The dictatorship of the proletariat refers to the exclusive control of power by the working class (proletariat) in capitalist societies. It is a transitional political system that exists during the process of communism, which overthrows bourgeois political power and abolishes the state. North Korea defines it as "the political domination of society exercised by the working class through state organs to suppress counter-revolutionary elements and construct a socialist and communist society."

In May 1967, Kim Il-sung established North Korea's unique theory on the transitional period and the dictatorship of the proletariat in his speech "On the Transitional Period to Socialism from Capitalism and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat." In September 1968, he further solidified North Korea's independent theory on the issue by stating that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was "the bastion of our people's freedom and independence and a powerful weapon for the construction of socialism and communism." This was done to seek North Korea's independent revolutionary and construction strategies amid the conflict of ideologies between major and minor powers.

North Korea's Theory on the Transitional Period to Socialism from Capitalism and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat has two characteristics. First, North Korea's theory of the transitional period includes the period and task of achieving complete victory in socialism. Second, North Korea sets different periods for the transitional period and the dictatorship of the proletariat, and associates the transitional period with imperialist collapse on a national or regional scale, while linking the dictatorship of the proletariat with the downfall of imperialism.

In 1992, North Korea revised its constitution and changed the dictatorship of the proletariat to "people's democracy". People's democracy means implementing communist party dictatorship by performing anti-colonial, anti-feudal, and democratic revolution through the extensive unified front led by the communist party. North Korea's transition to people's democracy during a time when international socialism was rapidly declining is analyzed as an attempt to justify individual dictatorship by presenting not only the working class but also diverse social classes as the subject of "our-style socialism" and "North Korean-style socialism" construction.