DPRK Forum

Maybe there could be some way to understand how the next leader (if the government remains until then) will be groomed for leadership by looking at how Kim Il Sung groomed Kim Jong Il for the job. While not a lot is known what went on behind closed doors in the decision making process, there are some interesting articles and papers on the path to leadership. We shall look at the Policy Elites paper which tells the story of the succession pretty well. Also, there is sopme new information I ran into on the history of how North Korea was formed by the Soviets. While this may not give insight to the next possible succession because of the differences on how things were handled with Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, it is still interesting to see how the first dynastic succession in the history of communism took place.

We shall look into an interesting section called “Inside North Korea’s Black Box: Reversing the Optics” by Alexandre Y. Mansourov. I happen to disagree a lot with the assessments because it seems to disagree with other economic writings I happen to agree with. To me, North Korea has not really recovered from the famine of the mid-to late 1990’s, and only tried to present a paradise front. Of course, the current floods did not help either, but that happened after the paper was written, so that cannot be used against the author obviously. However, the economic changes in North Korea are not really the focus of this posting, it is how the transition from Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il took place.

The path to succession from father to son

Kim Jong Il was designated as the Great Leader’s heir apparent at the age of 41 in 1973, despite vociferous opposition from his step-family relatives and some of Great Leader’s older revolutionary comrades-in-arms, who were later purged thrice in 1973-1974 (see below), in1976-1977, and in 1986-1987 (see below). On the one hand, Kim Jong Il was promoted to top positions in the Workers’ Party of Korea: the WPK Central Committee Secretary (September 1973), Politburo member (February 1974), and member of the Politburo Standing Committee (October 1980). In 1980, at the Sixth WPK Party Congress, Kim Jong Il appeared in public for the first time next to his father, Kim Il Sung. By showing up together with his son, Kim Il Sung officially presented Kim Jong Il to the world as his heir.

In order to guarantee smooth political succession, Kim Il Sung also gradually transferred to his eldest son control over the military by appointing Kim Jong Il as the First Deputy Chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC) in May 1990, and six months later as the Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army (KPA). In April 1992, Kim Jong Il was awarded the rank of “Marshal of the Republic” (konghwaguk wonsu), which made him the second highest-ranking person in the KPA, next to his father who held the rank of “Grand of the Republic” (konghwaguk wonsu), which made him the second highest ranking person in the KPA, next to his father who held the rank of “Grand Marshal” (tae wonsu). In April 1993, Kim Jong Il was promoted to the chairmanship of the National Defense Commission, following a constitutional revision transferring control over the KPA from the DPRK President (chusok) to the NDC Chairman. Once the Dear Leader began his ascent through the party leadership labyrinths and military command structures to the power pinnacle in Pyongyang, political authority began to bifurcate, resulting in the formation of a duopoly of power of sorts, namely, two informal power hierarchies leading to the father and his son, respectively.

It goes on to talk about the reforms in the post Kim Il Sung era, but there is an interesting story that seemed to have securely cemented his seat in power:

… Ambassador Shubnikov composed a ciphered telegram addressed only to Mikhail Gorbachev, burnt the hand-written minutes of the conversation, and personally dispatched it to Moscow. Just twelve hours later, an emergency aircraft carrying fifteen leading Soviet cardiologists arrived at Pyongyang. The Soviet heart specialists were immediately transported by helicopter from the Sunan International Airport to Myohyangsan, where Kim Il Sung’s comatose body was lying at one of his magnificent secluded residences. It took a total of forty-eight hours for these extraordinary medical miracle workers to bring Kim Il Sung back to life. They continued to monitor Kim Il Sung’s health progress until his full recovery in the following month. In other words, Kim Jong Il’s decisive action saved his father’s life and cemented the dictator’s trust in his son’s judgment and confidence in his filial piety.

Of course, this may not mean anything because if he was named all those years before as the next leader, I am sure once Kim Il Sung made his mind up, there was absolutely no way to reverse it unless Kim Il Sung himself reversed the decision. That is the thing about a totalitarian regime. Whatever the dictator says, it goes. Any question leads to death, banishment, a life in the labor camps, exile or death. The footnote earlier in the analysis drives this point home:

The now deceased DPRK Vice-President and WPK CC Secretary Kim Tong-gyu, who was the No. 3 man in the North Korean power hierarchy after Kim Il Sung and Kim Il in the mid-1970s, launched an open critique of Kim Jong Il and his personnel management policy at the WPK CC Political Bureau meeting in June 1976. Kim Tonggyu opposed rush dismissals of former guerrilla fighters from top government positions in favor of Kim Jong Il appointed younger generation cadres in violation of the party discipline and party rules. Kim Tong-gyu also criticized the intra-party discrimination against the people who come from the South and who had “complicated backgrounds.” He proposed not to rush to designate Kim Jong Il as the Great Leader’s heir apparent, but to take time and prepare the popular masses for the succession slowly. Kim Tong-gyu was supported by Ryu Chang-shik, the WPK CC Secretary in charge of South Korean affairs, but opposed by the other Politburo members - O Chin- U, Kim Il, and Choe Hyun. In the end, Kim Il Sung intervened in the discussion and cooled down the debate for the time being. However, several months later, when Kim Tong-gyu raised his opposition to Kim Jong Il’s succession again, he was accused of violating the “Ten Principles of Party Unity” and factionalism. Consequently, Kim Tong-gyu and Ryu Chang-shik were purged and sent to a political re-education camp in South Hamgyong Province in late 1977; Chang Chon Hwan, Deputy Minister of People’s Defense, was exiled to Chagang Province; and thousands of lower-ranking party officials accused of factionalism were purged from the WPK and exiled to the countryside and ore mines in the special districts in North Hamgyong and Ryangrang Provinces.

It is obvious the power Kim Il Sung wielded, and he was not a person to be trifled with. Therefore, despite the debates and the opposition to Kim Il Sung’s decision, his word was final. Perhaps Kim Jong Il saving the Great Leader’s life added to the greatness of the Dear Leader in the great Leader’s eyes. I am not too sure though. The story also has an interesting twist and charges that Kim Jong Il, wanting to gain absolute power appears to let his father die (according to this anyway):

But, on July 8, 1994, Kim Jong Il chose to move on. He launched a new era in Korean history when the court doctors were ordered to cease their efforts to maintain the 82-year old Great Leader’s life. During the ensuing neo-traditional three-year mourning period, key decision making processes allegedly became more “informalized” and “privatized” by Kim Jong Il and his 13 to 15 closest family members and staff aides.

If this is true or not, I do not know, but if it is true, it does show a ruthless side to Kim Jong Il. Other accounts of his personality are well documented from defectors. The transition from father to son was obviously a very slow process. If her were named in 1973 and did not gain full power until 1994 (and did not become the chairman of the National Defense Commission until 1998 via a change in the so-called constitution) that is a whopping 21 years in the making. In the meantime, as said before, there was a duality of power with father and son Kim who was (and is) seen everywhere in the propaganda. The son always seemed to be in agreement with his dad on policy to make the people happy, and most of all, to please the god that is his father. A good example of the father-son Kim propaganda is in the series called “Always Working Together for the People” series on YouTube. Here is an example of the series:

As you can see, the official line of the dynastic succession hinged on the father giving the all important duties to the son so “the work will be easier”. Perhaps that was the case, but it is clear on how slow the process must have been to not only groom the next leader but the people as well. Since the pat to succession from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il was so slow, it is seems to me the cementing of power requires legitimacy not only from the policy elites but from the masses as well. It is not very clear how the next succession will take place, but so far, nothing has happened other than rumor. That is, is another succession happens at all.In all, the legitimacy of the succession and to have the people accept his role as the leader is said in The North Korean System in the Post Cold-War Era (Pages 66 and 67):

… The North Korean naming practice is eccentric to say the least, but the true intent here seems to be the preservation of the cult of personality of the late leader. Kim Il Sung is still revered as the founding father of the Republic, and it is so stated in the preamble of the 1998 constitution. …

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a socialist fatherland of Juche which embodies the idea of and guidance by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung.

The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung is the founder of the DPRK and the socialist Korea.

Comrade Kim Il Sung founded the immortal Juche idea, organized and guided an anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle under its banner, created revolutionary tradition, attained the historical cause of the national liberation, and founded the DPRK, built up a solid basis of construction of a sovereign and independent state in the fields of politics, economy, culture and military, and founded the DPRK.

Comrade Kim Il Sung put forward an independent revolutionary line, wisely guided the social revolution and construction at various levels, strengthened and developed the Republic into a people-centered socialist country and a socialist state of independence, self-sustenance, and self-defense.

Comrade Kim Il Sung clarified the fundamental principle of State building and activities, established the most superior state social system and political method, and social management system and method, and provided a firm basis for the prosperous and powerful socialist fatherland and the continuation of the task of completing the Juche revolutionary cause.

Comrade Kim Il Sung regarded “believing in the people as in heaven” as his motto, was always with the people, devoted his whole life to them, took care of and guided them with a noble politics of benevolence, and turned the whole society into one big and united family.

The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung is the sun of the nation and the lodestar of the reunification of the fatherland. Comrade Kim Il Sung set the reunification of the country as the nation’s supreme task, and devoted all his work and endeavors entirely to its realization.

Comrade Kim Il Sung, while turning the Republic into a mighty fortress for national reunification, indicated fundamental principles and methods for national reunification, developed the national reunification movement into a pan-national movement, and opened up a way for that cause, to be attained by the united strength of the entire nation.

The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung made clear the fundamental idea of the Republic’s external policy, expanded and developed diplomatic relations on this basis, and heightened the international prestige of the Republic. Comrade Kim Il Sung as a veteran world political leader, hew out a new era of independence, vigorously worked for the reinforcement and development of the socialist movement and the nonaligned movement, and for world peace and friendship between peoples, and made an immortal contribution to the mankind’s independent cause.

Comrade Kim Il Sung was a genius ideological theoretician and a genius art leader, an ever-victorious, iron-willed brilliant commander, a great revolutionary and politician, and a great human being. Comrade Kim Il Sung’s great idea and achievements in leadership are the eternal treasures of the nation and a fundamental guarantee for the prosperity and efflorescence of the DPRK.

The DPRK and the entire Korean people will uphold the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung as the eternal President of the Republic, defend and carry forward his ideas and exploits and complete the Juche revolution under the leadership of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

The DPRK Socialist Constitution is a Kim Il Sung constitution which legally embodies Comrade Kim Il Sung’s Juche state construction ideology and achievements.

Legacies of Kim Il Sung and his leadership are well-preserved in North Korea, and people seem to follow Kim Jong Il because he honors the predecessor’s accomplishments. No leader can be successful in North Korea denying the leadership role played by the Supreme Leader. In this environment, the fact that Kim Jong Il is the son of Kim Il Sung made it easier for the people to accept and follow him. The people will follow him as long as he remains loyal to his father and proves himself the pious son.

This seems to be the key in the communist-Confucian dynastic-like approach to the handing of the baton of the DPRK leadership. It seems a very complicated and secretive process. In the 1975 article I posted earlier in this series, it was still unknown to outsiders who would be the next heir to the totalitarian throne. While it may have been the heir apparent in 1973, Kim Jong Il was not named until 1980:

In 1980, at the Sixth WPK Party Congress, Kim Jong Il appeared in public for the first time next to his father, Kim Il Sung. By showing up together with his son, Kim Il Sung officially presented Kim Jong Il to the world as his heir.

With this, when the next in line was finally named, the myth building seemed to be put in place for both father and son Kim, and it seems to me without the legitimacy of the father, there could have been no legitimacy for the son. That is why the father is the Eternal President and Kim Jong Il abolished the post his father had. Besides, he had other plans for the post Kim Il Sung era anyway, and in 1998 formed the Chosun policy which made the military central to the government’s decision making process. So along with riding his father’s coattails and changing the policies to suit his unique style of leadership, Kim Jong Il formally named the Chairman of the National Defense Commission the top echelon of the regime with Kim heading the entire system.

The myth building around Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung and the path to glory needs the truth to be muddied

To look at the myth behind Kim Jong Il, one should look into the creation of the cult of personality around Kim Il Sung. In the early days of Soviet occupation, there had to be some way to build up the new leader hand picked by Stalin to lead the communist cause in Korea. Kim Il Sung was under heavy criticism from counter parties in the newly divided peninsula, so a Russian aide comes to Kim Il Sung. That man was named Grigori Meckler:

…

In fact Mekler had met Kim Il Sung in 1944, when the Korean was training at a Soviet army camp for Chinese and Korean guerillas near Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East. The Soviet officer found out that Kim, who then commanded a Korean battalion, had borrowed his name from the previous commander. Kim’s predecessor, highly respected by Korean guerrillas, was killed in action.

“I want you to work on this person,” said Meretskov, referring to Kim. “At the moment not many people know him. Travel to every corner of North Korea with him. It will be useful for both of you.”

Kim Il Sung, who gained the rank of major in the Soviet army, returned to Korea in 1945 with the occupying forces, and Mekler and other Soviet advisers spent a year touring with him, even helping to write his speeches.

“When he was taking his first steps towards power, he didn’t do anything without taking our advice,” recollected the Soviet colonel.

Initially Kim Il Sung experienced some setbacks. “Sometimes after his speeches at demonstrations there was silence,” said Mekler. “But later people started clapping.”

Stalin approved of the choice of Kim Il Sung, believes Mekler, and the Korean was “sincerely in love with Stalin.”

Kim Il Sung was invited to Moscow and was taken to a shop for distinguished guests, where they could take any item for free, even a motor car.

Asked what he chose, Kim Il Sung answered, “A car for Kim Jong Il (his son),” and showed Mekler a small toy truck.

The Korean leader declared that, “North Korea and the USSR are brothers for all time. Stalin and I forever,” recalled Mekler.

Mekler also met the current North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as a three-year-old child, and keeps photographs of himself with Kim Il Sung’s family.

Before Mekler returned to Moscow, Kim Il Sung asked for a final word of advice. “I answered with the famous English phrase ‘Look before you leap,’” recalled the Russian.

Korea was a Japanese colony from 1910 until 1945, when the USSR and the United States occupied the north and south of the peninsula. Neither superpower was prepared to withdraw and give way to an independent Korea, and in 1948 two separate states, the Republic of Korea and the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, were formed.

Kim Il Sung created the North Korean Communist Party in 1945 and was elected premier of the republic in 1948.

This little bit of info was very difficult to find, and thanks to some obscure forums, I found it. Now that this information is known at least from this man’s standpoint, other information is starting to fall in place and goes to show how the indoctrination process took place in Korea. For Kim Il Sung, albeit a very complicated one, had a lot going for him as the liberator from the hated Japanese. He also had charm and charisma. However, this is still not easy and this seems to indicate he needed outside help to start his rise to prominence in the newly formed Soviet occupied Korea. Of course, this was not an easy process because of the factions, resistance and a fresh wound from the division. The United States did not want communist spread either, so that caused serious problems for Kim Il Sung (although he did claim he could reunify Korea in two weeks or one month tops). Nobody in Korea wanted a division, and since Kim Il Sung was the extreme nationalist, it seems he was the perfect candidate to lead the way and lead the path to reunification. Of course, this failed, and the division remains to this day.

I have no idea if the former Russian propagandist knew what kind of monster he created when making the myth behind Kim Il Sung, but his adoration forced or voluntary by the masses on his side of the divide would make Stalin green with envy. It is evident from the rhetoric spewed from the propaganda machine that Kim Il Sung was the sole resistance fighter, and that Kim Il Sung had supernatural abilities. To answer the shortcomings of his own regime, the spin cycle masterfully twists things around to make Kim Il Sung the victor in the face of sheer oppression from the outside world. Everything from the Korean War, food shortages, mismanagement, suffering and more are the fault of imperialism and not Kim Il Sung. The people needed Kim Il Sung as the loving father to love and protect them, and in the face of increasing political pressures from the region and the collapse of the Soviet Union and sponsored states, Kim Il Sung would formulate one of the most isolationist policies the word has ever seen, and that was Juche. Of course, Juche would raise the leader to even greater heights in his personality cult, but would pave the way for the personality cult of his anointed son, Kim Jong Il.

The real Kim Jong Il and the mythical Kim Jong Il (just like is dear old dad) are two different things, and since the history needs to be modified to be taken in by the masses to be a worshipped figure, Kim Jong Il’s shortcomings and non existent accomplishments had to be created by the propaganda writers. Also, some things that did not fit in the lies had to be stricken out such as Kim Il Sung’s connection with the Russians.

In the case of Kim Jong Il coming to power, he was a prominent party member, and with a seat firmly in place:

… In addition, Kim Jong Il played a prominent role in the KWP propaganda machine — mass media, literature, and art. Many literary and art works–including films, operas, and dramas — were produced under the revolutionary tradition of the KWP and Kim’s guidance. Kim used popular culture to broaden his public image and gain popular support.

It is safe to assume since he worked in the Propaganda and Agitation Department and The Guidance Department, he might have had some role in the myth building around himself. Of course, the worship of the leaders are part of the Juche ideology even if it does not say so directly. This was a real and normal part of everyday life in North Korea.

With him rising in the ranks, milking from his own father’s legacy and changing the regime around to firmly keep his iron grip on power, Kim Jong Il would be a force to be reckoned with despite the fragility of his regime. Despite the hardships experienced by his own people, kim Jong Il enjoys unprecedented power on every level, and everybody under him must show unquestioning loyalty lest they will experience punishments that are unimaginable even with those closest to him. This delicate balance of trying to keep power has serious problems, and eventually, the very system that got him to the helm is bound to collapse based on common sense alone.

As stated before, the process of succession was long and painful, and now one has to wonder about the next dynastic succession because Kim Jong Il will not last forever no matter how god-like he may claim to be (I do not want to play golf with the guy because he makes Tiger Woods look like doo doo).

So now comes the question about the next possible succession (if any). Does the positions held by Kim Jong Il’s sons present some clues on who will be next in line? One can only guess, and maybe, just maybe, the positions held may provide some clues (Edit: From further reading it is till very murky). On the other hand, the political landscape can change, and who holds favor with the Dear Leader can change. One person that was long rumored to take Kim Jong Il’s spot was Kim Jong Nam, but apparently fell from favor and is living in Macau. Richardson has an excellent posting on the succession and is well worth a look. Also, it may be good to take a look at this as well. He talks about two main points, “collective leadership” or possibly choosing of one of his younger sons may take the helm.

Currently none of Kim Jong-il’s sons – Kim Jong-nam (?? ??), Kim Jong-chol (?? ?? ), and Kim Jong-eun (?? ??) – are thought to be positioned to take the mantle of leadership should Kim die, unlike the decades of preparation Kim himself had before Kim Il-sung died in July 1994.

That may present a huge problem because a power vacuum may mean a tad bit of trouble in Kimland. Maybe that explains the possibility of a collective leadership role. Also, if a dynastic succession should suddenly take place, could a collective leadership run things in the background while one of the sons is a figurehead? The permutations and combinations are mind-numbing. What is evident however, is grooming of both the next successor and public need to take place very, very soon if control should be handed over. Otherwise, it may mean disaster because the new leader will not have absolute control of the policy elites, old partisan cronies of Kim Il Sung (if any are left at that time) and on top of that Kim Jong Il’s. Also not to mention on who the people will look up to and worship in the succession in the crushing cult of personality. All of these factors seem to be fundamental in keeping the folks in line, and thus, continuing grip on power. We shall close with this paragraph on the rising complexity of succession politics in North Korea:

North Korean policy-making could be further complicated by succession politics, which appears to have become more prominent in recent years. As various individuals and institutions line up in support of particular candidates for heir apparent, the result could be a galvanizing effect whereby factions are formed from leaders with similar vested interests. It is rumored that the military and security apparatus have thrown their support behind Kim Chong-nam, Kim Chong-il’s oldest son, while Kim’s personal apparatus - through Chang Song-taek - is trying to lay the foundation for anointing one of his two sons (Kim Chong-chol, Kim Chong-un) by his mistress, Ko Yong-hui.44 If this is true, such a situation could potentially place the most powerful
elements of the regime apparatus in opposition, thus diverting the leadership’s attention from anything other than internal politics.