Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army
Commander-in-chief role | |
Standard of the Supreme Commander | |
Currently Kim Jong-un since 30 December 2011 | |
Korean People's Army | |
Vested in | Chairman of the State Affairs Commission |
---|---|
Residence | Pyongyang, North Korea |
Formation | 5 July 1950 |
First | Kim Il-sung |
Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army | |
Chosŏn'gŭl | 조선인민군 최고사령관 |
---|---|
Hancha | 朝鮮人民軍最高司令官 |
Revised Romanization | Joseon Inmin-gun Choego Saryeonggwan |
McCune–Reischauer | Chosŏn Inmin'gun Ch'oego Saryŏnggwan |
The Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army is the highest post in command of the Korean People's Army (KPA), the armed forces of North Korea, and is in charge of one of the largest standing armed forces in the world with around 1.8 million active duty military personnel and military reserves.
Constitutionally, the position is attached to the office of Chairman of the State Affairs Commission. According to the constitution of North Korea: "The Chairman of the State Affairs Commission is the supreme commander of the whole armed forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and commands and directs all the armed forces of the State."[1]
Contents
1 History
2 List of officeholders
3 Notes
4 References
History
Kim Il-sung was the first Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army upon the founding of North Korea in 1948 after he was selected to be the leader of the country. He, upon assumption of power, organized the KPA and had the Soviet Union equip it with modern weapons, tanks, planes, artillery and ships deemed unusable by the Soviets and communist China. During the Korean War, Kim Il-sung, then the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) as well as the premier of the government and KPA Supreme Commander, took care of the military operations only to be deprived of command by China in the latter stages.[clarification needed]. After the war, he resumed command of the KPA even after his election as President of North Korea in 1972. In the 1990s, since he was aged, Kim handed over the post of Supreme Commander of the KPA as well as the chairmanship of the country's National Defence Commission that supervises military matters to his son and designated heir as the next leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il one year before his death in 1994. The elder Kim remained as the President of North Korea, General-Secretary of WPK and Chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, a party organ propagating politics in military affairs. After Kim Il-sung's death in 1994, Kim Jong-il, being the new leader of the country and the KPA Supreme Commander, imposed a Songun policy that prioritized the military affairs of the country before anything else. Kim Jong-il on his death in 2011 was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un, who replaced him as the new leader of the country and military. Kim Jong-un was publicly declared as the new Supreme Commander by the Rodong Sinmun, on 24 December 2011 and officially appointed to the position on 30 December 2011.[2][3]
List of officeholders
№ | Portrait | Supreme Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Il-sung, KimGeneralissimo Kim Il-sung 김일성 (15 April 1912–8 July 1994) | 5 July 1950 | 24 December 1991 | 41 years, 5 months | Workers' Party | — | |
2 | Jong-il, KimGeneralissimo Kim Jong-il 김정일 (16 February 1941–17 December 2011) [a] | 24 December 1991 | 17 December 2011 | 19 years, 11 months | Workers' Party | — | |
3 | Jong-un, KimMarshal of the DPRK Kim Jong-un 김정은 (born 8 January 1984) | 30 December 2011 | Incumbent | 7 years, 2 months | Workers' Party | [2][3] |
Notes
^ Was posthumously awarded the title of Generalissimo, on 16 February 2012.
References
^ "Article 102". Socialist Constitution of North Korea (PDF). Amended and supplemented on April 1, Juche 102 (2013), at the Seventh Session of the fourth Supreme People's Assembly. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. 2014. p. 22. ISBN 978-9946-0-1099-1..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ ab "N.Korea declares Kim Jong-Un commander of military". Agence France-Presse. 30 December 2011. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
^ ab "North Korea: Kim Jong-un hailed 'supreme commander'". BBC News. 24 December 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
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