So many people think of Kim Jong-un as a crazy madman, however I consider him to be a rational, but ruthless leader. The things he does may seem crazy, but they tend to always have the purpose of maintaining his regime’s survival. Understanding that Kim Jong-un is a rational actor instead of a crazy madman is basically what this Joong Ang Ilbo op-ed is stating:
That the younger Kim is ruthless is unquestionable. But he is not necessarily crazy. If he had an uncontrollable violent temper, his father would not have groomed him to succeed him. His economic policy alone shows him to be practical to an extent. It may be naïve to blame an instable temperament for his acts of brutality and to assume that they underscore the vulnerability of the North Korean state. Such a simple interpretation could distort our North Korean policy.
Tyranny could be his choice. It is certainly his inheritance. Kim Jong-un may be naturally ruthless, or strategically so. It could be a means to maintain power. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin resorted to an infamous reign of terror. Under his command, 5 percent of the Soviet population was killed. He ordered the execution of 700,000 from 1937 to 1938. Such sheer brutality reveal him to be a hideous madman. But such terror was also necessary to build his authority and transform the Soviet Union into a global superpower. Studies of confidential documents by Stalin paint him as a reasonable dictator. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read much more at the link.
Kim does not want to be the next Saddam Hussein or Muammar Gaddafi, dictators that were eventually executed by their own people. Kim’s inheritance is a mafia state which his father Kim Jong-il understood that only someone willing to be ruthless could run. That is why his oldest son Kim Jong-nam was passed over because he was simply too nice to run a mafia state. Kim Jong-un on the other hand was clearly the correct choice because he has shown he is willing to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure the regime’s survival. So Kim Jong-un is not crazy, he just ruthless.
The man in the video who arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport does have a pretty good resemblance to Kim Jong-nam:
There is no sign of Kim Han-sol at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) following speculation that he was on his way here.
As at 11pm Monday, reporters were seen leaving KLIA2 after failing to confirm the arrival of Han-sol, the son of the Kim Jong-nam who was killed last Monday.
However, there was a slight commotion when a man, whom media suspected of being Han-sol stepped out of the domestic arrival gate.
The man, who was wearing a cap, earphones and a black face mask, walked away before the gathered media were able to ask him any questions.
Earlier in the day, a message circulated among the media that the 22-year-old son of murdered Kim Jong-nam would be touching down at KLIA2 at around 7.30pm. [The Star]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) bows before the tomb of his father Kim Jong-il at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, which holds the embalmed bodies of Kim Jong-il and grandfather Kim Il-sung, in Pyongyang on Feb. 16, 2017, to mark the 75th birthday of Kim Jong-il. (Yonhap)
Kim Jong-un was finally able to kill his older brother and he had his agents resort to using poison needles again. Long time readers may remember that the Kim regime tried to kill ROK Drop favorite Park Sang-hak with a poison needle as well:
Kim Jong-nam
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother has been killed in Malaysia, a government source said Tuesday.
Kim Jong-nam was assassinated on Monday in Malaysia, the source said without revealing details.
Cable TV broadcaster TV Chosun reported that Kim was killed at an airport in Malaysia after being attacked by two unidentified female agents with “poisoned needles.” The suspects fled the scene and Malaysian police suspected North Korea was behind the killing.
If confirmed, Kim’s case would mark the most high-profile death under the Kim Jong-un regime since the execution of Jang Song-thaek in December 2013, the once-powerful uncle of the current leader.
Kim Jong-nam is the eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il and is living in a foreign country without holding any official title. He was born from his father’s nonmarital relationship with Sung Hae-rim, a South Korean-born actress who died in Moscow. [Yonhap]
For those that don’t know it has long been believed that Kim Jong-nam was China’s preferred back up plan if the North Korean regime was to collapse. With Kim Jong-nam now dead the only Kim’s left to rule North Korea are Kim Jong-nam’s other brother Kim Jong-chul who is considered too lady like to rule the country and his sister Kim Yo-jong is female and thus not a threat either. Plus both of them are part of his close inner circle where he can closely watch them.
That left Kim Jong-nam as a possible threat for someone looking to replace Kim Jong-un with another Kim and he is now gone. The only other possible replacement to Kim Jong-un that is not under his control is Kim Jong-nam’s son, Kim Han-sol who has been living in Europe. I would imagine he is some deep hiding right now after seeing his father executed because he could be next.
This is the same thing I have been saying for years that the North Koreans want a peace treaty in order to separate the US from the ROK. As long as the US-ROK alliance is solid Kim knows he has no chance of reunification with the ROK on his terms:
“What does Kim Jong-un want?” Cha said repeating the question. “I think he wants to … he wants a peace treaty with the United States as a nuclear weapons state. I think that’s what he wants.”
“I would add to that, that the North Koreans clearly would like to loosen, if not fracture, US alliances with Seoul and Tokyo, beginning with Seoul, certainly,” said Ambassador Robert Gallucci, the lead negotiator with North Korea in the 1990s in the Agreed Framework process.
“And they will do a lot to achieve that, and including, perhaps, enter negotiations,” Gallucci noted. [Business Insider]
In this image captured from video footage of North Korea’s Korean Central Television on Jan. 18, 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walks with a limp during a visit to a children’s camp in Kangwon Province. In 2014, Kim was reported to have received an operation to remove a cyst from his right ankle. The recent video footage, released the previous day, raises speculation that his condition has recurred. (Yonhap)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sits on the bed during a visit to a silk factory in Pyongyang, his second public outing of the year, in this photo taken from the North’s Central TV Broadcasting Station on Jan. 8, 2017. (Yonhap)
Take it for what is worth, but unidentified sources are saying that US Special Operations Forces would participate in an operation to kill Kim Jong-un in case of conflict:
The South Korean Army is engaged in a special infiltration exercise in the East Sea on Aug. 6, 2016. (Yonhap)
– U.S. special operation forces are expected to participate in a South Korean-led operation to kill North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in the event of war, according to military sources Sunday.
“The South Korean military will form a special brigade based on that of the U.S. sometime later this year,” said a high-ranking government official on the condition of anonymity, adding that U.S. special agents are expected to be under Korean command during the operation.
“Although the brigade is modeled after that in the U.S., it will be tailored to the special environments of the peninsula,” he said.
The 1,000-2,000-strong unit is tasked with eliminating Pyongyang’s wartime command, including Kim Jong-un, and paralyzing its functions. [Yonhap]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a newly built bag factory in Pyongyang, his first public outing of the new year, in this photo released by the North’s ruling party organ Rodong Sinmun on Jan. 5, 2017. The plant is capable of producing over 242,000 school bags and 60,000 ordinary bags a year, according to the paper. (Yonhap)
