The Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea, or simply the Presidium, and formerly known as the Standing Committee (1946–61), is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

. Historically it has been composed of one to five members, and currently has five members. Its officially mandated purpose is to conduct policy discussions and make decisions on major issues when the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

, a larger decision-making body, is not in session. While the Presidium in theory reports to the Politburo, which in turn reports to the larger

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

, in practice the Presidium is supreme over its parent bodies and acts as the most powerful decision-making body in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. As North Korea is a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

, the Presidium's decisions ''de facto'' have the force of law. Its role is roughly analogous to that of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

History

The Presidium was revitalized at the 3rd Conference, with four new members appointed:

Kim Yong-nam Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

(

President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly The chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (), formerly known as the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Ko ...

, head of state),

Choe Yong-rim Choe Yong-rim (, born 20 November 1930) is a North Korean politician who served as the Premier of North Korea from June 2010 to April 2013 and was a member of the 6th Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea.

(

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

, head of government),

Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

Jo Myong-rok Jo Myong-lok (12 July 1928 – 6 November 2010) was a North Korean military officer who held the military rank Chasu (Vice Marshal). In 1998, he was appointed First Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, Director ...

(Director of the

General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army The General Political Bureau (GPB) is the internal politburo of the Korean People's Army (KPA), used by the leadership of the North Korean government to exert political control over the military. The GPB is subordinate to the Ministry of Defence (N ...

) and Vice Marshal Ri Yong-ho (

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

). The appointment of two military officers was considered by outside observers to be in line with Kim Jong-il's military-first politics. It was believed that Ri Yong-ho was

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

's personal military escort at the time, similar to O Jin-u's role during Kim Jong-il's early rule. At the 4th Conference, ''

Chasu ''Ch'asu'' () is a superior military rank of North Korea, often translated as Vice Marshal. The rank is senior to that of '' Daejang'' (General) and junior to that of '' Wonsu'' (Marshal). The rank is seldom bestowed upon the professional milit ...

Choe Ryong-hae Choe Ryong-hae (born 15 January 1950) is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, holding ...

was appointed to the Standing Committee.

Current members

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* {{Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Politics of North Korea