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| Kim Further Consolidates Power as North Korea’s Leader | Kim Further Consolidates Power as North Korea’s Leader |
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| North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, was re-elected as head of his country’s top governing agency as its rubber-stamp Parliament met in Pyongyang on Wednesday to help consolidate his power. | North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, was re-elected as head of his country’s top governing agency as its rubber-stamp Parliament met in Pyongyang on Wednesday to help consolidate his power. |
| Mr. Kim’s re-election as first chairman of the National Defense Commission indicated that he remained firmly in control despite tightened United Nations sanctions and political upheavals that have rocked the government. Since taking over the reins of power after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in late 2011, Mr. Kim has engineered a series of purges, sidelining many military leaders and members of the ruling Workers’ Party elite. Last December, he executed Jang Song-thaek, his uncle, who had long been presumed to be the second most influential man in Pyongyang. | |
| Mr. Kim revamped the Supreme People’s Assembly early last month by calling a general election in which state-appointed candidates ran unopposed and all the deputies won their seats with 100 percent support. On Wednesday, the legislature met in Pyongyang in a session widely seen as a formality in which Mr. Kim would fill key governing posts left vacant by his purges with younger cadres who would owe their loyalty directly to him. | Mr. Kim revamped the Supreme People’s Assembly early last month by calling a general election in which state-appointed candidates ran unopposed and all the deputies won their seats with 100 percent support. On Wednesday, the legislature met in Pyongyang in a session widely seen as a formality in which Mr. Kim would fill key governing posts left vacant by his purges with younger cadres who would owe their loyalty directly to him. |
| In a parliamentary session two years ago, Mr. Kim assumed the top leadership role at the National Defense Commission, which had emerged as the North’s main governing agency under his father. | In a parliamentary session two years ago, Mr. Kim assumed the top leadership role at the National Defense Commission, which had emerged as the North’s main governing agency under his father. |
| Mr. Kim’s re-election to the post on Wednesday reflected “the unchanged will of the military and the people to uphold and follow the respected marshal as the only center of solidarity and leadership,” said the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, or K.C.N.A., citing Mr. Kim’s military rank. | Mr. Kim’s re-election to the post on Wednesday reflected “the unchanged will of the military and the people to uphold and follow the respected marshal as the only center of solidarity and leadership,” said the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, or K.C.N.A., citing Mr. Kim’s military rank. |
| On the eve of the parliamentary gathering, the Political Bureau of the Workers’ Party met on Tuesday to discuss organizational issues, the K.C.N.A. reported without elaborating. The Political Bureau was last appointed in April 2012, when Mr. Kim was going through a sensitive transition into power. A few key bureau members, including Mr. Jang, have since been toppled and were probably replaced during the meeting on Tuesday. | On the eve of the parliamentary gathering, the Political Bureau of the Workers’ Party met on Tuesday to discuss organizational issues, the K.C.N.A. reported without elaborating. The Political Bureau was last appointed in April 2012, when Mr. Kim was going through a sensitive transition into power. A few key bureau members, including Mr. Jang, have since been toppled and were probably replaced during the meeting on Tuesday. |
| Personnel decisions made at the back-to-back party and parliamentary meetings this week will provide outside analysts with a glimpse of Mr. Kim’s world, who is rising and who is falling. His ascent to power has been marked by frequent purges and reshuffles in the party and among military elites as Mr. Kim has tried to put his stamp on the new leadership lineup. | |
| In the North Korean Constitution, the Parliament has the power to replace cabinet ministers and members of the National Defense Commission, where Mr. Jang had been a senior member. It also adopts guidelines on key policy issues, such as the North’s nuclear weapons development. | In the North Korean Constitution, the Parliament has the power to replace cabinet ministers and members of the National Defense Commission, where Mr. Jang had been a senior member. It also adopts guidelines on key policy issues, such as the North’s nuclear weapons development. |
| During the party meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Kim also proposed working to improve the people’s living standards and “protect the dignity and independence of the nation,” a phrase the North often uses when referring to its efforts to strengthen its nuclear arsenal. | During the party meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Kim also proposed working to improve the people’s living standards and “protect the dignity and independence of the nation,” a phrase the North often uses when referring to its efforts to strengthen its nuclear arsenal. |
| The K.C.N.A. did not elaborate. But the North has recently warned that it could carry out a “new form of nuclear test.” | The K.C.N.A. did not elaborate. But the North has recently warned that it could carry out a “new form of nuclear test.” |
| Almost exactly a year ago, Mr. Kim presided over a Workers’ Party meeting to adopt a “new strategic line” that defied warnings from Washington. The party said North Korea must continue expanding its nuclear arsenal while working to rebuild its economy. It called the North’s nuclear weapons “the nation’s life” and “not a political bargaining chip.” | Almost exactly a year ago, Mr. Kim presided over a Workers’ Party meeting to adopt a “new strategic line” that defied warnings from Washington. The party said North Korea must continue expanding its nuclear arsenal while working to rebuild its economy. It called the North’s nuclear weapons “the nation’s life” and “not a political bargaining chip.” |
| The North’s Parliament quickly followed through by enacting a law on “consolidating the position of nuclear weapons state.” Its nuclear energy department then said it would put all its nuclear facilities — including its operational uranium-enrichment program and reactors that were mothballed or under construction — to use in expanding the country’s nuclear weaponry. | The North’s Parliament quickly followed through by enacting a law on “consolidating the position of nuclear weapons state.” Its nuclear energy department then said it would put all its nuclear facilities — including its operational uranium-enrichment program and reactors that were mothballed or under construction — to use in expanding the country’s nuclear weaponry. |