[北 당 대회 결산] ① Kim Jong-un general secretary system… Consolidation of party-centered governance

(Pyongyang Labor Newspaper = News 1) = The Labor Newspaper, an agency of the North Korean Labor Party, reported on the front page of the 11th that Kim Jong-un was elected as the party’s’general secretary’ through the 8th party conference. [국내에서만 사용가능. 재배포 금지. DB 금지. For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. Redistribution Prohibited] [email protected]

One of the key issues of North Korea’s 8th Party Congress can be seen as a move to strengthen’party control’ over society.

It is not new that North Korea, which has a Labor Party-centered governance structure, has a party-centered rule, but this structure is more solidified through this party conference.

◇ Changed the title of Kim Jong-un from’Party Chairman’ to’General Secretary’

Through this party conference, North Korea changed the party title of Chairman Kim Jong-un from’Labor Party Chairman’ to’General Secretary’.

The secretary system is the party’s operating system that North Korea has operated since the days of President Kim Il-sung. Party secretaries are those who are in positions of responsibility for the major party decisions.

The two ancestral leaders, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, used the’general secretary’ as the party’s highest position. Then, as Chairman Kim Jong-un changed the party secretary system to the committee system, the’party chairman’ was used as the highest position instead of the general secretary. This is what happened at the 7th Party Congress 5 years ago.

In the end, North Korea revived the title of general secretary through this party conference. Five years ago, when Chairman Kim became the’Chairman of the Party’, it was analyzed that he tried to differentiate himself with a different title from his predecessor, but there are two main reasons for returning to the method of his predecessor.

One is the consolidation of the Yoo Il Youngdo system. It is possible that North Korea decided that reviving the title of its predecessors would rather help highlight legitimacy.

In addition, the analysis that the problem of job title confusion has also occurred after the committee system is gaining strength. It is pointed out that since the head of the party committee in each region was also the’chairman’, it would have been difficult to confirm the authority in the title.

In the secretarial system, under the general secretary, the party’s central committee secretary, and under the party committees at each level, the title secretary, secretary, and deputy secretary are used. Independent titles that the supreme leader can clearly distinguish are used.

Due to the characteristics of Chairman Kim Jong-un who emphasizes the party-centered rule of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, the possibility of Chairman Kim himself becoming the’President of the State’ after several years of the general secretary system is also raised.

◇Strengthening the military’s’party control’, the party manages the national defense

In addition to its superficial features, measures have been taken to substantially strengthen the party’s role in the operation of the state. It strengthened the party’s control over the military.

North Korea officially confirmed the establishment of a’military leadership’ in the party through this party conference. The military leadership is expected to be responsible for the overall planning and generalization (evaluation) of the military operation method and overall personnel in the future.

North Korea revised the Party Code and stated in Chapter 6 in the’Party Organization within the Korean People’s Army’ that it “clearly regulated the character of the People’s Army as a revolutionary armed force of the Korean Workers’ Party.” Can be seen as.

In addition, it was also officially confirmed that the name of the People’s Armed Forces (our Ministry of Defense) was changed to’Ministry of Defense’. By changing the name of the belligerent character, an attempt was made to escape the image obtained by frequent armed provocations.

From the military standpoint, it can be said that the political status has declined compared to the days of his predecessor, Kim Jong-il, chairman of the National Defense Commission. However, North Korea also stated in the party agreement that the military will leap forward as a new military through’modernization and advancement’ in the future.

In other words, it delivered a message that the military would become stronger through party control. It seems that it aimed at the effect of raising the party’s authority and enhancing the morale and ability of the military, which could be reduced in the era of’conversation’.

◇ Accelerate the flow chart of household replacement… The era of steadfast’Kim Jong-un politics’

Another impressive feature revealed at this party conference is that the generational change of executives is systematically and steadily progressing.

North Korea’s major executives are still people from their predecessors. It is not necessary to doubt their’different mind’ due to the nature of the system, but it is also clear that this is not the first time with Chairman Kim Jong-un.

Cho Yong-won, who was the first vice-president of the party before the party convention, was included as a member of the standing committee of the Political Bureau, the secretary of the Party Central Committee, and a member of the Party Central Military Committee.

Cho Yong-won is worth seeing as a person from the Kim Jong-un era. After Chairman Kim took office, he performed the most on-site guidance of Chairman Kim, regardless of the field, and also followed the summit meeting. His position has always been’right next to’ Chairman Kim.

The positions he climbed this time can be said to be positions that’can’t go up any further’ if exaggerated.

Looking at a series of personnel, a change of nearly 50% is detected in the high-ranking positions in the central party. In addition, detailed changes are seen in the organizational structure of the central party, which is expected to be concretely confirmed by North Korea’s future activities.

At the opening of this party conference, North Korea seemed to show a different course than predicting that it would escape from its predecessors, including two ancestors Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il as party representatives, and seeking to strengthen Kim Il-sung-Kim Jong-ilism.

However, in conclusion, starting with this party conference, Kim Jong-un-sik’s politics is expected to take another wave. The measures that have been drawn up to this point reveal elements of change that did not exist in the predecessors.

Emphasizing the predecessors can be seen as a step to solidify the integrity of the’Kim Jong-un era’, which inherited legitimacy and authority, rather than revealing the limits that cannot escape from the’shade’.

[email protected]