North Korea changes constitution to strengthen Kim Jong-un’s power
- Under the new laws, Kim is now recognised as the head of state and commander-in-chief
- The revised constitution ‘firmly ensure the monolithic guidance of the Supreme Leader over all state affairs’, state media said.
Kim’s legal status as “representing our state has been further consolidated to firmly ensure the monolithic guidance of the Supreme Leader over all state affairs”, state news agency KCNA quoted Choe Ryong Hae, president of the presidium of the supreme people’s assembly, or titular parliament, as saying.
The presidium president had historically been the nominal head of state.
But the new constitution said Kim, as chairman of the State Affairs Commission (SAC), a top governing body created in 2016, was the supreme representative of all the Korean people, which means head of state, as well as “commander-in-chief”.
A previous constitution simply called Kim “supreme leader” who commanded the country’s “overall military force”.
Thursday’s constitutional amendments appear to confirm that North Korea’s legal system will now recognise Kim as head of state.