Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea
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The Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea (DFRK), also known as the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland (DFRF) or the Fatherland Front, was a North Korean united front formed on 25 June 1949 and led by the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was initially called the Fatherland United Democratic Front.
The front initially consisted of 72 parties and social organizations from both the North and the South; at the time of its dissolution, it had 24 members.<ref name=nk.chosun.com>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The three legal political parties of North Korea—the WPK, the Korean Social Democratic Party, and the Chondoist Chongu Party—all participated in the front.<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref> The country's four most important mass organizations—the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, Socialist Women's Union of Korea, General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, and Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea—were member organizations.<ref name="ScalapinoKim1983">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Lansford2015">Template:Cite book</ref> The Korean Children's Union was also a member organization.<ref name="encyc_nations">Template:Cite web</ref>
All candidates for an elected office in North Korea had to be a member of the front, and were nominated and approved at mass meetings held by the front.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The WPK led the front and all other member organizations were subservient to it.<ref>Savada, Andrea Matles. "Mass Organizations." North Korea: A country study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1993.</ref> The WPK was thus able to predetermine the composition of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA). The Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front is ostensibly the South Korean counterpart to the DFRK, but it operates from North Korea.
History
The National Democratic Front (Template:Lang), a South Korean leftist organization, was founded with the Communist Party of Korea as its leading organization on 15 February 1946. It was formed from 40 leftist parties and consisted of 398 communists led by Lyuh Woon-hyung, Pak Hon-yong, and Ho Hon. The North Korean National Democratic Front (Template:Lang) was founded on 22 July 1946.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was formed from 13 parties and organizations and led by Kim Il Sung, Kim Tu-bong, and Choe Yong-gon. It included the North Korean Branch of the Communist Party and the New People's Party of Korea, which were soon merged to form the Workers' Party of North Korea, as well as the Korean Democratic Party and the Chondoist Chongu Party.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> The North Korean National Democratic Front absorbed the South Korean National Democratic Front on 25 June 1949, after South Korea outlawed the latter, leading to the establishment of the Fatherland United Democratic Front.<ref name="dfrk">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name=":0" />
In the 1950s, the front outlived its original role as a way for the Workers' Party to consolidate its power. It was therefore assigned a new role; to serve as body to interact with South Korean organizations and political parties. It consequently changed the English rendering name to the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea (DFRK). According to North Korea expert Andrei Lankov, in this capacity, the DFRK "handled relations with South Korea's assorted progressive groups while also serving as a quasi-official voice of the North Korean government on matters related to the South".<ref name=":0" />
In 2018, the DFRK was led by Pak Myong Chol.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Presidium members during that time included Ri Kil Song and Kim Wan Su.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 23 March 2024, the Korean Central News Agency reported that the DFRK had officially dissolved its central committee, effectively dissolving the whole front. The move followed a speech by Kim Jong Un in which he stated that the North would give up its goal of peaceful reunification with the South and dissolve all organizations related to the goal.<ref name="hjhj">Template:Cite web</ref> At the time of its dissolution, the Director of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the DFRK was Maeng Kyong Il. Members of the Presidium of the Central Committee included Pak Myong Chol and Kim Wan Su.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Member organizations
In the SPA
| Name (abbreviation) |
Emblem | Ideology | Leader | Foundation | Seats in the SPA (2014) | Template:Abbr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Workers' Party of Korea Template:Lang Template:Transliteration |
|
Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism | Kim Jong Un | 29 July 1946 | Template:Composition bar | <ref name="Lanʹkov2002">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=ipu>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Korean Social Democratic Party Template:Lang Template:Transliteration |
|
Social democracy (de jure) |
Kim Ho-chol | 3 November 1945 | Template:Composition bar | Template:Sfn<ref name=ipu/> |
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Chondoist Chongu Party Template:Lang Template:Transliteration |
File:Chondoist Chongu Party.png | Chondoist interests | Ri Myong-chol | 8 February 1946 | Template:Composition bar | <ref name="nkne_NKNe">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=ipu/> |
| Chongryon Template:Lang |
|
Zainichi interests | Pak Ku-ho | 30 March 1955 | Template:Composition bar | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
With SPA observer status
Electoral history
Supreme People's Assembly elections
See also
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
- Pages with broken file links
- 1946 establishments in Korea
- 2024 disestablishments in North Korea
- Organizations established in 1946
- Political organizations disestablished in 2024
- Popular fronts of communist states
- Workers' Party of Korea
- Korean nationalist organizations
- Defunct political party alliances in Asia
- Political party alliances in Korea
- Korean reunification