The Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea is the supreme commander of the North Korean military, and is the most powerful person in the country. According to law, the Chairman has the "highest administrative authority" of any official, and the post was confirmed in 1998 as the "highest office of state".
There is debate, however, as to whether "highest office of state" should be considered equivalent to "head of state". Kim Il Sung, the first leader of North Korea, has previously been declared "eternal president", but it remains ambiguous as to whether this "presidency" is intended to be a real office or merely an honorary title. Another official who is sometimes considered head of state is the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, who handles the diplomatic functions that a head of state might normally undertake. Because North Korea's constitutional arrangements are often unclear to outside observers, it is difficult to determine what the Chairman of the National Defence Commission's official standing should be. There is no doubt, however, that the Chairman is (both in law and in practice) the most powerful member of the North Korean government.
The current Chairman is Kim Jong Il. He took office in April 9 1993.
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