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General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea
조선로동당 총비서
Emblem of the WPK Chairman
Emblem of the Workers' Party of Korea
Incumbent Kim Jong-un since 10 January 2021
Workers' Party of Korea
Style	Comrade (Korean: 동지; Hanja: 同志)
Type	Party leader Supreme leader
Residence	Forbidden City
Seat	Pyongyang
Nominator	WPK Congress
Appointer	WPK Congress
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	WPK Charter
Inaugural holder	Kim Tu-bong
Formation	28 August 1946
Deputy	Secretariat

Politics of North Korea
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The leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea is the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (Korean: 조선로동당 총비서), and is ex officio the supreme leader of North Korea. Party rules stipulate that the General Secretary is elected by the party congress. The party leader can also be removed and elected by the party conference and by the Central Committee. The General Secretary is ex officio of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea and leads the work of the Secretariat. Additionally, the General Secretary is by right of office member of the WPK Presidium, the WPK Politburo and the WPK Central Committee.

The office traces its lineage back to the reestablishment of the Communist Party of Korea (CPK) on 14 September 1945 when Pak Hon-yong was elected Chairman of the CPK Central Committee. Later on 13 October 1945 the CPK established an internal North Korean Branch Bureau (NKBB) and nominated Hyon Chun-hyok as branch secretary. Hyon Chun-hyok was assassinated on 28 September 1945 and Kim Yong-bom was elected as branch secretary in his place. On 10 April 1946 the NKBB became independent of the CPK and changed its name to Communist Party of North Korea (CPNK). Later that year, on 30 August, the CPNK merged with the New People's Party of Korea to establish the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPNK). Kim Tu-bong was elected WPNK Chairman by the 1st WPNK Central Committee. In the meantime the Workers' Party of South Korea was established through the merger of the Communist Party of South Korea, New People's Party of Korea and a faction of the People's Party of Korea on 24 November 1946. The WPSK Central Committee elected Ho Hon as its party chairman. On the merger of the WPNK with the Workers' Party of South Korea on 24 June, the 2nd Central Committee elected Kim Il-sung as Chairman of the WPK Central Committee.

The offices of Chairman and Vice Chairman of the WPK Central Committee was abolished on 12 October 1966 and replaced with the offices of General Secretary and Secretary of the WPK Central Committee by a decision of the 14th Plenary Session of the 4th Central Committee. Kim Il-sung was elected to the office, and remained in office until his death on 8 July 1994. The post was left vacant for three years and then abolished and replaced by the office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea on 8 October 1997. Kim Jong-il was elected to the office by a joint announcement of the 6th Central Committee and the 6th Central Military Commission. Kim Jong-il remained in office until his death on 17 December 2011. Kim Jong-un was elected First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea on 11 April 2012, and his father Kim Jong-il was given the appellation "Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea". On 9 May 2016, the 7th WPK Congress abolished the office of First Secretary and the Secretariat and replaced it with Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and the office of Vice Chairman of the WPK Central Committee. A similar change took place at the 8th WPK Congress, where the offices of chairman and vice chairman was abolished and replaced by the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea office and the Secretariat.

Title history

Predecessors (1945–49)

National

№	Portrait	Name	Hangul	Birth	Death	Took office	Left office	Duration
1		Pak Hon-yong	박헌영	1900	1955	14 September 1945	10 April 1946	208 days
References:

In the North

№	Portrait	Name	Hangul	Birth	Death	Took office	Left office	Duration
1		Kim Yong-bom	김용범	1902	1947	13 October 1945	18 December 1945	66 days
2		Kim Il-sung	김일성	1912	1994	18 December 1945	30 August 1946	255 days
3		Kim Tu-bong	김두봉	1889	1958	31 August 1946	24 June 1949	2 years and 297 days
References:

In the South

№	Portrait	Name	Hangul	Birth	Death	Took office	Left office	Duration
1		Pak Hon-yong	박헌영	1900	1955	10 April 1946	24 November 1946	228 days
2		Ho Hon	허헌	1885	1951	24 November 1946	24 June 1949	2 years and 212 days
References:

Leaders of the Workers' Party of Korea

By officeholders

№	Portrait	Name	Hangul	Birth	Death	Took office	Left office	Duration
1		Kim Il-sung	김일성	1912	1994	24 June 1949	8 July 1994	45 years and 14 days
—	—	Vacant	—	—	—	8 July 1994	8 October 1997	3 years and 92 days
2		Kim Jong-il	김정일	1941	2011	8 October 1997	17 December 2011	14 years and 70 days
—	—	Vacant	—	—	—	17 December 2011	11 April 2012	116 days
3		Kim Jong-un	김정은	1983	—	11 April 2012	Incumbent	12 years and 270 days
References:

By term

See also

• Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea
• Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea
• Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea

Noter

1. ^ These numbers are not official.

References

Footnotes

1. Madden, Michael (2 February 2012). "4th Party Conference To Convene in "mid-April"". North Korea Leadership Watch. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 29 November 2020 suggested (help)
2. Madden, Michael. "Party Secretariat". North Korea Leadership Watch. Retrieved 13 February 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
3. ^ Suh 1981, p. 281.
4. Suh 1981, pp. 279–80.
5. ^ Suh 1981, p. 280.
6. Chong-sik 1963, p. 5. sfn error: no target: CITEREFChong-sik1963 (help)
7. Suh 1981, pp. 282–3.
8. Suh 1981, p. 283.
9. Suh 1981, p. 282.
10. ^ Suh 1981, p. 318.
11. ^ Suh 1981, p. 321.
12. ^ Suh 1981, p. 328.
13. ^ Yonguso 1997, p. 668. sfn error: no target: CITEREFYonguso1997 (help)
14. ^ Gause 2013, pp. 40–41. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGause2013 (help)
15. ^ Madden, Michael (20 May 2016). "Deciphering the 7th Party Congress: A Teaser for Greater Change?". 38 North. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
16. ^ Ruediger, Frank (19 January 2021). "Key Results of The Eighth Party Congress in North Korea (Part 2 of 2)". 38 North. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
17. Suh 1981, pp. 279–83.
18. Suh 1981, pp. 281–82.
19. Suh 1981, p. 316.
20. Suh 1981, p. 319.
21. Suh 1981, pp. 316–17.
22. Suh 1981, pp. 319–20.
23. Suh 1981, p. 322.
24. Suh 1981, p. 325.
25. Suh 1981, p. 332.

Bibliography

Books:

• Gause, Ken (2013). "The Role and Influence of the Party Apparatus". In Park, Kyung-ae; Snyder, Scott (eds.). North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economy, and Society. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 19–46. ISBN 1442218126. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Suh, Dae-sook (1981). Korean Communism 1945–1980: A Reference Guide to the Political System (1st ed.). University Press of Hawaii. ISBN 0-8248-0740-5.
• Yonguso, Pyonghwa Tongil (1997). Korea and the World. University of California. Research Center for Peace and Unification.

Journal articles:

• Chong-sik Lee (1963). "Politics in North Korea: Pre-Korean War Stage". The China Quarterly. Cambridge University Press on behalf of the School of Oriental and African Studies: 3–16. JSTOR 651339.

v t e Workers' Party of Korea
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Wider organisation	Rules Korean People's Army Socialist Patriotic Youth League Korean Children's Union Socialist Women's Union of Korea General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front
Ideology	Juche Songun Baekdu bloodline North Korean cult of personality Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System
Abolished organs	Chairman and Vice Chairman Control Commission Executive Policy Bureau Organisation Committee
Predecessors	Party Foundation Day Communist Party of Korea North Korean Branch Bureau / Communist Party of North Korea Workers' Party of North Korea Workers' Party of South Korea
Category

• Leaders of the Workers' Party of Korea and it's predecessors
• Leaders of political parties in North Korea