The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea () is the constitution of North Korea. It was approved by the 6th Supreme People's Assembly at its first session on 27 December 1972, and has been amended and supplemented in 1998, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2019 (twice), and in 2023. It replaced the country's first constitution which was approved in 1948.
The constitution consists of seven chapters and 172 articles and codifies North Korea's basic principles on politics, economy, culture and national defense, the basic rights and duties of the country's citizens, the organization of the North Korean government and the country's national symbols.
North Korea is also governed by the Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System, which some claim have come to supersede the constitution and in practice serve as the supreme law of the country.
History
1948 Constitution
North Korea began to draft its first constitution following the convention of the South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly on 12 December 1946 which began to draft an interim constitution for South Korea and the failure to establish a unified provisional government in Korea due to the collapse of the US-Soviet Joint Commission on 21 October 1947.
In November 1947, the People's Assembly of North Korea organized a 31-member committee to enact a provisional constitution. A draft provisional constitution was presented to the People's Assembly of North Korea in February 1948, and it was decided to submit it to an "all-people discussion" that was held from 11 February until 25 April 1948.
On 10 July 1948, the People's Assembly of North Korea adopted the draft constitution as the Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which was implemented by the Supreme People's Assembly throughout the Korean peninsula on 8 September 1948.
According to Andrei Lankov, the 1948 constitution was personally edited by Joseph Stalin alongside Terentii Shtykov, the head of the Soviet occupation of North Korea, in Moscow, with some of its articles being rewritten later by Soviet supervisors.
The 1948 constitution consisted of 10 chapters and 104 articles. It codified the reforms being implemented in North Korea since the establishment the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea in 1946, such as land reforms, the nationalization of industries and resources, and the provision of various freedoms and rights to Koreans.
The constitution instituted the Supreme People's Assembly as the highest government institution in North Korea with various powers such as the passing of laws and the election of the Cabinet, the Supreme Court and the Procurator General. The Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly was tasked with exercising the powers of the assembly during its recess, as well as to represent the country in its foreign relations. The Cabinet was instituted to be the highest executive institution, with its Premier being designated as head of government.
The 1948 constitution was amended five times in April 1954, October 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1962.
Socialist Constitution
North Korea began drafting the present Socialist Constitution as there was a need to set into law the expanding socialist policies and the political, economic and social changes in the country, which are no longer being reflected in the 1948 constitution.
The need for a new constitution had been discussed since the mid-1960s. In the 1970s, the creation of a new constitution was made into an urgent matter.
On 23 October 1972, a committee to draft the Socialist Constitution was organized during the 5th plenary meeting of the 5th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. Kim Il Sung said in a report during the meeting that there was a need to codify the "socialist revolution and construction" and their achievements in the constitution.
The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has been amended nine times in 1992, 1998, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, April 2019, and August 2019.
Structure
The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea consists of a preamble and 172 articles organized into seven chapters as of 11 April 2019. The constitution is considered as unique for combining strong socialist and nationalist tendencies as well as referencing the country's Juche ideology.
Preamble
The preamble describes North Korea, which has the official name of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the "socialist state of Juche" that applies the ideas and achievements of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on state construction.