Kim Jong-il, successor. http://guyism.com/lifestyle/so-the-new-possible-leader-of-north-korea-might-be-a-gamer-dork.html
Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il’s heir, known as “the Great Successor”, who is in his twenties, has been thrust into the spotlight as the media and leadership of North Korea seek to present him as an unchallenged ruler, said the New York Times. State television showed senior members of the military saluting Kim this week, whilst receiving visitors at the mausoleum where his father lay in state, in a glass case. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported that North Korean troops have returned to barracks on “high alert.” Commentators are worried that the succession will cause tensions, but it appears to be going smoothly so far, reported the Associated Press, with streets in the capital quiet. The country has a history of hostility towards its neighbours, which, coupled with its nuclear capablities, has made it a focus of intense interest from the United States, Japan and South Korea. Communications between the US and North Korea still appear open, which is a sign that discussions about food aid and North Korea’s nuclear capabilites may resume after the 11 day mourning period.
The BBC reported that state media from North Korea are telling of “Strange natural phenomena” since Kim Jon-il died, including ice cracking, and “a mysterious glow” on a “revered mountain top.”Mass grieving is also reported. Some South Korean newspapers are tentatively suggesting that Kim Jong-il was murdered, said The National Post, in a struggle with the army.
The NIS in South Korea also said that the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party, of which Kim Jong-un is vice-chairman, will act as “an interim ruling agency,” until he “consolidates his power”, as he hasn’t yet taken on the two jobs that his father had – “general secretary of the party and chairman of the National Defense Commission.”
A vulnerable heir? Choe Sang-Hun in the New York Times took the angle that this “rush” to portray him as a leader shows just how vulnerable he is. His influence over the enormous army (which has 1.2 million people in it) “remains untested.” The paper also suggested that were Kim unable to consolidate his power, he might become the “figurehead” of a leadership including his uncle, Jang Song-taek. This, said the Times of India, would be a sort of ruling coterie – the first time since the country was founded in 1948.
Regime will stick together. Ralph Cossa, a North Korea expert, said to the Times of India that he thought the ruling group would stay together, as they all have “a vested interest in regime survival … Their own personal safety and survival is inextricably tied to regime survival and Kim Jong-un is the manifestation of this. I think the regime will remain stable, at least in the near-term,” adding that there was hope that Jong-un might take North Korea down the reform path.
“It’s the best example of the failure of a closed economy – they’re still living in a medieval era when the rest of the world is moving forward every day,” said Cho Bong Hyun, a researcher at IBK Economic Research Institute in Seoul, quoted on The Washington Post.
Will there be reform? Which he might well have to do, said Eunkyung Seo in The Washington Post, as he’s inherited an economy that seriously struggles in its policy of “self-reliance.” The country’s gross domestic product was one fortieth of South Korea’s. So should he stick with central planning, or open up like China? Food aid is needed for 5 million people. It does, however, have huge mineral deposits. State media in North Korea has a different view, reporting that the economy is going well after “ ‘unprecedented miracles and innovations in socialist economic construction.’” The US, on the other hand, “ ‘is troubled by a large number of poor people.’”
More on North and South Korea
- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dead at 69, Pyongyang mourns, South Korea on military alert
- Kim Jong-il’s weird, wacky life
- North Korea shoots at South Korea
- North Korea: Strong and weak
