Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea

The Central Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (CMC) is an organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) which is responsible for coordinating the Party organizations within the Korean People's Army (KPA). One of the CMC's primary functions is to authorize defense and munitions spending and product orders, and to determine how natural resources and products from military-controlled production units are earmarked and distributed domestically and for sale abroad. According to the WPK Charter, the CMC directs WPK activities in the KPA and is chaired by the WPK Chairman. The CMC relies on a number of organizations to carry out its mandate, including the KPA General Political Department, the WPK Military Department, and the WPK Machine-Building Department. The CMC also uses the WPK Military Affairs Department to transmit guidance and indoctrination of North Korea's reserve military training units.

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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.[1][2] 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.[3] 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.[4] The last public listing of the CMC was at the 21st Plenary Session of the 6th Central Committee in December 1993.[5] By the 3rd Conference, seven of its nineteen 1993 members remained; the other twelve had either died, retired or were purged.[5] The CMC was revitalized at the 3rd Conference, with Kim Jong-un and Ri Yong-ho elected as deputy chairmen.[5] 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.[5] 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 Yi 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).[5] Civilians, such as Jang Song-thaek (head of the Administrative Department), also had seats on the commission.[5] 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.[6]

Organization

The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea is headed by the Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea as its chairman, and includes a number of members.

The 3rd WPK Conference in September 2010 created the position of vice chairman. It was later abolished by at the 7th WPK Congress in May 2016.

Current membership
  1. Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so
  2. Premier of the DPRK Kim Jae-ryong
  3. General of the Army Pak Yong-sik, Minister of the People's Armed Forces
  4. Vice Marshal Ri Myong-su
  5. General Kim Yong-chol, Director, NDC Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea's intelligence service[7]
  6. Ri Man-gon, Director of the Machine-Building Industry Department of the Workers' Party of Korea
  7. General Kim Won-hong, Minister of State Security
  8. General Choe Pu-il, Minister of People's Security
  9. General Kim Kyong-ok, First Deputy Secretary, WPK Organization and Guidance Department
  10. General Ri Yong-gil, Chief of the KPA General Staff Department
  11. Colonel General So Hong-chang, Vice Minister of the People's Armed Forces
  12. Pak Pong-ju, former Premier of the DPRK

See also

References

Citations
  1. "당중앙군사위원회". NKchosun. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  2. "당중앙위원회 전원회의 - 제4기". NKchosun. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  3. "[조선노동당] 조선노동당 중앙군사위원회". NK Watch. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  4. Gause 2013, p. 43.
  5. Gause 2013, p. 35.
  6. "Kim Jong Un Appointed "First Secretary" of Korean Workers' Party". North Korea Leadership Watch. April 11, 2012. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  7. David E. Sanger and Martin Fackler (January 18, 2015). "N.S.A. Breached North Korean Networks Before Sony Attack, Officials Say". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2015.

Sources
Journal entries
  • Haggard, Stephen; Herman, Luke; Ryu, Jaesung (July–August 2014). "Political Change in North Korea: Mapping the Succession". Asian Survey. University of California Press. 54 (4): 773–780. doi:10.1525/as.2014.54.4.773. JSTOR 10.1525/as.2014.54.4.773.
  • Kim, Nam-Sik (Spring–Summer 1982). "North Korea's Power Structure and Foreign Relations: an Analysis of the Sixth Congress of the KWP". The Journal of East Asian Affairs. Institute for National Security Strategy. 2 (1): 125–151. JSTOR 23253510.
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