-un stopped issuing orders in the name of the Supreme Commander. Instead, he issues orders for the North Korean military in the name of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea.
 
==References==
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander-in-Chief_of_North_Korea"