North Korea convened the Supreme People's Assembly, reelecting Kim Jong-un as Chairperson of the State Affairs Commission and replacing Choe Ryong-hae with Jo Yong-won as chairperson of the Standing Committee.
The Korean Central News Agency said on the 23rd that "the first-day meeting of the 1st session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly was held on the 22nd," and reported that "Comrade Kim Jong-un was once again loftily elected as Chairperson of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
Under North Korea's socialist constitution, the State Affairs Commission is defined as the highest policy leadership body of state sovereignty. The chairperson of the commission holds the status of the nation's top leader representing the state. After being elevated to chairperson of the State Affairs Commission, which was newly established in June 2016, Kim Jong-un rose again through this session following 2019.
Party Secretary Ri Il-hwan, in the process of formally proposing the election of the chairperson of the State Affairs Commission, said, "The greatness of Kim Jong-un is the foremost national power of this 'Joseon' ("North Korea")," adding, "We revere, follow, and worship him deeply."
This session also carried out a change of the chairperson of the Standing Committee, the head of the Supreme People's Assembly. Choe Ryong-hae, who had been excluded from the lists of the party's central committee members and deputies after the 9th Party Congress last month, stepped down, and Jo Yong-won, Kim Jong-un's closest confidant, took over the post.
For the vice chairperson posts of the Standing Committee, Ri Son-gwon, former Director General of the 10th Department of the Labor Party who had long overseen inter-Korean affairs, and Kim Hyong-sik, who served as the party's Ministry of Justice head, were newly named. In the Cabinet appointments, while Premier Pak Thae-song remained in office, former Cabinet Premier Kim Tok-hun was appointed to the newly created position of first vice premier.
In particular, attention is drawn to the transfer of the Second Economic Commission, which is in charge of planning and producing munitions, to under the Cabinet. Although the chairperson's real name was not disclosed, the reorganization to have the Cabinet oversee even the munitions sector is analyzed as a move to further strengthen the Cabinet responsibility system across the economy.
Personnel appointments for members of the State Affairs Commission were also made. Standing Committee Chairperson Jo Yong-won will concurrently serve as first vice chairperson of the State Affairs Commission. Kim Yo-jong, the party Director General who had been a member of the State Affairs Commission, was excluded from the commission's roster in this reshuffle.
At this first session, along with revisions and supplements to the socialist constitution, the agenda included carrying out the five-year national economic development plan presented at the party congress, the settlement of account for the 2025 state budget execution, and the draft state budget for 2026. However, the detailed resolutions were not disclosed externally.