1998 North Korean parliamentary election

26 July 1998
All 687 seats in the Supreme People's Assembly
First party   Leader Kim Jong-il Party Workers' Party Alliance Fatherland Front Seats won 594 Seat change 7
NDC Chairman before election Kim Jong-il Workers' Party Elected NDC Chairman Kim Jong-il Workers' Party

Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 26 July 1998.^[1] 687 deputies were elected to the tenth Supreme People's Assembly. There was only one nominated candidate per constituency - 687 candidates for 687 seats. According to the state news agency KCNA, the turnout rate was 99.85%, and 100% of participating voters cast their ballots in favour of the registered candidates.^[2] About two thirds of the deputies were new, and deputies with a military background reportedly doubled in number.^[3] Kim Jong-il was unanimously elected in constituency n°666.^[4] According to a Rodong Sinmun editorial, this proved "how deep the Korean people's trust in Kim Jong Il is and how powerful and solid the monolithic unity of the people around him in one thought and purpose and with moral obligation is."^[5]

The election was three years overdue, the latest election having been in 1990. The planned 1995 elections were cancelled due to a period of mourning instituted after the death of Kim Il-sung. In its first session on 5 September 1998, the newly elected parliament amended laws to reflect the succession of Kim Jong-il.^[6]

Numerological significance of the number 666 in North Korean politics

Kim Jong-il's seat was the 666th seat, and in North Korea, political meanings are imparted to numbers of the constituencies for cult of personality purposes. Rodong Shinmun stated in its 1999 opinion piece "666: Legend of the Great Man" that the number is meaningful in the sense that the cube of 6 is 216, which coincides with Kim Jong-il's birthday, 16 February, and emphasizes that North Korea is the 6th state to exist in the Korean peninsula.^{[lower-alpha 1][7]} In western culture, the number 666 has a much more sinister meaning, one that declares a political leader who uses it as evil. In the Bible's Book of Revelation in chapter 13, verse 18, the number 666 is called the "Number of the beast", and earlier on the chapter, in verses 16–17, 666 is used as a mark by "The Beast" (a being of great evil) which is placed on the right hand or forehead of all his followers leading up to the end of the end of the world. Said mark was mandatory to buy or sell anything.

Results

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