The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Democratic People's Republic of Korea () is the commander-in-chief of the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) encompasses the combined military forces of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The KPA consists of five branches: the Korean People's Army Ground Force, Ground Force, the Ko ...

, the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

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 ...

. The office was established on 4 July 1950 and abolished with the passing of a new constitution in 1972. Since then, the office of

President of North Korea The president of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea () was the head of state of North Korea from 1972 to 1998. The position was only occupied by Kim Il Sung from 1972 until Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, his death in 1994. Aside ...

, 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 countr ...

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 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 led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

. But the title has been bestowed on both

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

and

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 ...

, and legally enforced through the offices of Chairman of the National Defense 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 The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (CMC) () is an organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) which heads the Korean People's Army (KPA). One of the CMC's primary functions is to authorize ...

History

As an office (1950–1972)

The position was first known as the Chief Commander of the Korean People's Army () which was established on 8 February 1948 along with the founding of the Korean People's Army. Minister of National Defense Choe Yong-gon was appointed to this position. On 4 July 1950, the 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 () with

being appointed to the position. This was part of the reorganization of the Korean People's Army during the North Korean invasion of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

at the initial stages of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Following the end of the Korean War, Kim Il Sung continued to exercise his powers as KPA Supreme Commander.

As a title (1972–present)

A 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,

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, who was elected to the position of first vice chairman of the National Defense Commission on 22 May 1990. Following Kim Jong 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'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 served as supreme commander until his death on 17 December 2011. Following this,

was appointed as KPA Supreme Commander on 30 December 2011 by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in accordance to Kim Jong Il's final instructions. At the time of his appointment as KPA Supreme Commander, he was the vice chairman of the

. 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. 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. The constitution was revised on 12 April 2019 which replaced the mention of "supreme commander" with "commander-in-chief."

References

{{Commanders of the Korean People's Army Military of North Korea Commanders in chief