Until then, Kim Il Sung held the posts of premier and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.

In 1972, the presidency was established, and Kim Il Sung was elected to the position by the Supreme People's Assembly, the North Korean legislature, on 28 December 1972.

According to Ashley J. Tellis and Michael Wills, this amendment to the preamble was an indication of the unique North Korean characteristic of being a theocratic state based on the personality cult surrounding Kim Il Sung.

In addition, North Korea adopted a Juche calendar dating from 1912, the year of Kim Il Sung's birth.

[3] The 2012 constitution once again referred to Kim Il Sung as the "Eternal President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea".