The succession of sovereign power is connected directly with the regime security in socialist states. In particular, the succession of sovereign power in North Korea that has built on the Chief Magistrate system is the most important issue that can forecast the henceforth direction of North Korea's state policy.
For all that, most studies in South Korea on the succession problem of North Korea have limits that those draw deduction from unconfirmed intelligences. This paper aims at groping for an objective and scientific research method on the succession of sovereign power in North Korea. For this propose, this paper adopts the doctrine of revolutionary Chief Magistrate and it's successor in Ju-Che Ideology as a principle and the succession process of sovereign power to Kim Jong Il as the measure of practical comparison.
According to Ju-Che Ideology, the nomination of successor is the duty as well as authority of the Chief Magistrate and the successor must have the allegiance to the Chief Magistrate as the first sign and has to be demonstrative of one's disposition and ability to govern. Therefore under the present conditions in North Korea, the successor must exhibit one's disposition and ability at the construction of 'the Strong and Great country' which is the immediate goal of North Korea and 'the politics of Military Priority' that is the way of it's achievement. And further, the collective intention of 'the Committee for National Defence' which has been defined as the supreme directive organization on the military affairs of state sovereignty at the amended Constitution in 1998 will certainly exerted influence on Kim Jong Il's decision on his successor.
In conclusion, contentions on hereditary, a third person, a collective leadership system that have been contended in South Korea about the succession problem in North Korea seem to be against the heart of the matter. It is more important issue than foretelling who, when, how to be nominated as a successor that we grasp the facing national goal of North Korea and the measure for it's realization and make a minute observation on the person who shows one's disposition and ability in that process.