North Korea has created a new, supreme governing commission with leader Kim Jong-Un as its chairman, underlining the 33-year-old's absolute control over every aspect of state policy in the isolated, nuclear-armed nation. The country's legislative body, the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), unanimously voted Kim as head of the State Affairs Commission on Wednesday, the North's official KCNA news agency said.
The new agency replaces the National Defence Commission as the country's highest branch of government and supreme policymaking organisation. Nominating Kim for the post, SPA president Kim Yong-Nam said it was the "unshakable faith and unswerving will of all service personnel and people of the country to uphold Kim Jong-Un ... at the top post of the DPRK".
DPRK is the official acronym for North Korea. Cheong Seong-Chang, a North Korea expert at the Sejong Institute think-tank in Seoul, said the move effectively raised Kim Jong-Un to the post of supreme head of state. "It's commensurate with the title of 'President of the Republic' given to (his grandfather) Kim Il-Sung in 1972," Cheong said Thursday. Kim Il-Sung was declared North Korea's "eternal president" following his death in 1994.
Kim Jong-Un bears a striking resemblance to his grandfather - a similarity he has played up in a clear attempt to co-opt Kim Il-Sung's legacy. His new position also marks a further break with the legacy of his father, Kim Jong-Il, who until his death in late 2011 had effectively ruled North Korea as chairman of the now defunct NDC. The military-dominated NDC was responsible for all defence and security-related affairs, but under Kim Jong-Il's military-first policy it also exercised control over other key, non-defence related policymaking areas.
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