Legislation

First of before we start we need to know the meaning of legislation in order to understand

clearly. Legislation is the act of legislating; preparation and. enactment of laws.

Officially, the legislature, the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), is the highest organ

of state power. Its members are elected every 4 years. Usually only two meetings are

held annually, each lasting a few days. A standing committee elected by the SPA

performs legislative functions when the Assembly is not in session. In reality, the

Assembly serves only to ratify decisions made by the ruling KWP. The Supreme

People's Assembly’s candidates are picked by Democratic Front for the Reunification

of the Fatherland under Kim Jong-il. Although the Supreme People's Assembly is

North Korea's primary legislative body, it ordinarily delegates authority to the

smaller and more powerful Presidium, chosen from among its members.

Supreme People's Assembly

Elections and membership

Under the Constitution of North Korea, all citizens 17 and older, regardless of party

affiliation, political views, or religion, are eligible to be elected to the parliament and vote

in elections. In reality, however, North Korea is a totalitarian single-party state. The

candidates are selected by the democratic front for the Reunification of the Fatherland in

mass meetings which is held to decide on which candidate will be nominated. The

elections are done by secret ballot . Only the single person chosen by the Democratic

Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland appears on the ballot. In a scenario a voter

is allowed to cross out the candidates name if he or she feels to vote against him, but
this has to be done in a secret booth where no secrecy is allowed . As said by many

North Korean defectors this kind of act is too risky to even attempt.

• History

In 1990 the composition of the SPA was 601 seats held by the Workers' Party of

Korea, 51 seats held by the Korean Social Democratic Party, 22 seats held by the

Chondoist Chongu Party and 13 seats held by independents. The enhanced status of

the Korean People's Army was anticipated by the SPA election July 1998, when 101

military officials were elected out of 687 delegates. This was a big jump from the 57

military officials elected during the 9th SPA in 1990.

The constitution provides for the SPA to be elected every five years by universal

suffrage. Article 88 indicates that legislative power is exercised by the SPA and the

Standing Committee of the SPA when the assembly is not in session. Elections to the

Ninth Supreme People's Assembly were held in April 1990, with 687 deputies, or

representatives, elected. The KWP approves a single list of candidates who stand for

election without opposition. Deputies usually meet once a year in regular sessions in

March or April, but since 1985 they have also met occasionally in extraordinary sessions

in November or December. Sessions are convened by the assembly's Standing

Committee, whose chairman as of 1992 was Yang Hyong-sop (also a full member of the

KWP Central Committee and a vice chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful

Reunification of the Fatherland). Assembly members are elected by the deputies, as are

the chairman and vice chairmen. The assembly also has five committees: Bills, Budget,

Foreign Affairs, Qualifications Screening, and Reunification Policy Deliberation.