N. Korean leader completes one-man power structure: Seoul

South Korea's unification ministry on Thursday said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has completed the process of taking absolute control over the country through the latest parliamentary gathering.

On Wednesday, the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's rubber-stamp parliament, selected the North's leader as the chairman of the newly created state apparatus called the State Affairs Commission, a move aimed at further reasserting his one-man rule.

The new commission replaced the National Defense Commission (NDC), the main state organization under the regime of Kim Jong-il, who advocated a military first, or "songun," policy. Kim Jong-il is the incumbent leader's late father.

"The North's leader completed the power structure change in the way he wanted," the ministry handling inter-Korean affairs said. "In terms of the concentration of power, the new apparatus appears not to be far different from the NDC."

The assembly was held as a follow-up to the congress by the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in May, where the North's leader was elected to the post of party chairman.

It also decided to upgrade the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, which handles inter-Korean affairs, to a state-level organization.

"The move appears to be aimed at strengthening its charm offensive toward South Korea," the ministry said.

Since the party congress ended, the North has proposed holding military talks with South Korea several times.

Seoul, however, has rejected the North's dialogue offer as a propaganda ploy, saying that denuclearization steps should be prioritized as a precondition for dialogue. (Yonhap)