Supreme People's Assembly
Encyclopedia
The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) is the unicameral
parliament
of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of 687 constituencies, elected to five-year terms.
North Korea is a single-party state
; all candidates for the Supreme People's Assembly are picked by the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland
under Kim Jong-il
. The body in turn is dominated by the Workers' Party of Korea
.
Although the Supreme People's Assembly is North Korea's primary legislative body
, it ordinarily delegates authority to the smaller and more powerful Presidium, chosen from among its members.
, all citizens
17 and older, regardless of party
affiliation, political views, or religion, are eligible to be elected to the parliament and vote in elections. In reality, however, North Korea is a totalitarian
single-party state.
All candidates are selected by the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland in mass meetings held to decide which candidates will be nominated and their names can only go on the ballot paper with the approval of the meeting. The Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland is a popular front
dominated by the Korean Worker's Party, in which almost all power rests. The other participants in the coalition include the two other de facto legal political parties, the Korean Social Democratic Party
and the Chondoist Chongu Party
, as well as various other member organizations including social groups and youth groups, such as the Korean section of the Pioneer movement
, the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League
, the Korean Democratic Women's League, and the Red Cross Society of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Elections are ostensibly by secret ballot
. However, only one candidate who has been selected by the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland appears on the ballot. A voter may cross off the candidate's name to vote against him, but must do so in a special booth without any secrecy. According to many North Korean defectors, such an act of defiance is too risky to even attempt.
.
Kim Jong Il did not make a speech at the first session of the 10th SPA in 1998. Instead, members listened to a tape-recorded speech of the late Kim Il Sung, which was made at the first session of the 9th SPA, in 1991.
The enhanced status of the Korean People's Army
was anticipated by the SPA election July 1998, when 101 military officials were elected out of 687 delegates. This was a big jump from the 57 military officials elected during the 9th SPA in 1990.
Kim Yong-nam
has been president of the Assembly Presidum and de facto head of state of North Korea since 1998. Choe Thae-bok
is the Chairman of the SPA, and Kim Wan-su and Hong Son Ok are the Vice-Chairmen.
The Assembly is convened once or twice a year in regular sessions of several days each. At all other times, the Presidium serves as the country’s legislature. Extraordinary sessions of the Assembly can also meet when called by the Presidium or by one third of the Assembly deputies.
The functions of the SPA are:
The Constitution is amended when approved by more than two thirds of the number of deputies.
The Presidium
consists of the President, Vice-Presidents, secretaries and other members. The functions of the Presidium are to:
In addition to its executive functions, the Presidium also receives credentials of diplomatic representatives
from foreign countries.
According to the 1998 Constitution, the Presidium and the President of the Presidium succeed the Assembly's Standing Committee and the Chairman of the Standing Committee; the latter post was both the speaker of the Assembly and the head of State
before the creation of the President of the DPRK. Currently, the President of the Presidium is the head of State, while the Chairman of the Assembly is the SPA speaker.
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
(DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of 687 constituencies, elected to five-year terms.
North Korea is a single-party state
Single-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
; all candidates for the Supreme People's Assembly are picked by the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland
Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland
The Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, formed on 22 July 1946, is a North Korean united front led by the Workers' Party of Korea. It was initially called the North Korean Fatherland United Democratic Front...
under Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
. The body in turn is dominated by the Workers' Party of Korea
Workers' Party of Korea
The Workers' Party of Korea is the ruling Communist party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea. It is also called the Korean Workers' Party...
.
Although the Supreme People's Assembly is North Korea's primary legislative body
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
, it ordinarily delegates authority to the smaller and more powerful Presidium, chosen from among its members.
Elections and membership
Under the Constitution of North KoreaConstitution of North Korea
The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea.Previous constitutions were adopted in 1948, 1972, 1992, and 1998...
, all citizens
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
17 and older, regardless of party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
affiliation, political views, or religion, are eligible to be elected to the parliament and vote in elections. In reality, however, North Korea is a totalitarian
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
single-party state.
All candidates are selected by the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland in mass meetings held to decide which candidates will be nominated and their names can only go on the ballot paper with the approval of the meeting. The Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland is a popular front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
dominated by the Korean Worker's Party, in which almost all power rests. The other participants in the coalition include the two other de facto legal political parties, the Korean Social Democratic Party
Korean Social Democratic Party
The Korean Social Democratic Party is a political party in North Korea, allied with the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. Initially a moderate social democratic party, it was formed on November 3, 1945, by medium and small entrepreneurs, merchants, handicraftsmen, petite bourgeoisie, peasants and...
and the Chondoist Chongu Party
Chondoist Chongu Party
The Chondoist Chongu Party is a united front party in North Korea and is labeled as democratic by the government of the country. The party was founded on February 5, 1946, by a group of followers of the Chondogyo religion...
, as well as various other member organizations including social groups and youth groups, such as the Korean section of the Pioneer movement
Pioneer movement
A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically joined the Young Communist League...
, the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League
Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League
Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League is a Korean youth organization. It is the main youth organization in DPR Korea.It was founded by Kim Il-sung on January 17, 1946 as the Democratic Youth League of North Korea. It became the youth wing of the Workers Party of North Korea, later the Workers Party...
, the Korean Democratic Women's League, and the Red Cross Society of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Elections are ostensibly by secret ballot
Secret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
. However, only one candidate who has been selected by the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland appears on the ballot. A voter may cross off the candidate's name to vote against him, but must do so in a special booth without any secrecy. According to many North Korean defectors, such an act of defiance is too risky to even attempt.
History
In 1990 the composition of the SPA was 601 seats held by the Workers' Party of Korea, 51 seats held by the Korean Social Democratic Party, 22 seats held by the Chondoist Chongu Party and 13 seats held by independentsIndependent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
.
Kim Jong Il did not make a speech at the first session of the 10th SPA in 1998. Instead, members listened to a tape-recorded speech of the late Kim Il Sung, which was made at the first session of the 9th SPA, in 1991.
The enhanced status of the Korean People's Army
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army , also known as the Inmin Gun, are the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defence Commission...
was anticipated by the SPA election July 1998, when 101 military officials were elected out of 687 delegates. This was a big jump from the 57 military officials elected during the 9th SPA in 1990.
Kim Yong-nam
Kim Yong-nam
Kim Yong-nam is the current North Korean Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, a position held since 1998. He was elected a member of the presidium of the politburo of the central committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in 2010.He was born in the Central District, Heijo ,...
has been president of the Assembly Presidum and de facto head of state of North Korea since 1998. Choe Thae-bok
Choe Thae-bok
Choe Thae-bok is a North Korean politician. He is a member of the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea, and has been Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly since September 1998...
is the Chairman of the SPA, and Kim Wan-su and Hong Son Ok are the Vice-Chairmen.
Functions
According to the Constitution of North Korea, it is the highest organ of state power. In practice, it merely serves as a rubber stamp for decisions already made by the nation's executive organs and the Workers' Party. The SPA always passes all proposals by the government into law during its sessions with almost no debate or modification.The Assembly is convened once or twice a year in regular sessions of several days each. At all other times, the Presidium serves as the country’s legislature. Extraordinary sessions of the Assembly can also meet when called by the Presidium or by one third of the Assembly deputies.
The functions of the SPA are:
- Adopting, amending or supplementing enactments to the constitution
- Determining State policy and budgets
- Elections of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and members of the National Defence CommissionNational Defence Commission of North KoreaThe National Defense Commission of North Korea is defined by the 1998 constitution as “the highest guiding organ of the military and the managing organ of military matters.” The Chairman of the National Defense Commission controls the armed forces and, in this state where the military...
- Election of the President and other members of the Presidium
- Elections of legal officials
- Appointing President, Vice-President and other members of the Cabinet
- Receiving reports and adopting measures on the Cabinet
The Constitution is amended when approved by more than two thirds of the number of deputies.
Presidium
The Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly is the highest organ of power in North Korea. It exercises legislative power when the SPA is in recess, which occurs during all but a few days of every year. Kim Yong-nam is the current President of the Presidium.The Presidium
Presidium
The presidium or praesidium is the name for the heading organ of various legislative and organizational bodies.-Historical usage:...
consists of the President, Vice-Presidents, secretaries and other members. The functions of the Presidium are to:
- Convene sessions of the Supreme People's Assembly
- Examining and approving new State legislation when the SPA is in recess
- Interpretation and enactment of the Constitution and legislation
- Forming or dissolving State ministries
- Supervise laws of State organs
- Organisation of elections to the Supreme People's Assembly
- Ratification of treaties with foreign countries
- Appointment, transferring or removal of officials and judges when the SPA is not in session
- Granting special pardons or amnesties
In addition to its executive functions, the Presidium also receives credentials of diplomatic representatives
Diplomatic credentials
Diplomatic credentials are documents presented by foreign ambassadors and ministers to the chief of state of the host government. The documents, which follow a standard text, identify the diplomats as representatives of their governments and empowered to speak for them.According to diplomatic...
from foreign countries.
According to the 1998 Constitution, the Presidium and the President of the Presidium succeed the Assembly's Standing Committee and the Chairman of the Standing Committee; the latter post was both the speaker of the Assembly and the head of State
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
before the creation of the President of the DPRK. Currently, the President of the Presidium is the head of State, while the Chairman of the Assembly is the SPA speaker.