North Korean Parliament Reinstates Kim Jong Un as Head of State

JAKARTA - The Supreme People's Assembly (parliament) of North Korea officially re-elected Kim Jong Un as Chairman of the State Affairs Commission. This position confirms his position as head of state as well as supreme commander of the North Korean armed forces.

Based on the state news agency KCNA's report, the decision was made during the first session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly which took place on March 22, 2026. This determination was made after North Korea held parliamentary elections on March 15 earlier.

The State Affairs Commission is the highest government and policy-making body in North Korea. According to KCNA, Kim Jong Un's re-election is a reflection of the will and aspirations of all the people in the country.

Before this confirmation, Kim Jong-un was also re-elected as General Secretary of the Workers' Party at the 9th National Congress held in February 2026. Traditionally, the parliament will convene after the party congress to ratify the strategic decisions that have been agreed upon.

In addition to appointing the highest leadership, North Korea's new parliament is scheduled to discuss several crucial agendas, including:

Constitutional amendments: Review and addition of articles in the country's constitution. Five-Year Economic Plan: Evaluation and implementation of economic targets announced at the party congress.

In his opening speech on February 19, Kim Jong Un stressed that the current ruling party faces major challenges.

"The party faces a historic and urgent task of strengthening economic development and raising the people's living standards, as well as transforming all aspects of social and state life as soon as possible," Kim Jong Un said as quoted from his speech.

Since ascending to the throne in 2011, Kim Jong-un has consistently placed economic improvement as the main pillar of his leadership. This parliamentary step is seen as an effort to strengthen the legal legitimacy of economic and social policies that will be taken in his new leadership period.

This confirmation also marks political stability within Pyongyang amid the changing global geopolitical dynamics throughout 2026.