# Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea

The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (CMC) (Korean: 조선로동당 중앙군사위원회) is an organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) which heads the Korean People's Army (KPA).
One of the CMC's primary functions is to authorize defense and munitions spending and product orders, and to determine how natural resources and products from military-controlled production units are earmarked and distributed domestically and for sale abroad. According to the WPK rules, the CMC directs WPK activities in the KPA and is chaired by the WPK General Secretary. The CMC relies on a number of organizations to carry out its mandate, including the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, the WPK Political-Military Affairs Department, and the WPK Machine-Building Department.

## History

The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea was established at the 5th plenary meeting of the 4th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held on 10–14 December 1962. During its establishment, it was a committee subordinate to the WPK Central Committee under the full name Military Committee of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.
The committee was organized to its present form at the 6th plenary meeting of the 6th WPK Central Committee held on 29–31 August 1982. An amendment to the WPK charter in 1982 is believed to have made the CMC equal to the Central Committee, enabling it (among other things) to elect the WPK leader. The last public listing of the CMC was at the 21st Plenary Session of the 6th Central Committee in December 1993. By the 3rd Conference, seven of its nineteen 1993 members remained; the other twelve had either died, retired or were purged.
The CMC was revitalized at the 3rd Conference in 2010, with Kim Jong Un and Ri Yong-ho elected as deputy chairmen. Except for his Central Committee membership, this was Kim Jong Un's only title at this time; in many ways, the CMC enabled him to develop a patronage network. New members included Vice Marshal Kim Yong-chun (Minister of People's Armed Forces), General Kim Myong-ruk (Chief of the Operation Bureau of the General Staff), General Ri Pyong-chol (Commander of the Korean People's Air Force), Admiral Jong Myong-do (Commander of the Korean People's Navy), Lieutenant General Kim Yong-chol, Colonel General Choe Kyong-song (heads of the KPA's special forces) General Choe Pu-il and Colonel General Choe Sang-ryo (members of the General Staff). Civilians, such as Jang Song-thaek (head of the Administrative Department), also had seats on the commission. However, the overall authority of the CMC was diluted; it was stripped of its authority to command the KPA.
At the 4th Conference, Choe Ryong-hae was appointed CMC deputy chairman; Vice Marshal Hyon Chol-hae, General Ri Myong-su and Kim Rak-gyom were elected to the commission. Kim Jong Un oversaw the CMC regaining its former power, aiming to bring the KPA firmly under party control; the 8th WPK Congress held in 2021 oversaw the CMC being upgraded to "the party’s supreme institution on military guidance", as well as granting it "command over the armed forces of the republic".

## Organization

According to the rules of the WPK, the CMC is "the party’s supreme institution on military guidance" and has the authority to "command over the armed forces of the republic". The rules also state that WPK General Secretary is chairman of the CMC ex officio.

## Current membership

As of 10 January 2021, the Central Military Commission consists of the chairman, vice chairman, and 11 members.
Chairman :
| Chairman | Other positions |
| Marshal of the DPRK Kim Jong Un 김정은 (born 1984) | General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea Politburo Presidium Member President of the State Affairs Commission Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of North Korea |
| Vice Chairman ||
| Vice Chairman | Other positions |
| Marshal of the KPA Ri Pyong-chol 리병철 (born 1948) | Politburo Presidium Member Secretary of the Central Committee Member of the State Affairs Commission |
| Vice Marshal of the KPA Ri Yong-gil 리영길 | Politburo Member |
| Members ||
| Member | Other positions |
| Colonel General Jo Yong-won 조용원 | Politburo Presidium Member |
| Colonel General O Il-jong 오일정 (born 1954) | Politburo Member Secretary of the Central Committee Director of the Military Leadership Department |
| Kim Jo-guk 김조국 | First Vice Department Director of the Central Committee |
| General Kang Sun-nam 강순남 | Director of the Munitions Industry Department Minister of Defense |
| O Su-yong 오수용 (born 1944) | Politburo Member Chairman of the Second Economic Committee |
| Marshal of the KPA Pak Jong-chon 박정천 | Politburo Member Director of the Political-Military Leadership Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea |
| Colonel General Kwon Yong-jin 권영진 | Politburo Member Director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army |
| General Kim Jong-gwan 김정관 | Politburo Member Part of Ministry of Defense leadership |
| Colonel General Jong Kyong-thaek 정경택 (born 1961) | Politburo Member Minister of State Security |
| General Rim Kwang-il 림광일 (born 1965) | First Vice Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army Chief of the Reconnaissance General Bureau |