hankyoreh

April 9.

Kim Jong-il was reelected as chairman of North Korea’s National Defense Commission at the first session of the 12th Supreme People‘s Assembly April 9. It marks his fourth-term as commission chairman and the third as the leader of the North Korean state.

Official North Korean media announced the results as “major news” at noon the same day. North Korean media also reported, “The Supreme People’s Assembly revised the constitution,” but didn‘t reveal any specific details on the changes.

Kim Jong-il was first elected chairman of the National Defense Commission in April 1993 while his father Kim Il-sung was still alive. Following a three-year “mourning period” after Kim Il-sung’s death, Kim Jong-il was re-elected to the position. The re-election had taken place before North Korea had revised its constitution in September 1998 elevating the National Defense Commission to the serve as the highest political organ of the state, thereby giving it greater authority. He was then re-elected again in September 2003.

North Korea‘s constitution says the National Defense Commission “is the highest military leadership organ of state sovereignty and the overall national defense management institution.” It also describes the chairman’s role as one that “leads all national defense matters, commanding all forms of military power.” The commission has the authority to appoint and dismiss major military officials, declare war, and issue mobilizations.

The Rodong Sinmun, the official daily publication of the North Korean Workers Party, called the 12th Supreme People‘s Assembly session a “meeting that will set a new landmark in strengthening and developing the revolutionary government as it uplifts the Military First (Songun) policy. It also reported that the session’s significance is to be found in creating a stronger nation, making the country strong politically and militarily, and in strengthening the march (chongjin‘gun) towards becoming a powerful nation.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]