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), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...

. 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 highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

, 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, 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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. As North Korea is a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...

, 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 The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) an ...

History

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

Kim Yong-nam Kim Yong-nam (; born 4 February 1928) is a North Korean retired politician who served as the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, from 1998 until 2019. Due to holding the office, he was considered the hea ...

(

President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly The chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, formerly known as the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, is the presiding officer of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, w ...

, 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 govern ...

, head of government),

Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometime ...

Jo Myong-rok Jo Myong-rok ( 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, Direct ...

(Director of the

General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army The General Political Bureau (GPB) is a department of the Ministry of Defence, used by the leadership of the North Korean government to exert political control over the Korean People's Army (KPA). The GPB operates under the direction of the Centr ...

) 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 * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

). 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 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

'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 milita ...

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, hol ...

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