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Liberation and Division |
Korea was liberated following the end of WWII
in 1945. However, the U.S. and Soviet forces occupied
the territories to the north and south of the 38th
parallel, laying the foundations for the division
of the Peninsula. |
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Kim
Il-sung speaks at a mass congress in
Pyongyang’s Gongsul Stadium, Oct.14,1945 |
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Backed by the Soviet Union, Kim Il-sung rose
to power and entrenched himself as head of the newly
established North Korean Provisional People’s Committee.
On 1946, the organization was re-established as
the North Korean Workers’ Party, which enacted fundamentally
communist policies such as the redistribution of
agricultural lands. On September 9, 1948, the DPRK
(Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) was proclaimed.
The controversy over a proposed U.N. (United Nations)
trusteeship, conflicts between right and left wing
groups, and the Cold War climate that dominated
the Peninsula combined to bring about the proclamation.
Under U.N. supervision, a democratic election was
held in South Korea only, and on August 15, 1948
the ROK (Republic of Korea) was proclaimed. Thus,
the Peninsula had been divided completely. |
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The Proclamation of the DPRK |
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The
September 8, 1948 SPA meeting, where
Kim Il-sung was made Chairman. (from
the left): Kim Chaek (Vice-Chairman),
Park Hun-young (President of the Namrodang),
Kim Il-sung |
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Efforts to establish a so-called ‘Proletariat
Dictatorship’ started directly following the end
of WWII in 1945 and the ensuing occupation by
Soviet forces. By 1945, people’s committees had
been organized in each of the five provinces.
These later became a confederation under Soviet
command and were reorganized as the Five-Province
Administrative Bureau on the 8th of October. In
1946, general elections were held to appoint members
of provincial, city, and county committees.
The next year, 237 members of the North Korean
People’s Assembly were appointed at a general
meeting of regional committees. Its first meeting
(Feb. 21~22) resulted in the creation of the Provisional
North Korean People’s Committee of 22 members,
with Kim Il-sung as Chairman. When the U.N. General
Assembly decided that free elections should be
held throughout Korea and organized the U.N. Provisional
Commission, North Korea accelerated efforts to
establish a ‘People’s Republic’.
In the 3rd meeting of the People’s Assembly (Nov.
18~19), a Provisional Constitutional Committee
was organized. By December 20 1947, a draft of
the constitution had been drawn up and was validated
by a special Assembly meeting (April 28, 1948)
as the ‘Constitution of the People’s Republic’.
On August 25, elections were held to appoint the
first 212 members of the SPA (Supreme People’s
Assembly, resulting in a 99.97% voter turnout
and 98.49% affirmative votes. North Korea also
announced that 360 more members to the SPA had
been elected at the conference of the ‘South Korean
People’s Representatives’.
The first meeting of the SPA of 572 members was
held in Pyongyang (Sep. 2~10), during which the
constitution was officially validated and the
government of the ‘Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea’ was proclaimed, with Kim Il-sung as
Chairman. (Sep. 9)
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