Premier of North Korea in the context of Pak Thae-song

Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician, and dictator who founded North Korea, which he led as its first supreme leader from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Afterwards, he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il and was declared Eternal President.

He held the posts of Premier of North Korea from 1948 to 1972 and President of North Korea from 1972 to 1994. He was the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) from 1949 to 1994 (titled as chairman from 1949 to 1966 and as general secretary after 1966). Coming to power after the end of Japanese rule over Korea in 1945 following Japan's surrender in World War II, he authorized the invasion of South Korea in 1950, triggering an intervention in defense of South Korea by the United Nations led by the United States. Following the military stalemate in the Korean War, a ceasefire was signed in July 1953. He was the third-longest serving non-royal head of state and government in the 20th century, in office for more than 45 years.

The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; Korean: 최고인민회의; MR: Ch'oego Inmin Hoeŭi) is the supreme state organ of power of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Under the principle of unified power, it is the only branch of government in North Korea, with all state organs subservient to it.

The constitution identifies the SPA as the "highest organ of state power" and all state positions, including the President of the State Affairs and in theory the Premier of the Cabinet, trace their authority to it. The Assembly typically does not legislate directly but delegates that task to a smaller Standing Committee. Government officials carry out the policies legislated by the SPA subject to oversight and correction by the Workers' Party of Korea. The SPA is convened once or twice a year in regular plenary sessions of several days each. The Standing Committee exercises power when the SPA is in recess, which occurs during all but a few days of every year

The 1st Central Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPNK) (Korean: 1차 북조선로동당중앙위원회) was elected by the 1st Congress on 30 August 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of North Korea and the New People's Party of Korea, and remained in session until the election of the 2nd Central Committee on 30 March 1948. In between party congresses and specially convened conferences the Central Committee is the highest decision-making institution in the party and North Korea. The 1st Central Committee was not a permanent institution and delegated day-to-day work to elected central guidance bodies, such as the Political Committee, the Standing Committee and the Organisation Committee (membership not disclosed). It convened meetings, known as Plenary Sessions of the 1st Central Committee, to discuss major policies. A plenary session could be attended by non-members. These meetings are known as Enlarged Plenary Sessions. The party rules approved at the 1st Congress stipulated that the Central Committee needed to convene for a plenary session every third month. In total, the 1st Central Committee convened for twelve plenary sessions, of which eight were convened in 1947.

Forty-three members were elected to the 1st Central Committee, of which thirty-one were re-elected at the 2nd Congress. Its members convened for the 1st Plenary Session on 31 August 1946 and elected the 1st Organisation Committee, 1st Standing Committee and the 1st Political Committee, and voted in Kim Tu-bong as the WPNK Chairman and Kim Il Sung and Chu Yong-ha were elected vice chairmen. Despite their formal roles, real powers remained in Kim Il Sung's hands, and Kim Tu-bong played a more ceremonial role due to his unwillingness to partake in the day-to-day management of party affairs. In the 1st Plenary Session's aftermath, the party began establishing state structures known as provisional people's committees throughout the country, and in 1947 national elections to the People's Assembly was organised. At its first plenary session, the assembly elected a Presidium and designated Kim Tu-bong as its chairman and appointed the People's Committee (the government) and elected Kim Il Sung as its chairman. Of twenty-two government members, sixteen were members of the WPNK.