The revisions to North Korean law reported last week introduced changes to the country’s constitution that vastly expands the power of leader Kim Jong Un, even more so than his authoritarian predecessors.

The allocation of power goes far beyond those granted to Kim Il Sung during his reign, which could signal a new level of authoritarianism, whereby Kim Jong Un relies less on the approval from important leadership factions while unilaterally expelling challengers to his authority.

The same trend could also be seen for the premier and head of the Supreme People's Assembly’s