The State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SAC) is constitutionally the supreme political authority of North Korea.[1] The State Affairs Commission was created by 2016 amendments to the North Korean Constitution to replace the previously military-dominated National Defence Commission.
The predecessor body, National Defence Commission, was created in 1972 as sub-committee for defence and security affairs of the Supreme People's Committee, the later was headed by the President of the DPRKKim Il Sung and exercised similar powers within the constitutional framework of the 1972 Constitution of North Korea.
The National Defence Commission was separated from the Supreme People's Committee in 1992 and Kim Jong Il was officially designated as chair of the body. In 1998, two years after the death of Kim Il Sung, the National Defence Commission was empowered as the supreme defence body, and in line with the Songun ideology, the supreme political authority of state and legal framework for Kim Jong Il's personal dictatorship.
After the 7th Congress of the Workers Party of Korea, the constitution was amended in June 2016 that reformed the National Defence Commission into the contemporary State Affairs Commission, with the amended text stipulating the body's control over national policy.
Powers and responsibilities
Article 106 of the Constitution of North Korea defines the State Affairs Commission as the supreme state organ of policy direction of state sovereignty.[2] Article 109 of the Constitution states that the SAC's powers are to:[3][4]
deliberate and decide on major policies of the State including defence and security policies;
exercise supervision over the fulfillment of the orders of the President of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the decisions and directives of the Commission, and take measures for their fulfillment;
abrogate decisions and directives of State organs which run counter to the orders of the President of the SAC-DPRK and the decisions and directives of the Commission in its meetings.
^"Organizational Chart of North Korean Leadership"(PDF). Seoul: Political and Military Analysis Division, Intelligence and Analysis Bureau; Ministry of Unification. January 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
North Korea portal 
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