The 4th meeting of the 12th session of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) will convene at Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang today.
The official North Korean translation of Article 87 of the Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea proclaims, “The Supreme People’s Assembly is the highest organ of State power in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”
SPA delegates are elected every five years (every four years until 1992), while meetings are normally convened once a year; however, there were two meetings during 2010, which is why today’s gathering will actually be the 4th of the 12th session, which began in 2009.
However, the SPA is by no means as important as the constitution claims; instead, it is a political show. As soon as one takes a look at the delegates, their selection method and the SPA’s practical role, it becomes clear that it is a symbolic organ with no practical function.
Let’s look in more detail at the SPA via a brief Q&A.
– What are the principle tasks of the Supreme People’s Assembly?
The role of the Supreme People’s Assembly prescribed in North Korea’s constitution is no different from that of South Korea’s National Assembly. The Supreme People’s Assembly is the highest sovereign organization and legislative organ which has the authority to adopt and revise the constitution and laws of the land. In addition, it establishes the basic principles of internal and external policy and manages the personnel matters of state apparatus. During annual meetings, the results of the previous year’s budget and the budget for the coming year are at the top of the agenda.
However, general matters of government administration are decided by the Chosun Workers’ Party; the SPA is a propaganda organization aimed at the people. The SPA simply approves the policy of the Chosun Workers’ Party as the representative of the North Korean people.
– Who are the SPA delegates?
A delegate is not a full time politician, unlike a member of the South Korean National Assembly, and they come from every region and sector of society, including a small number of workers, farmers and soldiers. They are selected to justify calling the SPA the representative of the people, but are expected to nod through Party decisions without meaningful debate.
Candidates become delegates after being recommended by their local Party, which is led by the Central Committee in Pyongyang. There is a screening committee for delegates but it does not reject them. Delegates are always elected with implausible majorities.
The period of a delegate is five years, but since the 687 delegates tend to stay in post, the term does not have much meaning. North Korea held a delegates’ election for the 12th session of the SPA on March 8th, 2009, electing a total of 687 members. Kim Jong Il is a delegate, as reflected in his official title, ‘Kim Jong Il, 333rd Election Precinct and General Secretary of the Chosun Workers’ Party, Chairman of the National Defense Commission’, although he doesn’t always attend meetings. Rumor has it that Kim Jong Eun is a delegate under an assumed name, but that has not been proven.
– In that case, what kind of organ is the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly?
The Standing Committee and departmental committees are branches of the SPA. When the SPA is not in session (meaning most of the time), the Standing Committee operates as the state’s highest sovereign organization. The chair of the Standing Committee is also the head of state according to the constitution, but the chairman of the National Defense Commission, currently Kim Jong Il, leads all government administration in practice. The chair of the Standing Committee is Kim Young Nam, who frequently receives foreign visitors and operates as one of the regime’s more prominent public faces.
– What privileges accrue to SPA delegates?
The practical role of a delegate is almost non-existent, but there are some perks. Delegates get priority use of transportation and are immune from prosecution unless expressly stripped of that right by the Party Central Committee. National Assembly lawmakers in South Korea have similar privileges, of course. Notably, SPA delegates do not receive priority food distribution.
Even though the SPA is North Korea’s highest sovereign organization, delegates are not envied by ordinary North Koreans. Since the Supreme People’s Assembly does not have the authority to influence people’s lives, those people accord them little interest.
One North Korean defector commented, “Delegates are usually factory managers or similar, so people are only really envious of his job, in which he can make a lot of money, than in his work as a delegate.” Being a delegate does not directly improve a person’s economic status.
