Premier of North Korea
Head of government
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The office was established in 1948, with Kim Il Sung serving as the inaugural premier. During this period, the premiership was the highest state post. In 1972, with the creation of the state of the state president, many of the office's powers were transferred to the presidency and the Central People's Committee. The premier is officially appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), which also appoints other members of the Cabinet on the nomination of the premier. The premier organizes and leads the Cabinet, and constitutionally represents the government of North Korea. The premier also attends the plenary meetings and the permanent committee meetings of the Cabinet. The incumbent premier is Pak Thae-song, since 29 December 2024.
History
Originally, under the 1948 Constitution of the DPRK, the Premier was the highest state post in North Korea and the head of government. Kim Il Sung himself inaugurated the post, keeping it for 24 years until 1972, while the ceremonial role of the head of state rested in the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.
The 1972 Constitution created the post of President, 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 Central People's Committee, the highest ruling council chaired by the president himself. The first premier after Kim Il Sung was his long-time ally Kim Il. The post was then officially known as Premier of the Administration Council (정무원 총리, jungmuwon chongni).
After Kim Il Sung died, the post of president remained vacant (officially Kim Il Sung was proclaimed Eternal President) as his son Kim Jong Il 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.
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Functions
The premier is officially elected by the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), which also has the right to recall the premier. The premier also nominates the candidacies for other members of the Cabinet, including vice premiers, the cabinet chairman, various ministers and other cabinet members, which are then appointed by the SPA. A newly-appointed premier takes an oath of allegiance in the SPA on behalf of other cabinet members.
The premier organizes and oversees the cabinet, and represents the government of North Korea. The premier also attends the plenary meetings and the permanent committee meetings of the Cabinet. The cabinet is charged with executing the policies decided by the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and the office effectively has no policy-making authority of its own.
Until 2019, the Premier was nominally part of a triumvirate overseeing North Korea's executive branch, alongside the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and the President of the State Affairs Commission. According to the constitution, the SAC President, SPA Standing Committee chairman and Premier had powers equivalent to one-third of those of a president's powers in most presidential systems. The SPA Standing Committee chairman conducted foreign relations, the premier handled domestic matters and headed the government, and the SAC President (known as the chairman of the National Defence Commission before 2016) commanded the armed forces. However, the SAC President is constitutionally defined as "the highest post in the state" and the country's supreme leader. In 2019, however, the SAC President was formally defined as the country's head of state.
The Premier ranked as the lowest member of the executive triumvirate: significantly, Kim Jong Il 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. Kim Tok Hun, the incumbent Premier, has assumed the second-ranking position, while Choe Ryong-hae, Chairman of the SPA Standing Committee, is currently ranked third.
List of office holders
The following is a list of premiers of North Korea since its founding in 1948.