North Korea Assembly

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea held its Supreme People's Assembly and installed Kim Jong-un to the new position of cabinet chairman. North Korea experts say that the latest Assembly has further cemented Kim's dictatorship.

[Pkg]

Kim Jong-un attended the Supreme People's Assembly held roughly 50 days after the Workers' Party Congress. At the latest assembly, Kim was appointed to a new post as the chairman of a state affairs commission.

[Soundbite] Kim Yong-nam(Pres., Presidium of Supreme People's Assembly, NK) : "We will place our dear leader Kim Jong-un, the banner of all victories and glories, to our republic's highest level."

The State Affairs Commission is believed to be an organization newly established at this year's Assembly, replacing the earlier National Defense Commission. Kim Jong-un's position appears to have changed as well, from the first chairman of the National Defense Commission to the chairman of the State Affairs Commission. The latest move is likely to have cemented Kim's one-man dictatorship by creating and putting him at the head of an organization that replaces the National Defense Commission, heavily influenced by his father, Kim Jong-il. The younger Kim took the helm of the Workers' Party last month as well. Kim also appointed figures who represented the military, the party, and the cabinet as the commission's new vice chairs. Discussions on ways to implement a five-year economic growth plan focused on parallel development of nuclear arms and the economy, with a focus on resolving energy issues. In addition, the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland, formerly an organization outside the party, was made an official state agency, effectively a promotion of Pyongyang's negotiating body with Seoul. This has led to speculation over possible changes in the regime's strategy toward the South.