• Forum
• SITREP

• Military

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space
• Public Eye

Further Reading

Korean Workers' Party - Party Congress

North Korea is a communist state under the one-man leadership of Kim Jong Il, chairman of the National Defense Commission-the nation's "highest administrative authority," supreme commander of the Korean People's Army (KPA), and general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party (KWP). The National Defense Commission (chaired by Kim Jong Il) is a more powerful body than the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers Party. In orthodox Marxism-Leninism, the Party retains control of the military. Kim Jong Il runs the party with few formal meetings. The KWP's last full party congress was in 1980, and the Central Committee last met in 1994.

In theory, according to Article 21 of the Rules and Regulations of the Korean Workers' Party as revised in October 1980, the national party congress is the supreme party organ. The party congress approves reports of the party organs, adopts basic party policies and tactics, and elects members to the KWP Central Committee and the Central Auditing Committee. The election, however, is perfunctory because the members of these bodies are actually chosen by [when he was alive, by Kim Il Sung] and his few trusted lieutenants.

A party congress is supposed to be convened every five years, but as of early 2010, one had not been held since the Sixth Party Congress of October 1980. Party congresses are attended by delegates elected by the members of provincial-level party assemblies at the ratio of one delegate for every 1,000 party members.

The long-delayed Sixth Party Congress, convened from October 10-14, 1980, was attended by 3,220 party delegates (3,062 full members and 158 alternate members) and 177 foreign delegates from 118 countries. Approximately 1,800 delegates attended the Fifth Party Congress in November 1970. The 1980 congress was convened by the KWP Central Committee to review, discuss, and endorse reports by the Central Committee, the Central Auditing Committee, and other central organs covering the activities of these bodies since the last congress.

The Sixth Party Congress reviewed and discussed the report on the work of the party in the ten years since the Fifth Party Congress. It also elected a new Central Committee. In his report to the congress, Kim Il Sung outlined a set of goals and policies for the 1980s. He proposed the establishment of a Democratic Confederal Republic of Kory as a reasonable way to achieve the independent and peaceful reunification of the country. Kim Il Sung also clarified a new ten-point policy for the unified state and stressed that North Korea and South Korea (the Republic of Korea, or ROK) should recognize and tolerate each other's ideas and social systems, that the unified central government should be represented by P'yongyang and Seoul on an equal footing, and that both sides should exercise regional autonomy with equal rights and duties. Specifically, the unified government should respect the social systems and the wishes of administrative organizations and of every party, every group, and every sector of people in the North and the South, and prevent one side from imposing its will on the other.

Kim Il Sung also emphasized the Three Revolutions, which were aimed at hastening the process of political and ideological transformation based on chuch'e ideology, improving the material and technical standards of the economy, and developing socialist national culture. According to Kim, these revolutions are the responsibility of the Three Revolution Team Movement -- "a new method of guiding the revolution, which combined political and ideological guidance with scientific and technical guidance. This approach enabled the upper bodies to help the lower levels and rouse masses of the working people to accelerate the Three Revolutions." The teams perform their guidance work by sending their members to factories, enterprises, and cooperative farms. Their members are party cadres, including those from the KWP Central Committee, reliable officials of the government, persons from economic and mass organizations, scientists and technicians, and young intellectuals. Kim Il Sung left no question that the Three Revolution Team Movement had succeeded the Ch'llima Movement (see Glossary) and would remain the principal vehicle through which the party pursued its political and economic objectives in the 1980s.

The linkage between party and economic work also was addressed by Kim Il Sung. In acknowledging the urgent task of economic construction, he stated that party work should be geared toward efficient economic construction and that success in party work should be measured by success in economic construction. Accordingly, party organizations were told to "push forward economic work actively, give prominence to economic officials, and help them well." Party officials were also advised to watch out for signs of independence on the part of technocrats.

The Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea was held with in Pyongyang on 28 September 2010. Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the WPK and chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, was present at the Conference. Present there were delegates elected at the meeting of WPK delegates of the Korean People's Army and provincial and political bureaus' meetings of delegates of the WPK. Officials of the party, armed forces and power organs, working people's organizations, ministries and national institutions, servicepersons and officials in the fields of science, education, public health, culture and arts and media attended the Conference as observers.

On 28 September 2010 "General Secretary Kim Jong Il was reelected as general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea at the conference of the WPK convened at a historic time when a signal turn is being effected in carrying out the revolutionary cause of Juche, the cause of building a thriving socialist nation. The conference solemnly declared internally and externally that Kim Jong Il was reelected as general secretary of the WPK with unanimous will and wishes of all the party members, servicepersons and people of the DPRK as he performed the immortal exploits to shine long in the history of the country and developed the WPK into the party of President Kim Il Sung, ever-victorious Juche-type revolutionary party by wisely leading the revolutionary cause of Juche to victories only with his outstanding idea and uncommon revolutionary practices for half a century since he embarked upon the road of the revolution in his early years. His reelection to the supreme post of the WPK, organizer and guide of all victories of the Korean people, is the highest glory and happiness of millions of party members and servicepersons and people of the DPRK and a great auspicious event of the country and the nation."

Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea also declared that Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the WPK, was reelected as member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the C.C., the WPK, member of the Political Bureau of the C.C., the WPK, member of the C.C., the WPK and chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK according to the WPK rules and the detailed regulations for the election of the supreme leadership body of the WPK.

The results of organization of the Central Military Commission of the WPK were released. The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea is as follows: Chairman Kim Jong Il, Vice-Chairmen Kim Jong Un and Ri Yong Ho and Members Kim Yong Chun, Kim Jong Gak, 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, Choe Ryong Hae and Jang Song Thaek.