The Premier of the Cabinet () is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

and a key adviser to the

Supreme Leader of North Korea The supreme leader () of North Korea is the ''de facto'' paramount leader of the Workers' Party of Korea, the state and the Korean People's Army. The title has not been written into the national constitution as a separate office, but it curren ...

. The office is also alternatively known as Prime Minister of North Korea. The prime minister of North Korea is the head of government of North Korea, and appointment requires approval from the nation's parliament, the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year ...

. The current premier is

Kim Tok-hun Kim Tok-hun (, born 1961) is a North Korean politician serving as the Premier of North Korea since August 2020. He is also a full member on the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea and served as the chief of the parliamentar ...

, who is also a member of the

Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea 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. Historic ...

History

Originally, under the 1948 Constitution of the DPRK, the Premier was the highest state post in North Korea.

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

himself inaugurated the post, keeping it for 24 years until 1972, while the ceremonial role of the

head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

rested in the

Chairman of the Standing Committee 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 ...

. The 1972 Constitution created the post of President of the DPRK, which replaced the premiership as the top state post. The executive presidency was created with Kim in mind, and he transferred to that post soon after the Constitution was promulgated. The Premier was now the head of the Administration Council, but most of the powers of the former cabinet were passed to the ], the highest ruling council chaired by the president himself. The first premier after Kim Il-sung was his long-time ally Kim Il (politician), Kim Il. The post was then officially known as ''Premier of the Administration Council'' (, ''jungmuwon chongni''). After Kim Il-sung died, the post of president remained vacant (officially Kim Il-sung was proclaimed

Eternal President The Eternal leaders of North Korea, officially the Eternal leaders of ''Juche'' Korea, refers to the practice of granting posthumous titles to deceased leaders of North Korea. The official title was established by a line in the preamble to the ...

) as his son

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Ki ...

planned a new State reorganization. A constitution revision in 1998 abolished both the Central People's Committee and the Administration Council, re-creating the Cabinet.

Functions

The Premier represents and oversees the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

, which is charged with executing the policies decided by the

Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea ( ko, 조선로동당 중앙위원회) is the highest party body between national meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. According to WPK rules, th ...

. The office has no policy-making authority of its own. The Premier is nominally part of a triumvirate overseeing North Korea's executive branch, alongside the

Chairman 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 ...

and the President of the State Affairs Commission. According to the constitution of the DPRK, the SAC chairman, SPA Presidium president and Premier have powers equivalent to one-third of those of a president's powers in most presidential systems. The SPA presidium chairman conducts foreign relations, the premier handles domestic matters and heads the government, and the SAC chairman (known as the chairman of the

National Defence Commission The National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (NDC) () was the highest state institution for military and national defence leadership in North Korea, which also served as the highest governing institution of the cou ...

before 2016) commands the armed forces. However, the SAC chairman is constitutionally defined as "the highest post in the state" and the country's supreme leader. The Premier ranks as the lowest member of the executive triumvirate: significantly,

was NDC Chairman without interruption from 1993 until 2011, and Kim Yong-nam was President of the SPA Presidium from 1998 to 2019, while there have been six premiers since Kim Il-sung's death.

History

Functions

List of office holders

Timeline

See also

References