THE POWERFUL DEPICTION OF NORTH KOREA UNDER KIM DYNASTY ,IN FACT,NORTH KOREA HAS ONE OF THE LARGEST ARMIES IN THE WORLD.NORTH KOREA SPENDS ABOUT ONE THIRD OF IT'S NATIONAL INCOME ON THE MILITARY.
Communist North Korean founder Kim Il-Sung,Kim Jong Un's Grandfather (1912 – 1994) was the leader of North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Premier from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to 1994.Son Kim Jong-Il, center, and grandson Kim Jong-Un.Kim Jong-il in the arms of mom and his father, Kim Il-sung.After his father’s elaborate public funeral, Kim Jong-il dropped out of
sight and it was some time before it was clear that he had established
his grip on power. Under his newly-organised government, Kim’s deceased
father was deemed “Eternal Leader” and the presidential post left
unclaimed. It was three years before Kim took over the leadership of the
ruling Korean Workers’ Party, though officially the country remained a
necrocracy.
Kim
Il-sung (1912–94) of North Korea. He began his 46-year rule as a
committed Marxist-Leninist but eventually created his own postcommunist
Juche ideology of self-reliance. In the process, he perpetuated a
personality cult and a savior dynasty.The Kim dynasty, officially
called the Mount Paektu Bloodline, is a three-generation lineage of
North Korean leadership descending from the country's first leader, Kim
Il-sung, in 1948. Kim came to rule the North after the end of Japanese
control in 1945 split the region. He began the Korean War in 1950 in an
attempt to reunify the entire peninsula. Kim developed a cult of
personality closely tied to their state philosophy of Juche, which was
later passed on to his successors: his son Kim Jong-il and grandson Kim
Jong-un.Kim
Jong-il (like Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, and many other dictators)
protects his elite core while shifting the burden of sanctions to the
people. A more effective economic lever with which to move the regime
would be to directly threaten its access to hard currency and luxury
goods, which it needs to bribe elites. Policies such as freezing North
Korean assets overseas and embargoing luxury items are thus the most
promising options.Socialist societies with ideology-based political systems, such as North
Korea, are known to treat not only essential but also minor issues with
the highest level of secrecy. This is because in a system where
coordination is highly centralized, political power monopolized and
executed by a strictly hierarchical command structure, the top
leadership is responsible for the slightest detail. So every failure is
seen as the leadership's responsibility, and information is carefully
filtered to protect the leadership and the political system itself. However, this obsession with tight control of information is one of the
weaknesses of the system. Politically aware people in state socialist
countries tend to read official publications much more carefully than
their compatriots in liberal democracies. Often, they discover messages
that the leadership prefers not be publicly unveiled. While the
state-controlled media may not provide information on many issues, we
can be sure that it reflects the leadership's point of view, since it is
their job to communicate this position to the population. Even in an
ideology-based society, including one in which a powerful dictatorship
rules, leaders have to justify what they do.It is difficult to imagine that the question of leadership after Kim
Jong-il would not be prepared carefully by the mass media in North
Korea. This is why analysts instantly react to unusual reports about
personalities such as the mothers of Kim Jong-il's sons or other
relatives. If there were to be an announcement of a new leader, careful
readers of the Rodong Sinmun would in all likelihood know it in advance
because the North Korean people need to be prepared to ensure their
acceptance. No announcement such as "Successor of Chairman Kim Jong-il Chosen". But
what about this: "Monument to Party Founding Draws Endless Crowd of
Visitors". This might be just another form of dull report on events that
nobody cares about except the editors and their bosses. But it also
might be the missing hint that we seek. To begin with, it is remarkable
that there are many monuments to Kim Il-sung, but none to Kim Jong-il,
and none to the military as an institution (though there are numerous
ones to specific soldiers and battles). The only political entity beyond
the Eternal President that is honored by a monument is the Party. The
monument was built in 1995, which was not only the 50th anniversary of
the official Party founding day, but also one year after the death of
Kim Il-sung and still before the announcement of the Military First
Policy (Seongun).
Kim Jong-il (Kim Jong Un's father, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim (1941 – 2011) was the Supreme Leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) from the time of his father's death in 1994 until his own death in 2011. He was the son of Kim Il-Sŏng. Official North Korean propaganda said that Jong-il was born on Mount Paektu (a holy mountain in Korea); but most historians think that he was born near Chabarowsk in the Soviet Union. Inside North Korea, it was the law that no one could try to replace Jong-il as leader of the country. He was sometimes referred to as the "Dear Leader", but this was not an official title. His official title was "Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea", "Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army" and "General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea". Many people in North Korea were imprisoned or killed for speaking out against the Kim regime. Almost everyone in North Korea wore a small pin with a picture of Kim Jŏng-Il or Kim Il-Sŏng on it.
Kim Il-sung's proposal for the Democratic Federal Republic of Goryeo
that would join North and South. In 2001, the population was reminded of
the 4th anniversary of Kim Jong-il's election to General Secretary of
the WPK along with praise for his Military First Policy. To make clear
who was to revere, an article on the "Revolutionary Spirit of Soldiers"
appeared on Oct. 9th, providing contrast to praise for the "invincible"
Party the following day. This clearly was the time of Seongun, the
recipe for overcoming the "arduous march". In 2002, the decisive role of
ideology was emphasized. The Party was lauded as the guide of the
Korean people, with heavy emphasis on its economic achievements. And a
few days after Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly's visit to
Pyongyang and just before his statement that marked the beginning of the
second nuclear crisis, an article describing the Party's rosy future
made clear that military affairs had to be placed above all else. Again, the People's Army was stressed as the core and main force of the
Party. In 2004, no mention was made of Kim Jong-il's anniversary as
General Secretary. Instead, the spirit of self-reliance was put forward
as the central theme, making clear that refusal to bow to any outside
pressure including sanctions was the sure path to victory in all fields.
In 2005, the Rodong Sinmun went one step further, arguing that the
Party had made great contributions beyond its own country, to the global
cause of human independence by putting forward Seongun. On its 60th
anniversary in 2006, the Party was again presented as the "great mother"
of its children, the people. The word Seongun did not appear this time.
It was, however, back one year later, when it was declared that in this
Seongun era, it was the consistent policy of the Party to "remold man".
A ground-breaking ceremony was held for a monument for "Protectors of
Arts for the Century", identified as Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. On
Oct. 8th, the "40-odd year history" of Kim Jong-il's leadership of the
Party was celebrated in an editorial, partly explaining why his election
to Secretary General had not been mentioned anymore, but also leaving
readers to wonder how it was possible to claim four decades of Party
leadership (the term "party center" or dangjungang, understood as an
euphemism for Kim Jong-il, had emerged only in the 1970s). Seongun was
not mentioned; the next day, however, Rodong Sinmun reported the
country's first nuclear test, which was followed by a new year's
editorial in January 2007 that emphasized economic construction now that
the defense issue had been settled by becoming a nuclear power.In October 2007, an article praised the People's Army, recalling a
banquet speech of Kim Il-sung as far back as 1947 as if there were no
more appropriate reason but omitting Seongun. The Army was displayed as a
loyal instrument with duties assigned by "the Party, the leader, the
country, and the people" (in that order). Note that the Party comes
first, even before the leader, and that there was no description of the
military as the core or main force of the Party. On Oct. 9th, an article
summarized the history of the Party and reminded North Koreans that it
was Kim Il-sung's Party; in other words, disloyalty to the Party would
mean disloyalty to Kim Il-sung. The single-minded unity of party, leader
and people was called for. This could be the year of the long-awaited 7th Party Congress, 32 years
after the 6th in 1980, though events could also force an acceleration
of the pace. Recall that this congress served the purpose of officially
introducing Kim Jong-il as the next leader. This time, we could see the
Party taking over the role of a church, safeguarding ideology and the
leadership of the two "Eternal" leaders, forming or organizing the
collective leadership that seems to be the only logical step, and
appointing a leader who will not be Great but visible. The recent homage
to the Party's monument could be the first step in the process of
announcing this solution; the next Great Leader of North Korea could be
Mother Party.North
Korea is an international problem with no good solution. Eventually the
North as we know it will disappear. Until then the country will pose a
difficult challenge for all of its neighbors, including the PRC. The
North Korean nuclear crisis has been brewing for a generation. Perhaps most
important, the North Korean regime is brutal in its use of force.
Dissent is detected through an elaborate network of informants working
for multiple internal security agencies. People accused of relatively
minor offenses undergo "reeducation"; those accused of more serious
transgressions are either immediately executed or interred in miserable
political prison camps. Even more daunting, according to the "three
generations" policy, the regime punishes not only the individual
responsible for the transgressions but his or her whole family.
Kim
Jong Un cries as his father, North Korea's late leader Kim Jong Il,
lies in state during the run-up to his funeral in Pyongyang.North Korea's hardline regime is punishing those who did not cry at the death of dictator Kim Jong-il, according to reports.Sentences
of at least six months in labour camps are also apparently being given
to those who didn't go to the organised mourning events, while anyone
who criticised the new leader Kim Jong-un is also being punished.
n December 2011 the second generation
leader of the Kim dynasty, Kim Jong-il, reportedly died of a heart
attack at age 70. His father, Kim Il-sung, the founder of the dynasty,
was a guerilla fighter who fought against the Japanese in China and
later fled to Russia, where he became an officer in the Soviet army.
Although he returned to the northern half of the Korean peninsula after
the Japanese had surrendered to Soviet troops, he claimed credit for
liberating Korea single-handedly, just as he falsely claimed to have
defeated the UN coalition forces during the Korean War. This founding
Kim set North Korea on the course that it now follows under the
leadership of his grandson, who has consciously imitated his
grandfather’s clothing, mannerisms, and “military-first” policy.The Kim dynasty has successfully maintained
a large measure of secrecy about how it operates. It is believed that
for the last 20 years of Kim Il-sung’s reign, his son was running most
of the country’s day-to-day affairs. When that son took over the
leadership on his father’s death from a heart attack in 1994, he ruled
in an even more secretive fashion than his father, sometimes not
appearing in public for months on end. Throughout his lifetime, Kim
Jong-il made only one public speech of less than ten words—and that may
have been due to a mistake made by a sound engineer.North Korea is in the news for two reasons:
it has expanding nuclear weapons and missiles programs and it threatens
to attack South Korea, the United States, and Japan. The nuclear
program is hardly news. The Kim regime has been working since the 1980s
on this program, and despite occasional denials of any desire to have
nuclear weapons, it has forged ahead relentlessly, even during the days
when it had reached a non-nuclear agreement with the United States. It
is highly unlikely that the North Koreans were ever willing to
completely abandon the program, no matter what incentives they were
offered, and in recent years they have firmly renounced any interest in
even discussing the program. In 2013 they officially stated that the
program is their most important weapon and is not subject to
negotiation. This should surprise no one, and it should also save other
countries much time and effort that they would otherwise have put into
trying to negotiate a new nuclear deal with North Korea.Kim was around 15 years old and studying in Bern, Switzerland. His
girlfriend, whom Nam did not name, was in Pyongyang. The two used to
keep in touch over long-distance calls, Nam says, and at one point Kim
reacted in an “unmannered way” when his girlfriend suggested he cut down
on his smoking, telling her she was not in a position to advise him.While
seemingly in line with his image as an autocratic ruler threatening
missile strikes on his enemies, the idea of a short-tempered Kim
contrasts previous reports from people who knew him in Switzerland.In 2011, Swiss education administrator says
that Kim attended the Steinhoelzli school in the Berne suburb of
Liebefeld from 1998 until just after starting ninth grade in late 2000,
registered under the false identity of Pak Un, the son of a North Korean
Embassy employee.As North Korea’s only official ally, China has been put in an awkward position as the North’s weapons testing became increasingly frequent last year. For decades, China has relied on its belligerent neighbour as a buffer between itself and the US military presence in South Korea. China, for its part, has been getting tougher on North Korea for example, voting for the United Nations’ harshest-ever economic sanctions on the rogue regime in September but not overly tough. In order to restart talks, China has suggested a “freeze for freeze” formula, namely that the US and the South suspend their decades-long joint military exercises, in exchange for the North stopping its missile and nuclear tests.North Korea has executed its military chief on corruption charges, a
South Korean news agency said Wednesday, citing a source familiar with
the nation’s affairs.The Yonhap news agency said Gen. Ri Yong-gil
was executed this month. It said he was charged with, among other
crimes, pursuing personal gain.Ri was the chief of the General Staff of the Korean
People’s Army. He stopped appearing in public last April, North Korea
watchers reported at that time. They noted that another general had
replaced Ri at official functions.The news came on a day South
Korea said it would shutter a set of factories inside North Korea in
protest of Pyongyang’s rocket launch .Seoul said Wednesday
it will suspend joint production at the Kaesong industrial park, where
North Korean laborers assemble garments, watches and other products for
South Korean companies. Its closure would remove the most visible symbol
of cross-border cooperation between the two Koreas. Seoul will set up a
task force to oversee the safe return of South Korean workers from the
site, which as of last year housed 124 South Korean companies and
employed about 54,000 North Korean workers.This is a strong
message to North Korea and a rallying cry for more international
sanctions and pressure against Pyongyang,” said Chang Yong Seok, a
researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul
National University.The United
Nations Security Council is currently discussing tougher sanctions
against the North to punish it for violating prior demands to halt its
nuclear and missile programs.Meanwhile, analysts say the
execution of Ri shows that North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un may
still fear internal challenges to his rule, despite a series of purges
and executions by the regime.In a bid to consolidate
his power, Kim has purged and executed a range of senior officials.
These include his own uncle, Jang Song Thaek; the head of the army’s
operations, Gen. Pyon In Son; and Defense Minister Hyon Yong Chol. A
lurid version of Hyon’s killing said that he was blasted to pieces in
front of a high-caliber anti-aircraft gun.