Editing History of North Korea (section)

=== Establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ===
[[File:1948 김일성과 김구.jpg|thumb|right|Kim Il Sung with [[Kim Ku]] in 1948]]

As negotiations with the Soviet Union on the future of Korea failed to make progress, the US took the issue to the [[United Nations]] in September 1947. In response, the UN established [[UNTCOK|the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea]] to hold elections in Korea. The Soviet Union opposed this move. In the absence of Soviet cooperation, it was decided to hold UN-supervised elections in the south only.<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |page=66}}</ref> In April 1948, a conference of organizations from the North and the South met in [[Pyongyang]], but the conference produced no results. The southern politicians [[Kim Koo]] and [[Kim Kyu-sik]] attended the conference and boycotted the elections in the South.<ref>{{cite book | title = Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History| last = Cumings| first = Bruce| author-link = Bruce Cumings| year = 2005| publisher = [[W. W. Norton & Company]]| location = New York| isbn = 978-0-393-32702-1 |pages=211, 507}}</ref> Both men were posthumously awarded the [[National Reunification Prize]] by North Korea.<ref name="kcna19980507national">{{cite web|title=National Reunification Prize Winners |url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/1998/9805/news05/07.htm |date=7 May 1998 |agency=Korean Central News Agency |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602043554/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/1998/9805/news05/07.htm |archive-date=2 June 2013 }}</ref> The elections were held in South Korea on 10 May 1948. On 15 August, the [[Republic of Korea]] formally came into existence.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |page=67}}</ref> A parallel process occurred in North Korea. A new [[Supreme People's Assembly]] was elected in August 1948, and on 3 September a [[Constitution of North Korea|new constitution]] was promulgated. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) [[Day of the Foundation of the Republic (North Korea)|was proclaimed]] on 9 September, with Kim as [[Premier of North Korea|Premier]].<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |pages=60–61}}</ref> On 12 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly accepted the report of UNTCOK and declared the Republic of Korea to be the "only lawful government in Korea".<ref name="ReferenceC"/>

By 1949, North Korea was a full-fledged Communist state. All parties and mass organizations joined the [[Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland]], ostensibly a [[popular front]] but in reality dominated by the Communists. The government moved rapidly to establish a [[Politics of North Korea|political system]] that was partly styled on the [[Politics of the Soviet Union|Soviet system]], with political power monopolised by the [[Workers' Party of Korea]] (WPK).