Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea
The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea is an organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea which heads the Korean People's Army.
One of the CMC's primary functions is to authorize defense and munitions spending and product orders, and to determine how natural resources and products from military-controlled production units are earmarked and distributed domestically and for sale abroad. According to the WPK rules, the CMC directs WPK activities in the KPA and is chaired by the WPK General Secretary and the officeholder is also the Commander-in-Chief of North Korea. The CMC relies on a number of organizations to carry out its mandate, including the KPA General Political Bureau, the WPK Military Government Guidance Department, and the WPK Munitions Industry Department.
History
The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea was established at the 5th plenary meeting of the 4th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held on 10–14 December 1962. During its establishment, it was a committee subordinate to the WPK Central Committee under the full name Military Committee of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.The committee was organized to its present form at the 6th plenary meeting of the 6th WPK Central Committee held on 29–31 August 1982. An amendment to the WPK charter in 1982 is believed to have made the CMC equal to the Central Committee, enabling it to elect the WPK leader. The last public listing of the CMC was at the 21st Plenary Session of the 6th Central Committee in December 1993. By the 3rd Conference, seven of its nineteen 1993 members remained; the other twelve had either died, retired or were purged.
The CMC was revitalized at the 3rd Conference in 2010, with Kim Jong Un and Ri Yong-ho elected as deputy chairmen. Except for his Central Committee membership, this was Kim Jong Un's only title at this time; in many ways, the CMC enabled him to develop a patronage network. New members included Vice Marshal Kim Yong-chun, General Kim Myong-ruk, General Ri Pyong-chol, Admiral Jong Myong-do, Lieutenant General Kim Yong-chol, Colonel General Choe Kyong-song General Choe Pu-il and Colonel General Choe Sang-ryo. Civilians, such as Jang Song-thaek, also had seats on the commission. However, the overall authority of the CMC was diluted; it was stripped of its authority to command the KPA.
At the 4th Conference, Choe Ryong-hae was appointed CMC deputy chairman; Vice Marshal Hyon Chol-hae, General Ri Myong-su and Kim Rak-gyom were elected to the commission. Kim Jong Un oversaw the CMC regaining its former power, aiming to bring the KPA firmly under party control; the 8th WPK Congress held in 2021 oversaw the CMC being upgraded to "the party’s supreme institution on military guidance", as well as granting it "command over the armed forces of the republic".