Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea

The Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea are the official guidelines that shape how the Workers' Party of Korea operates. These rules explain how members can join the party, what they must do, and how the party makes its decisions. According to these rules, the WPK Congress is the most important meeting of the party, and it has the power to change the rules.

The first set of rules was created on 30 August 1946 at the 1st Congress of the Workers' Party of North Korea. Since then, the rules have been updated many times, with the most recent changes happening at the 9th Congress in 2026.

After the death of Kim Il Sung and when Kim Jong Il became the leader, the rules were sometimes ignored. For example, meetings that should have happened every five years did not take place as often as the rules said they should. When Kim Jong Un was getting ready to become leader, the rules were changed in 2010 to help him take control of both the party and the army at the same time. Later, in January 2021, the rules were changed again to give him the title General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Purpose

The rules of the Workers' Party of Korea, often called the "Rules and Constitution," describe the party's goals and how it is organized. The party aims to bring communism to the whole Korean Peninsula. It says it works for the good of the Korean people and seeks to build a strong socialist society.

The rules explain that the Congress is the most important group in the party. When the Congress is not meeting, the Central Committee runs the party. The Central Committee chooses leaders such as the General Secretary of the party and members of important groups like the Politburo and its Presidium. The rules can be changed by a Congress or a Conference of the party. Even though the rules exist, they do not always guide how the party actually operates. Still, they are considered very important in North Korea's political system.

Implementation

The rules of the Workers' Party of Korea are very important, but sometimes leaders did not follow them exactly. For example, they did not always call big meetings as the rules said they should.

One important group in the rules is called the Central Military Commission. It helps guide the country's army. But in practice, it often followed the lead of another group, the National Defence Commission. The rules were changed in 1982 to give the Military Commission more power, including choosing the party leader.

The rules also say that another group, the Politburo, should meet once a month, but this did not always happen. In 2010, the rule about holding big party meetings every five years was changed because it had not been followed for a long time.

History

The rules of the Workers' Party of Korea were first adopted on 30 August 1946 during the 1st Congress of the Workers' Party of North Korea. Over the years, these rules were revised several times. The 2nd Congress made changes in 1948, and the 3rd Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea did more major updates in 1956. Further changes happened in 1961, 1970, and 1980.

In 2010, a special meeting called the 3rd party Conference revised the rules again. This meeting also changed the party's main goal and updated how leaders were chosen. More changes were made in 2012 at the 4th party Conference, 2016 at the 7th party Congress, and 2021 at the 8th party Congress. The most recent updates were made in 2026 during the 9th party Congress.