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The three keywords to understanding North Korea regime
are: one-party rule, one-man rule, and dynastic
rule. |
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One-Party Rule |
One-party rule is characteristic of most socialist
states of the past. It places an ideological ruling
party at the apex of the political power structure,
where it is free to exercise legislative, administrative,
and judicial powers. The Party rules not only
the state, but ‘commands’ social organizations
and the lives of the people. Therefore, North
Korea may be regarded as a ‘party state’. Although
more than one party is in existence, they are
not opposition camps, but rather ‘brother’ parties.
The ruling party in North Korea is the KWP (Korea
Workers’ Party).
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The
keywords of North Korea’s political
system are: ‘one-party rule’, ‘one-man
rule’, and ‘succession of power’.
Photograph on the right: Ceremony for
the 60th Anniversary of the KPA |
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One-Man Rule |
This is a feature characteristic of dictatorships.
While the state powers are concentrated in the
Party, power within the Party belongs exclusively
to a single ruler. The usage of the term ‘monolithic’
in North Korea originally referred to the ‘monolithic
system of thought’.
But this system of thought is authored by the
Chairman. In North Korean society, the Chairman
is the ‘embodiment of the organized will of the
Party as a whole’ and ‘the monolithic commandant-in-chief
of the sociopolitical entity that is North Korea’.
Therefore, the role and power of the Chairman
is unequaled and unchallenged. |
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Dynastic Rule |
North Korea is unique in that it is a Stalinist
government that has seen a successful dynastic
succession, a logical extension of the one-man
rule. The system of dynastic rule confers on the
heir the right to ‘succeed as commandant-in-chief’
on the grounds that he has inherited all of his
father’s thought, capacity, and skills.
Preparations for dynastic rule had been under
way since as early as the 1970s. The system was
completely solidified when Kim Il-sung stated
that “comrade Kim Jong-il is fully capable of
tending to all duties (as leader)”. Following
Kim Il-sung’s death and Kim Jong-il’s concurrent
appointment as Secretary General of the KWP in
October 1997, the dynastic rule system was successfully
realized when he took office as the Chairman of
the National Defense Commission in September 1998.
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