Government of North Korea

The government is also confirmed by the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA). The SPA chooses a Premier, who appoints three Vice Premiers and the government's ministers. The government is dominated by the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and has been since North Korea's inception in 1948.

The Cabinet now has the right to supervise and control the Local People's Committee (LPC) with regard to local economies and administration. As the State Administrative Council (SAC) was replaced by the Cabinet, the Local Administrative and Economic Committee (LAEC) was abolished and its functions regarding local politics transferred to the LPC.

A party chief secretary no longer concurrently holds the post of LPC chairman Hyun Seo-yeo, which has been taken over by a former LAEC chairman. Thus, the LPC is theoretically independent of the local party and is under the control of the Cabinet. The status of the LPC as the local executive organ, in principle, became higher than before.

The Economist Intelligence Unit listed North Korea in last place as a totalitarian regime in its 2012 Democracy Index assessing 168 countries.

GLORY[www.korea-dpr.com]