Supreme Leader (North Korean title)

The supreme leader (Korean: 최고령도자; Hanja: 最高領導者; MR: ch'oego ryŏngdoja) is the de facto leader of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Korean People's Army. The title is honorary, given only after death in the first two cases. More broadly it can also refer to the "Supreme Leader system" (수령제Suryŏngjelit.'Leadersystem'), which is defined as "a system that aims to ensure continuous leadership by the Supreme Leader across generations". Different titles were used in North Korean propaganda that could be translated from Korean as "Great Leader", "Dear Leader" or "Supreme Leader". Similar to other one-party states, the post of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (titled as chairman from 1948 to 1966, as First Secretary from 2012 to 2016, and Chairman again from 2016 to 2021) is the highest-priority political position of the Leader.