This article lists the political leaders of North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. At the end of World War II, the Soviet Unionoccupied the northern half of Korea and in 1946 established the Provisional People's Committee for North Korea chaired by Kim Il-sung. On 9 September 1948, the DPRK was proclaimed, also led by Kim Il-sung. The leaders of the DPRK have been Kim Il-sung, his son Kim Jong-il, and his grandson Kim Jong-Un. In this role they have not held consistent titles, though they were each leaders of the Workers' Party of Korea —titled as Chairman from 1948 to 1966, General Secretary from 1966 to 2011, First Secretary from 2011 to 2016, and finally Chairman again since 2016—for almost all of their period in power. Even though they have the appearance of a dynasty, succession is informal. From 1948 to 1972, the nominal head of state was the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly. In 1972, the constitution was amended to create an executive presidency. Kim Il-sung, who had served as Premier of North Korea since the DPRK's inception, was unanimously elected President of North Korea by the Supreme People's Assembly on December 28. He held this office until his death on 8 July 1994 when he was proclaimed the "eternal President of the Republic". Since then, the practical functions of the head of state have been exercised by the President of the Presidium of the SPA. After the death of Kim Il-sung, his son Kim Jong-il was understood to have inherited his father's near-absolute control over the country. Although he had been his father's designated successor since at least 1991, it took him three years to fully consolidate his power. He was elected general secretary of the party in 1997, and was reelected Chairman of the National Defence Commission in 1998. During his rule he was given a range of titles. He ruled the country until his death on 17 December 2011. He was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-un, who was revealed to be in charge of the country since his father's death by the Rodong Sinmun and finally publicly acknowledged as "Supreme Leader" at the military review ending Kim Jong-il's funeral on 29 December 2011. Who would succeed Kim Jong-un is uncertain and has been speculated upon after health concerns arose in April of 2020. The government is headed by the Premier of the Cabinet, formerly called Premier of the Administration Council. Other important institutions include the SPA, whose sessions are chaired by the [|Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly], and, since 1993, the Chairman of the NDC–since 2016, known as the State Affairs Commission–which holds supreme command of the DPRK's armed forces. While two other parties, the Korean Social Democratic Party and the Chondoist Chongu Party, nominally exist, only the WPK holds any power at the national level. The other parties, and indeed all other mass organizations in the country, are completely subservient to the WPK. Almost nothing is mentioned about the minor parties except the names of their current leaders. Since 1997, the SPA chairman, premier and NDC/SAC chairman have officially formed a triumvirate heading the executive branch, with powers equivalent to one-third of a president's powers in other presidential systems. The SPA chairman conducts foreign affairs and receives the credentials of ambassadors, the premier handles domestic policy and the NDC/SAC chairman commands the armed forces. In practice, however, the real power is vested in the SAC chairman, an office constitutionally defined as the "highest post in the state”.
All supreme leaders of North Korea hold the positions of leader of the Workers' Party of Korea and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army. The Constitution of North Korea has officially recognized the title "Supreme Leader" since 2009, when the chairman of the National Defence Commission was formally designated as the "supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea". ImageSize = width:875 height:auto barincrement:16 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1948 till:01/01/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1948 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1950 BarData = barset:PM PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift: anchor:till barset:PM from: 09/09/1948 till: 08/07/1994 color:red text:"Kim Il-sung" fontsize:10 from: 08/07/1994 till: 17/12/2011 color:blue text:"Kim Jong-il" fontsize:10 from: 17/12/2011 till: 01/04/2020 color:green text:"Kim Jong-un" fontsize:10
Generations of leadership
Bold offices refer to the highest positions in North Korea
Kim Jong-il died on 17 December 2011, but has since been posthumously named the "Eternal General Secretary". Thus his son and successor as leader, Kim Jong-un, was not given the title of General Secretary.
Heads of state
Kim Il-sung died on 8 July 1994, but in 1998 was named the "eternal President of the Republic". Thus his son and successor as leader, the late Kim Jong-il, did not assume the post of head of state until April 2009 and the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly became recognised as the de facto head of state.
Heads of government
Heads of parliament
Heads of the military
Kim Jong-il died on 17 December 2011, but has since been posthumously named the "Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission". Thus his son and successor as leader, Kim Jong-un, was given the title of "First Chairman".
