North Korea RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PARTY
Kim Il Sung, general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party
since October 1966, and president of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea since 1972
Courtesy Democratic People's Republic of Korea Mission to the
United Nations
As of the early 1990s, the philosophy underlying the
relationship between the government and the party had not changed
since independence. Government organs are regarded as executors
of the general line and policies of the party. They are expected
to implement the policies and directives of the party by
mobilizing the masses. All government officials or functionaries
are exhorted to behave as servants of the people, rather than as
overbearing "bureaucrats." The persistence in party literature of
admonitory themes against formalism strongly suggests that
authoritarian bureaucratic behavior remains a major source of
concern to the party leadership. This concern may explain in part
the party's intensified efforts since the early 1970s to wage an
ideological struggle against the bureaucratic work style of
officials. The general trend is toward tightened party control
and supervision of all organs of administrative and economic
policy implementation.
In January 1990, Kim Jong Il introduced the slogan "to serve
the people" and directed party functionaries to mingle with the
people and to devotedly work as faithful servants of the people.
Kim said that the collapse of socialism in some countries is a
stern lesson to North Korea and is related to failures in party
building and party activity. He stressed the importance of
reinforcing the party's ideological unity and cohesion, and
elucidated tasks that would strengthen education in the principle
of chuch'e, revolutionary traditional education, and
socialist and patriotic education.
The party is the formulator of national purpose, priorities,
and administrative hierarchy. It is the central coordinator of
administrative and economic activities at the national and local
levels. Through its own organizational channels, which permeate
all government and economic agencies, the party continues to
oversee administrative operations and enforce state discipline.
Without exception, key government positions are filled by party
loyalists, most of whom are trained in the North Korean system,
which emphasizes ideology and practical expertise.
Data as of June 1993
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