Government of North Korea - wikipedia Government of North Korea National government of North Korea This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( October 2013 ) Government of the Democratic People 's Republic of Korea Formation 1948 Founding document Constitution of North Korea Jurisdiction Democratic People 's Republic of Korea Legislative branch Legislature Supreme People 's Assembly Meeting place Mansudae Assembly Hall Executive branch Leader Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Appointer Supreme People 's Assembly Headquarters Ryongsong Residence Main organ State Affairs Commission Cabinet Judicial branch Court Supreme Court Seat Pyongyang North Korea This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Democratic People 's Republic of Korea Constitution Juche ( state ideology ) Songun ( `` military - first '' policy ) Eternal leaders of Juche Korea Kim Il - sung Kim Jong - il Workers ' Party Chairman : Kim Jong - un Congress ( 7th ) Charter Central Committee ( 7th ) Politburo Standing Committee Executive Policy Bureau Central Military Commission Chairman : Kim Jong - un Organization and Guidance Department Propaganda and Agitation Department Kimilsungist - Kimjongilist Youth League State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong - un Korean People 's Army Supreme Commander : Kim Jong - un Government Cabinet Premier : Pak Pong - ju Judiciary Supreme Court Legislature President : Kim Yong - nam Presidium Elections Recent elections Parliamentary : 2003 2009 2014 Local : 2007 2011 2015 Administrative divisions First - level Provinces Special cities Second - level Third - level Eup ( city ) Dong ( neighborhood ) Ri ( village ) Rodonjagu ( workers ' district ) Foreign relations Minister of Foreign Affairs Diplomatic missions of North Korea to North Korea Passport Visa requirements Korean conflict Korean reunification Related topics Censorship Human rights Kim dynasty Propaganda Illicit activities Law ( Enforcement Security Ministry ) Other countries Atlas In the government of North Korea, the Cabinet is the administrative and executive body. The North Korean government consists of three branches : administrative, legislative, and judicial. However, they are not independent of each other. Contents 1 Institutions 1.1 Judiciary 1.2 Workers ' Party of Korea 1.3 State Affairs Commission 2 State leaders 2.1 State Affairs Commission of DPRK 2.2 Presidium of the SPA of the DPRK 2.2. 1 Supreme People 's Assembly 2.2. 2 Cabinet 2.3 WPK Central Committee ( September 2010 - May 2016 ) 3 See also 4 Notes 5 External links Institutions The government is also confirmed by the Supreme People 's Assembly ( SPA ). Premier, who appoints three Vice Premiers and the government 's ministers. The government is dominated by the ruling Workers ' Party of Korea ( WPK ) and has been since North Korea 's inception in 1948. The Cabinet now has the right to supervise and control the Local People 's Committee ( LPC ) with regard to local economies and administration. As the State Administrative Council ( SAC ) was replaced by the Cabinet, the Local Administrative and Economic Committee ( LAEC ) was abolished and its functions regarding local politics transferred to the LPC. A party chief secretary no longer concurrently holds the post of LPC chairman Hyun Seo - yeo, which has been taken over by a former LAEC chairman. Thus, the LPC is theoretically independent of the local party and is under the control of the Cabinet. The status of the LPC as the local executive organ, in principle, became higher than before. The Economist Intelligence Unit listed North Korea in last place as a totalitarian regime in its 2012 Democracy Index assessing 168 countries. Judiciary Main article : Judiciary of North Korea North Korea 's judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court of the Democratic People 's Republic of Korea, which consists of a Chief Justice and two People 's Assessors ; three judges may be present in some cases. Their terms of office coincide with those of the members of the Supreme People 's Assembly. Every court in North Korea has the same composition as the Central Court. The judicial system is theoretically held accountable to the SPA and the Presidium of the SPA when the legislature is not in session. The judiciary does not practice judicial review. The security forces so often interfere with the actions of the judiciary that the conclusion of most cases is foregone ; experts outside North Korea and numerous defectors confirm this to be a widespread problem. Freedom House states that, `` North Korea does not have an independent judiciary and does not acknowledge individual rights... reports of arbitrary detentions, ' disappearances, ' and extrajudicial killings are common ; torture is widespread and severe '' North Korea 's fifth and current constitution was approved and adopted in September 1998, replacing the one previously adopted in 1972. The former constitution had last been amended in 1992. Under the new constitution, North Korea is a socialist state representing the interests of all the Korean people. Criminal penalties can be stiff ; one of the basic functions of the system is to uphold the power of the regime. Because so little information is available concerning what actually occurs inside of the country, the extent to which there is any rule of law is uncertain. In any case, North Korea is known for its poor human rights situation and regularly detains thousands of dissidents without trial or benefit of legal advice. According to a US Department of State report on human rights practices, the government of North Korea often punishes the family of a criminal along with the perpetrator. Workers ' Party of Korea Main article : Workers ' Party of Korea The Workers ' Party of Korea is organized according to the Monolithic Ideological System and the 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, which last convened as the 7th Congress of the Workers ' Party of Korea in May 2016. Although the WPK is ( in theory ) organizationally similar to 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 Presidium have much less power than that formally bestowed on them by the party 's charter. Kim Jong - un is the current chairman of the WPK. Chairman of the Workers ' Party of Korea : Kim Jong - un Chairman of the Central Military Commission : Kim Jong - un State Affairs Commission Main article : State Affairs Commission of North Korea In June 2010, Kim appointed his uncle ( by marriage ), Chang Sung - taek, as vice-chairman of the NDC, in a move seen as propping his own position. Chang was already regarded as the second-most powerful person in North Korea and his appointment strengthened the probability that Kim 's third son, Kim Jong - un, would succeed him. However, in December 2013 Chang was fired from all government posts and subsequently executed. Kim Jong Un ordered for his uncle to be executed. In June 2016, following the 7th WPK Conference, the Constitution of North Korea was updated, replacing the National Defence Commission with the State Affairs Commission and placing Kim Jong - un as the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission. This places Kim Jong - un as the official head of state. Minister of People 's Security : Choe Pu - il Minister of People 's Armed Forces : Pak Yong - sik State leaders Eternal Leaders Eternal President : Kim Il - sung Eternal General Secretary : Kim Jong - il Supreme Leader : Kim Jong - un State Affairs Commission of dprk Chairman : Kim Jong - un Vice Chairmen : Vice Marshal of the KPA Hwang Pyong - so, Director of the KPA General Political Bureau Pak Pong - ju, Premier Choe Ryong - hae, WPK Vice Chairman for Social Organizations Members of the Commission : Kim Ki - nam, WPK Vice Chairman for Propaganda General of the Army Ri Yong - gil, Minister of the People 's Armed Forces Ri Su - yong, WPK Vice Chairman for International Relations Ri Man - gon, WPK Vice Chairman for Machine Building Kim Yong - chol, WPK Vice Chairman for United Front Work General of the Army Kim Won - hong, Minister of State Security General of the Army Choe Pu - il, Minister of People 's Security Ri Yong - ho, Foreign Minister Ri Ryong Nam, Foreign Trade Presidium of the SPA of the DPRK President : Kim Yong - nam Vice presidents : Yang Hyong Sop and Kim Yong Dae Honorary vice-president : Kim Yong Ju, and Choe Yong Rim ( since April 2013 ) Secretary general of the Presidium : Hong Son Ok ( since April 2013 ) Supreme People 's Assembly Chairman : Choe Thae - bok Vice-chairpersons : An Tong Chun and Ri Hye Jong ( April 2014 ) Cabinet Main article : Cabinet of North Korea Premier : Pak Pong Ju ( April 2013 ) Vice Premiers : Ro Tu Chol ( from April 2009 ), Ri Mu Yong ( April 2014 ), Kim Yong Jin ( April 2014 ), Ri Chol Man ( since April 2012 ), Kim Tok Hun ( April 2014 ) Minister of Foreign Affairs : Ri Su Yong ( April 2014 ) Minister of Finance : Choe Kwang Jin WPK Central Committee ( September 2010 - may 2016 ) Main article : 6th Central Committee of the Workers ' Party of Korea Eternal General Secretary : Kim Jong - il First secretary of the WPK : Kim Jong - un Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Workers ' Party of Korea Central Committee ( since September 2010 ) : Kim Jong - il Kim Jong - un ( since April 2012 ) Kim Yong - nam Choe Yong Rim Jo Myong - rok Ri Yong - ho Choe Ryong Hae ( since April 2012 ) Hwang Pyong - so ( February 2015 ) Members and Alternate Members of Political Bureau ( September 2010 ) : Kim Jong - il, Kim Jong - un ( 2012 ), Kim Yong - nam, Jo Myong Rok, Ri Yong Ho, Choe Yong Rim, Choe Ryong Hae, Kim Yong Chun, Jon Pyong Ho, Kim Kuk - thae, Kim Ki Nam, Choe Thae - bok, Yang Hyong Sop, Kang Sok Ju, Pyon Yong Rip, Ri Yong Mu, Ju Sang Song, Hong Sok Hyong and Kim Kyong Hui, and since April 2012 : Kim Jong - gak, Jang Song - thaek, Pak To Chun, Hyon Chol Hae, Kim Won Hong, Ri Myong - su, and March 2013 : Pak Pong Ju, February 2015 : Hwang Pyong - so ( members ), Kim Yang Gon, Kim Yong Il, Ju Kyu Chang, Ri Thae Nam, Kim Rak Hui, Thae Jong Su, Kim Phyong Hae, U Tong Chuk, Kim Jong - gak, Pak Jong Sun, Kim Chang Sop and Mun Kyong Dok and since April 2012 : Kwak Pom Gi, O Kuk Ryol, Ro Tu Chol, Ri Pyong Sam and Jo Yon Jun and March 2013 :, Hyon Yong Chol, Kim Kyok Sik and Choe Pu Il, and April 2014 O Su Yong, Ri Yong - gil ( alternate members ) Secretariat of WPK Central Committee ( September 2010 ) : Kim Jong - il, Kim Jong - un ( 2012 ), Kim Ki Nam, Choe Thae - bok, Choe Ryong Hae, Mun Kyong Dok, Pak To Chun, Kim Yong Il, Kim Yang Gon, Kim Phyong Hae, Thae Jong Su, Hong Sok - hyong and April 2012 : Kim Kyong Hui and Kwak Pom Gi, Kang Sok Ju ( April 2014 ), O Su Yong ( April 2014 ), Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong So, An Jong Su, Kim Su Gil ( April 2014 ? ) Central Military Commission of the Workers ' Party of Korea : Chairman Kim Jong - un ( since 2012 ), Vice Chairmen Choe Ryong Hae - Vice Marshal and Hyon Yong - chol - Vice Marshal ( since 2012 ), Hwang Pyong - so ( since 2014 ), Members Kim Yong Chun - Vice Marshal, Kim Jong Gak - Vice Marshal, Kim Myong Guk, Kim Kyong Ok, Kim Won Hong, Jong Myong Do, Ri Pyong Chol, Choe Pu Il, Kim Yong Chol, Yun Jong Rin, Ju Kyu Chang, Choe Sang Ryo, Choe Kyong Song, U Tong Chuk, Jang Song Thaek, and since April 2012 : Hyon Chol Hae - Vice Marshal, Ri Myong Su and Kim Rak Gyom, February 2013 : Kim Kyok Sik, Ri Yong Gil. 7th Central Committee of the Workers ' Party of Korea : Presidium of the Political Bureau : Kim Jong Un, Kim Yong Nam, Hwang Pyong So, Pak Pong Ju and Choe Ryong Hae Members of the Political Bureau : Kim Jong Un, Kim Yong Nam, Hwang Pyong So, Pak Pong Ju, Choe Ryong Hae, Kim Ki Nam, Choe Thae Bok, Ri Su Yong, Kim Phyong Hae, O Su Yong, Kwak Pom Gi, Kim Yong Chol, Ri Man Gon, Yang Hyong Sop, Ro Tu Chol, Pak Yong Sik, Ri Myong Su, Kim Won Hong and Choe Pu Il and Ri Yong - ho ( Ocstober 2017 ). Alternate Members of the Political Bureau : Kim Su Gil, Kim Nung O, Pak Thae Song, Ri Yong Ho, Im Chol Ung, Jo Yon Jun, Ri Pyong Chol, No Kwang Chol and Ri Yong Gil, and Kim Yo - jong, Kim Jong - sik, Ri Pyong - chol ( October 2017 ) Executive Policy Bureau of the Party Central Committee : Chairman of the WPK : Kim Jong Un Vice-Chairmen of the Party Central Committee : Choe Ryong Hae, Kim Ki Nam, Choe Thae Bok, Ri Su Yong, Kim Phyong Hae, O Su Yong, Kwak Pom Gi, Kim Yong Chol and Ri Man Gon Central Military Commission : Chairman : Kim Jong Un Members : Hwang Pyong So, Pak Pong Ju, Pak Yong Sik, Ri Myong Su, Kim Yong Chol, Ri Man Gon, Kim Won Hong, Choe Pu Il, Kim Kyong Ok, Ri Yong Gil and So Hong Chan Department Directors of the C.C., the WPK : Kim Ki Nam, Ri Su Yong, Kim Phyong Hae, O Su Yong, Kim Yong Chol, Ri Man Gon, Ri Il Hwan, An Jong Su, Ri Chol Man, Choe Sang Gon, Ri Yong Rae, Kim Jong Im, Kim Jung Hyop, Kim Man Song and Kim Yong Su Chairman of the Control Commission of the Party Central Committee : Hong In Bom See also North Korea portal Politics portal Politics of North Korea Government of South Korea State General Bureau of Tourist Guidance Notes Jump up ^ `` North Korea names Kim Jong - un army commander ''. BBC News. 2011 - 12 - 31. Archived from the original on 2012 - 01 - 14. Jump up ^ Teen Life in Asia By Judith J. Slater Jump up ^ `` S. Korea Outranks U.S. in Democracy Index ''. Chosun Ilbo. 2013 - 03 - 22. Archived from the original on 2014 - 05 - 06. Retrieved 2013 - 04 - 15. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2013 - 04 - 08. Retrieved 2013 - 05 - 15. ^ Jump up to : `` Country Reports on Human Rights Practices ''. U.S. Department of State. March 8, 2006. Archived from the original on March 21, 2006. Retrieved 2006 - 02 - 22. Jump up ^ `` Freedom in the World, 2006 ''. Freedom House. Archived from the original on 2007 - 07 - 14. Retrieved 2007 - 02 - 13. Jump up ^ Teen Life in Asia By Judith J. Slate Jump up ^ Fading Kim sets the stage for power play Archived 2012 - 06 - 12 at the Wayback Machine., Donald Kirk, SCMP, 11 June 2010 Jump up ^ `` North Korea executes Kim Jong Un 's uncle ''. Associated Press. 12 December 2013. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` DPRK Constitution Text Released Following 2016 Amdendments ''. https://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/dprk-constitution-text-released-following-2016-amdendments/. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017. External link in website = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` N. Korea updates constitution expanding Kim Jong Un 's position ''. NK News. NK News. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2017. External links Government of North Korea at Curlie ( based on DMOZ ) hide Governments of Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor ( Timor - Leste ) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Artsakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands Hong Kong Macau Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Government_of_North_Korea&oldid=845724218 '' Categories : Politics of North Korea Government of North Korea Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links CS1 errors : external links Articles with short description Articles needing additional references from October 2013 All articles needing additional references Articles with Curlie links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Русский Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 13 June 2018, at 18 : 08. 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Question: what type of government do they have in north korea
Answer: totalitarian