the North Korean regime through the creation of a quasi-wartime crisis management system. 2007–2010 The Party was given new prominence starting from 2007–2008: in 2007, the Administration Department was re-established with Chang Song-taek as director, and in 2009 Choe Yong-rim was appointed chief secretary of the Pyongyang Party Committee filling a 9-year vacancy. In 2009, South Korea’s government released the latest constitution of North Korea which codified the prevailing ideology of party and government. It omitted all mention of communism. A press representative also explained to South Korean officials that communism is not considered viable "as long as U.S. imperialism exists". The 2010 Party Conference On 26 June 2010, the Party Politburo called the 3rd Party Conference for early September; after an unexplained delay, the Conference was held on 28 September; it re-elected Kim Jong-il as Party General Secretary, renewed the Party Central Committee with Kim Jong-il's son Kim Jong-un as member, and adopted new Party Rules which eliminated the clause that a party congress must be convened every 5 years, increased the power of the Central Military Commission, and inserted a praise to Kim Jong-il in the preface. On 28 September 2010, a Central Committee plenum (the first after 17 years) was held as well, renewing central authorities and appointing Kim Jong-un a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission. On 6 June 2011, North Korean press publicized a Politburo enlarged meeting, the first of this kind since the 1980s. The meeting was almost entirely focused on Kim Jong-il's recent visit to the People's Republic of China, adding further speculation on China's endorsement of Kim Jong-il's succession as well as signalling the DPRK's increasing interest for Chinese economic reforms. The rise of Kim Jong-un After Kim Jong-il died on 17 December 2011, North Korean elites moved to consolidate Kim Jong-un's position. He was declared to be in charge of the country as soon as the official report on Kim Jong-il's death was published on 19 December. On 26 December 2011, the official newspaper Rodong Sinmun hailed him as supreme leader of the party and the state. On 30 December, a meeting of the Politburo officially appointed him Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, after he was allegedly nominated for the position by Kim Jong-il himself in October 2011 (the anniversary of Kim Jong-il's assumption of general-secretaryship). Despite being not even a Politburo member, Kim Jong-un was nevertheless proclaimed to