Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea

History

The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea was established at the 5th plenary meeting of the 4th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held on 10–14 December 1962. During its establishment, it was a committee subordinate to the WPK Central Committee under the full name Military Committee of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

The committee was organized to its present form at the 6th plenary meeting of the 6th WPK Central Committee held on 29–31 August 1982. An amendment to the WPK charter in 1982 is believed to have made the CMC equal to the Central Committee, enabling it (among other things) to elect the WPK leader. The last public listing of the CMC was at the 21st Plenary Session of the 6th Central Committee in December 1993. By the 3rd Conference, seven of its nineteen 1993 members remained; the other twelve had either died, retired or were purged.

The CMC was revitalized at the 3rd Conference in 2010, with Kim Jong Un and Ri Yong-ho elected as deputy chairmen. Except for his Central Committee membership, this was Kim Jong Un's only title at this time; in many ways, the CMC enabled him to develop a patronage network. New members included Vice Marshal Kim Yong-chun (Minister of People's Armed Forces), General Kim Myong-ruk (Chief of the Operation Bureau of the General Staff), General Ri Pyong-chol (Commander of the Korean People's Air Force), Admiral Jong Myong-do (Commander of the Korean People's Navy), Lieutenant General Kim Yong-chol, Colonel General Choe Kyong-song (heads of the KPA's special forces) General Choe Pu-il and Colonel General Choe Sang-ryo (members of the General Staff). Civilians, such as Jang Song-thaek (head of the Administrative Department), also had seats on the commission. However, the overall authority of the CMC was diluted; it was stripped of its authority to command the KPA.

At the 4th Conference, Choe Ryong-hae was appointed CMC deputy chairman; Vice Marshal Hyon Chol-hae, General Ri Myong-su and Kim Rak-gyom were elected to the commission. Kim Jong Un oversaw the CMC regaining its former power, aiming to bring the KPA firmly under party control; the 8th WPK Congress held in 2021 oversaw the CMC being upgraded to "the party’s supreme institution on military guidance", as well as granting it "command over the armed forces of the republic".

Organization

According to the rules of the WPK, the CMC is "the party’s supreme institution on military guidance" and has the authority to "command over the armed forces of the republic". The rules also state that WPK General Secretary is chairman of the CMC ex officio.

Current membership

Main article: 8th Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea

, the Central Military Commission consists of the chairman, vice chairman, and 11 members.

References

Citations

Sources

; Journal entries

; Books

References

1. "당중앙군사위원회".
2. "당중앙위원회 전원회의 - 제4기".
3. "[조선노동당] 조선노동당 중앙군사위원회".
4. Lee, Gee-dong. "The Changing Status and Role of the North Korean Military".
5. (1 June 2021). "북한 노동당 규약 주요 개정 내용". [[Yonhap News Agency]].