Tag: Undo |
rv: This is no longer controversial among reliable sources. The addition of communism was made by myself in 2022 after adding sources to the article body and waiting five months for a rebuttal. If you think recent sources are in contradiction, please provide them in the article talk. I recommend reading this article's body and discussions I just archived at Talk:Workers' Party of Korea/Archive 3 before proceeding, however. Tag: Undo |
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{{Short description| |
{{Short description|Sole ruling party of North Korea}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} |
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{{coord|39|1|15.23|N|125|45|10.99|E|region:KP_type:landmark|display=title}} |
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{{Use shortened footnotes|date=June 2022}} |
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{{Infobox political party |
{{Infobox political party |
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| colorcode = {{Workers' Party of Korea |
| colorcode = {{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}} |
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| name = Workers' Party of Korea |
| name = Workers' Party of Korea |
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| native_name = |
| native_name = {{nobold|조선로동당}} |
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| native_name_lang = ko |
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| logo = WPK symbol.svg |
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| abbreviation = WPK |
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| leader1_title = [[Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea|Chairman]] |
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| logo = WPK symbol.svg |
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| leader1_name = [[Kim Jong-un]]<br />(9 May 2016 – present) |
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| leader1_title = {{nowrap|[[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|General Secretary]]}} |
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| leader1_name = [[Kim Jong Un]] |
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| leader2_name = {{plainlist| |
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| leader2_title = [[Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|Presidium]] |
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* [[Kim Jong-un]] |
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| leader2_name = {{plainlist| |
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* [[Choe Ryong-hae]]}} |
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* Kim Jong Un |
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| leader3_title = [[Executive Policy Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea|Vice Chairmen]] |
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* [[Kim Tok-hun]] |
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| leader3_name = {{plainlist| |
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* [[Choe Ryong-hae]] |
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* [[Pak Kwang-ho]]<ref name=SecondPlenum>{{Cite web |title=Second Plenum of Seventh WPK Central Committee |agency=KCNA |date=8 October 2017 |access-date=1 February 2019 |url= https://kcnawatch.co/newstream/281270/second-plenum-of-seventh-wpk-central-committee/}}</ref> |
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* [[Ri Pyong-chol]] |
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* [[Pak Thae-song]]<ref name=SecondPlenum/> |
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* [[Jo Yong-won]] |
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* [[Thae Jong-su]]<ref name=SecondPlenum/> |
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}} |
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* [[Pak Thae-dok]]<ref name=SecondPlenum/> |
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| youth_wing = {{nowrap|[[Socialist Patriotic Youth League]]}} |
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* [[An Jong-su]]<ref name=SecondPlenum/> |
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| wing1_title = [[Pioneer movement|Children's wing]] |
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* [[Choe Hwi]]<ref name=SecondPlenum/>}} |
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| wing1 = [[Korean Children's Union]] |
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| youth_wing = {{plainlist| |
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| wing2_title = [[Military|Armed wing]] |
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*[[Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Youth League|KKYL]] |
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| wing2 = [[Korean People's Army]] |
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| wing3_title = [[Paramilitary|Paramilitary wing]] |
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| wing3 = [[Worker-Peasant Red Guards]] |
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| wing1 = [[Korean People's Army|KPA]] |
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| wing4_title = South Korean [[Front organization|front]] |
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| wing2_title = [[Paramilitary|Paramilitary wing]] |
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| wing4 = [[Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front]] |
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| wing2 = [[Worker-Peasant Red Guards|WPRG]] |
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| foundation = {{start date and age|1949|6| |
| foundation = {{start date and age|1949|6|24|df=y}} |
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| merger = {{plainlist| |
| merger = {{plainlist| |
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* [[Workers' Party of North Korea |
* [[Workers' Party of North Korea]] |
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* [[Workers' Party of South Korea |
* [[Workers' Party of South Korea]] |
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}} |
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| headquarters = [[ |
| headquarters = [[Government Complex No. 1]], [[Chung-guyok]], [[Pyongyang]] |
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| newspaper = ''[[Rodong Sinmun]]'' |
| newspaper = ''[[Rodong Sinmun]]'' |
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| membership_year = |
| membership_year = 2021 {{estimation}} |
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| membership = {{increase}} ~6,500,000 |
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| membership = 4 million<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sandtorv |first1=Tormod |title=North Koreans care less about KWP membership than ever |url=https://www.nknews.org/2015/04/north-koreans-care-less-about-kwp-membership-than-ever/ |website=NK News |accessdate=20 December 2019 |date=21 April 2015}}</ref> |
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| ideology = {{ |
| ideology = {{Tree list}} |
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<!-- Do not make changes to the list of ideologies without discussing on the talk page first. --> |
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* ''[[Juche]]'' |
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* |
* [[Communism]] |
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* {{nowrap|[[Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism]]}} |
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| position = [[Far-left politics|Far-left]]<ref>{{cite book |language=fr |first=Sébastien|last=Falletti|title=Corée du Sud : Le goût du miracle: L'Âme des Peuples |url = https://books.google.com/?id=BhvSCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT81&lpg=PT81&dq=%22extr%C3%AAme+gauche+au+pouvoir+%C3%A0+pyongyang%22#v=onepage&q=%22extr%C3%AAme%20gauche%20au%20pouvoir%20%C3%A0%20pyongyang%22&f=false|publisher=[[Nevicata]] |quote=Entre ce courant droitier à Séoul et l'extrême gauche au pouvoir à Pyongyang, la conciliation est devenue impossible. ['Between this right-wing current in Seoul and the far left in power in Pyongyang, reconciliation has become impossible.'] |year=2016|page=|isbn=9782875230867}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Francisca Bastías|language=es |url = http://ayayay.tv/12-datos-sobre-corea-del-norte-que-te-costara-creer-que-son-reales/# |title=12 datos sobre Corea del Norte que te costará creer que son reales |quote=Hay muchos países fascinantes en el mundo, pero probablemente el más curioso y raro de todos sea Corea del Norte. Es un régimen totalitario y de extrema izquierda. ['There are many fascinating countries in the world, but probably the most curious and rare of all is North Korea. It is a totalitarian and far-left regime.']|date=12 January 2016|website=AyAyAy TV|accessdate=4 March 2018}}</ref><br /> |
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** ''[[Juche]]'' |
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| national = [[Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland|DFRF]] |
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** ''[[Songun]]'' |
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| international = [[International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties|IMCWP]] |
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{{Tree list/end}} |
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| seats1_title = [[Supreme People's Assembly]] |
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| position = [[Far-left politics|Far-left]] |
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| seats1 = {{Composition bar|607|687|hex={{Workers' Party of Korea/meta/color}}}} |
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| international = [[International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties|IMCWP]] |
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| colors = {{Color box|{{Workers' Party of Korea/meta/color}}|border=darkgray}} [[Red]] |
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| seats1_title = [[Supreme People's Assembly]] |
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| flag = Flag of the Workers' Party of Korea.svg |
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| seats1 = {{Composition bar|607|687|hex={{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
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| country = North Korea |
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| colors = {{Color box|{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}|border=darkgray}} [[Red]] |
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| blank3_title = Status |
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| anthem = "[[Long Live the Workers' Party of Korea]]" |
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| blank3 = {{plainlist| |
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| flag = Flag of the Workers' Party of Korea.svg |
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* Active: Ruling party in North Korea |
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| website = |
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* Outlawed in [[South Korea]] under the [[National Security Act (South Korea)|National Security Act]]}} |
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| country = North Korea |
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| website = [http://www.rodong.rep.kp/en/ ''Rodong Sinmun'', the official newspaper of the WPK Central Committee] |
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| blank3_title = Status |
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| anthem = "Long Live the Workers' Party of Korea"<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.dprktoday.com/index.php?type=2&no=6342 |script-title=ko:조선로동당 만세 |trans-title=Long Live the Workers' Party of Korea|language=ko|website=dprktoday.com |accessdate=15 January 2018}}</ref><br />{{Korean|"조선로동당만세"}}[[File:Long Live the Workers' Party of Korea.ogg|180px|Long Live the Workers' Party of Korea]] |
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| blank3 = Ruling party in North Korea; outlawed in [[South Korea]] under the [[National Security Act (South Korea)|National Security Act]] |
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| footnotes = |
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}} |
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{{Infobox Chinese |
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| title = Workers' Party of Korea |
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| context = north |
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| nkhangul = {{linktext|조선|로동|당}} |
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| nkhanja = {{linktext|朝鮮|勞動|黨}} |
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| nkmr = Chosŏn Rodongdang |
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| nkrr = Joseon Rodongdang| |
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| skhangul = {{linktext|북한|노동|당}} |
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| skhanja = {{linktext|北韓|勞動|黨}} |
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| skmr = Pukhan Nodongdang |
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| skrr = Bukhan Nodongdang |
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| tablewidth = 288 |
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| fontcolor = #FFFF00 |
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| color = {{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}} |
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}} |
}} |
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The '''Workers' Party of Korea''' ('''WPK'''){{efn|{{Korean|hangul=조선로동당|mr=Chosŏn Rodongdang}}}} is the sole [[ruling party]] of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as [[North Korea]]. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the [[Workers' Party of North Korea]] and the [[Workers' Party of South Korea]], the WPK is the oldest active party in [[Korea]]. It also controls the [[Korean People's Army]], North Korea's armed forces. The WPK is the largest party represented in the [[Supreme People's Assembly]] and coexists with two other legal parties that are completely subservient to the WPK{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=214}} and must accept the WPK's "[[Vanguard party|leading role]]" as a condition of their existence. The WPK is banned in the Republic of Korea ([[South Korea]]) under the [[National Security Act (South Korea)|National Security Act]] and is sanctioned by the [[United Nations]], the [[European Union]], [[Australia]], and the [[United States]].{{sfn|The White House|2016}} |
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{{anchor|Symbol}} |
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Officially, the WPK is a [[communist party]] guided by [[Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism]], a synthesis of the ideas of [[Kim Il Sung]] and [[Kim Jong Il]].<ref name="Kim 2021 speech">{{harvnb|Kim|2021}}: "Our Party never expects that there will be any fortuitous opportunity for us in paving the road for our people and in realizing their great aim and ideals to build socialism and communism.{{nbsp}}... When the hundreds of thousands of cell secretaries and officials across the Party unite its members firmly under the leadership of the Party Central Committee and give full play to their loyalty, patriotism and creative wisdom, our revolution will always emerge victorious in high spirits and the ideal of communism will surely come true."</ref><ref name="YNA communism">{{harvnb|Yonhap News Agency|2021}}: "The immediate aim of the Workers' Party of Korea is to build a prosperous and civilized socialist society in the northern half of the Republic and to realize the independent and democratic development of society on a nationwide scale, and the ultimate goal is to build a communist society in which the people's ideals are fully realized."</ref> The party is committed to ''[[Juche]]'', an ideology attributed to Kim Il Sung which promotes national independence and development through the efforts of the popular masses. Although ''Juche'' was originally presented as the Korean interpretation of [[Marxism–Leninism]], the party now presents it as a freestanding philosophy. The WPK recognizes the ruling [[Kim dynasty (North Korea)|Kim family]] as the ultimate source of its political thought. The fourth party conference, held in 2012, amended the party rules to state that Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism was "the only guiding idea of the party".{{sfn|Frank|Hoare|Köllner|Pares|2013|p=45}} Under Kim Jong Il, who governed as chairman of the [[National Defence Commission]], communism was steadily removed from party and state documents in favor of ''[[Songun]]'', or [[militarism|military-first]] politics. The military, rather than the working class, was established as the base of political power. However, his successor Kim Jong Un reversed this position in 2021, replacing ''Songun'' with "people-first politics" as the party's political method{{sfn|Yonhap News Agency|2021}} and reasserting the party's commitment to communism.<ref name="Kim 2021 speech"/><ref name="YNA communism"/> |
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The '''Workers' Party of Korea''' ('''WPK'''){{NoteTag|Sometimes referred to as the Korean Workers' Party (KWP).}} is the founding and [[ruling party|ruling]] [[political party]] of [[North Korea]]. It is the largest party represented in the [[Supreme People's Assembly]] and coexists ''[[de jure]]'' with two other legal parties making up the [[Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland]]. However, these minor parties are completely subservient to the WPK,{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=214}} and must accept the WPK's "[[vanguard party|leading role]]" as a condition of their existence. |
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The WPK is organized according to the [[Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System|Monolithic Ideological System]], conceived by [[Kim Yong-ju]] and Kim Jong Il. The highest body of the WPK is formally the party congress; however, before Kim Jong Un's tenure as party leader, a congress rarely occurred. Between 1980 and 2016, there were no congresses held. Although the WPK is organizationally similar to other communist parties, in practice it is far less institutionalized and informal politics plays a larger role than usual. Institutions such as the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Committee]], the [[Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea|Secretariat]], the [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Military Commission]] (CMC), the [[Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|Politburo]] and the Politburo's [[Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|Presidium]] have much less power than what is formally bestowed on them by [[Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea|the party rules]]. [[Kim Jong Un]] is the current party leader, serving as [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|General Secretary of the WPK]]. |
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WPK was founded in 1949 with the merger of the [[Workers' Party of North Korea]] and the [[Workers' Party of South Korea]]. The WPK also controls the [[Korean People's Army]]. WPK (and all of the other parties in the DPRK) remains illegal in [[South Korea]] under South Korea's own [[National Security Act (South Korea)|National Security Act]] and is sanctioned by [[Australia]], the [[European Union]], the [[United Nations]] and the [[United States]].<ref>[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/03/16/executive-order-blocking-property-government-north-korea-and-workers Executive Order -- Blocking Property of the Government of North Korea and the Workers' Party of Korea, and Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to North Korea]</ref> |
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{{TOC limit|3}} |
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The WPK is organized according to the [[Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System|Monolithic Ideological System]] and the [[Great Leader (concept)|Great Leader]], a system and theory conceived by [[Kim Yong-ju]] and [[Kim Jong-il]]. The highest body of the WPK is formally the Congress, but in practice a Congress occurs infrequently. Between 1980 and 2016, there were no congresses held. Although the WPK is organizationally similar to [[Communist party|communist parties]], in practice it is far less institutionalized and informal politics plays a larger role than usual. Institutions such as the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Committee]], the [[Executive Policy Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea|Executive Policy Bureau]], the [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Military Commission]] (CMC), the [[Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|Politburo]] and the Politburo's [[Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|Presidium]] have much less power than that formally bestowed on them by [[Charter of the Workers' Party of Korea|the party's charter]], which is little more than a nominal document. [[Kim Jong-un]] is the current WPK leader, serving as [[Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea|Chairman]] and CMC chairman. |
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The WPK is committed to ''[[Juche]]'', an ideology which has been described as a combination of [[collectivism]] and [[Korean nationalism|nationalism]]; and at the 4th Conference (held in 2012), the party charter was amended to state that [[Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism]] was "the only guiding idea of the party". At the 3rd Conference (held in 2010), the WPK removed a sentence from the preamble which expressed the party's commitment "to building a [[pure communism|communist society]]", replacing it with a new adherence to ''[[Songun]]'', the [[Militarism|"military-first" policies]] developed by Kim Jong-il. The 2009 revision had already removed all references to communism. Party ideology has recently focused on perceived [[Imperialism|imperialist]] enemies of the party and state; and on legitimizing the [[Kim dynasty (North Korea)|Kim family]]'s dominance of the political system. Before the rise of ''Juche'' and later ''Songun'', the party was committed to [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist thought]] as well, with its importance becoming greatly diminished over time. |
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The party's emblem is an adaptation of the communist [[hammer and sickle]], with a traditional [[Korean calligraphy]] brush. The symbols represent the industrial workers (hammer), peasants (sickle) and intelligentsia (ink brush). |
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==History== |
==History== |
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{{main|History of the Workers' Party of Korea}} |
{{main|History of the Workers' Party of Korea}} |
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{{Infobox Korean name |
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|title = '''Workers' Party of Korea''' |
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|image = Workers' Party of Korea.svg |
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|caption = "Workers' Party of Korea" in [[Hancha]] (top) and [[Chosŏn'gŭl]] (bottom) scripts |
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|context = north |
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|hangul = {{linktext|조선|로동|당}}, {{linktext|북한|노동|당}} |
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|hanja = {{linktext|lang=ko-Hant|朝鮮|勞動|黨}}, {{linktext|lang=ko-Hant|北韓|勞動|黨}} |
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|mr = Chosŏn Rodongdang, Bukhan Nodongdang |
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|rr = Joseon Rodongdang, Pukhan Nodongdang |
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|tablewidth = 288 |
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|fontcolor = #FFFF00 |
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|color = {{Workers' Party of Korea/meta/color}} |
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}} |
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===Founding and early years (1945–1953)=== |
===Founding and early years (1945–1953)=== |
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On 13 October 1945, the |
On 13 October 1945, the [[North Korean Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea]] (NKB–CPK) was established,{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=20}} with [[Kim Yong-bom]] as its first chairman.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=21}} However, the NKB–CPK remained subordinate to the [[Communist Party of Korea|CPK]] Central Committee, which was headquartered in Seoul and headed by [[Pak Hon-yong]].{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=22}} Two months later, at the 3rd Plenum of the NKB, Kim Yong-bom was replaced by [[Kim Il Sung]], an event which was probably orchestrated by the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|pp=21–22}} The North Korean Bureau became the [[Communist Party of North Korea]] in spring 1946, with Kim Il Sung being elected its chairman.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|pp=28–29}} On 22 July 1946, Soviet authorities in North Korea established the [[Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea|United Democratic National Front]], a [[popular front]] led by the Communist Party of North Korea.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=29}} The Communist Party of North Korea soon merged with the [[New People's Party of Korea]], a party primarily composed of communists from China.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=29}} A special commission of the two parties ratified the merger on 28 July 1946, and it became official the following day.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=31}} One month later (28–30 August 1946), the party held its [[1st Congress of the Workers' Party of North Korea|founding congress]], establishing the [[Workers' Party of North Korea]] (WPNK).{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=31}} The congress elected the former leader of the New People's Party of Korea [[Kim Tu-bong]] as the first WPNK chairman, with Kim Il Sung its appointed deputy chairman.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=31}} However, despite his formal downgrade in the party's hierarchy, Kim Il Sung remained its leader.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|pp=31–32}} |
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[[File:Kim Il-sung and Pak Hon-yong, Baik Namun in Pyungyang.jpg|thumb|[[Kim Il |
[[File:Kim Il-sung and Pak Hon-yong, Baik Namun in Pyungyang.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kim Il Sung]] (left) with [[Pak Hon-yong]] in [[Pyongyang]], 1948]] |
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Party control increased throughout the country after the congress.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|pp=33–40}} From 27–30 March 1948, the WPNK convened its [[2nd Congress of the Workers' Party of North Korea|2nd Congress]].{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=40}} While Kim Tu-bong was still the party's formal head, Kim Il-sung presented the main report to the congress.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=42}} In it he claimed that North Korea was "a base of democracy", in contrast to South Korea (which was, he believed, dictatorial).{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=42}} On 28 April 1948 a special session of the [[Supreme People's Assembly]] approved the constitution (proposed and written by WPNK cadres), which led to the official establishment of an independent North Korea.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=44}} It did not call for the establishment of an independent North Korea, but for a unified (communist) Korea; the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would be Seoul, not Pyongyang.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=45}} Kim Il-sung was the appointed head of government of the new state, with Kim Tu-bong heading the legislative branch.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=47}} A year later on 30 June 1949, the Workers' Party of Korea was created with the merger of the WPNK and the [[Workers' Party of South Korea]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/event/nkorea_nuclear/general_03c.htm|title=KBS WORLD Radio|work=kbs.co.kr}}</ref> |
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Party control increased throughout the country after the congress.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|pp=33–40}} From 27 to 30 March 1948, the WPNK convened its [[2nd Congress of the Workers' Party of North Korea|2nd Congress]].{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=40}} While Kim Tu-bong was still the party's formal head, Kim Il Sung presented the main report to the congress.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=42}} In it he claimed that North Korea was "a base of democracy", in contrast to South Korea, which he believed to be dictatorial.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=42}} On 28 April 1948 a special session of the [[Supreme People's Assembly]] approved the constitution proposed and written by WPNK cadres, which led to the official establishment of an independent North Korea.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=44}} It did not call for the establishment of an independent North Korea, but for a unified Korea under a communist government; the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would be Seoul, not Pyongyang.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=45}} Kim Il Sung was the appointed head of government of the new state, with Kim Tu-bong heading the legislative branch.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=47}} A year later on 24 June 1949, the Workers' Party of Korea was created with the merger of the WPNK and the [[Workers' Party of South Korea]].{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=74}} |
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Kim Il-sung was not the most ardent supporter of a military reunification of Korea; that role was played by the South Korean communists, headed by Pak Hon-yong.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=60}} After several meetings with [[Joseph Stalin]] (the [[List of leaders of the Soviet Union|leader of the Soviet Union]]), North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950—and thus began the [[Korean War]].{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=61}} With American intervention in the war the DPRK nearly collapsed, but it was saved by Chinese intervention in the conflict.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=61}} The war had the effect of weakening Soviet influence over Kim Il-sung and the WPK.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=62}} Around this time, the main fault lines in early WPK politics were created. Four factions formed: domestic (a group of WPK cadres who had remained in Korea during Japanese rule), Soviet Koreans (Koreans sent from the Soviet Union), Yanan (Koreans from China) and guerrillas (Kim Il-sung's personal faction).{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=62}} However, Kim would be unable to further strengthen his position until the end of the war.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=62}} |
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Kim Il Sung was not the most ardent supporter of a military reunification of Korea; that role was played by the South Korean communists, headed by Pak Hon-yong.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=60}} After several meetings between Kim Il Sung and [[List of leaders of the Soviet Union|Soviet leader]] [[Joseph Stalin]], North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950, thus beginning the [[Korean War]].{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=61}} With [[United States in the Korean War|American intervention]] in the war the DPRK nearly collapsed, but it was saved by [[People's Volunteer Army|Chinese intervention]] in the conflict.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=61}} The war had the effect of weakening Soviet influence over Kim Il Sung and the WPK.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=62}} Around this time, the main fault lines in early WPK politics were created. Four factions formed: the domestic faction (WPK cadres who had remained in Korea during Japanese rule), the Soviet faction (Koreans from the Soviet Union), the [[Yan'an faction]] (Koreans from China) and the guerrilla faction (Kim Il Sung's personal faction).{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=62}} However, Kim Il Sung would be unable to further strengthen his position until the end of the war.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=62}} |
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===Kim Il-sung's consolidation of power (1953–1980)=== |
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[[File:Mosaic Depicting Kim Il Sungs Homecoming, Pyongyang, North Korea (2907648510).jpg|thumb|left|Propaganda mosaic commemorating the triumphant homecoming of Kim Il-sung after he liberated Korea from Japan]] |
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Relations worsened between the WPK and the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU) when Stalin's successor, [[Nikita Khrushchev]], began pursuing a policy of [[de-Stalinization]].{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=65}} During the [[Sino–Soviet conflict]], an ideological conflict between the CPSU and the [[Communist Party of China]] (CPC), Kim Il-sung maneuvered between the two socialist superpowers; by doing so, he weakened their influence on the WPK.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=65}} By 1962 Kim Il-sung and the WPK favored the CPC over the CPSU in the ideological struggle, and "for a few years North Korea almost unconditionally supported the Chinese position on all important issues."{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=65}} The primary conflict between the WPK and the CPSU during this period was that Kim Il-sung did not support the denunciation of [[Stalinism]] (including Stalin's [[cult of personality]]), the creation of a [[collective leadership]] and the theory of [[peaceful coexistence]] between the capitalist and socialist worlds.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=65}} Kim Il-sung believed peaceful coexistence synonymous with capitulation, and knew that de-Stalinization in North Korea would effectively end his unlimited power over the WPK.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=65}} The result of the souring of relations between the CPSU and the WPK was that the Soviet Union discontinued aid to North Korea.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=66}} As a result, several industries were on the brink of disaster; China was unwilling to increase aid to North Korea.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=66}} [[Mao Zedong]] began the [[Cultural Revolution]] shortly thereafter, an event criticized by the WPK as "left-wing opportunism" and a manifestation of the "[[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]] theory of a [[permanent revolution]]."{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=66}} Relations towards the CPSU and the CPC stabilized during the 1960s, with the WPK making it clear it would remain neutral in the Sino–Soviet conflict,{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=66}} thus resulting in the 1966 launch of the ''Juche'' program aimed at national self-determination at all levels. This, in turn, strengthened Kim Il-Sung's position in the WPK.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=66}} |
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===Kim Il Sung's consolidation of power (1953–1980)=== |
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Beginning in the 1960s, Kim Il-sung's cult of personality reached new heights.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=70}} It had been no greater than Stalin's or Mao's until 1972, when [[Day of the Sun|his birthday]] on April 15 became the country's main [[Public holidays in North Korea|public holiday]] and statues of him began to be built nationwide.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=70}} Kim became known as "Great Leader", the "Sun of the Nation", "The Iron All-Victorious General" and "Marshal of the All-Mighty Republic" in WPK and state publications; official propaganda stated that "burning loyalty to the leader" was one of the main characteristics of any Korean.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=70}} |
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[[File:Mosaic Depicting Kim Il Sungs Homecoming, Pyongyang, North Korea (2907648510).jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Propaganda mosaic depicting Kim Il Sung's first public speech given in Pyongyang in September 1945, after the [[National Liberation Day of Korea|liberation of Korea from Japanese occupation]].]] |
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Relations worsened between the WPK and the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU) when Stalin's successor, [[Nikita Khrushchev]], began pursuing a policy of [[de-Stalinization]].{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=65}} During the [[Sino–Soviet conflict]], an ideological conflict between the CPSU and the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP), Kim Il Sung manoeuvred between the two socialist superpowers; by doing so, he weakened their influence on the WPK.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=65}} By 1962 Kim Il Sung and the WPK favored the CCP over the CPSU in the ideological struggle, and "for a few years North Korea almost unconditionally supported the Chinese position on all important issues."{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=65}} The primary conflict between the WPK and the CPSU during this period was that Kim Il Sung did not support the denunciation of [[Stalinism]], the creation of a [[collective leadership]], and the theory of [[peaceful coexistence]] between the capitalist and socialist worlds.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=65}} Kim Il Sung believed peaceful coexistence to be synonymous with capitulation and knew that de-Stalinization in North Korea would effectively end his unlimited power over the WPK.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=65}} The result of the souring of relations between the CPSU and the WPK was that the Soviet Union discontinued aid to North Korea.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=66}} China was meanwhile unwilling to increase its aid, and, as a result, several industries in North Korea were on the brink of disaster.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=66}} [[Mao Zedong]] began the [[Cultural Revolution]] shortly thereafter, an event criticized by the WPK as "left-wing opportunism" and a manifestation of the "[[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]] theory of a [[permanent revolution]]."{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=66}} Relations between the CPSU and the CCP stabilized during the 1960s, with the WPK making it clear it would remain neutral in the Sino–Soviet conflict,{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=66}} thus resulting in the 1966 launch of the ''Juche'' program aimed at national self-determination at all levels. This, in turn, strengthened Kim Il Sung's position in the WPK.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=66}} |
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Kim Il-sung and his guerilla faction had purged the WPK of its opposing factions during the 1950s and the 1960s, to the dismay of both the CPC and the CPSU.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=62}} The domestic faction was the first to go (in 1953–55), followed by the Yan'an faction in 1957–58 and the Soviet Koreans (along with anyone else deemed unfaithful to the WPK leadership) in the 1957–62 purge.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|pp=62–63}} According to historian [[Andrei Lankov]], "Kim Il-sung had become not only supreme, but also the omnipotent ruler of North Korea—no longer merely 'first amongst equals', as had been the case in the late 1940s".{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=63}} After purging his WPK opposition, Kim Il-sung consolidated his power base with [[nepotism]] and hereditary succession in the Kim family and the guerilla faction.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=72}} Beginning in the late 1980s, "a high (and increasing) proportion of North Korean high officials have been sons of high officials."{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=72}} Since the 1960s, Kim Il-sung had appointed family members to positions of power.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=73}} By the early 1990s, a number of leading national offices were held by people in his family: [[Kang Song-san]] ([[Premier of North Korea|Premier]] of the [[Government of North Korea|Administrative Council]] and member of the WPK Secretariat), [[Pak Song-chol]] ([[Vice President of North Korea|Vice President]]), [[Hwang Jang-yop]] and [[Kim Chung-rin]] (members of the WPK Secretariat), [[Kim Yong-sun]] (Head of the [[International Department of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK International Department]] and member of the WPK Secretariat), [[Kang Hui-won]] (Secretary of the [[Pyongyang Municipal Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK Pyongyang Municipal Committee]] and Deputy Premier of the Administrative Council), [[Kim Tal-hyon]] ([[Ministry of Foreign Trade (North Korea)|Minister of Foreign Trade]]), [[Kim Chan-ju]] ([[Ministry of Agriculture (North Korea)|Minister of Agriculture]] and Deputy Chairman of the Administrative Council) and [[Yang Hyong-sop]] (President of the [[Academy of Social Sciences (North Korea)|Academy of Social Sciences]] and chairman of the [[Supreme People's Assembly]]).{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=73}} These individuals were appointed solely because of their ties to the [[Kim dynasty (North Korea)|Kim family]], and presumably retain their positions as long as the Kim family controls the WPK and the country.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=73}} The reason for Kim's support of nepotism (his own and that of the guerrilla faction) can be explained by the fact that he did not want the [[nomenklatura|party bureaucracy]] to threaten his—and his son's—rule as it did in other socialist states.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=73}} |
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Beginning in the 1960s, Kim Il Sung's cult of personality reached new heights.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=70}} It had been no greater than Stalin's or Mao's until 1972, when [[Day of the Sun|his birthday]] on 15 April became the country's main [[Public holidays in North Korea|public holiday]] and statues of him began to be built nationwide.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=70}} Kim became known as "Great Leader", the "Sun of the Nation", "The Iron All-Victorious General" and "Marshal of the All-Mighty Republic" in WPK and state publications; official propaganda stated that "burning loyalty to the leader" was one of the main characteristics of any Korean.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=70}} |
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It was first generally believed by foreign observers that Kim Il-sung was planning for his brother, [[Kim Yong-ju]], to succeed him.{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} Kim Yong-ju's authority gradually increased, until he became co-chairman of the North–South Coordination Committee.{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} From late 1972 to the [[6th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea|6th WPK Congress]], Kim Yong-ju became an increasingly remote figure in the regime. At the 6th Congress he lost his Politburo and Central Committee seats,{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} and rumors that Kim Il-sung had begun grooming Kim Jong-il in 1966 were confirmed.{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} From 1974 to the 6th Congress, Kim Jong-il (called the "Party centre" by North Korean media) was the second most powerful man in North Korea.{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} His selection was criticized, with his father accused of creating a dynasty or turning North Korea into a [[Feudalism|feudal state]].{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=434}} |
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Kim Il Sung and his guerilla faction had purged the WPK of its opposing factions during the 1950s and the 1960s, to the dismay of both the CCP and the CPSU.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=62}} The domestic faction was the first to go (in 1953–55), followed by the Yan'an faction in 1957–58 and the Soviet Koreans (along with anyone else deemed unfaithful to the WPK leadership) in the 1957–62 purge.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|pp=62–63}} According to historian [[Andrei Lankov]], "Kim Il Sung had become not only supreme but also the omnipotent ruler of North Korea—no longer merely 'first amongst equals, as had been the case in the late 1940s".{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=63}} After purging his WPK opposition, Kim Il Sung consolidated his power base with [[nepotism]] and hereditary succession in the Kim family and the guerilla faction.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=72}} Beginning in the late 1980s, "a high (and increasing) proportion of North Korean high officials have been sons of high officials."{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=72}} Since the 1960s, Kim Il Sung had appointed family members to positions of power.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=73}} By the early 1990s, a number of leading national offices were held by people in his family: [[Kang Song-san]] ([[Premier of North Korea|Premier]] of the [[Government of North Korea|Administrative Council]] and member of the WPK Secretariat), [[Pak Song-chol]] ([[Vice President of North Korea|Vice President]]), [[Hwang Jang-yop]] and [[Kim Chung-rin]] (members of the WPK Secretariat), [[Kim Yong-sun]] (Head of the [[International Department of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK International Department]] and member of the WPK Secretariat), [[Kang Hui-won]] (Secretary of the [[Pyongyang Municipal Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK Pyongyang Municipal Committee]] and Deputy Premier of the Administrative Council), [[Kim Tal-hyon]] ([[Ministry of Foreign Trade (North Korea)|Minister of Foreign Trade]]), [[Kim Chan-ju]] ([[Ministry of Agriculture (North Korea)|Minister of Agriculture]] and Deputy Chairman of the Administrative Council) and [[Yang Hyong-sop]] (President of the [[Academy of Social Sciences (North Korea)|Academy of Social Sciences]] and chairman of the [[Supreme People's Assembly]]).{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=73}} These individuals were appointed solely because of their ties to the [[Kim dynasty (North Korea)|Kim family]], and presumably retain their positions as long as the Kim family controls the WPK and the country.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=73}} The reason for Kim's support of nepotism (his own and that of the guerrilla faction) can be explained by the fact that he did not want the [[nomenklatura|party bureaucracy]] to threaten his—and his son's—rule as it did in other socialist states.{{sfn|Lankov|2002|p=73}} |
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===Kim Jong-il's apprenticeship and rule (1980–2011)=== |
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[[File:Kim Jong il Portrait-2.jpg|thumb|Although [[Kim Jong-il]] headed the WPK with no pretense of following the party charter, it was revitalized at the 3rd Conference at the end of his rule]] |
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With Kim Jong-il's official appointment as [[heir apparent]] at the 6th Congress, power became more centralized in the Kim family.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|p=105}} WPK officials began to speak openly about his succession, and beginning in 1981 he began to participate in (and lead) tours.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|p=105}} In 1982 he was made a [[Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] and wrote ''[[On the Juche Idea]]''.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|p=105}} While foreign observers believed that Kim Jong-il's appointment would increase participation by the younger generation, in ''On the Juche Idea'' he made it clear that his leadership would not mark the beginning of a new generation of leaders.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|pp=105–106}} The WPK could not address the crisis facing Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il's leadership at home and abroad, in part because of the [[gerontocracy]] at the highest level of the WPK and the state.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|p=106}} |
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It was first generally believed by foreign observers that Kim Il Sung was planning for his brother, [[Kim Yong-ju]], to succeed him.{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} Kim Yong-ju's authority gradually increased, until he became co-chairman of the North-South Coordination Committee.{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} From late 1972 to the [[6th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea|6th WPK Congress]], Kim Yong-ju became an increasingly remote figure in the regime. At the 6th Congress, he lost his Politburo and Central Committee seats,{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} and rumours that Kim Il Sung had begun grooming Kim Jong Il in 1966 were confirmed.{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} From 1974 to the 6th Congress, Kim Jong Il (called the "Party centre" by North Korean media) was the second most powerful man in North Korea.{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} His selection was criticized, with his father accused of creating a dynasty or turning North Korea into a [[Feudalism|feudal state]].{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=434}} |
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With the death of [[O Jin-u]] on 25 February 1995, Kim Jong-il became the sole remaining living member of the Presidium (the highest body of the WPK when the Politburo and the Central Committee are not in session).{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=7}} While no member list of the [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK Central Military Commission]] (CMC, the highest party organ on military affairs) was published from 1993 to 2010, there were clear signs of movement in the military hierarchy during 1995.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=8}} For the WPK's 50th anniversary, Kim Jong-il initiated a reshuffling of the CMC (and the military leadership in general) to appease the old guard and younger officials.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=8}} He did not reshuffle the WPK Central Committee or the government, however, and during the 1990s the changes to its membership were caused mostly by its members [[Death by natural causes|dying of natural causes]].{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=11}} |
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===Kim Jong Il's rule (1980–2011)=== |
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Beginning in 1995, Kim Jong-il favored the military over the WPK and the state.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=11}} Problems began to mount as an [[economic crisis]], coupled with a [[North Korean famine|famine]] in which at least half a million people died, weakened his control of the country.{{sfn|Gause|2011|pp=11–13}} Instead of recommending structural reforms Kim began to criticize the WPK's lack of control over the economy, lambasting its local and provincial branches for their inability to implement central-level instructions.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=13}} At a speech celebrating the 50th anniversary of [[Kim Il-sung University]], he said: "The reason why people are loyal to the instructions of the Central Committee is not because of party organizations and workers, but because of my authority."{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=13}} Kim Jong-il said that his father had told him to avoid economics, claiming that it was better left to experts. After this speech, the WPK's responsibility to control the economy was given to the Administrative Council (the central government).{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=13}} By late 1996 Kim Jong-il concluded that neither the WPK nor the central government could run the country, and began shifting control to the military.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=15}} |
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[[File:Kim Jong il Portrait-2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Although [[Kim Jong Il]] headed the WPK with no pretence of following the party rules, it was revitalized at the 3rd Conference at the end of his rule.]] |
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With Kim Jong Il's official appointment as [[heir apparent]] at the 6th Congress, power became more centralized in the Kim family.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|p=105}} WPK officials began to speak openly about his succession, and beginning in 1981 he began to participate in (and lead) tours.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|p=105}} In 1982, he was made a [[Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] and wrote ''[[On the Juche Idea]]''.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|p=105}} While foreign observers believed that Kim Jong Il's appointment would increase participation by the younger generation, in ''On the Juche Idea'' he made it clear that his leadership would not mark the beginning of a new generation of leaders.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|pp=105–106}} The WPK could not address the crisis facing Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il's leadership at home and abroad, in part because of the [[gerontocracy]] at the highest level of the WPK and the state.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|p=106}} |
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[[File:Party-Foundation-Monument.jpg|thumb|[[Monument to Party Founding|The Monument to Party Founding]] in Pyongyang, erected in 1995]] |
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On 8 July 1997, the three-year mourning period for Kim Il-sung ended.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} Later that year, on 8 October, Kim Jong-il was appointed to the newly established office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} There was considerable discussion by foreign experts of why Kim Jong-il was appointed General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, instead of succeeding his father as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} In a clear breach of the WPK charter, Kim Jong-il was appointed WPK General Secretary in a joint announcement by the 6th Central Committee and the CMC rather than elected by a plenum of the Central Committee.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} Although it was believed that Kim Jong-il would call a congress shortly after his appointment (to elect a new WPK leadership), he did not.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} The WPK would not be revitalized organizationally until the 3rd Conference in 2010.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} Until then, Kim Jong-il ruled as an [[Autocracy|autocrat]];{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} only in WPK institutions considered important were new members and leaders appointed to take the place of dying officials.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} The 10th [[Supreme People's Assembly]] convened on 5 September 1998, amended the [[Constitution of North Korea|North Korean constitution]].{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=22}} The [[Constitutional amendment|amended]] constitution made the [[National Defense Commission]] (NDC), previously responsible for supervising the military, the highest state organ.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=23}} Although the new constitution gave the cabinet and the NDC more independence from WPK officials, it did not weaken the party.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=24}} Kim Jong-il remained WPK General Secretary, controlling the [[Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers' Party of Korea|Organization and Guidance Department]] (OGD) and other institutions.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=24}} While the central WPK leadership composition was not renewed at a single stroke until 2010, the WPK retained its important role as a [[mass organization]].{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=20}} |
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[[File:Monument to the Founding of the Worker's Party 01.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Monument to Party Founding]] in Pyongyang, erected in 1995.]] |
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On 26 June 2010, the Politburo announced that it was summoning delegates for the 3rd Conference,{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=20}} with its official explanation the need to "reflect the demands of the revolutionary development of the Party, which is facing critical changes in bringing about the strong and prosperous state and chuche [Juche] development."{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=20}} The conference met on 28 September, revising the party charter and electing (and dismissing) members of the Central Committee, the Secretariat, the Politburo, the Presidium and other bodies.{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=20}} The WPK removed a sentence from the preamble which expressed the party's commitment "to building a [[pure communism|communist society]]", replacing it with a new adherence to ''[[Songun]]'', the [[Militarism|"military-first" policies]] developed by Kim Jong-il.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=wpYkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=the+3rd+Conference+(held+in+2010),+the+WPK+removed+a+sentence+from+the+preamble+expressing+the+party's+commitment+%22to+building+a+communist+society%22,+replacing+it+with+a+new+adherence+to+Songun&source=bl&ots=5S0YB0nfus&sig=ACfU3U2I99-YWPqSjkFF-t3E0VyHOpI3yQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi83t_839XkAhUjwsQBHZMqAfIQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=the%203rd%20Conference%20(held%20in%202010),%20the%20WPK%20removed%20a%20sentence%20from%20the%20preamble%20expressing%20the%20party's%20commitment%20%22to%20building%20a%20communist%20society%22,%20replacing%20it%20with%20a%20new%20adherence%20to%20Songun&f=false|title=The Legacy of Kim Jong-un and the Workers' Party in North Korea – A One-Party State facilitating Militarism, Nuclear Armament and Disregard for Human Rights|last=O'Doherty|first=Dr Mark|date=2017-04-16|publisher=|year=|isbn=9781365896538|location=|pages=34|language=en|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Kim Jong-un]] was confirmed as heir apparent;{{sfn|Gause|2013|pp=30–32}} Vice Marshal [[Ri Yong-ho (general)|Ri Yong-ho]] and General [[Kim Kyong-hui]] (Kim Jong-il's sister) were appointed to leading positions in the [[Korean People's Army]] and the WPK to help him consolidate power.{{sfn|Choi|Hibbitts|2010|p=3}} The following year, on 17 December 2011, [[Death and funeral of Kim Jong-il|Kim Jong-il died]].{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=19}} |
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With the death of [[O Jin-u]] on 25 February 1995, Kim Jong Il became the sole remaining living member of the Presidium (the highest body of the WPK when the Politburo and the Central Committee are not in session).{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=7}} While no member list of the [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK Central Military Commission]] (CMC, the highest party organ on military affairs) was published from 1993 to 2010, there were clear signs of movement in the military hierarchy during 1995.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=8}} For the WPK's 50th anniversary, Kim Jong Il initiated a reshuffling of the CMC (and the military leadership in general) to appease the old guard and younger officials.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=8}} He did not reshuffle the WPK Central Committee or the government, however, during the 1990s the changes to its membership were caused mostly by its members [[Death by natural causes|dying of natural causes]].{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=11}} |
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===Kim Jong-un's rule (2011–present)=== |
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[[File:Kim Jong-un April 2019 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Chairman [[Kim Jong-un]] in 2019]] |
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After Kim Jong-il's death, the North Korean elite consolidated Kim Jong-un's position; he was declared in charge of the country when the official report of his father's death was published on 19 December. On 26 December 2011, official newspaper ''[[Rodong Sinmun]]'' hailed him as supreme leader of the party and state. On 30 December a meeting of the Politburo officially appointed him [[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army]], after he was allegedly nominated for the position by Kim Jong-il in October 2011 (the anniversary of Kim Jong-il's becoming general secretary). Despite the fact that he was not a Politburo member, Kim Jong-un was named to the unofficial position of supreme leader of the Workers' Party of Korea. |
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Beginning in 1995, Kim Jong Il favoured the military over the WPK and the state.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=11}} Problems began to mount as an [[economic crisis]], coupled with a [[North Korean famine|famine]] in which at least half a million people died, weakened his control of the country.{{sfn|Gause|2011|pp=11–13}} Instead of recommending structural reforms, Kim began to criticize the WPK's lack of control over the economy, lambasting its local and provincial branches for their inability to implement central-level instructions.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=13}} At a speech celebrating the 50th anniversary of [[Kim Il Sung University]], he said: "The reason why people are loyal to the instructions of the Central Committee is not because of party organizations and workers, but because of my authority."{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=13}} Kim Jong Il said that his father had told him to avoid economics, claiming that it was better left to experts. After this speech, the WPK's responsibility to control the economy was given to the Administrative Council (the central government).{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=13}} By late 1996 Kim Jong Il concluded that neither the WPK nor the central government could run the country, and began shifting control to the military.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=15}} A constitutional amendment in 1998 later redirected supreme state power in North Korea to the leadership of the military, rather than the WPK.{{sfn|Yoon|2003|p=1301}} |
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After celebrations for Kim Jong-il's 70th birth anniversary, during which he was elevated to the rank of [[Taewonsu]] — usually translated as [[Grand Marshal]] or [[Generalissimo]] — on 18 February the Politburo announced the 4th Party Conference (scheduled for mid-April 2012, near the 100th birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung) "to glorify the sacred revolutionary life and feats of Kim Jong-il for all ages and accomplish the Juche cause, the Songun revolutionary cause, rallied close around Kim Jong-un".<ref name=4thconference>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-02/20/c_131419697.htm|title=DPRK's ruling party to convene conference in April|work=xinhuanet.com|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108212525/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-02/20/c_131419697.htm|archivedate=2014-01-08}}</ref> |
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On 8 July 1997, the three-year mourning period for Kim Il Sung ended.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} Later that year, on 8 October, Kim Jong Il was appointed to the newly established office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} There was considerable discussion by foreign experts about why Kim Jong Il was appointed General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, instead of succeeding his father as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} In a clear breach of the WPK rules, Kim Jong Il was appointed WPK General Secretary in a joint announcement by the 6th Central Committee and the CMC rather than elected by a plenum of the Central Committee.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} Although it was believed that Kim Jong Il would call a congress shortly after his appointment (to elect a new WPK leadership), he did not.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} The WPK would not be revitalized organizationally until the 3rd Conference in 2010.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} Until then, Kim Jong Il ruled as an [[Autocracy|autocrat]];{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} only in WPK institutions considered important were new members and leaders appointed to take the place of dying officials.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=18}} The 10th [[Supreme People's Assembly]] convened on 5 September 1998, amended the [[Constitution of North Korea|North Korean constitution]].{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=22}} The [[Constitutional amendment|amended]] constitution made the [[National Defense Commission]] (NDC), previously responsible for supervising the military, the highest state organ.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=23}} Although the new constitution gave the cabinet and the NDC more independence from WPK officials, it did not weaken the party.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=24}} Kim Jong Il remained WPK General Secretary, controlling the [[Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers' Party of Korea|Organization and Guidance Department]] (OGD) and other institutions.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=24}} While the central WPK leadership composition was not renewed in a single stroke until 2010, the WPK retained its important role as a [[mass organization]].{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=20}} |
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At the 4th Party Conference on 11 April, Kim Jong-il was declared Eternal General Secretary and Kim Jong-un was elected to the newly created post of [[First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea]] and the Presidium. The conference proclaimed [[Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism]] "the only guiding idea of the party".<ref name=4thconference2>[https://archive.is/20130218222954/http://www.rodong.rep.kp/InterEn/index.php?strPageID=SF01_02_01&newsID=2012-04-12-0006 4th Party Conference of WPK Held, ''Rodong Sinmun'', 12 April 2012.]</ref> |
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On 26 June 2010, the Politburo announced that it was summoning delegates for the 3rd Conference,{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=20}} with its official explanation of the need to "reflect the demands of the revolutionary development of the Party, which is facing critical changes in bringing about the strong and prosperous state and Juche development."{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=20}} The conference met on 28 September, revising the party rules and electing (and dismissing) members of the Central Committee, the Secretariat, the Politburo, the Presidium and other bodies.{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=20}} [[Kim Jong Un]] was confirmed as heir apparent;{{sfn|Gause|2013|pp=30–32}} Vice Marshal [[Ri Yong-ho (general)|Ri Yong-ho]] and General [[Kim Kyong-hui]] (Kim Jong Il's sister) were appointed to leading positions in the [[Korean People's Army]] and the WPK to help him consolidate power.{{sfn|Choi|Hibbitts|2010|p=3}} The following year, on 17 December 2011, [[Death and state funeral of Kim Jong Il|Kim Jong Il died]].{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=19}} |
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In December 2013, the party experienced its first open inner struggle after decades with the purge of [[Jang Song-taek]]. |
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===Kim Jong Un's rule (2011–present)=== |
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The party has seen somewhat of a revival under Kim Jong-un, with more frequent meetings. There have been two conferences, after a gap of 44 years, and a congress between 2010 and 2016.<ref name="38north-20180419">{{cite web |url=https://www.38north.org/2018/04/rfrank041918/ |title=The North Korean Parliamentary Session and Budget Report 2018: Cautious Optimism for the Summit Year |last=Frank |first=Ruediger |publisher=U.S.-Korea Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies |work=38 North |date=19 April 2018 |accessdate=22 April 2018}}</ref> After staging a huge [[military parade]] in celebration of the party's 70th [[Public holidays in North Korea|anniversary]] on 10 October 2015, the Politburo announced that its 7th Congress will be held on May 6, 2016 after a 36-year hiatus. The congress announced the first Five-Year Plan since the 1980s and gave Kim Jong-un the new title of Chairman, which replaces the previous office of First Secretary.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-congress-kim-idUSKCN0Y015Y|title=North Korea leader Kim becomes chairman of ruling Workers' Party: NHK|date=2016-05-09|work=Reuters|access-date=2020-01-06|language=en}}</ref> |
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[[File:Kim Jong-un April 2019 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|[[Kim Jong Un]] became the leader of the party following his father's death in 2011.]] |
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After Kim Jong Il's death, the North Korean elite consolidated Kim Jong Un's position; he was declared in charge of the country when the official report of his father's death was published on 19 December.{{sfn|McCurry|2011a}} On 26 December 2011, the official newspaper ''[[Rodong Sinmun]]'' hailed him as supreme leader of the party and the state.{{sfn|McCurry|2011b}} On 30 December a meeting of the Politburo officially appointed him [[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army]], after he was nominated for the position by Kim Jong Il in October 2011 (the anniversary of Kim Jong Il's becoming general secretary).{{sfn|AFP|2011}} Despite the fact that he was not a Politburo member, Kim Jong Un was named to the unofficial position of the supreme leader of the Workers' Party of Korea.{{sfn|Frank|Hoare|Köllner|Pares|2011|p=50}} |
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After celebrations for Kim Jong Il's 70th birth anniversary, the Politburo announced on 18 February the 4th Party Conference (which was scheduled for mid-April 2012, near the 100th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung) "to glorify the sacred revolutionary life and feats of Kim Jong Il for all ages and accomplish the ''Juche'' cause, the ''Songun'' revolutionary cause, rallied close around Kim Jong Un".{{sfn|Chen|2012}} Kim Jong Un was promoted to the rank of "[[Wonsu|Marshal of the Republic]]" in July 2012.{{sfn|BBC News|2012}} At the 4th Party Conference on 11 April, Kim Jong Il was declared Eternal General Secretary and Kim Jong Un was elected to the newly created post of First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Presidium. The conference amended the party rules to say [[Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism]] "the only guiding idea of the party".{{sfn|Rodong Sinmun|2012}}{{sfn|Frank|Hoare|Köllner|Pares|2013|p=45}} In December 2013, the party experienced its first open inner struggle in decades with the purge of [[Jang Song-thaek]].{{sfn|Oh|2013}} |
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The party has seen somewhat of a revival under Kim Jong Un, with more frequent meetings. There have been two conferences, after a gap of 44 years, and a congress between 2010 and 2016.{{sfn|Frank|2018}} After staging a huge [[military parade]] in celebration of the party's 70th [[Party Foundation Day|anniversary]] on 10 October 2015, the Politburo announced that its [[7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea|7th Congress]] will be held on 6 May 2016 after a 36-year hiatus. The congress announced the first Five-Year Plan since the 1980s and gave Kim Jong Un the new title of chairman, which replaced the previous office of First Secretary.{{sfn|Reuters|2016}} In January 2021, the [[8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea|8th WPK Congress]] was convened, where Kim Jong Un was given the title of general secretary, replacing the title of chairman.{{sfn|AP News|2021}} The congress also marked the consolidation of WPK control over the army and a decrease in the army's power, with the number of military delegates in both the congress and the Politburo decreasing.{{sfn|Lee|2021}} It was reported in June 2021 that the party set up the post of 'First Secretary', with speculation that [[Jo Yong-won]]{{sfn|Koko|2021}} or [[Kim Tok Hun]], the [[Premier of North Korea]] would fill the position.{{sfn|Seo|Berlinger|2021}} Starting from 2021, Kim Jong Un has started reviving communism and communist terminology within the WPK, with the ideology being again written to the party rules.<ref name="Kim 2021 speech"/>{{sfn|Lankov|2021}} He also increasingly replaced ''Songun'' with "people-first politics" in the party rules.{{sfn|Yonhap News Agency|2021}} |
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==Ideology== |
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{{main|Ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea}} |
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The WPK maintains a leftist image,{{sfn|Myers|2011|pp=9, 11–12}} and normally sends a delegation to the [[International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties]], where it has some support;{{sfn|KKE|2011}} its 2011 resolution, "Let us jointly commemorate the Birth Centenary of the Great Leader comrade President Kim Il Sung as a Grand Political Festival of the World's Humankind", was signed by 30 of the 79 attending parties.{{sfn|Solidnet.org|2011}} The WPK also sees itself as part of the worldwide leftist and [[socialist]] movements; during the [[Cold War]], the WPK and North Korea had a policy of "exporting revolution", aiding leftist guerrillas worldwide. Additionally, its party rules say its ultimate aim is to "realize a communist society in which the people's ideals are fully realized" and further state it upholds "the revolutionary principles of Marxism–Leninism".{{sfn|Yonhap News Agency|2021}} However, [[Brian Reynolds Myers]], [[Jasper Becker]], and [[Suh Dae-sook|Dae-Sook Suh]] argue that the WPK's ideology is xenophobic, racist, and nationalist.{{sfn|Myers|2011|pp=9, 11–12}}{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=66}}{{sfn|Suh|1988|pp=139, 313}} |
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===''Juche''=== |
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{{main|Juche}} |
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===={{anchor|Relation to Marxism–Leninism}}Relationship to Marxism–Leninism==== |
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Although the term "''Juche''" was first used in Kim Il Sung's speech (given in 1955), "[[On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work|On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing ''Juche'' in Ideological Work]]", ''Juche'' as a coherent ideology did not develop until the 1960s.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|pp=138–139}} Similar to Stalinism, it led to the development of an unofficial (later formalized) ideological system defending the central party leadership.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=139}} Until about 1972, ''Juche'' was called a "creative application" of Marxism–Leninism and "the Marxism–Leninism of today", and Kim Il Sung was hailed as "the greatest Marxist–Leninist of our time".{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=139}} However, by 1976 ''Juche'' had become a separate ideology; Kim Jong Il called it "a unique ideology, the contents and structures which cannot simply be described as Marxist–Leninist."{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=139}} |
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At the [[5th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea|5th Congress]], ''Juche'' was elevated to the same level as Marxism–Leninism.{{sfn|So|Suh|2013|p=107}} It gained in prominence during the 1970s, and at the 6th Congress in 1980 it was recognized as the WPK's only ideology.{{sfn|So|Suh|2013|p=107}} During the following decade, ''Juche'' transformed from practical to pure ideology.{{sfn|So|Suh|2013|p=107}} ''[[On the Juche Idea]]'', the primary text on ''Juche'', was published in Kim Jong Il's name in 1982.{{sfn|Kwak|2009|p=19}} ''Juche'' is, according to this study, inexorably linked with Kim Il Sung and "represents the guiding idea of the [[History of North Korea|Korean Revolution]]{{nbsp}}... we are confronted with the honourable task of modelling the whole society on the ''Juche'' idea".{{sfn|Kwak|2009|p=19}} Kim Jong Il says in the work that ''Juche'' is not simply a creative application of Marxism–Leninism, but "a new era in the development of human history".{{sfn|Kwak|2009|p=19}} The WPK's break with basic Marxist–Leninist premises is spelt out clearly in the article, "Let Us March Under the Banner of Marxism–Leninism and the ''Juche'' Idea".{{sfn|Kwak|2009|p=20}} |
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Despite ''Juche''{{'s}} conception as a creative application of [[Marxism]] and [[Leninism]],{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=302}} some scholars argue it has little direct connection to them.{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=309}} Policies may be explained without a Marxist or Leninist rationale, making the identification of specific influences from these ideologies difficult.{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=309}} Some analysts say it is easier to connect ''Juche'' with nationalism, but not a unique form of nationalism. Although the WPK claims to be [[socialist-patriotic]],{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=309}} some analysts state its socialist patriotism would be more similar to [[bourgeois nationalism]]; the chief difference is that socialist patriotism is nationalism in a [[socialist state]].{{sfn|Suh|1988|pp=309–310}} ''Juche'' developed as a reaction to foreign occupation, involvement and influence (primarily by the Chinese and Soviets) in North Korean affairs, and may be described "as a normal and healthy reaction of the Korean people to the deprivation they suffered under foreign domination."{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=310}} However, there is nothing uniquely Marxist or Leninist in this reaction; the primary reason for its description as "communist" is that it occurred in a self-proclaimed socialist state.{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=310}} The WPK (and the North Korean leadership in general) have not explained in detail how their policies are Marxist, Leninist or communist; ''Juche'' is defined as "Korean", and the others as "foreign".{{sfn|Suh|1988|pp=310–313}} |
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====Basic tenets==== |
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{{quote box|width=25em|align=right|bgcolor=ivory|quote=You requested me to give a detailed explanation of the ''Juche'' idea. But there is no end to it. All the policies and lines of our party emanate from the ''Juche'' idea and they embody this idea.|source=— Kim Il Sung, when asked by a Japanese interviewer to define ''Juche''{{sfn|Oh|Hassig|2000|p=18}}}} |
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''Juche''{{'s}} primary objective for North Korea is political, economic and military independence.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=105}} Kim Il Sung, in his "Let Us Defend the Revolutionary Spirit of Independence, Self-reliance, and Self-defense More Thoroughly in All Fields of State Activities" speech to the [[Supreme People's Assembly]] in 1967, summarized ''Juche'':{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=105}} {{blockquote|The government of the republic will implement with all consistency the line of independence, self-sustenance, and self-defence to consolidate the political independence of the country (''chaju''), build up more solidly the foundations of an independent national economy capable of insuring the complete unification, independence, and prosperity of our nation (''charip'') and increasing the country's defence capabilities, so as to safeguard the security of the fatherland reliably by our own force (''chawi''), by splendidly embodying our Party's idea of Juche in all fields."{{sfn|Lee|2003|pp=105–106}}}} |
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The principle of political independence known as ''chaju'' is one of ''Juche''{{'s}} central tenets.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} ''Juche'' stresses equality and mutual respect among nations, asserting that every state has the right to self-determination.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} In practice, the beliefs in self-determination and equal sovereignty have turned North Korea into a perceived "[[hermit kingdom]]".{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} As interpreted by the WPK, yielding to foreign pressure or intervention would violate ''chaju'' and threaten the country's ability to defend its sovereignty.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} This may explain why Kim Jong Il believed that the Korean revolution would fail if North Korea became dependent on a foreign entity.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} In relations with fellow socialist countries China and the Soviet Union Kim Il Sung urged cooperation, mutual support and dependence, acknowledging that it was important for North Korea to learn from other countries.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} Despite this, he abhorred the idea that North Korea could (or should) depend on the two nations and did not want to dogmatically follow their example.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} Kim Il Sung said that the WPK needed to "resolutely repudiate the tendency to swallow things of others undigested or imitate them mechanically", attributing the success of North Korea on the WPK's independence in implementing policies.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} To ensure North Korean independence, official pronouncements stressed the need for the people to unite under the WPK and the Great Leader.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} |
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Economic independence (''charip'') is seen as the material basis of ''chaju''.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} One of Kim Il Sung's greatest fears involved North Korean dependence on foreign aid; he believed it would threaten the country's ability to develop socialism, which only a state with a strong, independent economy could do.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} ''Charip'' emphasizes an independent national economy based on [[heavy industry]]; this sector, in theory, would then drive the rest of the economy.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} Kim Jong Il said:{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=107}} |
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{{blockquote|Building an independent national economy means building an economy which is free from dependence on others and which stands on its own feet, an economy which serves one's own people and develops on the strength of the resources of one's own country and by the efforts of one's people.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=107}}}} |
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Kim Il Sung considered military independence (''chawi'') crucial.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=107}} Acknowledging that North Korea might need military support in a war against [[imperialism|imperialist enemies]], he emphasized a domestic response and summed up the party's (and state's) attitude towards military confrontation: "We do not want war, nor are we afraid of it, nor do we beg peace from the imperialists."{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=107}} |
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According to ''Juche'', because of his [[consciousness]] man has ultimate control over himself and the ability to change the world.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=109}} This differs from classical Marxism, which believes that humans depend on their [[relations of production|relationship]] to the [[means of production]] more than on themselves.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=111}} The ''Juche'' view of a revolution led by a Great Leader, rather than a group of knowledgeable revolutionaries, is a break from [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin's]] concept of a [[vanguard party]].{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=111}} |
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===Nationalism=== |
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{{see also|Korean nationalism}} |
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[[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]] did not clarify the difference between state and law, focusing on class divisions within nations.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=139}} They argued that nation and law (as it existed then) would be overthrown and replaced by [[proletariat|proletarian rule]].{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=139}} This was the mainstream view of Soviet theoreticians during the 1920s; however, with Stalin at the helm in 1929, it was under attack.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=140}} He criticized [[Nikolai Bukharin]]'s position that the proletariat was hostile to the [[Marx's theory of the state|inclinations of the state]], arguing that since the state (the Soviet Union) was in transition from [[Capitalist mode of production (Marxist theory)|capitalism]] to [[Socialism (Marxism)|socialism]] the relationship between the state and the proletariat was harmonious.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=140}} By 1936, Stalin argued that the state would still exist if the Soviet Union reached the [[communist mode of production]] if the socialist world was encircled by capitalist forces.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=140}} Kim Il Sung took this position to its logical conclusion, arguing that the state would exist after North Korea reached the communist mode of production until a future [[world revolution]].{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=140}} As long as capitalism survived, even if the socialist world predominated, North Korea could still be threatened by the restoration of capitalism.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} |
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The revival of the term "state" in the Soviet Union under Stalin led to the revival of "nation" in North Korea under Kim Il Sung.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} Despite official assertions that the Soviet Union was based on "class" rather than "state", the latter was revived during the 1930s.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} In 1955 Kim Il Sung expressed a similar view in his speech, "On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work":{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} {{blockquote|What we are doing now is not a revolution in some foreign country but our Korean revolution. Therefore, every ideological action must benefit the Korean revolution. To fulfil the Korean revolution, one should be perfectly cognizant of the history of our national struggle, of Korea's geography, and our customs.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}}}} |
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From then on, he and the WPK stressed the roles of "revolutionary tradition" and Korea's cultural tradition in its revolution.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} At party meetings, members and cadres learned about North Korea's national prestige and its coming rejuvenation.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} Traditional customs were revived, to showcase Korean-ness.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} By 1965, Kim Il Sung stated that if communists continued opposing [[Individualism|individuality]] and [[sovereign state|sovereignty]], the movement would be threatened by [[dogmatism]] and [[Revisionism (Marxism)|revisionism]].{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=142}} He criticized those communists who, he believed, subscribed to "national [[nihilism]] by praising all things foreign and vilifying all things national" and tried to impose foreign models on their own country.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=142}} By the 1960s, ''Juche'' was a full-fledged ideology calling for a distinct path for North Korean socialist construction and non-interference in its affairs; however, a decade later it was defined as a system whose "fundamental principle was the realization of sovereignty".{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=142}} |
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Although WPK theoreticians were initially hostile towards the term's "nation" and "nationalism" because of the influence of the Stalinist definition of "state", by the 1970s their definition was changed from [[Marxism and the National Question|"a stable, historically formed community of people based on common language, territory, economic life, and culture"]] to include "shared bloodline".{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=142}} During the 1980s a common economic life was removed from the definition, with shared bloodline receiving increased emphasis.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=143}} With a democratic transition in South Korea and the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], the WPK revised the meaning of nationalism.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=143}} Previously defined in Stalinist terms as a bourgeois weapon to exploit the workers, nationalism changed from a [[reactionary]] to a [[progressivism|progressive]] idea.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=143}} Kim Il Sung differentiated "nationalism" from what he called "genuine nationalism"; while genuine nationalism was a progressive idea, nationalism remained reactionary:{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=143}} |
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{{blockquote|True nationalism (genuine nationalism) is similar to [[patriotism]]. Only a genuine patriot can become a devoted and true [[Proletarian internationalism|internationalist]]. In this sense, when I say communist, at the same time, I mean nationalist and internationalist.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=143}}}} |
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====Allegations of xenophobia and racism==== |
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{{see also|Korean ethnic nationalism}} |
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{{quote box|width=25em|align=right|bgcolor=ivory|quote=Whatever the name and however elaborate his claim, Kim's ''Juche'' idea is nothing more than xenophobic nationalism that has little relevance to communism.|source=— [[Suh Dae-sook|Dae-Sook Suh]], author of ''Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader''{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=313}}}} |
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During the 1960s the WPK began forcing ethnic Koreans to divorce their European spouses (who were primarily from the [[Eastern Bloc]]), with a high-ranking WPK official calling the marriages "a crime against the Korean race" and [[Eastern Bloc]] embassies in the country beginning to accuse the regime of [[fascism]].{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=66}} In May 1963, a Soviet diplomat described Kim Il Sung's political circle as a "political [[Gestapo]]".{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=66}} Similar remarks were made by other Eastern Bloc officials in North Korea, with the East German ambassador calling the policy "Goebbelsian" (a reference to [[Joseph Goebbels]], [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler's]] [[Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda|minister of propaganda]]).{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=66}} Although this was said during a [[Nadir#Figurative usage|nadir]] in relations between North Korea and the Eastern Bloc, it illustrated a perception of racism in Kim Il Sung's policies.{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=66}} |
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In his book ''[[The Cleanest Race]]'' (2010), [[Brian Reynolds Myers]] dismisses the idea that ''Juche'' is North Korea's leading ideology. He views its public exaltation as designed to deceive foreigners; it exists to be praised rather than followed.{{sfn|Rank|2012}} Myers writes that ''Juche'' is a sham ideology, developed to extol Kim Il Sung as a political thinker comparable to [[Mao Zedong]].{{sfn|Marshall|2010}} According to Myers, North Korean [[military-first policy]], racism and xenophobia (exemplified by race-based incidents such as the attempted lynching of [[Afro-Cuban|black Cuban]] diplomats and [[forced abortion]]s for North Korean women pregnant with [[Han Chinese|ethnic Chinese]] children) indicate a base in [[far-right]] politics (inherited from [[Imperial Japan]] during its colonial occupation of Korea) rather than the [[Far-left politics|far-left]].{{sfn|Rank|2012}}{{sfn|Hitchens|2010}} |
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==Governance== |
==Governance== |
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===Great Leader=== |
===Great Leader=== |
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North Korea considers [[human]]ity the driving force of history. "Popular masses are placed in the centre of everything, and the leader in the centre of the masses".{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=4}} Traditional [[Marxism]] considers [[Historical materialism|class struggle the driving force of historical progress]]. However, Marxism also sees class struggle as eventually coming to an end, when class distinctions begin to disappear in a [[communist]] society.{{sfn|Marx|Engels|1906|pp=46–47}} From this point on, humanity can begin to "more and more consciously, make his own history" as human society ceases to be driven by social forces such as class struggle, but instead becomes "the result of his own free actions."{{sfn|Engels|1892|pp=81–82}} |
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''Juche'' is an anthropocentric ideology in which "man is the master of everything and decides everything".{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=4}} Similar to Marxist–Leninist thought, ''Juche'' believes that history is law-governed but only man drives progress: "the popular masses are the drivers of history".{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=5}} From the perspective of ''Juche'', the struggle for humanity as a whole to make their own history is restrained by the ruling classes in class society.{{sfn|Kim Jong Il|1982|pp=2–3}} Additionally, only the working class can overcome these restraints and achieve a society where humanity can independently and creatively make their own history.{{sfn|Kim Jong Il|1982|p=27}} ''Juche'' is in line with [[historical materialism]], viewing mankind's ability to drive their own history as the culmination of a long-term historical process, whose foundations were laid by capitalism's ushering in of the working class, and thus ''Juche'' is unique to the [[Socialism|socialist]] era.{{sfn|Kim Jong Il|1982|p=71}} However, for the masses to succeed they need a [[Great Leader (concept)|Great Leader]].{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=5}} Marxism–Leninism argues that the people will lead, on the basis of their relationship to production. In North Korea a singular Great Leader is considered essential, and this helped Kim Il Sung establish a one-person [[autocracy]].{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=6}} |
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This theory makes the Great Leader an [[Absolute monarchy|absolute]], [[supreme leader]].{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=7}} The [[working class]] thinks not for itself, but through the Great Leader;{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=7}} he is the mastermind of the working class and its only legitimate representative.{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=7}} Class struggle can only be realized through the Great Leader; difficult tasks in general (and revolutionary changes in particular) can only be introduced through—and by—him.{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=7}} Thus, in historical development the Great Leader is the leading force of the working class;{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=7}} he is a flawless, incorruptible human being who never makes mistakes, is always benevolent and rules for the benefit of the masses (working class).{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=8}} For the Great Leader system to function, a [[Unitary state|unitary ideology]] must be in place;{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=9}} in North Korea, this is known as the [[Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System|Monolithic Ideological System]].{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=9}} |
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This theory makes the Great Leader an [[Absolute monarchy|absolute]], [[supreme leader]].{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=7}} The [[working class]] thinks not for itself, but through the Great Leader;{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=7}} he is the mastermind of the working class and its only legitimate representative.{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=7}} Class struggle can only be realized through the Great Leader; difficult tasks in general (and revolutionary changes in particular) can only be introduced through—and by—him.{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=7}} Thus, in historical development the Great Leader is the leading force of the working class;{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=7}} he is a flawless, incorruptible human being who never makes mistakes, is always benevolent and rules for the benefit of the masses (working class).{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=8}} For the Great Leader system to function, a unitary ideology must be in place;{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=9}} in North Korea, this is known as the [[Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System|Monolithic Ideological System]].{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=9}} |
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====Kim dynasty==== |
====Kim dynasty==== |
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{{main|Kim dynasty (North Korea)}} |
{{main|Kim dynasty (North Korea)}} |
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The Kim dynasty began with Kim Il |
The Kim dynasty began with Kim Il Sung, the first leader of the WPK and North Korea.{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=44}} The official ideology is that the North Korean system functions "well" because it was established by Kim Il Sung, whose successors follow his [[bloodline]].{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=29}} Every child is educated in "the revolutionary history of the Great Leader" and "the revolutionary history of the Dear Leader" (Kim Jong Il).{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=29}} Kim Il Sung's first choice as successor was [[Kim Yong-ju]], his brother, but he later decided to appoint his son Kim Jong Il instead; this decision was formalized at the 6th Congress.{{sfn|Lee|1982|p=442}} Kim Jong Il appointed his youngest son, [[Kim Jong Un]], as his successor at the 3rd WPK Conference in 2010, and his son succeeded him in early 2011.{{sfn|Gause|2013|pp=30–32}} Because of the familial succession and the appointment of family members to high office, the Kim family has been called a dynasty and a [[royal family]].{{sfn|Lankov|2014}} [[Suh Dae-sook|Dae-Sook Suh]], the author of ''Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader'', notes that "What he [Kim Il Sung] has built in the North, however, resembles more a political system to accommodate his personal rule than a communist or socialist state in Korea. It is not the political system he built that will survive him; it is his son [Kim Jong Il], whom he has designated heir, who will succeed his reign."{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=xviii}} The ruling Kim family has been described as the head of a ''de facto'' absolute monarchy{{sfn|Kihl|Kim|2006|p=56}}{{sfn|Scalapino|Lee|1972|p=689}}{{sfn|Choy|1984|p=117}} or "hereditary dictatorship".{{sfn|Sheridan|2007}} |
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===Monolithic Ideological System=== |
===Monolithic Ideological System=== |
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{{main|Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System}} |
{{main|Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System}} |
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Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System are a set of ten principles and 65 clauses which |
The Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System are a set of ten principles and 65 clauses which establish standards for governance and guide the behaviours of the people of North Korea.{{sfn|Min|2008}} The Ten Principles have come to supersede the [[Constitution of North Korea|national constitution]] or edicts by the Workers' Party, and in practice serve as the supreme law of the country.{{sfn|Yonhap News Agency|2013}}{{sfn|Lim|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dY_izSoFGRQC&pg=PA66 66]}}{{sfn|Green|2012}} |
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===Songbun=== |
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{{quotebox|quote=Tomatoes, which are completely red to the core, are considered worthy Communists; apples, which are red only on the surface, are considered to need ideological improvement; and grapes are completely hopeless.|source=—The three main groups in North Korean society (friendly, neutral and hostile to the WPK), metaphorically described{{sfn|Hunter|1999|pp=3–11}}|align=right|width=300px}} |
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{{main|Songbun}} |
{{main|Songbun}} |
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{{quote box|quote=Tomatoes, which are completely red to the core, are considered worthy Communists; apples, which are red only on the surface, are considered to need ideological improvement; and grapes are completely hopeless.|source=— The three main classifications in North Korean society (core, wavering, and hostile), are metaphorically described as tomatoes, apples, and grapes, respectively.{{sfn|Hunter|1999|pp=3–11}}|align=right|width=300px}} |
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Songbun is the name given to the [[caste system]] established on 30 May 1957 by the WPK Politburo when it adopted the resolution, "On the Transformation of the Struggle with Counter-Revolutionary Elements into an All-People All-Party Movement" (also known as the May 30th Resolution).{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=66}} This led to a purge in North Korean society in which every individual was checked for his or her allegiance to the party and its leader.{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=67}} The purge began in earnest in 1959, when the WPK established a new supervisory body headed by Kim Il-sung's brother, Kim Yong-ju.{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=67}} The people of North Korea were divided into three "forces" (hostile, neutral or friendly),{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=67}} and the force in which a person was classified was hereditary.{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=67}} Hostile forces cannot live near Pyongyang (the country's capital) or other major cities, or near North Korea's border with other countries.{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=67}} Songbun affects access to educational and employment opportunities and, particularly, eligibility to join the WPK.{{sfn|Hunter|1999|pp=3–11}} However, its importance has diminished with the fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the North Korean economy (and the [[Economy of North Korea#Public Distribution System|Public Distribution System]]) during the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/ML03Dg01.html|title=North Korea's new class system|author=[[Andrei Lankov|Lankov, Andrei]]|publisher=[[Asia Times]]|date=3 December 2012|accessdate=18 March 2014}}</ref> |
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Songbun is the name given to the [[caste system]] established on 30 May 1957 by the WPK Politburo when it adopted the resolution, "On the Transformation of the Struggle with Counter-Revolutionary Elements into an All-People All-Party Movement" (also known as the 30 May Resolution).{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=66}} This led to a purge in North Korean society in which every individual was checked for his or her allegiance to the party and its leader.{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=67}} The purge began in earnest in 1959, when the WPK established a new supervisory body headed by Kim Il Sung's brother, Kim Yong-ju.{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=67}} The people of North Korea were divided into three "forces" (hostile, neutral or friendly),{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=67}} and the force in which a person was classified was hereditary.{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=67}} Hostile forces cannot live near Pyongyang (the country's capital) or other major cities, or near North Korea's border with other countries.{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=67}} Songbun affects access to educational and employment opportunities and, particularly, eligibility to join the WPK.{{sfn|Hunter|1999|pp=3–11}} However, its importance has diminished with the fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the North Korean economy (and the [[Economy of North Korea#Food distribution system|Public Distribution System]]) during the 1990s.{{sfn|Lankov|2012}} |
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==Organization== |
==Organization== |
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===Central organization=== |
===Central organization=== |
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[[File:Headquarters of Workers' Party of Korea 02.jpg|thumb|The headquarters of the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK Central Committee]] and hence the party]] |
[[File:Headquarters of Workers' Party of Korea 02.jpg|thumb|The headquarters of the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK Central Committee]] and hence the party]] |
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The [[National meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea|Congress]] is the party's highest body, and convenes on an irregular basis.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=147}} According to the [[Charter of the Workers' Party of Korea|party's charter]], the Central Committee can convene a congress if it gives the rest of the party at least a six months' notice.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=147}} The party charter gives the Congress seven responsibilities:{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=147}} |
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The [[National meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea|Congress]] is the party's highest body and convenes on an irregular basis.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=147}} According to the [[Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea|party rules]], the Central Committee can convene a congress if it gives the rest of the party at least a six months' notice.{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=147}} The party rules give the Congress seven responsibilities:{{sfn|Gause|2011|p=147}} |
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# Electing the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Committee]] |
# Electing the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Committee]] |
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# Electing the [[Central Auditing Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Auditing Commission]] |
# Electing the [[Central Auditing Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Auditing Commission]] |
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# Electing the [[ |
# Electing the [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|General Secretary]] |
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# Examining the report of the outgoing Central Committee |
# Examining the report of the outgoing Central Committee |
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# Examining the report of the outgoing Central Auditing Commission |
# Examining the report of the outgoing Central Auditing Commission |
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# Discussing and enacting party policies |
# Discussing and enacting party policies |
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# Revising the |
# Revising the party rules and making amendments to these |
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In between WPK national meetings, the Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution.{{sfn|National Institute for Unification Education|2014|p=64}} The Central Auditing Commission is responsible for supervising the party's finances and works separately from the Central Committee.{{sfn|Korean Central News Agency|2016}} The Central Committee elects the composition of several bodies to carry out its work. The 1st Plenary Session of a newly elected central committee elects the [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Military Commission]] (CMC), the [[Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea|Secretariat]], the [[Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|Politburo]], the [[Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|Presidium]], and the [[Central Auditing Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Auditing Commission]].{{sfn|Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea|loc=article 3, section 24}}{{sfn|National Institute for Unification Education|2014|p=66−67}} The Politburo exercises the functions and powers of the Central Committee when a plenum is not in session.{{sfn|Buzo|1999|p=30}} The Presidium is the party's highest decision-making organ when the Politburo, the Central Committee, the Conference of Representatives and the Congress are not in session.{{sfn|Kim Nam-Sik|1982|p=140}} It was established at the 6th National Congress in 1980.{{sfn|Kim Nam-Sik|1982|p=140}} The CMC is the highest decision-making institution on military affairs within the party and controls the operations of the [[Korean People's Army]].{{sfn|Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea|loc=article 46}} The WPK General Secretary is by right Chairman of the CMC. Meanwhile, the Secretariat is the top implementation body and is headed by the WPK General Secretary and consists of several secretaries who normally head Central Committee departments, commissions, publications, and other organizations under it.{{sfn|Madden|2017}} The Central Auditing Commission resolves disciplinary issues involving party members. Investigative subjects range from graft to anti-party and [[counter-revolutionary]] activities, generally encompassing all party rules violations.{{sfn|Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea|loc=article 3, section 28}} |
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A first plenum of the Central Committee also elects the heads of departments, bureaus, and other institutions to pursue its work.{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=35}}{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=36}} The WPK currently has more than 15 Central Committee departments.{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=36}} Through these departments it controls several mass organisations and newspapers, such as ''[[Rodong Sinmun]]'' for instance.{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=36}} The [[Korean People's Army]] (KPA) is, according to the WPK |
A first plenum of the Central Committee also elects the heads of departments, bureaus, and other institutions to pursue its work.{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=35}}{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=36}} The WPK currently has more than 15 Central Committee departments.{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=36}} Through these departments it controls several mass organisations and newspapers, such as ''[[Rodong Sinmun]]'' for instance.{{sfn|Gause|2013|p=36}} The [[Korean People's Army]] (KPA) is, according to the WPK rules, the "revolutionary armed power of the Workers' Party of Korea which inherited revolutionary traditions."{{sfn|National Institute for Unification Education|2014|p=55}} The leading organ within the KPA is the [[General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army|General Political Bureau]] (GPB), which according to the WPK rules is defined "as an executive organ of the KPA Party Committee and is therefore entitled to the same authority as that of the Central Committee in conducting its activities."{{sfn|National Institute for Unification Education|2014|p=69}} The GPB controls the party apparatus and every political officer within the KPA.{{sfn|National Institute for Unification Education|2014|p=69}} |
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===Lower-level organization=== |
===Lower-level organization=== |
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[[File:WPK Pin.png|thumb|[[Kim Il |
[[File:WPK Pin.png|thumb|[[Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il badges|Kim Il Sung badge]] with the WPK emblem]] |
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The WPK has local organizations for the three levels of local North Korean government: provinces and province-level municipalities; special city, ordinary cities and urban districts, and rural counties and villages.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=202}} North Korea has nine provinces, each with a provincial party committee; their composition is decided by the WPK.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=202}} |
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The WPK has local organizations for the three levels of local North Korean government: (1) provinces and province-level municipalities, (2) special city, ordinary cities and urban districts, and (3) rural counties and villages.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=202}} North Korea has nine provinces, each with a provincial party committee; their composition is decided by the WPK.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=202}} |
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The WPK has two types of membership: regular and probationary.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=193}} Membership is open to those 18 years of age and older, and is granted |
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after the submission of an application (endorsed by two party members with at least two years in good standing) to a cell.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=193}} The application is acted on by the cell's plenary session, and an affirmative decision is subject to ratification by a county-level party committee.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=193}} After an application is approved a mandatory one-year probationary period may be waived under unspecified "special circumstances", allowing the candidate to become a full member.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=193}} Recruitment is under the direction of the Organization and Guidance Department and its local branches.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=193}} |
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The WPK has two types of membership: regular and probationary.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=193}} Membership is open to those 18 years of age and older and is granted after the submission of an application (endorsed by two parties' members with at least two years in good standing) to a cell.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=193}} The application is acted on by the cell's plenary session, and an affirmative decision is subject to ratification by a county-level party committee.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=193}} After an application is approved a mandatory one-year probationary period may be waived under unspecified "special circumstances", allowing the candidate to become a full member.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=193}} Recruitment is under the direction of the Organization and Guidance Department and its local branches.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=193}} |
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The WPK claimed a membership of more than three million in 1988, a significant increase from the two million members announced in 1976; the increase may have resulted from the Three Revolutions Team Movement mobilization drive.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=209}} At the time, 12 percent of the population held party membership, an abnormally large number for a Communist country and a figure only comparable to [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romania]].<ref>Lankov, A. N., Kwak, I., & Cho, C. (2012). The organizational life: Daily surveillance and daily resistance in north korea. ''Journal of East Asian Studies, 12''(2), 193-214,309-310. doi:<nowiki>http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1598240800007839</nowiki></ref> Later figures have not been made publicly available,{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=209}} but membership today is estimated at four million.{{sfn|Lankov|2007|p=36}} The WPK has three constituencies: industrial workers, peasants and intellectuals (office workers).{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=209}} Since 1948 industrial workers have constituted the largest percentage of party members, followed by peasants and intellectuals.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=209}} Beginning in the 1970s, when North Korea's population reached the 50-percent-urban mark, the composition of the party's groups changed; more people working in state-owned enterprises were party members, and the number of members in agricultural cooperatives decreased.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=210}} |
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The WPK claimed a membership of more than three million in 1988, a significant increase from the two million members announced in 1976; the increase may have resulted from the Three Revolutions Team Movement mobilization drive.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=209}} At the time, 12 percent of the population held party membership, an abnormally large number for a communist country and a figure only comparable to [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romania]].{{sfn|Lankov|Kwak|Cho|2016|pp=193-214, 309-310}} Later figures have not been made publicly available,{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=209}} but membership today is estimated at 6.5 million.{{sfn|Na|2021}} |
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=={{anchor|Juche}}Ideology== |
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The WPK maintains a leftist image{{sfn|Myers|2011|pp=9 & 11–12}} and normally sends a delegation to the [[International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties]], where it has some support;<ref name="IMCWP11">{{cite web | url = http://actofdefiance.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/13th-international-meeting-of-communist-and-workers-parties-in-athens/ | publisher = Act of Defiance | date = 29 November 2011 | title = 13th International meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties in Athens | accessdate = 15 March 2014}}</ref> its 2011 resolution, "Let us jointly commemorate the Birth Centenary of the Great Leader comrade President Kim Il Sung as a Grand Political Festival of the World’s Humankind", was signed by 30 of the 79 attending parties.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.solidnet.org/13-international-meeting/13-imcwp-resolutions/2409-let-us-jointly-commemorate-the-birth-centenary-of-the-great-leader-comrade-president-kim-il-sung-as-a-grand-political-festival-of-the-worlds-humankind | title = 13 IMCWP Resolution, Let us jointly commemorate the Birth Centenary of the Great Leader comrade President Kim Il Sung as a Grand Political Festival of the World’s Humankind | publisher = Solidnet.org | date = 23 December 2011 | accessdate = 15 March 2014 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120911075812/http://www.solidnet.org/13-international-meeting/13-imcwp-resolutions/2409-let-us-jointly-commemorate-the-birth-centenary-of-the-great-leader-comrade-president-kim-il-sung-as-a-grand-political-festival-of-the-worlds-humankind | archive-date = 11 September 2012 | url-status = dead}}</ref> The WPK also sees itself as part of the worldwide leftist and [[socialist]] movement; during the [[Cold War]], the WPK and North Korea had a policy of "exporting revolution", aiding leftist guerrillas worldwide. However, others argue the WPK ideology is xenophobic nationalist or far-right.{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=313 & 139}}{{sfn|Myers|2011|pp=9, 11–12}}{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=66}} |
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North Korean society is divided into three classes: industrial workers, peasants, and ''samuwon'' ([[intelligentsia]] and [[petite bourgeoisie]]).{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=209}} Since 1948, industrial workers have constituted the largest percentage of party members, followed by peasants and ''samuwon''.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=209}} Beginning in the 1970s, when North Korea's population reached the 50-per cent-urban mark, the composition of the party's groups changed; more people working in state-owned enterprises were party members, and the number of members in agricultural cooperatives decreased.{{sfn|Cha|Hwang|2009|p=210}} |
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===''Juche''=== |
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{{main|Juche}} |
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===={{anchor|Relation to Marxism–Leninism}}Relationship to Marxism–Leninism==== |
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{{quote box|width=25em|align=right|bgcolor=ivory|quote=Whatever the name and however elaborate his claim, Kim's Juche idea is nothing more than [[xenophobic]] nationalism that has little relevance to [[communism]].|source=—Suh Dae-Sook, author of ''Kim Il-sung: The North Korean Leader''{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=313}}}} |
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Although the term "''Juche''" was first used in Kim Il-sung's speech (published in 1955), "On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work", ''Juche'' as a coherent ideology did not develop until the 1960s.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|pp=138–139}} Similar to Stalinism, it led to the development of an unofficial (later formalized) ideological system defending the central party leadership.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=139}} Until about 1972, ''Juche'' was called a "creative application" of Marxism–Leninism and "the Marxism–Leninism of today", and Kim Il-sung was hailed as "the greatest Marxist–Leninist of our time".{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=139}} However, by 1976 ''Juche'' had become a separate ideology; Kim Jong-il called it "a unique ideology, the contents and structures which cannot simply be described as Marxist–Leninist."{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=139}} |
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At the [[5th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea|5th Congress]], ''Juche'' was elevated to the same level as Marxism–Leninism.{{sfn|So|Suh|2013|p=107}} It gained in prominence during the 1970s, and at the 6th Congress in 1980 it was recognized as the WPK's only ideology.{{sfn|So|Suh|2013|p=107}} During the following decade, ''Juche'' transformed from practical to pure ideology.{{sfn|So|Suh|2013|p=107}} ''[[On the Juche Idea]]'', the primary text on ''Juche'', was published in Kim Jong-il's name in 1982.{{sfn|Kwak|2009|p=19}} ''Juche'' is, according to this study, inexorably linked with Kim Il-sung and "represents the guiding idea of the [[History of North Korea|Korean Revolution]] ... we are confronted with the honorable task of modeling the whole society on the ''Juche'' idea".{{sfn|Kwak|2009|p=19}} Kim Jong-il says in the work that ''Juche'' is not simply a creative application of Marxism–Leninism, but "a new era in the development of human history".{{sfn|Kwak|2009|p=19}} The WPK's break with basic Marxist–Leninist premises is spelled out clearly in the article, "[[Let Us March Under the Banner of Marxism–Leninism and the Juche Idea|Let Us March Under the Banner of Marxism–Leninism and the ''Juche'' Idea]]".{{sfn|Kwak|2009|p=20}} |
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Despite ''Juche''{{'}}s conception as a creative application of [[Marxism]] and [[Leninism]],{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=302}} some scholars claim it has little direct connection to them.{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=309}} Policies may be explained without a Marxist or Leninist rationale, making the identification of specific influences from these ideologies difficult.{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=309}} Some analysis claim is easier to connect ''Juche'' with nationalism, but not a unique form of nationalism. Although the WPK claims to be [[socialist patriotism|socialist-patriotic]],{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=309}} some analysts claim its socialist patriotism would be more similar to [[bourgeois nationalism]]; the chief difference is that socialist patriotism is nationalism in a [[socialist state]].{{sfn|Suh|1988|pp=309–310}} ''Juche'' developed as a reaction to foreign occupation, involvement and influence (primarily by the Chinese and Soviets) in North Korean affairs, and may be described "as a normal and healthy reaction of the Korean people to the deprivation they suffered under foreign domination."{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=310}} However, there is nothing uniquely Marxist or Leninist in this reaction; the primary reason for its description as "communist" is that it occurred in a self-proclaimed socialist state.{{sfn|Suh|1988|p=310}} The WPK (and the North Korean leadership in general) have not explained in detail how their policies are Marxist, Leninist or communist; ''Juche'' is defined as "Korean", and the others as "foreign".{{sfn|Suh|1988|pp=310–313}} |
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====Basic tenets==== |
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{{quote box|width=25em|align=right|bgcolor=ivory|quote=You requested me to give a detailed explanation of the Juche idea. But there is no end to it. All the policies and lines of our Party emanate from the Juche idea and they embody this idea.|source=—Kim Il-sung, when asked by a Japanese interviewer to define ''[[Juche]]''{{sfn|Oh|Hassig|2000|p=18}}}} |
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''Juche''{{'}}s primary objective for North Korea is political, economic and military independence.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=105}} Kim Il-sung, in his "Let Us Defend the Revolutionary Spirit of Independence, Self-Reliance, and Self-defense More Thoroughly in All Fields of State Activities" speech to the [[Supreme People's Assembly]] in 1967, summarized ''Juche'':{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=105}} <blockquote>The government of the republic will implement with all consistency the line of independence, self-sustenance, and self-defense to consolidate the political independence of the country (''chaju''), build up more solidly the foundations of an independent national economy capable of insuring the complete unification, independence, and prosperity of our nation (''charip'') and increasing the country's defense capabilities, so as to safeguard the security of the fatherland reliably by our own force (''chawi''), by splendidly embodying our Party's idea of Juche in all fields."{{sfn|Lee|2003|pp=105–106}}</blockquote> |
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The principle of political independence known as ''chaju'' is one of ''Juche''{{'}}s central tenets.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} ''Juche'' stresses equality and mutual respect among nations, asserting that every state has the right of self-determination.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} In practice, the beliefs in self-determination and equal sovereignty have turned North Korea into a [[hermit kingdom]].{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} As interpreted by the WPK, yielding to foreign pressure or intervention would violate ''chaju'' and threaten the country's ability to defend its sovereignty.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} This may explain why Kim Jong-il believed that the Korean revolution would fail if North Korea became dependent on a foreign entity.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} In relations with fellow socialist countries China and the Soviet Union Kim Il-sung urged cooperation, mutual support and dependence, acknowledging that it was important for North Korea to learn from other countries.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} Despite this, he abhorred the idea that North Korea could (or should) depend on the two nations and did not want to dogmatically follow their example.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} Kim Il-sung said that the WPK needed to "resolutely repudiate the tendency to swallow things of others undigested or imitate them mechanically", attributing the success of North Korea on the WPK's independence in implementing policies.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} To ensure North Korean independence, official pronouncements stressed the need for the people to unite under the WPK and the Great Leader.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} |
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==Symbols== |
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Economic independence (''charip'') is seen as the material basis of ''chaju''.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} One of Kim Il-sung's greatest fears involved North Korean dependence on foreign aid; he believed it would threaten the country's ability to develop socialism, which only a state with a strong, independent economy could do.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} ''Charip'' emphasizes an independent national economy based on [[heavy industry]]; this sector, in theory, would then drive the rest of the economy.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=106}} Kim Jong-il said:{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=107}} |
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The emblem of the WPK is an adaptation of the communist [[hammer and sickle]], with a traditional [[Korean calligraphy]] brush. The symbols represent the three classes in Korean society, as described by the WPK: the industrial workers (hammer), the peasants (sickle), and the ''samuwon'' (ink brush). The ''samuwon'' class consists of clerks, small traders, bureaucrats, professors, and writers. This class is unique to North Korean [[class analysis]] and was conceptualized to increase education and literacy among the country's population.{{sfn|Cumings|2005|pp=404–405}} |
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<blockquote>Building an independent national economy means building an economy which is free from dependence on others and which stands on its own feet, an economy which serves one’s own people and develops on the strength of the resources of one’s own country and by the efforts of one’s people.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=107}}</blockquote> |
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Kim Il-sung considered military independence (''chawi'') crucial.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=107}} Acknowledging that North Korea might need military support in a war against [[imperialism|imperialist enemies]], he emphasized a domestic response and summed up the party's (and state's) attitude towards military confrontation: "We do not want war, nor are we afraid of it, nor do we beg peace from the imperialists."{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=107}} |
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According to ''Juche'', because of his [[consciousness]] man has ultimate control over himself and the ability to change the world.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=109}} This differs from classical Marxism, which believes that humans depend on their [[relations of production|relationship]] to the [[means of production]] more than on themselves.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=111}} The ''Juche'' view of a revolution led by a Great Leader, rather than a group of knowledgeable revolutionaries, is a break from [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin's]] concept of a [[vanguard party]].{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=111}} |
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===Nationalism=== |
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[[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]] did not clarify the difference between state and law, focusing on class divisions within nations.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=139}} They argued that nation and law (as it existed then) would be overthrown and replaced by [[proletariat|proletarian rule]].{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=139}} This was the mainstream view of Soviet theoreticians during the 1920s; however, with Stalin at the helm in 1929 it was under attack.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=140}} He criticized [[Nikolai Bukharin]]'s position that the proletariat was hostile to the [[Marx's theory of the state|inclinations of the state]], arguing that since the state (the Soviet Union) was in transition from [[Capitalist mode of production (Marxist theory)|capitalism]] to [[Socialism (Marxism)|socialism]] the relationship between the state and the proletariat was harmonious.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=140}} By 1936, Stalin argued that the state would still exist if the Soviet Union reached the [[pure communism|communist mode of production]] if the socialist world was encircled by capitalist forces.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=140}} Kim Il-sung took this position to its logical conclusion, arguing that the state would exist after North Korea reached the communist mode of production until a future [[world revolution]].{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=140}} As long as capitalism survived, even if the socialist world predominated, North Korea could still be threatened by the restoration of capitalism.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} |
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The revival of the term "state" in the Soviet Union under Stalin led to the revival of "nation" in North Korea under Kim Il-sung.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} Despite official assertions that the Soviet Union was based on "class" rather than "state", the latter was revived during the 1930s.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} In 1955 Kim Il-sung expressed a similar view in his speech, "On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work":{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} <blockquote>What we are doing now is not a revolution in some foreign country but our Korean revolution. Therefore, every ideological action must benefit the Korean revolution. To fulfill the Korean revolution, one should be perfectly cognizant of the history of our national struggle, of Korea's geography, and our customs.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}}</blockquote> |
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From then on, he and the WPK stressed the roles of "revolutionary tradition" and Korea's cultural tradition in its revolution.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} At party meetings, members and cadres learned about North Korea's national prestige and its coming rejuvenation.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} Traditional customs were revived, to showcase Korean-ness.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=141}} By 1965, Kim Il-sung claimed that if communists continued opposing [[Individualism|individuality]] and [[sovereign state|sovereignty]], the movement would be threatened by [[dogmatism]] and [[Revisionism (Marxism)|revisionism]].{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=142}} He criticized those communists who, he believed, subscribed to "national [[nihilism]] by praising all things foreign and vilifying all things national" and tried to impose foreign models on their own country.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=142}} By the 1960s, ''Juche'' was a full-fledged ideology calling for a distinct path for North Korean socialist construction and non-interference in its affairs; however, a decade later it was defined as a system whose "fundamental principle was the realization of sovereignty".{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=142}} |
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Although WPK theoreticians were initially hostile towards the terms "nation" and "nationalism" because of the influence of the Stalinist definition of "state", by the 1970s their definition was changed from [[Marxism and the National Question|"a stable, historically formed community of people based on common language, territory, economic life, and culture"]] to include "shared bloodline".{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=142}} During the 1980s a common economic life was removed from the definition, with shared bloodline receiving increased emphasis.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=143}} With a democratic transition in South Korea and the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], the WPK revised the meaning of nationalism.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=143}} Previously defined in Stalinist terms as a bourgeois weapon to exploit the workers, nationalism changed from a [[reactionary]] to a [[progressivism|progressive]] idea.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=143}} Kim Il-sung differentiated "nationalism" from what he called "genuine nationalism"; while genuine nationalism was a progressive idea, nationalism remained reactionary:{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=143}} |
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<blockquote>True nationalism (genuine nationalism) is similar to [[patriotism]]. Only a genuine patriot can become a devoted and true [[Proletarian internationalism|internationalist]]. In this sense, when I say communist, at the same time, I mean nationalist and internationalist.{{sfn|Cheong|2000|p=143}}</blockquote> |
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====Allegations of xenophobia==== |
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During the 1960s the WPK began forcing ethnic Koreans to divorce their European spouses (who were primarily from the [[Eastern Bloc]]), with a high-ranking WPK official calling the marriages "a crime against the Korean race" and [[Eastern Bloc]] embassies in the country beginning to accuse the regime of [[fascism]].{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=66}} In May 1963, a Soviet diplomat described Kim Il-sung's political circle as a "political [[Gestapo]]".{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=66}} Similar remarks were made by other Eastern Bloc officials in North Korea, with the East German ambassador calling the policy "Goebbelsian" (a reference to [[Joseph Goebbels]], [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler's]] [[Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda|minister of propaganda]]).{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=66}} Although this was said during a [[nadir]] in relations between North Korea and the Eastern Bloc, it illustrated a perception of racism in Kim Il-sung's policies.{{sfn|Becker|2005|p=66}} |
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In his book ''[[The Cleanest Race]]'' (2010), [[Brian Reynolds Myers]] dismisses the idea that ''Juche'' is North Korea's leading ideology. He views its public exaltation as designed to deceive foreigners; it exists to be praised rather than followed.<ref name="Rank">{{cite news |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/LD10Dg02.html |title=Lifting the cloak on North Korean secrecy: ''The Cleanest Race, How North Koreans See Themselves'' by B R Myers |first=Michael |last=Rank |date=10 April 2012 |accessdate=13 December 2012 |publisher=Asia Times}}</ref> Myers writes that ''Juche'' is a sham ideology, developed to extol Kim Il-sung as a political thinker comparable to [[Mao Zedong]].<ref name="3quarksdaily">{{cite web |url=http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2010/04/immersion-in-propaganda-racebased-nationalism-and-the-unfigureoutable-vortex-of-juche-thought-colin-.html |title=Immersion in propaganda, race-based nationalism and the un-figure-outable vortex of Juche Thought: Colin Marshall talks to B.R. Myers, author of The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why it Matters |publisher=quarksdaily.com |date=12 April 2010 |author=[[Staff writer]] |accessdate=13 April 2010}}</ref> According to Myers, North Korean [[military-first policy]], racism and xenophobia (exemplified by race-based incidents such as the attempted lynching of [[Afro-Cuban|black Cuban]] diplomats and [[forced abortion]]s for North Korean women pregnant with [[Han Chinese|ethnic Chinese]] children) indicate a base in [[far-right]] politics (inherited from [[Imperial Japan]] during its colonial occupation of Korea) rather than the [[Far-left politics|far-left]].<ref name="Rank"/><ref name="Hitchens">{{cite news |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2243112/ |title=A Nation of Racist Dwarfs |first=Christopher |last=Hitchens |authorlink=Christopher Hitchens |date=1 February 2010 |accessdate=23 December 2012 |work=Fighting Words |publisher=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]}}</ref> However, [[Andrei Lankov]], a scholar and specialist in Korean studies, disputes Myers' analysis and doubts whether it has any relation to reality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://carnegie.ru/commentary/74874|script-title=ru:От защиты к нападению. Может ли ядерная программа Северной Кореи стать наступательной|last=[[Andrei Lankov]]|date=30 November 2017|publisher=Carnegie.ru|language=Russian|accessdate=3 December 2017}}</ref> |
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== Electoral history == |
== Electoral history == |
||
=== Supreme People's Assembly elections === |
=== Supreme People's Assembly elections === |
||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |
||
!Election |
! Election |
||
!Party leader |
! Party leader |
||
!Seats |
! Seats |
||
! |
! +/– |
||
! |
! Position |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[1948 North Korean parliamentary election|1948]] |
| [[1948 North Korean parliamentary election|1948]] |
||
| rowspan="9" |[[Kim Il |
| rowspan="9" | [[Kim Il Sung]] |
||
|{{Composition bar|157|572|{{Workers' Party of Korea |
| {{Composition bar|157|572|{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
||
|{{increase}} 157 |
| {{increase}} 157 |
||
|{{increase}} 1st |
| {{increase}} 1st |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[1957 North Korean parliamentary election|1957]] |
| [[1957 North Korean parliamentary election|1957]] |
||
|{{Composition bar|178|215|{{Workers' Party of Korea |
| {{Composition bar|178|215|{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
||
|{{increase}} 21 |
| {{increase}} 21 |
||
|{{steady}} 1st |
| {{steady}} 1st |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[1962 North Korean parliamentary election|1962]] |
| [[1962 North Korean parliamentary election|1962]] |
||
|{{Composition bar|371|383|{{Workers' Party of Korea |
| {{Composition bar|371|383|{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
||
|{{increase}} 193 |
| {{increase}} 193 |
||
|{{steady}} 1st |
| {{steady}} 1st |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[1967 North Korean parliamentary election|1967]] |
| [[1967 North Korean parliamentary election|1967]] |
||
|{{Composition bar|288|457|{{Workers' Party of Korea |
| {{Composition bar|288|457|{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
||
|{{decrease}} 83 |
| {{decrease}} 83 |
||
|{{steady}} 1st |
| {{steady}} 1st |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[1972 North Korean parliamentary election|1972]] |
| [[1972 North Korean parliamentary election|1972]] |
||
|{{Composition bar|127|541|{{Workers' Party of Korea |
| {{Composition bar|127|541|{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
||
|{{decrease}} 161 |
| {{decrease}} 161 |
||
|{{steady}} 1st |
| {{steady}} 1st |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[1977 North Korean parliamentary election|1977]] |
| [[1977 North Korean parliamentary election|1977]] |
||
| colspan = "3" | {{Data missing|date=August 2022}} |
|||
| unknown / 579 |
|||
| |
|||
| |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[1982 North Korean parliamentary election|1982]] |
| [[1982 North Korean parliamentary election|1982]] |
||
| colspan = "3" | {{Data missing|date=August 2022}} |
|||
| unknown / 615 |
|||
| |
|||
| |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[1986 North Korean parliamentary election|1986]] |
| [[1986 North Korean parliamentary election|1986]] |
||
| colspan = "3" | {{Data missing|date=August 2022}} |
|||
| unknown / 655 |
|||
| |
|||
| |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[1990 North Korean parliamentary election|1990]] |
| [[1990 North Korean parliamentary election|1990]] |
||
|{{Composition bar|601|687|{{Workers' Party of Korea |
| {{Composition bar|601|687|{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
||
| |
| |
||
|{{steady}} 1st |
| {{steady}} 1st |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[1998 North Korean parliamentary election|1998]] |
| [[1998 North Korean parliamentary election|1998]] |
||
| rowspan="3" |[[Kim Jong |
| rowspan="3" | [[Kim Jong Il]] |
||
|{{Composition bar|594|687|{{Workers' Party of Korea |
| {{Composition bar|594|687|{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
||
|{{decrease}} 7 |
| {{decrease}} 7 |
||
|{{steady}} 1st |
| {{steady}} 1st |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[2003 North Korean parliamentary election|2003]] |
| [[2003 North Korean parliamentary election|2003]] |
||
| colspan = "3" | {{Data missing|date=August 2022}} |
|||
| unknown / 687 |
|||
| |
|||
| |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[2009 North Korean parliamentary election|2009]] |
| [[2009 North Korean parliamentary election|2009]] |
||
|{{Composition bar|606|687|{{Workers' Party of Korea |
| {{Composition bar|606|687|{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
||
| |
| |
||
|{{steady}} 1st |
| {{steady}} 1st |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[2014 North Korean parliamentary election|2014]] |
| [[2014 North Korean parliamentary election|2014]] |
||
| rowspan="2" |[[Kim Jong |
| rowspan="2" | [[Kim Jong Un]] |
||
|{{Composition bar|607|687|{{Workers' Party of Korea |
| {{Composition bar|607|687|{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
||
|{{increase}} 1 |
| {{increase}} 1 |
||
|{{steady}} 1st |
| {{steady}} 1st |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[2019 North Korean parliamentary election|2019]] |
| [[2019 North Korean parliamentary election|2019]] |
||
| colspan = "3" | {{Data missing|date=August 2022}} |
|||
|unknown / 687 |
|||
| |
|||
| |
|||
|} |
|} |
||
== See also == |
== See also == |
||
{{Portal|North Korea|Politics}} |
{{Portal|North Korea|Politics}} |
||
* [[Elections in North Korea]] |
|||
* [[Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérez]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Politics of North Korea]] |
||
* [[Korean Central Television]] |
|||
* [[List of political parties in North Korea]] |
* [[List of political parties in North Korea]] |
||
== Notes == |
== Notes == |
||
{{ |
{{Reflist|group=n}} |
||
{{notelist}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
||
===Citations=== |
===Citations=== |
||
{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
||
===Sources=== |
=== Sources === |
||
====Articles, and journal entries==== |
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{{refbegin}} |
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* {{cite journal |last1=Cheong |first1=Seong-Chang |authorlink= |year= 2000 |title=Stalinism and Kimilsungism: A Comparative Analysis of Ideology and Power |journal=[[Asian Perspective]] |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=133–161 |doi=|url=http://www2.law.columbia.edu/course_00S_L9436_001/North%20Korea%20materials/240105-Cheong.pdf |ref=CITEREFCheong2000}} |
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* {{cite news |author1=Choi, Brent |author2=Hibbitts, Mi Jeong |year= 2010 |title=North Korea’s Succession May Go Smoothly After All |pages=1–5 |publisher=Center for U.S.–Korea Policy. [[The Asian Foundation]] |url = http://asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/ChoiHibbittsNKSuccession.pdf |ref=CITEREFChoiHibbitts2010}} |
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* {{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Nam-Sik |authorlink= |date= Spring–Summer 1982 |title=North Korea's Power Structure and Foreign Relations: an Analysis of the Sixth Congress of the KWP |journal=[[The Journal of East Asian Affairs]] |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=125–151 |doi=|jstor=23253510 |ref=CITEREFKim1982}} |
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* {{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Chong-sik |authorlink= |date= May 1982 |title= Evolution of the Korean Workers' Party and the Rise of Kim Chŏng-il |journal=[[Asian Survey]] |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=434–448 |doi=10.1525/as.1982.22.5.01p0376a|jstor=2643871 |ref=CITEREFLee1982}} |
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* {{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Grace |authorlink= |year=2003 |title= The Political Philosophy of Juche |journal=[[Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs]] |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=105–111 |doi=|url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjeaa/journal3/korea1.pdf |ref=CITEREFLee2003}} |
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* {{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Kyo Duk |authorlink= |year= 2004 |title= The successor theory of North Korea |journal=|pages=1–52 |publisher=[[Korean Institute for National Reunification]] | url = http://www.kinu.or.kr/eng/pub/pub_02_01.jsp?page=8&field=&text=&order=&dir=&mode=list&bid=DATA05&ses=&category= | isbn= 898479225X |ref=CITEREFLee2004 | newspaper = 'Peaceful Utilization of the DMZ' as a National Strategy}} |
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* {{cite book | author = [[Staff writer]] |ref = CITEREFStaff_writer2014 | title = Understanding North Korea | volume = | publisher = [[Ministry of Unification]] | year = 2012 & 2014 | edition = | url = http://www.unikorea.go.kr/eng_unikorea/publications_data/understandingNK/}} |
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{{Refend}} |
|||
==== Books ==== |
|||
{{refbegin}} |
{{refbegin|30em}} |
||
* {{cite book |author= |
* {{cite book |author-link=Jasper Becker|last=Becker |first=Jasper |title=Rogue Regime : Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea |url=https://archive.org/details/rogueregimekimjo00beck|url-access=registration|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0198038108}} |
||
* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last=Buzo |first=Adrian |title=The Guerilla Dynasty: Politics and Leadership in North Korea |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-1860644146}} |
||
* {{cite book |author-link1=Victor Cha|last1=Cha |first1=Victor |last2=Hwang |first2=Balbina |editor-last=Worden |editor-first=Robert |title=North Korea: a Country Study |publisher=[[Federal Research Division]]. [[Library of Congress]] |year=2009 |chapter=Government and Politics |isbn=978-1598044683 |edition=5th |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/northkoreacountr0000unse}} |
|||
* {{cite book |author=Buzo, Adrian |ref=CITEREFBuzo1999 |title=The Guerilla Dynasty: Politics and Leadership in North Korea |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-1860644146}} |
|||
* {{cite book|last=Cumings |first=Bruce |title=Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History|location=New York |publisher=W.W. Norton and Company |year=2005 |edition=2nd}} |
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* {{cite book |author1=[[Victor Cha|Cha, Victor]] |author2=Hwang, Balbina |editor=Worden, Robert |ref=CITEREFChaHwang2009 |title=North Korea: a Country Study |publisher=[[Federal Research Division]]. [[Library of Congress]] |year=2009 |chapter=Government and Politics |isbn=978-1598044683 |edition=5th |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/northkoreacountr0000unse}} |
|||
* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last1=Engels |first1=Friedrich |title=Socialism, Utopian and Scientific |year=1892 |orig-year=1880 |publisher=S. Sonnenschein |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQRBAQAAMAAJ |language=en}} |
||
* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last1=Frank |first1=Rüdiger |last2=Hoare |first2=Jim |last3=Köllner |first3=Patrick |last4=Pares |first4=Susan |title=Korea 2011: Politics, Economy and Society |date=25 August 2011 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-04-21935-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-R5DwAAQBAJ |language=en}} |
||
* {{cite book |last1=Frank |first1=Rüdiger |last2=Hoare |first2=Jim |last3=Köllner |first3=Patrick |last4=Pares |first4=Susan |year=2013 |title=North Korea in 2012: Domestic Politics, the Economy and Social Issues |pages=41–72 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn = 9789004262973 |url = https://www.academia.edu/4478846 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151017111605/http://www.academia.edu/4478846/Framing_the_Globalisation_Debate_in_Korean_Higher_Education |archive-date = 17 October 2015 }} |
|||
* {{cite book |title=Kim Il-song's North Korea|year=1999|publisher=[[Praeger Publishers|Praeger]]|location=|isbn= 978-0275962968 |author=Hunter, Helen-Louise |ref=CITEREFHunter1999}} |
|||
* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last=Gause |first=Ken E. |title=North Korea Under Kim Chong-il: Power, Politics, and Prospects for Change |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0313381751}} |
||
* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last=Gause |first=Ken |chapter=The Role and Influence of the Party Apparatus|editor1=Park, Kyung-ae |editor2=Snyder, Scott |title=North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economy, and Society |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-1442218123 |pages=19–46}} |
||
* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last=Hunter |first=Helen-Louise|year=1999|title=Kim Il-song's North Korea|publisher=[[Praeger Publishers|Praeger]]|isbn= 978-0275962968}} |
||
* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last1=Kihl |first1=Young Whan |last2=Kim |first2=Hong Nack |title=North Korea: The Politics of Regime Survival |date=2006 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |location=Armonk, New York |isbn=978-0-7656-1638-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=byQlkWsPFm8C |edition=1st |language=en}} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Kim|first=Jong-il |title=On the Juche Idea |date=1982 |publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]] |location=Pyongyang |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Zv6jwEACAAJ |language=en|ref={{Harvid|Kim Jong Il|1982}}}} |
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* {{cite book |author1=Oh, Kong Dan |author2=Hassig, Ralph |ref=CITEREFOhHassig2000 |title=North Korea Through the Looking Glass |volume= |publisher=[[Brookings Institution Press]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0815764366 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/northkoreathroug00kong}} |
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* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last=Kwak |first=Tae-Hwan |title=North Korea's Foreign Policy Under Kim Jong Il: New Perspectives |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0754677390}} |
||
* {{cite book |author= |
* {{cite book |author-link=Andrei Lankov|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|year=2002 |title=From Stalin to Kim Il Song: The Formation of North Korea, 1945–1960|publisher=[[C. Hurst & Co. Publishers]]|isbn=978-1850655633}} |
||
* {{cite book |author-link=Andrei Lankov|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|year=2007 |title=North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-0786451418}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Lim |first=Jae-Cheon |title=Kim Jong-il's Leadership of North Korea|publisher=Routledge |location=Oxfordshire |year=2008 |isbn=9780203884720|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dY_izSoFGRQC|access-date=20 January 2014}} |
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* {{cite book |author-link=Brian Reynolds Myers|last=Myers |first=Brian |title=[[The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why it Matters]] |publisher=[[Melville House Publishing]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-1933633916}} |
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* {{cite book |last1=Oh |first1=Kong Dan |last2=Hassig |first2=Ralph |year=2000 |title=North Korea Through the Looking Glass |publisher=[[Brookings Institution Press]] |isbn=978-0815764366 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/northkoreathroug00kong}} |
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* {{cite book |last1=Marx |first1=Karl |last2=Engels |first2=Friedrich |title=Manifesto of the Communist Party |year=1906 |orig-year=1848 |publisher=C.H. Kerr |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s2iEeCJAlusC |language=en}} |
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* {{cite book |last1=Scalapino |first1=Robert A. |last2=Lee |first2=Chong-Sik |title=Volume 2 of Communism in Korea: The Society |date=1972 |publisher=University of California Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IiyHzQEACAAJ |language=en}} |
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* {{cite book |last1=Seth |first1=Michael J. |title=A Concise History of Modern Korea: From the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present |date=18 December 2019 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781538129050}} |
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* {{cite book |last1=So |first1=Chae-Jong |last2=Suh |first2=Jae-Jung |year=2013 |title=Origins of North Korea's Juche: Colonialism, War, and Development |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-0739176580}} |
|||
* {{cite book |last=Suh |first=Dae-sook |year=1988 |title=Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0231065733 |edition=1st |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/00book729884}} |
|||
* {{cite book |title=Understanding North Korea 2014 |url=http://www.unikorea.go.kr/eng_unikorea/publications_data/understandingNK/ |publisher=Research and Development Division, National Institute for Unification Education, [[Ministry of Unification]] |date=2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014034410/http://www.unikorea.go.kr/eng_unikorea/publications_data/understandingNK/ |archive-date=14 October 2017 |ref={{harvid|National Institute for Unification Education|2014}}}} |
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{{refend}} |
{{refend}} |
||
==== Journal articles ==== |
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==Further reading== |
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{{refbegin|30em}} |
|||
* {{cite book|translator1=Kim Yong-nam|translator2=Mun Myong-song|editor=Kim Ji-ho|title=Understanding Workers' Party of Korea|url=http://www.korean-books.com.kp/en/packages/xnps/download.pg.php?395#.pdf|year=2016|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|isbn=978-9946-0-1468-5}} |
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* {{cite journal |last1=Cheong |first1=Seong-Chang |year=2000 |title=Stalinism and Kimilsungism: A Comparative Analysis of Ideology and Power |journal=Asian Perspective |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=133–161 |doi=10.1353/apr.2000.0039 |url=http://www2.law.columbia.edu/course_00S_L9436_001/North%20Korea%20materials/240105-Cheong.pdf |access-date=15 March 2014 |archive-date=17 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017044810/http://www2.law.columbia.edu/course_00S_L9436_001/North%20Korea%20materials/240105-Cheong.pdf |url-status=dead }} |
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* {{cite news |last1=Choi |first1=Brent |last2=Hibbitts |first2=Mi Jeong |year= 2010 |title=North Korea's Succession May Go Smoothly After All |pages=1–5 |publisher=Center for U.S.–Korea Policy. The Asian Foundation |url = http://asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/ChoiHibbittsNKSuccession.pdf}} |
|||
* {{cite book |last1=Choy |first1=Bong-youn |title=A History of the Korean Reunification Movement: Its Issues and Prospects |date=1984 |publisher=Research Committee on Korean Reunification, Institute of International Studies, Bradley University |location=Peoria, Illinois }} |
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* {{cite journal |last1=David-West |first1=Alzo |title=North Korea and the Opinion of Fascism: A Case of Mistaken Identity |journal=North Korean Review |date=2012 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=105–116 |doi=10.3172/NKR.8.1.105 |jstor=43910295 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43910295}} |
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* {{cite web |last=Frank |first=Ruediger |title=The North Korean Parliamentary Session and Budget Report 2018: Cautious Optimism for the Summit Year |url=https://www.38north.org/2018/04/rfrank041918/ |publisher=U.S.-Korea Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies |work=[[38 North]] |date=19 April 2018 |access-date=22 April 2018}} |
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* {{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Nam-Sik |date=Spring–Summer 1982 |title=North Korea's Power Structure and Foreign Relations: an Analysis of the Sixth Congress of the KWP |journal=The Journal of East Asian Affairs |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=125–151 |jstor=23253510|ref={{Harvid|Kim Nam-Sik|1982}}}} |
|||
* {{cite journal|last1=Lankov|first1=Andrei Nikolaevich|last2=Kwak|first2=In-ok|last3=Cho|first3=Choong-Bin|title=The Organizational Life: Daily Surveillance and Daily Resistance in North Korea|journal=Journal of East Asian Studies|volume=12|issue=2|year=2016|pages=193–214|issn=1598-2408|doi=10.1017/S1598240800007839|doi-access=free}} |
|||
* {{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Chong-sik |date= May 1982 |title= Evolution of the Korean Workers' Party and the Rise of Kim Chŏng-il |journal=[[Asian Survey]] |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=434–448 |doi=10.2307/2643871|jstor=2643871}} |
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* {{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Grace |year=2003 |title= The Political Philosophy of Juche |journal=Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=105–111 |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjeaa/journal3/korea1.pdf}} |
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* {{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Kyo Duk |year=2004 |title=The successor theory of North Korea |pages=1–52 |publisher=Korean Institute for National Reunification |url=http://www.kinu.or.kr/eng/pub/pub_02_01.jsp?page=8&field=&text=&order=&dir=&mode=list&bid=DATA05&ses=&category= |isbn=898479225X |newspaper='Peaceful Utilization of the DMZ' as a National Strategy}} |
|||
* {{cite journal|author-last=Yoon |author-first=Dae-kyu |date=2003 |title=The Constitution of North Korea: Its Changes and Implications |url=https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com.ph/&httpsredir=1&article=1934&context=ilj&sei-redir=1 |journal=Fordham International Law Journal |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=1289–1305}} |
|||
{{refend}} |
|||
==== Government publications ==== |
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{{refbegin|30em}} |
|||
* {{cite web|last=Kim|first=Jong-un|title=Closing Speech to the 6th Conference of WPK Cell Secretaries|date=7 April 2021|website=National Committee of North Korea|url=https://www.ncnk.org/node/2142|access-date=11 August 2021}} |
|||
* {{cite web |title=Executive Order – Blocking Property of the Government of North Korea and the Workers' Party of Korea, and Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to North Korea |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/03/16/executive-order-blocking-property-government-north-korea-and-workers |publisher=[[The White House]] |access-date=14 November 2021 |language=en |date=16 March 2016 |ref={{harvid|The White House|2016}}}} |
|||
* {{cite web|script-title=ko:조선로동당규약|trans-title=[[Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea]]|url=http://www.voanews.com/MediaAssets2/english/2011_01/WPKCharter28SEP10.pdf|date=2010|language=ko|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622234608/https://www.voanews.com/MediaAssets2/english/2011_01/WPKCharter28SEP10.pdf|archive-date=22 June 2017|url-status=dead|ref={{harvid|Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea}}}} |
|||
{{refend}} |
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==== News and magazine articles ==== |
|||
{{refbegin|30em}} |
|||
* {{cite news|title=4th Party Conference of WPK Held|url=http://www.rodong.rep.kp/InterEn/index.php|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218222954/http://www.rodong.rep.kp/InterEn/index.php?strPageID=SF01_02_01&newsID=2012-04-12-0006|url-status=dead|work=[[Rodong Sinmun]]|date=12 April 2012|archive-date = 18 February 2013|ref={{harvid|Rodong Sinmun|2012}}}} |
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* {{cite news|last=Chen|first=Zhi|title=DPRK's ruling party to convene conference in April|work=[[Xinhua]]|date=20 February 2012|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-02/20/c_131419697.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108212525/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-02/20/c_131419697.htm|archive-date=8 January 2014}} |
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* {{cite news |last=Hitchens |first=Christopher |title=A Nation of Racist Dwarfs |author-link=Christopher Hitchens |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2243112/ |date=1 February 2010 |access-date=23 December 2012 |work=Fighting Words |publisher=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]}} |
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* {{cite news |last=Koko |first= B. J. |title=N. Korea creates 'first secretary' post in revised party rules |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210601004700325 |work=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601050923/https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210601004700325 |archive-date=1 June 2021 |language=en |date=1 June 2021}} |
|||
* {{cite web|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|author-link=Andrei Lankov|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/ML03Dg01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203025732/http://atimes.com/atimes/Korea/ML03Dg01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=3 December 2011|title=North Korea's new class system|publisher=[[Asia Times]]|date=3 December 2012|access-date=18 March 2014}} |
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* {{cite web | last = Lankov | first = Andrei | author-link = Andrei Lankov | url = http://www.nknews.org/2014/01/the-family-feuds-of-the-kim-dynasty/ | publisher = [[NK News]] | title = The family feuds of the Kim dynasty | access-date = 18 March 2014 | date = 15 January 2014}} |
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* {{cite web |last=Lankov |first=Andrei |author-mask=3 |title=Where is North Korea Heading? Major Political Rule Changes May Tell Us |url=https://www.nknews.org/2021/06/where-is-north-korea-heading-major-political-rule-changes-may-tell-us/ |website=[[NK News]] |date=24 June 2021 |access-date=7 August 2022 }} |
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* {{cite web |last=Marshall |first=Colin |url=http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2010/04/immersion-in-propaganda-racebased-nationalism-and-the-unfigureoutable-vortex-of-juche-thought-colin-.html |title=Immersion in propaganda, race-based nationalism and the un-figure-outable vortex of Juche Thought: Colin Marshall talks to B.R. Myers, author of The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why it Matters |publisher=[[3 Quarks Daily]] |date=12 April 2010 |access-date=13 April 2010}} |
|||
* {{cite news |last1=McCurry |first1=Justin |title=Kim Jong-un, 'great successor' poised to lead North Korea |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/dec/19/kim-jong-un-north-korea-leader |access-date=19 June 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=19 December 2011a |language=en}} |
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* {{cite news |last1=McCurry |first1=Justin |title=Kim Jong-un declared 'supreme leader' in North Korea |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/dec/29/kim-jong-un-supreme-leader-north-korea |access-date=19 June 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=29 December 2011b |language=en}} |
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* {{cite web|last=Min|first=Namgung|title=Kim Jong Il's Ten Principles: Restricting the People|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=4162|publisher=[[Daily NK]]|date=13 October 2008|access-date=20 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408033900/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=4162|archive-date=8 April 2014|url-status=dead}} |
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* {{cite news |last=Na |first=Hye-yoon |script-title=ko:北, 당원 대폭 늘었나{{nbsp}}... 당 대회 참석수로 '650만 명' 추정 |trans-title=Has party membership surged in the north? Estimated attendance of '6.5 million' at party convention |url=https://www.news1.kr/articles/?4172242 |access-date=5 November 2021 |work=News1 Korea |date=6 January 2021 |language=ko}} |
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* {{cite news |title=New Party Central Auditing Commission inaugurated |url=http://naenara.com.kp/en/order/pytimes/?page=Politics&no=22047 |work=[[Korean Central News Agency]] |via=The Pyongyang Times |date=10 May 2016 |access-date=4 June 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514103323/http://naenara.com.kp/en/order/pytimes/?page=Politics&no=22047 |archive-date=14 May 2016 |language=en |ref={{harvid|Korean Central News Agency|2016}}}} |
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* {{cite news|title=North Korea leader Kim becomes chairman of ruling Workers' Party: NHK|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-congress-kim-idUSKCN0Y015Y|date=9 May 2016|work=Reuters|access-date=6 January 2020|language=en|ref={{harvid|Reuters|2016}}}} |
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* {{cite news |title=North Korea's Kim Jong-un named 'marshal' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18881524 |date=18 July 2012 |access-date=18 July 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718074405/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18881524 |archive-date=18 July 2012 |work=[[BBC News]] |ref={{harvid|BBC News|2012}}}} |
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* {{cite news |title=North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un given new title in symbolic move aimed at bolstering his authority |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/11/north-koreas-leader-kim-jong-un-given-new-title-in-symbolic-move.html |access-date=4 June 2022 |work=AP News |via=CNBC |date=11 January 2021 |language=en |ref={{harvid|AP News|2021}}}} |
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* {{cite news |title=N. Korea declares Kim Jong-Un commander of military |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jJYCeXinUm40ybUlJzb4_aOAiSAQ?docId=CNG.abd2d9a288a1831892829dfc484f077e.6a1 |date=30 December 2011 |access-date=30 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224223520/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jJYCeXinUm40ybUlJzb4_aOAiSAQ?docId=CNG.abd2d9a288a1831892829dfc484f077e.6a1|archive-date=24 February 2014 |work=Agence France-Presse |ref={{SfnRef|AFP|2011}}}} |
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* {{cite news|title=N. Korea revises leadership ideology to legitimize rule of Kim Jong-un|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/yonhap-news-agency/130812/n-korea-revises-leadership-ideology-legitimize-rule-kim-jong|agency=Yonhap News Agency|date=12 August 2013|access-date=20 January 2014|archive-date=10 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610200123/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/yonhap-news-agency/130812/n-korea-revises-leadership-ideology-legitimize-rule-kim-jong|url-status=dead|ref={{harvid|Yonhap News Agency|2013}}}} |
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* {{cite news|last=Oh|first=Grace|title=N. Korea executes leader's uncle for 'treason': KCNA|date=13 December 2013|agency=[[Yonhap News Agency]]|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2013/12/13/12/0301000000AEN20131213002451315F.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712123853/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2013/12/13/12/0301000000AEN20131213002451315F.html|archive-date=12 July 2018}} |
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* {{cite news |last1=Seo |first1=Yoonjung |last2=Berlinger |first2=Joshua |title=Kim Jong Un gets new second-in-command in major changes to North Korea's ruling party |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/02/asia/north-korea-new-position-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=4 June 2022 |work=CNN |date=2 June 2021}} |
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* {{cite news|last=Sheridan|first=Michael|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2452356.ece|title=A tale of two dictatorships: The links between North Korea and Syria|date=16 September 2007|work=[[The Times]]|access-date=9 April 2010 | location=London}} |
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* {{Cite news |date=1 June 2021 |title=북한 노동당 규약 주요 개정 내용 |trans-title=Major revisions to North Korea's Workers' Party rules |work=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |url=https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20210601170100504 |access-date=13 August 2022 |ref={{harvid|Yonhap News Agency|2021}}}} |
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{{refend}} |
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==== Websites ==== |
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{{refbegin|30em}} |
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* {{cite web | title = 13 IMCWP Resolution, Let us jointly commemorate the Birth Centenary of the Great Leader comrade President Kim Il Sung as a Grand Political Festival of the World's Humankind | url = http://www.solidnet.org/13-international-meeting/13-imcwp-resolutions/2409-let-us-jointly-commemorate-the-birth-centenary-of-the-great-leader-comrade-president-kim-il-sung-as-a-grand-political-festival-of-the-worlds-humankind | publisher = Solidnet.org | date = 23 December 2011 | access-date = 15 March 2014 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120911075812/http://www.solidnet.org/13-international-meeting/13-imcwp-resolutions/2409-let-us-jointly-commemorate-the-birth-centenary-of-the-great-leader-comrade-president-kim-il-sung-as-a-grand-political-festival-of-the-worlds-humankind | archive-date = 11 September 2012 | url-status = dead |ref={{harvid|Solidnet.org|2011}}}} |
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* {{cite web |title=13th IMCWP: An event of major importance |url=https://inter.kke.gr/News/news2011/2011-11-29-13imcwp/ |work=Communist Party of Greece |date=29 November 2011 |access-date=4 June 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108031809/https://inter.kke.gr/News/news2011/2011-11-29-13imcwp/ |archive-date=8 January 2012|language=en |ref={{harvid|KKE|2011}}}} |
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* {{cite web |last=Green |first=Christopher |title=Wrapped in a Fog: On the North Korean Constitution and the Ten Principles |url=http://sinonk.com/2012/06/05/chris-green-on-10-principles/ |website=Sino-NK |date=5 June 2012 |access-date=3 January 2016}} |
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* {{cite web |last=Madden |first=Michael |title = The Party Roundup: Preliminary Look at North Korea's October 7 Central Committee Plenum | url = http://www.38north.org/2017/10/mmadden101817/ | access-date = 18 October 2017 |publisher=[[38 North]] |date = 18 October 2017}} |
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* {{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Gee-dong |title=The Changing Status and Role of the North Korean Military |url=https://www.globalasia.org/v16no3/cover/the-changing-status-and-role-of-the-north-korean-military_gee-dong-lee |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=[[Global Asia]] |date = 3 September 2021 |language=en}} |
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* {{citation |last=Rank |first=Michael |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/LD10Dg02.html |title=Lifting the cloak on North Korean secrecy: ''The Cleanest Race, How North Koreans See Themselves'' by B. R. Myers |date=10 April 2012 |access-date=13 December 2012 |publisher=Asia Times |type=Book review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112092300/http://atimes.com/atimes/Korea/LD10Dg02.html |archive-date=12 January 2013 |url-status=unfit}} |
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{{refend}} |
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== Further reading == |
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* {{cite book|translator1=Kim Yong-nam|translator2=Mun Myong-song|editor=Kim Ji-ho|title=Understanding Workers' Party of Korea|url=http://www.korean-books.com.kp/en/packages/xnps/download.pg.php?395#.pdf|year=2016|publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang|isbn=978-9946-0-1468-5}} |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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{{Commons category}} |
{{Commons category}} |
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* [http://www.rodong.rep.kp/en/ ''Rodong Sinmun''] – the official newspaper of the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK Central Committee]] |
* [http://www.rodong.rep.kp/en/ ''Rodong Sinmun''] – the official newspaper of the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK Central Committee]] |
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* [http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/politics/?organization+1 Workers' Party of Korea] at [[Naenara]] |
* [http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/politics/?organization+1 Workers' Party of Korea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128164346/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/politics/?organization+1 |date=28 November 2020 }} at [[Naenara]] |
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* {{YouTube|PvddFBpfgoA|"Long Live the Workers' Party of Korea"}} |
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{{Clear}} |
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Revision as of 23:22, 23 May 2024
Workers' Party of Korea 조선로동당 | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | WPK |
General Secretary | Kim Jong Un |
Presidium |
|
Founded | 24 June 1949 |
Merger of | |
Headquarters | Government Complex No. 1, Chung-guyok, Pyongyang |
Newspaper | Rodong Sinmun |
Youth wing | Socialist Patriotic Youth League |
Children's wing | Korean Children's Union |
Armed wing | Korean People's Army |
Paramilitary wing | Worker-Peasant Red Guards |
South Korean front | Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front |
Membership (2021 est.) | ~6,500,000 |
Ideology | |
Political position | Far-left |
International affiliation | IMCWP |
Colors | Red |
Anthem | "Long Live the Workers' Party of Korea" |
Status | Ruling party in North Korea; outlawed in South Korea under the National Security Act |
Supreme People's Assembly | 607 / 687 |
Party flag | |
Workers' Party of Korea | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Korean name | |||||||
Chosŏn'gŭl | 조선로동당 | ||||||
Hancha | 朝鮮勞動黨 | ||||||
| |||||||
South Korean name | |||||||
Hangul | 북한노동당 | ||||||
Hanja | 北韓勞動黨 | ||||||
|
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK)[a] is the sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is the oldest active party in Korea. It also controls the Korean People's Army, North Korea's armed forces. The WPK is the largest party represented in the Supreme People's Assembly and coexists with two other legal parties that are completely subservient to the WPK[1] and must accept the WPK's "leading role" as a condition of their existence. The WPK is banned in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) under the National Security Act and is sanctioned by the United Nations, the European Union, Australia, and the United States.[2]
Officially, the WPK is a communist party guided by Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism, a synthesis of the ideas of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.[3][4] The party is committed to Juche, an ideology attributed to Kim Il Sung which promotes national independence and development through the efforts of the popular masses. Although Juche was originally presented as the Korean interpretation of Marxism–Leninism, the party now presents it as a freestanding philosophy. The WPK recognizes the ruling Kim family as the ultimate source of its political thought. The fourth party conference, held in 2012, amended the party rules to state that Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism was "the only guiding idea of the party".[5] Under Kim Jong Il, who governed as chairman of the National Defence Commission, communism was steadily removed from party and state documents in favor of Songun, or military-first politics. The military, rather than the working class, was established as the base of political power. However, his successor Kim Jong Un reversed this position in 2021, replacing Songun with "people-first politics" as the party's political method[6] and reasserting the party's commitment to communism.[3][4]
The WPK is organized according to the Monolithic Ideological System, conceived by Kim Yong-ju and Kim Jong Il. The highest body of the WPK is formally the party congress; however, before Kim Jong Un's tenure as party leader, a congress rarely occurred. Between 1980 and 2016, there were no congresses held. Although the WPK is organizationally similar to other communist parties, in practice it is far less institutionalized and informal politics plays a larger role than usual. Institutions such as the Central Committee, the Secretariat, the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Politburo and the Politburo's Presidium have much less power than what is formally bestowed on them by the party rules. Kim Jong Un is the current party leader, serving as General Secretary of the WPK.
History
Founding and early years (1945–1953)
On 13 October 1945, the North Korean Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea (NKB–CPK) was established,[7] with Kim Yong-bom as its first chairman.[8] However, the NKB–CPK remained subordinate to the CPK Central Committee, which was headquartered in Seoul and headed by Pak Hon-yong.[9] Two months later, at the 3rd Plenum of the NKB, Kim Yong-bom was replaced by Kim Il Sung, an event which was probably orchestrated by the Soviet Union.[10] The North Korean Bureau became the Communist Party of North Korea in spring 1946, with Kim Il Sung being elected its chairman.[11] On 22 July 1946, Soviet authorities in North Korea established the United Democratic National Front, a popular front led by the Communist Party of North Korea.[12] The Communist Party of North Korea soon merged with the New People's Party of Korea, a party primarily composed of communists from China.[12] A special commission of the two parties ratified the merger on 28 July 1946, and it became official the following day.[13] One month later (28–30 August 1946), the party held its founding congress, establishing the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPNK).[13] The congress elected the former leader of the New People's Party of Korea Kim Tu-bong as the first WPNK chairman, with Kim Il Sung its appointed deputy chairman.[13] However, despite his formal downgrade in the party's hierarchy, Kim Il Sung remained its leader.[14]
Party control increased throughout the country after the congress.[15] From 27 to 30 March 1948, the WPNK convened its 2nd Congress.[16] While Kim Tu-bong was still the party's formal head, Kim Il Sung presented the main report to the congress.[17] In it he claimed that North Korea was "a base of democracy", in contrast to South Korea, which he believed to be dictatorial.[17] On 28 April 1948 a special session of the Supreme People's Assembly approved the constitution proposed and written by WPNK cadres, which led to the official establishment of an independent North Korea.[18] It did not call for the establishment of an independent North Korea, but for a unified Korea under a communist government; the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would be Seoul, not Pyongyang.[19] Kim Il Sung was the appointed head of government of the new state, with Kim Tu-bong heading the legislative branch.[20] A year later on 24 June 1949, the Workers' Party of Korea was created with the merger of the WPNK and the Workers' Party of South Korea.[21]
Kim Il Sung was not the most ardent supporter of a military reunification of Korea; that role was played by the South Korean communists, headed by Pak Hon-yong.[22] After several meetings between Kim Il Sung and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950, thus beginning the Korean War.[23] With American intervention in the war the DPRK nearly collapsed, but it was saved by Chinese intervention in the conflict.[23] The war had the effect of weakening Soviet influence over Kim Il Sung and the WPK.[24] Around this time, the main fault lines in early WPK politics were created. Four factions formed: the domestic faction (WPK cadres who had remained in Korea during Japanese rule), the Soviet faction (Koreans from the Soviet Union), the Yan'an faction (Koreans from China) and the guerrilla faction (Kim Il Sung's personal faction).[24] However, Kim Il Sung would be unable to further strengthen his position until the end of the war.[24]
Kim Il Sung's consolidation of power (1953–1980)
Relations worsened between the WPK and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) when Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushchev, began pursuing a policy of de-Stalinization.[25] During the Sino–Soviet conflict, an ideological conflict between the CPSU and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Kim Il Sung manoeuvred between the two socialist superpowers; by doing so, he weakened their influence on the WPK.[25] By 1962 Kim Il Sung and the WPK favored the CCP over the CPSU in the ideological struggle, and "for a few years North Korea almost unconditionally supported the Chinese position on all important issues."[25] The primary conflict between the WPK and the CPSU during this period was that Kim Il Sung did not support the denunciation of Stalinism, the creation of a collective leadership, and the theory of peaceful coexistence between the capitalist and socialist worlds.[25] Kim Il Sung believed peaceful coexistence to be synonymous with capitulation and knew that de-Stalinization in North Korea would effectively end his unlimited power over the WPK.[25] The result of the souring of relations between the CPSU and the WPK was that the Soviet Union discontinued aid to North Korea.[26] China was meanwhile unwilling to increase its aid, and, as a result, several industries in North Korea were on the brink of disaster.[26] Mao Zedong began the Cultural Revolution shortly thereafter, an event criticized by the WPK as "left-wing opportunism" and a manifestation of the "Trotskyist theory of a permanent revolution."[26] Relations between the CPSU and the CCP stabilized during the 1960s, with the WPK making it clear it would remain neutral in the Sino–Soviet conflict,[26] thus resulting in the 1966 launch of the Juche program aimed at national self-determination at all levels. This, in turn, strengthened Kim Il Sung's position in the WPK.[26]
Beginning in the 1960s, Kim Il Sung's cult of personality reached new heights.[27] It had been no greater than Stalin's or Mao's until 1972, when his birthday on 15 April became the country's main public holiday and statues of him began to be built nationwide.[27] Kim became known as "Great Leader", the "Sun of the Nation", "The Iron All-Victorious General" and "Marshal of the All-Mighty Republic" in WPK and state publications; official propaganda stated that "burning loyalty to the leader" was one of the main characteristics of any Korean.[27]
Kim Il Sung and his guerilla faction had purged the WPK of its opposing factions during the 1950s and the 1960s, to the dismay of both the CCP and the CPSU.[24] The domestic faction was the first to go (in 1953–55), followed by the Yan'an faction in 1957–58 and the Soviet Koreans (along with anyone else deemed unfaithful to the WPK leadership) in the 1957–62 purge.[28] According to historian Andrei Lankov, "Kim Il Sung had become not only supreme but also the omnipotent ruler of North Korea—no longer merely 'first amongst equals, as had been the case in the late 1940s".[29] After purging his WPK opposition, Kim Il Sung consolidated his power base with nepotism and hereditary succession in the Kim family and the guerilla faction.[30] Beginning in the late 1980s, "a high (and increasing) proportion of North Korean high officials have been sons of high officials."[30] Since the 1960s, Kim Il Sung had appointed family members to positions of power.[31] By the early 1990s, a number of leading national offices were held by people in his family: Kang Song-san (Premier of the Administrative Council and member of the WPK Secretariat), Pak Song-chol (Vice President), Hwang Jang-yop and Kim Chung-rin (members of the WPK Secretariat), Kim Yong-sun (Head of the WPK International Department and member of the WPK Secretariat), Kang Hui-won (Secretary of the WPK Pyongyang Municipal Committee and Deputy Premier of the Administrative Council), Kim Tal-hyon (Minister of Foreign Trade), Kim Chan-ju (Minister of Agriculture and Deputy Chairman of the Administrative Council) and Yang Hyong-sop (President of the Academy of Social Sciences and chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly).[31] These individuals were appointed solely because of their ties to the Kim family, and presumably retain their positions as long as the Kim family controls the WPK and the country.[31] The reason for Kim's support of nepotism (his own and that of the guerrilla faction) can be explained by the fact that he did not want the party bureaucracy to threaten his—and his son's—rule as it did in other socialist states.[31]
It was first generally believed by foreign observers that Kim Il Sung was planning for his brother, Kim Yong-ju, to succeed him.[32] Kim Yong-ju's authority gradually increased, until he became co-chairman of the North-South Coordination Committee.[32] From late 1972 to the 6th WPK Congress, Kim Yong-ju became an increasingly remote figure in the regime. At the 6th Congress, he lost his Politburo and Central Committee seats,[32] and rumours that Kim Il Sung had begun grooming Kim Jong Il in 1966 were confirmed.[32] From 1974 to the 6th Congress, Kim Jong Il (called the "Party centre" by North Korean media) was the second most powerful man in North Korea.[32] His selection was criticized, with his father accused of creating a dynasty or turning North Korea into a feudal state.[33]
Kim Jong Il's rule (1980–2011)
With Kim Jong Il's official appointment as heir apparent at the 6th Congress, power became more centralized in the Kim family.[34] WPK officials began to speak openly about his succession, and beginning in 1981 he began to participate in (and lead) tours.[34] In 1982, he was made a Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and wrote On the Juche Idea.[34] While foreign observers believed that Kim Jong Il's appointment would increase participation by the younger generation, in On the Juche Idea he made it clear that his leadership would not mark the beginning of a new generation of leaders.[35] The WPK could not address the crisis facing Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il's leadership at home and abroad, in part because of the gerontocracy at the highest level of the WPK and the state.[36]
With the death of O Jin-u on 25 February 1995, Kim Jong Il became the sole remaining living member of the Presidium (the highest body of the WPK when the Politburo and the Central Committee are not in session).[37] While no member list of the WPK Central Military Commission (CMC, the highest party organ on military affairs) was published from 1993 to 2010, there were clear signs of movement in the military hierarchy during 1995.[38] For the WPK's 50th anniversary, Kim Jong Il initiated a reshuffling of the CMC (and the military leadership in general) to appease the old guard and younger officials.[38] He did not reshuffle the WPK Central Committee or the government, however, during the 1990s the changes to its membership were caused mostly by its members dying of natural causes.[39]
Beginning in 1995, Kim Jong Il favoured the military over the WPK and the state.[39] Problems began to mount as an economic crisis, coupled with a famine in which at least half a million people died, weakened his control of the country.[40] Instead of recommending structural reforms, Kim began to criticize the WPK's lack of control over the economy, lambasting its local and provincial branches for their inability to implement central-level instructions.[41] At a speech celebrating the 50th anniversary of Kim Il Sung University, he said: "The reason why people are loyal to the instructions of the Central Committee is not because of party organizations and workers, but because of my authority."[41] Kim Jong Il said that his father had told him to avoid economics, claiming that it was better left to experts. After this speech, the WPK's responsibility to control the economy was given to the Administrative Council (the central government).[41] By late 1996 Kim Jong Il concluded that neither the WPK nor the central government could run the country, and began shifting control to the military.[42] A constitutional amendment in 1998 later redirected supreme state power in North Korea to the leadership of the military, rather than the WPK.[43]
On 8 July 1997, the three-year mourning period for Kim Il Sung ended.[44] Later that year, on 8 October, Kim Jong Il was appointed to the newly established office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.[44] There was considerable discussion by foreign experts about why Kim Jong Il was appointed General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, instead of succeeding his father as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.[44] In a clear breach of the WPK rules, Kim Jong Il was appointed WPK General Secretary in a joint announcement by the 6th Central Committee and the CMC rather than elected by a plenum of the Central Committee.[44] Although it was believed that Kim Jong Il would call a congress shortly after his appointment (to elect a new WPK leadership), he did not.[44] The WPK would not be revitalized organizationally until the 3rd Conference in 2010.[44] Until then, Kim Jong Il ruled as an autocrat;[44] only in WPK institutions considered important were new members and leaders appointed to take the place of dying officials.[44] The 10th Supreme People's Assembly convened on 5 September 1998, amended the North Korean constitution.[45] The amended constitution made the National Defense Commission (NDC), previously responsible for supervising the military, the highest state organ.[46] Although the new constitution gave the cabinet and the NDC more independence from WPK officials, it did not weaken the party.[47] Kim Jong Il remained WPK General Secretary, controlling the Organization and Guidance Department (OGD) and other institutions.[47] While the central WPK leadership composition was not renewed in a single stroke until 2010, the WPK retained its important role as a mass organization.[48]
On 26 June 2010, the Politburo announced that it was summoning delegates for the 3rd Conference,[48] with its official explanation of the need to "reflect the demands of the revolutionary development of the Party, which is facing critical changes in bringing about the strong and prosperous state and Juche development."[48] The conference met on 28 September, revising the party rules and electing (and dismissing) members of the Central Committee, the Secretariat, the Politburo, the Presidium and other bodies.[48] Kim Jong Un was confirmed as heir apparent;[49] Vice Marshal Ri Yong-ho and General Kim Kyong-hui (Kim Jong Il's sister) were appointed to leading positions in the Korean People's Army and the WPK to help him consolidate power.[50] The following year, on 17 December 2011, Kim Jong Il died.[51]
Kim Jong Un's rule (2011–present)
After Kim Jong Il's death, the North Korean elite consolidated Kim Jong Un's position; he was declared in charge of the country when the official report of his father's death was published on 19 December.[52] On 26 December 2011, the official newspaper Rodong Sinmun hailed him as supreme leader of the party and the state.[53] On 30 December a meeting of the Politburo officially appointed him Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, after he was nominated for the position by Kim Jong Il in October 2011 (the anniversary of Kim Jong Il's becoming general secretary).[54] Despite the fact that he was not a Politburo member, Kim Jong Un was named to the unofficial position of the supreme leader of the Workers' Party of Korea.[55]
After celebrations for Kim Jong Il's 70th birth anniversary, the Politburo announced on 18 February the 4th Party Conference (which was scheduled for mid-April 2012, near the 100th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung) "to glorify the sacred revolutionary life and feats of Kim Jong Il for all ages and accomplish the Juche cause, the Songun revolutionary cause, rallied close around Kim Jong Un".[56] Kim Jong Un was promoted to the rank of "Marshal of the Republic" in July 2012.[57] At the 4th Party Conference on 11 April, Kim Jong Il was declared Eternal General Secretary and Kim Jong Un was elected to the newly created post of First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Presidium. The conference amended the party rules to say Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism "the only guiding idea of the party".[58][5] In December 2013, the party experienced its first open inner struggle in decades with the purge of Jang Song-thaek.[59]
The party has seen somewhat of a revival under Kim Jong Un, with more frequent meetings. There have been two conferences, after a gap of 44 years, and a congress between 2010 and 2016.[60] After staging a huge military parade in celebration of the party's 70th anniversary on 10 October 2015, the Politburo announced that its 7th Congress will be held on 6 May 2016 after a 36-year hiatus. The congress announced the first Five-Year Plan since the 1980s and gave Kim Jong Un the new title of chairman, which replaced the previous office of First Secretary.[61] In January 2021, the 8th WPK Congress was convened, where Kim Jong Un was given the title of general secretary, replacing the title of chairman.[62] The congress also marked the consolidation of WPK control over the army and a decrease in the army's power, with the number of military delegates in both the congress and the Politburo decreasing.[63] It was reported in June 2021 that the party set up the post of 'First Secretary', with speculation that Jo Yong-won[64] or Kim Tok Hun, the Premier of North Korea would fill the position.[65] Starting from 2021, Kim Jong Un has started reviving communism and communist terminology within the WPK, with the ideology being again written to the party rules.[3][66] He also increasingly replaced Songun with "people-first politics" in the party rules.[6]
Ideology
The WPK maintains a leftist image,[67] and normally sends a delegation to the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, where it has some support;[68] its 2011 resolution, "Let us jointly commemorate the Birth Centenary of the Great Leader comrade President Kim Il Sung as a Grand Political Festival of the World's Humankind", was signed by 30 of the 79 attending parties.[69] The WPK also sees itself as part of the worldwide leftist and socialist movements; during the Cold War, the WPK and North Korea had a policy of "exporting revolution", aiding leftist guerrillas worldwide. Additionally, its party rules say its ultimate aim is to "realize a communist society in which the people's ideals are fully realized" and further state it upholds "the revolutionary principles of Marxism–Leninism".[6] However, Brian Reynolds Myers, Jasper Becker, and Dae-Sook Suh argue that the WPK's ideology is xenophobic, racist, and nationalist.[67][70][71]
Juche
Relationship to Marxism–Leninism
Although the term "Juche" was first used in Kim Il Sung's speech (given in 1955), "On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work", Juche as a coherent ideology did not develop until the 1960s.[72] Similar to Stalinism, it led to the development of an unofficial (later formalized) ideological system defending the central party leadership.[73] Until about 1972, Juche was called a "creative application" of Marxism–Leninism and "the Marxism–Leninism of today", and Kim Il Sung was hailed as "the greatest Marxist–Leninist of our time".[73] However, by 1976 Juche had become a separate ideology; Kim Jong Il called it "a unique ideology, the contents and structures which cannot simply be described as Marxist–Leninist."[73]
At the 5th Congress, Juche was elevated to the same level as Marxism–Leninism.[74] It gained in prominence during the 1970s, and at the 6th Congress in 1980 it was recognized as the WPK's only ideology.[74] During the following decade, Juche transformed from practical to pure ideology.[74] On the Juche Idea, the primary text on Juche, was published in Kim Jong Il's name in 1982.[75] Juche is, according to this study, inexorably linked with Kim Il Sung and "represents the guiding idea of the Korean Revolution ... we are confronted with the honourable task of modelling the whole society on the Juche idea".[75] Kim Jong Il says in the work that Juche is not simply a creative application of Marxism–Leninism, but "a new era in the development of human history".[75] The WPK's break with basic Marxist–Leninist premises is spelt out clearly in the article, "Let Us March Under the Banner of Marxism–Leninism and the Juche Idea".[76]
Despite Juche's conception as a creative application of Marxism and Leninism,[77] some scholars argue it has little direct connection to them.[78] Policies may be explained without a Marxist or Leninist rationale, making the identification of specific influences from these ideologies difficult.[78] Some analysts say it is easier to connect Juche with nationalism, but not a unique form of nationalism. Although the WPK claims to be socialist-patriotic,[78] some analysts state its socialist patriotism would be more similar to bourgeois nationalism; the chief difference is that socialist patriotism is nationalism in a socialist state.[79] Juche developed as a reaction to foreign occupation, involvement and influence (primarily by the Chinese and Soviets) in North Korean affairs, and may be described "as a normal and healthy reaction of the Korean people to the deprivation they suffered under foreign domination."[80] However, there is nothing uniquely Marxist or Leninist in this reaction; the primary reason for its description as "communist" is that it occurred in a self-proclaimed socialist state.[80] The WPK (and the North Korean leadership in general) have not explained in detail how their policies are Marxist, Leninist or communist; Juche is defined as "Korean", and the others as "foreign".[81]
Basic tenets
You requested me to give a detailed explanation of the Juche idea. But there is no end to it. All the policies and lines of our party emanate from the Juche idea and they embody this idea.
— Kim Il Sung, when asked by a Japanese interviewer to define Juche[82]
Juche's primary objective for North Korea is political, economic and military independence.[83] Kim Il Sung, in his "Let Us Defend the Revolutionary Spirit of Independence, Self-reliance, and Self-defense More Thoroughly in All Fields of State Activities" speech to the Supreme People's Assembly in 1967, summarized Juche:[83]
The government of the republic will implement with all consistency the line of independence, self-sustenance, and self-defence to consolidate the political independence of the country (chaju), build up more solidly the foundations of an independent national economy capable of insuring the complete unification, independence, and prosperity of our nation (charip) and increasing the country's defence capabilities, so as to safeguard the security of the fatherland reliably by our own force (chawi), by splendidly embodying our Party's idea of Juche in all fields."[84]
The principle of political independence known as chaju is one of Juche's central tenets.[85] Juche stresses equality and mutual respect among nations, asserting that every state has the right to self-determination.[85] In practice, the beliefs in self-determination and equal sovereignty have turned North Korea into a perceived "hermit kingdom".[85] As interpreted by the WPK, yielding to foreign pressure or intervention would violate chaju and threaten the country's ability to defend its sovereignty.[85] This may explain why Kim Jong Il believed that the Korean revolution would fail if North Korea became dependent on a foreign entity.[85] In relations with fellow socialist countries China and the Soviet Union Kim Il Sung urged cooperation, mutual support and dependence, acknowledging that it was important for North Korea to learn from other countries.[85] Despite this, he abhorred the idea that North Korea could (or should) depend on the two nations and did not want to dogmatically follow their example.[85] Kim Il Sung said that the WPK needed to "resolutely repudiate the tendency to swallow things of others undigested or imitate them mechanically", attributing the success of North Korea on the WPK's independence in implementing policies.[85] To ensure North Korean independence, official pronouncements stressed the need for the people to unite under the WPK and the Great Leader.[85]
Economic independence (charip) is seen as the material basis of chaju.[85] One of Kim Il Sung's greatest fears involved North Korean dependence on foreign aid; he believed it would threaten the country's ability to develop socialism, which only a state with a strong, independent economy could do.[85] Charip emphasizes an independent national economy based on heavy industry; this sector, in theory, would then drive the rest of the economy.[85] Kim Jong Il said:[86]
Building an independent national economy means building an economy which is free from dependence on others and which stands on its own feet, an economy which serves one's own people and develops on the strength of the resources of one's own country and by the efforts of one's people.[86]
Kim Il Sung considered military independence (chawi) crucial.[86] Acknowledging that North Korea might need military support in a war against imperialist enemies, he emphasized a domestic response and summed up the party's (and state's) attitude towards military confrontation: "We do not want war, nor are we afraid of it, nor do we beg peace from the imperialists."[86]
According to Juche, because of his consciousness man has ultimate control over himself and the ability to change the world.[87] This differs from classical Marxism, which believes that humans depend on their relationship to the means of production more than on themselves.[88] The Juche view of a revolution led by a Great Leader, rather than a group of knowledgeable revolutionaries, is a break from Lenin's concept of a vanguard party.[88]
Nationalism
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels did not clarify the difference between state and law, focusing on class divisions within nations.[73] They argued that nation and law (as it existed then) would be overthrown and replaced by proletarian rule.[73] This was the mainstream view of Soviet theoreticians during the 1920s; however, with Stalin at the helm in 1929, it was under attack.[89] He criticized Nikolai Bukharin's position that the proletariat was hostile to the inclinations of the state, arguing that since the state (the Soviet Union) was in transition from capitalism to socialism the relationship between the state and the proletariat was harmonious.[89] By 1936, Stalin argued that the state would still exist if the Soviet Union reached the communist mode of production if the socialist world was encircled by capitalist forces.[89] Kim Il Sung took this position to its logical conclusion, arguing that the state would exist after North Korea reached the communist mode of production until a future world revolution.[89] As long as capitalism survived, even if the socialist world predominated, North Korea could still be threatened by the restoration of capitalism.[90]
The revival of the term "state" in the Soviet Union under Stalin led to the revival of "nation" in North Korea under Kim Il Sung.[90] Despite official assertions that the Soviet Union was based on "class" rather than "state", the latter was revived during the 1930s.[90] In 1955 Kim Il Sung expressed a similar view in his speech, "On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work":[90]
What we are doing now is not a revolution in some foreign country but our Korean revolution. Therefore, every ideological action must benefit the Korean revolution. To fulfil the Korean revolution, one should be perfectly cognizant of the history of our national struggle, of Korea's geography, and our customs.[90]
From then on, he and the WPK stressed the roles of "revolutionary tradition" and Korea's cultural tradition in its revolution.[90] At party meetings, members and cadres learned about North Korea's national prestige and its coming rejuvenation.[90] Traditional customs were revived, to showcase Korean-ness.[90] By 1965, Kim Il Sung stated that if communists continued opposing individuality and sovereignty, the movement would be threatened by dogmatism and revisionism.[91] He criticized those communists who, he believed, subscribed to "national nihilism by praising all things foreign and vilifying all things national" and tried to impose foreign models on their own country.[91] By the 1960s, Juche was a full-fledged ideology calling for a distinct path for North Korean socialist construction and non-interference in its affairs; however, a decade later it was defined as a system whose "fundamental principle was the realization of sovereignty".[91]
Although WPK theoreticians were initially hostile towards the term's "nation" and "nationalism" because of the influence of the Stalinist definition of "state", by the 1970s their definition was changed from "a stable, historically formed community of people based on common language, territory, economic life, and culture" to include "shared bloodline".[91] During the 1980s a common economic life was removed from the definition, with shared bloodline receiving increased emphasis.[92] With a democratic transition in South Korea and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the WPK revised the meaning of nationalism.[92] Previously defined in Stalinist terms as a bourgeois weapon to exploit the workers, nationalism changed from a reactionary to a progressive idea.[92] Kim Il Sung differentiated "nationalism" from what he called "genuine nationalism"; while genuine nationalism was a progressive idea, nationalism remained reactionary:[92]
True nationalism (genuine nationalism) is similar to patriotism. Only a genuine patriot can become a devoted and true internationalist. In this sense, when I say communist, at the same time, I mean nationalist and internationalist.[92]
Allegations of xenophobia and racism
Whatever the name and however elaborate his claim, Kim's Juche idea is nothing more than xenophobic nationalism that has little relevance to communism.
— Dae-Sook Suh, author of Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader[93]
During the 1960s the WPK began forcing ethnic Koreans to divorce their European spouses (who were primarily from the Eastern Bloc), with a high-ranking WPK official calling the marriages "a crime against the Korean race" and Eastern Bloc embassies in the country beginning to accuse the regime of fascism.[70] In May 1963, a Soviet diplomat described Kim Il Sung's political circle as a "political Gestapo".[70] Similar remarks were made by other Eastern Bloc officials in North Korea, with the East German ambassador calling the policy "Goebbelsian" (a reference to Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's minister of propaganda).[70] Although this was said during a nadir in relations between North Korea and the Eastern Bloc, it illustrated a perception of racism in Kim Il Sung's policies.[70]
In his book The Cleanest Race (2010), Brian Reynolds Myers dismisses the idea that Juche is North Korea's leading ideology. He views its public exaltation as designed to deceive foreigners; it exists to be praised rather than followed.[94] Myers writes that Juche is a sham ideology, developed to extol Kim Il Sung as a political thinker comparable to Mao Zedong.[95] According to Myers, North Korean military-first policy, racism and xenophobia (exemplified by race-based incidents such as the attempted lynching of black Cuban diplomats and forced abortions for North Korean women pregnant with ethnic Chinese children) indicate a base in far-right politics (inherited from Imperial Japan during its colonial occupation of Korea) rather than the far-left.[94][96]
Governance
Great Leader
North Korea considers humanity the driving force of history. "Popular masses are placed in the centre of everything, and the leader in the centre of the masses".[97] Traditional Marxism considers class struggle the driving force of historical progress. However, Marxism also sees class struggle as eventually coming to an end, when class distinctions begin to disappear in a communist society.[98] From this point on, humanity can begin to "more and more consciously, make his own history" as human society ceases to be driven by social forces such as class struggle, but instead becomes "the result of his own free actions."[99]
Juche is an anthropocentric ideology in which "man is the master of everything and decides everything".[97] Similar to Marxist–Leninist thought, Juche believes that history is law-governed but only man drives progress: "the popular masses are the drivers of history".[100] From the perspective of Juche, the struggle for humanity as a whole to make their own history is restrained by the ruling classes in class society.[101] Additionally, only the working class can overcome these restraints and achieve a society where humanity can independently and creatively make their own history.[102] Juche is in line with historical materialism, viewing mankind's ability to drive their own history as the culmination of a long-term historical process, whose foundations were laid by capitalism's ushering in of the working class, and thus Juche is unique to the socialist era.[103] However, for the masses to succeed they need a Great Leader.[100] Marxism–Leninism argues that the people will lead, on the basis of their relationship to production. In North Korea a singular Great Leader is considered essential, and this helped Kim Il Sung establish a one-person autocracy.[104]
This theory makes the Great Leader an absolute, supreme leader.[105] The working class thinks not for itself, but through the Great Leader;[105] he is the mastermind of the working class and its only legitimate representative.[105] Class struggle can only be realized through the Great Leader; difficult tasks in general (and revolutionary changes in particular) can only be introduced through—and by—him.[105] Thus, in historical development the Great Leader is the leading force of the working class;[105] he is a flawless, incorruptible human being who never makes mistakes, is always benevolent and rules for the benefit of the masses (working class).[106] For the Great Leader system to function, a unitary ideology must be in place;[107] in North Korea, this is known as the Monolithic Ideological System.[107]
Kim dynasty
The Kim dynasty began with Kim Il Sung, the first leader of the WPK and North Korea.[108] The official ideology is that the North Korean system functions "well" because it was established by Kim Il Sung, whose successors follow his bloodline.[109] Every child is educated in "the revolutionary history of the Great Leader" and "the revolutionary history of the Dear Leader" (Kim Jong Il).[109] Kim Il Sung's first choice as successor was Kim Yong-ju, his brother, but he later decided to appoint his son Kim Jong Il instead; this decision was formalized at the 6th Congress.[32] Kim Jong Il appointed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, as his successor at the 3rd WPK Conference in 2010, and his son succeeded him in early 2011.[49] Because of the familial succession and the appointment of family members to high office, the Kim family has been called a dynasty and a royal family.[110] Dae-Sook Suh, the author of Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader, notes that "What he [Kim Il Sung] has built in the North, however, resembles more a political system to accommodate his personal rule than a communist or socialist state in Korea. It is not the political system he built that will survive him; it is his son [Kim Jong Il], whom he has designated heir, who will succeed his reign."[111] The ruling Kim family has been described as the head of a de facto absolute monarchy[112][113][114] or "hereditary dictatorship".[115]
Monolithic Ideological System
The Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System are a set of ten principles and 65 clauses which establish standards for governance and guide the behaviours of the people of North Korea.[116] The Ten Principles have come to supersede the national constitution or edicts by the Workers' Party, and in practice serve as the supreme law of the country.[117][118][119]
Songbun
Tomatoes, which are completely red to the core, are considered worthy Communists; apples, which are red only on the surface, are considered to need ideological improvement; and grapes are completely hopeless.
— The three main classifications in North Korean society (core, wavering, and hostile), are metaphorically described as tomatoes, apples, and grapes, respectively.[120]
Songbun is the name given to the caste system established on 30 May 1957 by the WPK Politburo when it adopted the resolution, "On the Transformation of the Struggle with Counter-Revolutionary Elements into an All-People All-Party Movement" (also known as the 30 May Resolution).[121] This led to a purge in North Korean society in which every individual was checked for his or her allegiance to the party and its leader.[122] The purge began in earnest in 1959, when the WPK established a new supervisory body headed by Kim Il Sung's brother, Kim Yong-ju.[122] The people of North Korea were divided into three "forces" (hostile, neutral or friendly),[122] and the force in which a person was classified was hereditary.[122] Hostile forces cannot live near Pyongyang (the country's capital) or other major cities, or near North Korea's border with other countries.[122] Songbun affects access to educational and employment opportunities and, particularly, eligibility to join the WPK.[120] However, its importance has diminished with the fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the North Korean economy (and the Public Distribution System) during the 1990s.[123]
Organization
Central organization
The Congress is the party's highest body and convenes on an irregular basis.[124] According to the party rules, the Central Committee can convene a congress if it gives the rest of the party at least a six months' notice.[124] The party rules give the Congress seven responsibilities:[124]
- Electing the Central Committee
- Electing the Central Auditing Commission
- Electing the General Secretary
- Examining the report of the outgoing Central Committee
- Examining the report of the outgoing Central Auditing Commission
- Discussing and enacting party policies
- Revising the party rules and making amendments to these
In between WPK national meetings, the Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution.[125] The Central Auditing Commission is responsible for supervising the party's finances and works separately from the Central Committee.[126] The Central Committee elects the composition of several bodies to carry out its work. The 1st Plenary Session of a newly elected central committee elects the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Secretariat, the Politburo, the Presidium, and the Central Auditing Commission.[127][128] The Politburo exercises the functions and powers of the Central Committee when a plenum is not in session.[129] The Presidium is the party's highest decision-making organ when the Politburo, the Central Committee, the Conference of Representatives and the Congress are not in session.[130] It was established at the 6th National Congress in 1980.[130] The CMC is the highest decision-making institution on military affairs within the party and controls the operations of the Korean People's Army.[131] The WPK General Secretary is by right Chairman of the CMC. Meanwhile, the Secretariat is the top implementation body and is headed by the WPK General Secretary and consists of several secretaries who normally head Central Committee departments, commissions, publications, and other organizations under it.[132] The Central Auditing Commission resolves disciplinary issues involving party members. Investigative subjects range from graft to anti-party and counter-revolutionary activities, generally encompassing all party rules violations.[133]
A first plenum of the Central Committee also elects the heads of departments, bureaus, and other institutions to pursue its work.[134][135] The WPK currently has more than 15 Central Committee departments.[135] Through these departments it controls several mass organisations and newspapers, such as Rodong Sinmun for instance.[135] The Korean People's Army (KPA) is, according to the WPK rules, the "revolutionary armed power of the Workers' Party of Korea which inherited revolutionary traditions."[136] The leading organ within the KPA is the General Political Bureau (GPB), which according to the WPK rules is defined "as an executive organ of the KPA Party Committee and is therefore entitled to the same authority as that of the Central Committee in conducting its activities."[137] The GPB controls the party apparatus and every political officer within the KPA.[137]
Lower-level organization
The WPK has local organizations for the three levels of local North Korean government: (1) provinces and province-level municipalities, (2) special city, ordinary cities and urban districts, and (3) rural counties and villages.[138] North Korea has nine provinces, each with a provincial party committee; their composition is decided by the WPK.[138]
The WPK has two types of membership: regular and probationary.[139] Membership is open to those 18 years of age and older and is granted after the submission of an application (endorsed by two parties' members with at least two years in good standing) to a cell.[139] The application is acted on by the cell's plenary session, and an affirmative decision is subject to ratification by a county-level party committee.[139] After an application is approved a mandatory one-year probationary period may be waived under unspecified "special circumstances", allowing the candidate to become a full member.[139] Recruitment is under the direction of the Organization and Guidance Department and its local branches.[139]
The WPK claimed a membership of more than three million in 1988, a significant increase from the two million members announced in 1976; the increase may have resulted from the Three Revolutions Team Movement mobilization drive.[140] At the time, 12 percent of the population held party membership, an abnormally large number for a communist country and a figure only comparable to Romania.[141] Later figures have not been made publicly available,[140] but membership today is estimated at 6.5 million.[142]
North Korean society is divided into three classes: industrial workers, peasants, and samuwon (intelligentsia and petite bourgeoisie).[140] Since 1948, industrial workers have constituted the largest percentage of party members, followed by peasants and samuwon.[140] Beginning in the 1970s, when North Korea's population reached the 50-per cent-urban mark, the composition of the party's groups changed; more people working in state-owned enterprises were party members, and the number of members in agricultural cooperatives decreased.[143]
Symbols
The emblem of the WPK is an adaptation of the communist hammer and sickle, with a traditional Korean calligraphy brush. The symbols represent the three classes in Korean society, as described by the WPK: the industrial workers (hammer), the peasants (sickle), and the samuwon (ink brush). The samuwon class consists of clerks, small traders, bureaucrats, professors, and writers. This class is unique to North Korean class analysis and was conceptualized to increase education and literacy among the country's population.[144]
Electoral history
Supreme People's Assembly elections
Election | Party leader | Seats | +/– | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|
1948 | Kim Il Sung | 157 / 572
|
157 | 1st |
1957 | 178 / 215
|
21 | 1st | |
1962 | 371 / 383
|
193 | 1st | |
1967 | 288 / 457
|
83 | 1st | |
1972 | 127 / 541
|
161 | 1st | |
1977 | [data missing] | |||
1982 | [data missing] | |||
1986 | [data missing] | |||
1990 | 601 / 687
|
1st | ||
1998 | Kim Jong Il | 594 / 687
|
7 | 1st |
2003 | [data missing] | |||
2009 | 606 / 687
|
1st | ||
2014 | Kim Jong Un | 607 / 687
|
1 | 1st |
2019 | [data missing] |
See also
Notes
References
Citations
- ^ Cha & Hwang 2009, p. 214.
- ^ The White House 2016.
- ^ a b c Kim 2021: "Our Party never expects that there will be any fortuitous opportunity for us in paving the road for our people and in realizing their great aim and ideals to build socialism and communism. ... When the hundreds of thousands of cell secretaries and officials across the Party unite its members firmly under the leadership of the Party Central Committee and give full play to their loyalty, patriotism and creative wisdom, our revolution will always emerge victorious in high spirits and the ideal of communism will surely come true."
- ^ a b Yonhap News Agency 2021: "The immediate aim of the Workers' Party of Korea is to build a prosperous and civilized socialist society in the northern half of the Republic and to realize the independent and democratic development of society on a nationwide scale, and the ultimate goal is to build a communist society in which the people's ideals are fully realized."
- ^ a b Frank et al. 2013, p. 45.
- ^ a b c Yonhap News Agency 2021.
- ^ Lankov 2002, p. 20.
- ^ Lankov 2002, p. 21.
- ^ Lankov 2002, p. 22.
- ^ Lankov 2002, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Lankov 2002, pp. 28–29.
- ^ a b Lankov 2002, p. 29.
- ^ a b c Lankov 2002, p. 31.
- ^ Lankov 2002, pp. 31–32.
- ^ Lankov 2002, pp. 33–40.
- ^ Lankov 2002, p. 40.
- ^ a b Lankov 2002, p. 42.
- ^ Lankov 2002, p. 44.
- ^ Lankov 2002, p. 45.
- ^ Lankov 2002, p. 47.
- ^ Suh 1988, p. 74.
- ^ Lankov 2002, p. 60.
- ^ a b Lankov 2002, p. 61.
- ^ a b c d Lankov 2002, p. 62.
- ^ a b c d e Lankov 2002, p. 65.
- ^ a b c d e Lankov 2002, p. 66.
- ^ a b c Lankov 2002, p. 70.
- ^ Lankov 2002, pp. 62–63.
- ^ Lankov 2002, p. 63.
- ^ a b Lankov 2002, p. 72.
- ^ a b c d Lankov 2002, p. 73.
- ^ a b c d e f Lee 1982, p. 442.
- ^ Lee 1982, p. 434.
- ^ a b c Buzo 1999, p. 105.
- ^ Buzo 1999, pp. 105–106.
- ^ Buzo 1999, p. 106.
- ^ Gause 2011, p. 7.
- ^ a b Gause 2011, p. 8.
- ^ a b Gause 2011, p. 11.
- ^ Gause 2011, pp. 11–13.
- ^ a b c Gause 2011, p. 13.
- ^ Gause 2011, p. 15.
- ^ Yoon 2003, p. 1301.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gause 2011, p. 18.
- ^ Gause 2011, p. 22.
- ^ Gause 2011, p. 23.
- ^ a b Gause 2011, p. 24.
- ^ a b c d Gause 2013, p. 20.
- ^ a b Gause 2013, pp. 30–32.
- ^ Choi & Hibbitts 2010, p. 3.
- ^ Gause 2013, p. 19.
- ^ McCurry 2011a.
- ^ McCurry 2011b.
- ^ AFP 2011.
- ^ Frank et al. 2011, p. 50.
- ^ Chen 2012.
- ^ BBC News 2012.
- ^ Rodong Sinmun 2012.
- ^ Oh 2013.
- ^ Frank 2018.
- ^ Reuters 2016.
- ^ AP News 2021.
- ^ Lee 2021.
- ^ Koko 2021.
- ^ Seo & Berlinger 2021.
- ^ Lankov 2021.
- ^ a b Myers 2011, pp. 9, 11–12.
- ^ KKE 2011.
- ^ Solidnet.org 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Becker 2005, p. 66.
- ^ Suh 1988, pp. 139, 313.
- ^ Cheong 2000, pp. 138–139.
- ^ a b c d e Cheong 2000, p. 139.
- ^ a b c So & Suh 2013, p. 107.
- ^ a b c Kwak 2009, p. 19.
- ^ Kwak 2009, p. 20.
- ^ Suh 1988, p. 302.
- ^ a b c Suh 1988, p. 309.
- ^ Suh 1988, pp. 309–310.
- ^ a b Suh 1988, p. 310.
- ^ Suh 1988, pp. 310–313.
- ^ Oh & Hassig 2000, p. 18.
- ^ a b Lee 2003, p. 105.
- ^ Lee 2003, pp. 105–106.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lee 2003, p. 106.
- ^ a b c d Lee 2003, p. 107.
- ^ Lee 2003, p. 109.
- ^ a b Lee 2003, p. 111.
- ^ a b c d Cheong 2000, p. 140.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cheong 2000, p. 141.
- ^ a b c d Cheong 2000, p. 142.
- ^ a b c d e Cheong 2000, p. 143.
- ^ Suh 1988, p. 313.
- ^ a b Rank 2012.
- ^ Marshall 2010.
- ^ Hitchens 2010.
- ^ a b Lee 2004, p. 4.
- ^ Marx & Engels 1906, pp. 46–47.
- ^ Engels 1892, pp. 81–82.
- ^ a b Lee 2004, p. 5.
- ^ Kim Jong Il 1982, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Kim Jong Il 1982, p. 27.
- ^ Kim Jong Il 1982, p. 71.
- ^ Lee 2004, p. 6.
- ^ a b c d e Lee 2004, p. 7.
- ^ Lee 2004, p. 8.
- ^ a b Lee 2004, p. 9.
- ^ Becker 2005, p. 44.
- ^ a b Lankov 2007, p. 29.
- ^ Lankov 2014.
- ^ Suh 1988, p. xviii.
- ^ Kihl & Kim 2006, p. 56.
- ^ Scalapino & Lee 1972, p. 689.
- ^ Choy 1984, p. 117.
- ^ Sheridan 2007.
- ^ Min 2008.
- ^ Yonhap News Agency 2013.
- ^ Lim 2008, p. 66.
- ^ Green 2012.
- ^ a b Hunter 1999, pp. 3–11.
- ^ Lankov 2007, p. 66.
- ^ a b c d e Lankov 2007, p. 67.
- ^ Lankov 2012.
- ^ a b c Gause 2011, p. 147.
- ^ National Institute for Unification Education 2014, p. 64.
- ^ Korean Central News Agency 2016.
- ^ Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea, article 3, section 24.
- ^ National Institute for Unification Education 2014, p. 66−67.
- ^ Buzo 1999, p. 30.
- ^ a b Kim Nam-Sik 1982, p. 140.
- ^ Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea, article 46.
- ^ Madden 2017.
- ^ Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea, article 3, section 28.
- ^ Gause 2013, p. 35.
- ^ a b c Gause 2013, p. 36.
- ^ National Institute for Unification Education 2014, p. 55.
- ^ a b National Institute for Unification Education 2014, p. 69.
- ^ a b Cha & Hwang 2009, p. 202.
- ^ a b c d e Cha & Hwang 2009, p. 193.
- ^ a b c d Cha & Hwang 2009, p. 209.
- ^ Lankov, Kwak & Cho 2016, pp. 193–214, 309–310.
- ^ Na 2021.
- ^ Cha & Hwang 2009, p. 210.
- ^ Cumings 2005, pp. 404–405.
Sources
Books
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- Cumings, Bruce (2005). Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History (2nd ed.). New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
- Engels, Friedrich (1892) [1880]. Socialism, Utopian and Scientific. S. Sonnenschein.
- Frank, Rüdiger; Hoare, Jim; Köllner, Patrick; Pares, Susan (25 August 2011). Korea 2011: Politics, Economy and Society. Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-21935-9.
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- Gause, Ken (2013). "The Role and Influence of the Party Apparatus". In Park, Kyung-ae; Snyder, Scott (eds.). North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economy, and Society. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 19–46. ISBN 978-1442218123.
- Hunter, Helen-Louise (1999). Kim Il-song's North Korea. Praeger. ISBN 978-0275962968.
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- Lankov, Andrei Nikolaevich; Kwak, In-ok; Cho, Choong-Bin (2016). "The Organizational Life: Daily Surveillance and Daily Resistance in North Korea". Journal of East Asian Studies. 12 (2): 193–214. doi:10.1017/S1598240800007839. ISSN 1598-2408.
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- Kim, Jong-un (7 April 2021). "Closing Speech to the 6th Conference of WPK Cell Secretaries". National Committee of North Korea. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- "Executive Order – Blocking Property of the Government of North Korea and the Workers' Party of Korea, and Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to North Korea". The White House. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- 조선로동당규약 [Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea] (PDF) (in Korean). 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2017.
News and magazine articles
- "4th Party Conference of WPK Held". Rodong Sinmun. 12 April 2012. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013.
- Chen, Zhi (20 February 2012). "DPRK's ruling party to convene conference in April". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014.
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{{cite web}}
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- ——— (24 June 2021). "Where is North Korea Heading? Major Political Rule Changes May Tell Us". NK News. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
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- McCurry, Justin (29 December 2011b). "Kim Jong-un declared 'supreme leader' in North Korea". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
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- Na, Hye-yoon (6 January 2021). 北, 당원 대폭 늘었나 ... 당 대회 참석수로 '650만 명' 추정 [Has party membership surged in the north? Estimated attendance of '6.5 million' at party convention]. News1 Korea (in Korean). Retrieved 5 November 2021.
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- Oh, Grace (13 December 2013). "N. Korea executes leader's uncle for 'treason': KCNA". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018.
- Seo, Yoonjung; Berlinger, Joshua (2 June 2021). "Kim Jong Un gets new second-in-command in major changes to North Korea's ruling party". CNN. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- Sheridan, Michael (16 September 2007). "A tale of two dictatorships: The links between North Korea and Syria". The Times. London. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
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Websites
- "13 IMCWP Resolution, Let us jointly commemorate the Birth Centenary of the Great Leader comrade President Kim Il Sung as a Grand Political Festival of the World's Humankind". Solidnet.org. 23 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- "13th IMCWP: An event of major importance". Communist Party of Greece. 29 November 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- Green, Christopher (5 June 2012). "Wrapped in a Fog: On the North Korean Constitution and the Ten Principles". Sino-NK. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- Madden, Michael (18 October 2017). "The Party Roundup: Preliminary Look at North Korea's October 7 Central Committee Plenum". 38 North. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- Lee, Gee-dong (3 September 2021). "The Changing Status and Role of the North Korean Military". Global Asia. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- Rank, Michael (10 April 2012), Lifting the cloak on North Korean secrecy: The Cleanest Race, How North Koreans See Themselves by B. R. Myers (Book review), Asia Times, archived from the original on 12 January 2013, retrieved 13 December 2012
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Further reading
- Kim Ji-ho, ed. (2016). Understanding Workers' Party of Korea (PDF). Translated by Kim Yong-nam; Mun Myong-song. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. ISBN 978-9946-0-1468-5.
External links
- Rodong Sinmun – the official newspaper of the WPK Central Committee
- Workers' Party of Korea Archived 28 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine at Naenara