Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly

The 1948 Constitution created the position of Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.^[8] The chairman presided over the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, which was given the power to ratify or annul treaties with foreign countries, appoint or recall ambassadors to foreign countries and receive letters of credentials or recall of foreign diplomatic representatives.^[9] Nominally, the Chairman of the SPA Standing Committee held the highest state post followed by the premier, Kim Il Sung.^[10] The formal powers of the office led some to argue the chairman of the SPA Standing Committee was effectively the head of state of North Korea, though the office was never legally defined as such. Instead, starting from 1968, North Korean state media started referring Premier Kim Il Sung as the head of state.^[11]

The 1972 Constitution created the position of President of North Korea who is tasked with being the country's head of state.^[12] The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (under the new Korean title of 최고인민회의 상설회의 의장) was removed of its power to represent the state and was limited to doing legislative work as the concurrent chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly.^[13] The 1998 revision of the 1972 Constitution created the position under the new English translation of President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly with its powers to represent the state restored, though the office was again not legally referred to as the head of state.^[14]

The 1972 Constitution was revised in April 2019 to designate the then-Chairman of the State Affairs Commission as the supreme leader, with the powers reserved to the head of state being transferred to the SAC chairman in August of the same year.^[15] In February 2022, the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission began to be referred in English as the President of the State Affairs. This led to the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly being referred in English to its previous title of Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.^[16]

The Constitution was revised again in 2026. The new amendments stipulated that the chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly serves concurrently as the chairman of the SPA Standing Committee. Additionally, they transferred the powers to receive credentials and letters of recall of diplomatic representatives accredited by foreign countries to the president of the State Affairs Commission.^[17]