Tag: Kim Jong-un

The bromance between Putin and Kim continues:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has received a Russian-made luxury car from Russian President Vladimir Putin as a gift demonstrating the special bonds between the two leaders, state media reported Tuesday.

The gift serves as a “clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the two leaders and as the best one,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Russia conveyed the vehicle for Kim’s personal use Sunday to Pak Jong-chon, a secretary of the ruling Worker’s Party of Korea, and Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the North’s leader. She delivered Kim Jong-un’s thanks to Putin to the Russian side, the report said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Some expert believe all the war rhetoric directed at South Korea from Kim Jong-un may be because of pressure he is facing domestically from millenials:

The group of people who believe fear-driven barking is more convincing than the war scenario highlights North Korea’s internal factors as a source of Kim’s belligerent behavior. They argue that such behavior serves to deflect attention from domestic issues and challenges. Inside this school of thought, views are divided. Some argue that economic frustration is a key driver of North Korea’s escalating saber-rattling.

Others argue that the primary driver behind North Korea’s increasing saber-rattling is not just a food shortage but a more fundamental concern. According to this perspective, Kim Jong-un is deeply troubled by South Korea’s cultural influence, which has become widespread, especially among teenagers and millennials in their 20s and 30s. This group, often referred to as the “Jangmadang Generation,” grew up experiencing elements of capitalism through their parents’ involvement in markets to make ends meet. They believe that if not adequately controlled, this cultural influence could pose a serious threat to the regime.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but uncontrolled access to outside information has always been a major threat to the Kim regime. Keeping the North Korean people isolated and indoctrinated with only regime propaganda is a must to maintain the current system of power.

That is what some Korea analysts now believe after she received a new title as “Morning Star General”:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, seated right, and his daughter Ju-ae, seated left, visit North Korea’s Air Force Command on Nov. 30. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un referred to his daughter as “Morning Star General,” just days after the North’s reconnaissance satellite, Malligyong-1, successfully entered orbit on Nov. 21.

The young girl, known as Ju-ae, was previously referred to by North Korea’s state-controlled media as “dear child” or “respected child.”

The dramatic change in the way she is addressed has fueled speculation on whether the new title could be interpreted as a confirmation of her status as the North’s heir apparent.

Cheong Seong-chang, a research fellow at Sejong Institute, took the title change seriously, arguing that it is an important move related to leadership succession.

“I think it’s definitely associated with the fourth-generation leadership succession,” he told The Korea Times. “Kim made it clear that his daughter will succeed him by referring to her as ‘Morning Star General.'”

In North Korea, the term “morning star” has been used figuratively to refer to a leader in waiting.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Bloomberg News takes a crack at explaining why Kim Jong-un’s daughter has been used to heavily in state propaganda over the past year:

The role of Kim’s daughter in state propaganda appears to be showing the public there is another generation waiting to run the family dynasty forged in the Cold War and it will rely on nuclear weapons for its survival. She humanizes Kim as a father, with the possible intent of conveying a message to North Korean parents that supporting an arms program means protecting their children from a U.S. invasion and a loss of the “unique” socialist state forged by the Kim family.

“The preservation of the Kim family rule is, of course, inextricably tied to the country’s weapons program,” said Soo Kim, a former Korea analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, who now works at U.S.-based management consulting firm LMI. 

She added while the intent may be to soften the image of Kim Jong Un, that could be a hard sell. “The North Korean people are still starving and living under Draconian repression – missiles or not. And unless Kim takes dramatic steps to improve the living conditions of his people and give them true freedom, their perceptions of Kim are unlikely to change fundamentally.”

But that has not stopped North Korea from using the daughter for political purposes. She has appeared 16 times in public over the past year — with 13 of the events related to the military, two for sports and one for the economy, according to information from the South Korean government.

Bloomberg

You can read more at the link.