this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2026
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It is not a monarchy. The Kims served all kinds of different positions. In fact the position of the president was abolished and split into 3 different posts to deconcentrate power when Kim Il Sung died (hence he's called the eternal president).
The highest organ of state power in DPRK is the Supreme People's Assembly (over 600 members) which is elected for five year terms in universal and secret ballot, and it is the body which in general appoints all other individial posts. So Kim Jong Un is for example appointed as the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission whereas the Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly is Pak Thae Song.
Kim Jong Un is also the General Secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea, but that's not a State Organ.
The title of the "Leader" you might have heard so much is mostly a customary one and what it entails is a lot of inspecting of construction sites and workplaces and giving suggestions on how the design can be improved to serve the people better.
Most often he is referred to simply as Comrade Kim Jong Un by the state media.
Is it more like nepotism in favor of the Kim family then? Or do they genuinely earn these positions? How is General Secretary of the WPK not a state organ if the WPK is the leading and only party in the DPRK?
The WPK is not the only party in Korea, there's also Chondoist Chongu Party and Korean Social Democratic Party, you can also be elected a representative without party association.
All elected positions are subject to recall and that right is regularly exercised, being a member of Kim family certainly does not give you immunity to that.
On the more philosophical questions, I can recommend Roland Boer's Socialism in Power, specifically Chapter 7 talks about Korea.