North Korea has made changes to the country’s constitution to solidify Kim Jong-Un’s rule. The new constitution formally named Kim Jong-Un as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the military.
North Korea’s parliament, known as the Supreme People’s Assembly, has ratified a series of changes in the constitution to reinforce Kim Jong-Un’s authority as the head of state.
Choe Ryong Hae, president of the presidium of the supreme people’s assembly, said that Kim’s legal status has been changed to “firmly ensure the monolithic guidance of the Supreme Leader over all state affairs”.
According to the previous constitution, Kim was designated as the “supreme leader” who had control over the country’s “overall military force”. After the amendments which were effectuated on Thursday, the legal system will now identify Kim as the head of state. He can now announce legislative ordinances and major decrees. As the chairman of the State Affairs Commission (SAC), Kim is authorized to appoint or recall diplomatic envoys to foreign countries.
Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute avowed that with the amendment, “Kim Jong-Un is reviving his grandfather’s head of state system.” “He has become a de facto head of state,” he further added.
The changes in the constitution come at a time when North Korea’s recent missile tests have alarmed the international community. Despite three meetings between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un, the United States has not made significant progress in getting North Korea to scrap its nuclear weapons programme. At their last meeting, the two leaders had decided to resume working-level talks, but they have not yet happened. Meanwhile, North Korea has conducted multiple missile tests in the last few weeks, while expressing anger at the joint US-South Korea military exercises.