City (Municipal) and County Party Committees

(Photo: NK Leadership Watch graphic)

City (municipal) and county party committees are the Workers’ Party of Korea’s [WPK]  local power organizations (“lowest leading unit and execution unit”) in the DPRK’s 28 cities (-si) and 145 counties (-ku’n).  City and county party committees are responsible for managing municipal and county government work (through city and county people’s committees), conducting public affairs and cultural activities and managing the affairs of basic party organizations located in a given city or county.

The functions of a city or county party committee are to

• implement the Monolithic Leadership System (i.e. the leadership of the Suryo’ng; rule by the Kims), party ideology and party policies
• disseminate and defend party ideology and party policies
• ensure the compliance of worksites and production units with party policies
• manage party members and basic party organizations within the city or county
• approve or reject applications for party membership which are conveyed through party cells and basic party organizations
• establish and manage Party Life and Party Life Guidance
• manage local party finances
• direct public affairs and cultural activities (propaganda and agitation) within the city or county
• establish and organize the affairs of workers’ and social organizations
• provide assistance as needed to local Korean People’s Army [KPA] units
• coordinate and manage civil defense activities including routine indoctrination and training of reserve military training units, particularly the Worker-Peasant Red Guard and the Young Red Guards
• issue routine reports to the provincial party committee

City and county party committees hold quarterly (once every three months) plenary meetings which communicate and discuss the party’s policies and decide on their implementation.  The plenary meeting also elects the city or county party committee’s executive committee, its Secretariat, Military Committee and Inspection Committee.

City and county party committees are led by a Chief Secretary and an executive committee.  The executive committee meets at least twice a month and serves as the city or county party committee’s leading power organization between the quarterly plenary meetings (“discuss and decide important issues that arise in implementing the party’s policies related to administrative and economic work, and organize and guide the work for their execution”).  City and county committees have as their power organizations a Secretariat, a Military Committee and an Inspection Committee.

The Secretariat consists of a Chief Secretary and deputy (vice) secretaries and is tasked with deliberating and acting on all internal party affairs including personnel matters.  The Military Committee deliberates and implements the party’s military policies.  The Inspection Committee deals with discipline of party members, including violations of the party’s bylaws, disciplinary decisions of party cells and other basic party organizations, and reviews and decides on petitions and appeals of the discipline of party members.

City and county party committees link with the WPK Organization Guidance Department’s [OGD] Local Party Affairs Section [LPAS].  The LPAS conveys party policies, decisions and orders to the party committees and provides general direction and guidance on the party committee’s activities.  The LPAS also, on behalf of the WPK Central Committee, can make personnel decisions such as appointing chief secretaries to city and county party committees and deciding on party member’s petitions and appeals on disciplinary matter.

City (Municipal) and County Party Conferences

In accordance with instructions from the WPK Central Committee, city (municipal) and county party committees convene party conferences.  Party representatives are selected from the membership basic party organizations (party cells, primary party and branch party organizations) within the city or county.

The city and county party conferences include a summary of the work of the city or county party committee and the city and county auditing committee.  The party conference also elects members of the city and county party committees and members of the city and county party auditing committee.  Finally, city and county party conferences elect representatives (delegates) to attend provincial party conferences.