North Korean House of Cards

The Tenth SPA convened in Pyongyang on September 5, 1998. It had three
items on its agenda: 1) revise the North Korean Constitution; 2) re-elect Kim Jong-il
Chairman of the NDC; and 3) appoint officials to posts throughout the government.
Although not described as such, the meeting ushered in a new ruling
structure under Kim Jong-il.
The revised constitution made Kim Il-sung the eternal President (Ju-seok) of
North Korea, 268 ending speculation on when his son would succeed him to this
highest post. Instead, Kim Jong-il chose to continue the pattern established in 1992
of concentrating authority in the NDC. The new structure left little doubt that the
NDC was Kim Jong-il’s organizational base from which to implement “Military
First” (Songun) politics. The NDC was elevated to the highest state body and the
position of NDC Chairman to the highest position in government. 269 Many
Pyongyang-watchers considered the status of the NDC Chairman to be as high as
that of the Politburo. Kim Jong-il issued directives in the name of the NDC over the
years, displaying its power.
The NDC assumed the responsibility for the defense and security of the
country. Its members managed military affairs, the defense industry, and internal
security. However, the emergence of the NDC as the highest body of state authority
did not signify, as many thought, the creation of an official policymaking body to
replace the defunct Party Politburo. No evidence, either through defector channels
or in grey literature, suggests that the NDC ever met as a collective decision-making
body. At most, instructions occasionally came down to the close aide network under
the title “NDC Chairman’s Order,” which suggested that Kim Jong-il used NDC
membership as a coordinating mechanism for particular national security related issues.
268 “Kim Chong-il Inherits ‘Great Leader’ Title,” JoongAng Ilbo, September 7, 1998. Thae abolition
of the presidency did not mean the removal of the three Vice Presidents (Ri Jong-ok, Pak Songchol,
and Kim Yong-ju) from the leadership. Instead, they were appointed honorary Vice Chairmen of
the SPA Standing Committee, which signaled their withdrawal from front-line political affairs.
269 Kim Yong-nam, “Achieving Ultimate Victory of Juch’e Revolutionary Cause While Highly
Enshrining Beloved and Respected Comrade Kim Jong Il at Top Place of State Is Firm Resolve of Party
Members, Korean People’s Army Servicemen, and People,” Minju Joson, April 10, 2009. Kim Yongnam
described the chairmanship of the NDC as being “the highest rank of the state,” responsible for
commanding politics, defense, and the economy, and as being a “sacred position signifying the dignity
of the state.”
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
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