Daily Archive for August 26th, 2007

The Path to Succession: More Unconfirmed Rumors (Update)

Published
by
Jack
on August 26, 2007
in Communism, Cult Of Personality, News, North Korea, Policy Elites, Politics, Speculation and United States
. 0 Comments

Kim Jong NamKim Jong Nam, thought of as out of the race is rumored to be back in the race according to unconfirmed reports by the Associated Press:

SEOUL, South Korea: The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has returned home after spending years abroad in a move that could be linked to the ruler’s plans to choose an heir, a man close to Kim’s son said Monday.

Kim Jong Nam, 36, traveled from China to Pyongyang in late June, and his return “has decisive relations to the power transfer,” the man told The Associated Press by telephone from the United States. He asked not to be named, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

South Korea’s top spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, declined to confirm the son’s return.

Kim Jong Il has not yet publicly named an heir, prompting speculation abroad about who might eventually take the reclusive country’s helm — and whether Kim will designate one of his sons as the next leader, continuing the world’s only communist dynasty.

So the rumors fly again, and there is still no official word. Time will tell if he is really nerxt in line, any plans or different plans altogether. I will watch the propaganda machine and see if there are any Kim Jong nam portraits hanging around or Kim Jong Il finally announces something in the Juche Congress.

Looks like Kim Jong Nam is working in the Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers Party Of Korea:

SEOUL (AFP) - The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is back in the succession race after returning from exile overseas and taking an influential post with the ruling communist party, a report said Monday.

Kim Jong-Nam, 36, began work at the party’s organisation and guidance department after his return around June, said South Korea’s largest-circulation daily Chosun Ilbo, quoting an intelligence source.

The department is “the key agency” that controls all of the party, the military and the government, according to Chosun.

The National Intelligence Service, Seoul’s main spy agency, refused to comfirm the news report.

Of course. Kim Jong Nam was asked the question too, and of course denied it as well:

When asked about the possibility of his succession to North Korea’s leadership, he said that he had nothing to say on the matter.

Developing…

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Kim Jong Il first visit since floods

Published
by
Jack
on August 26, 2007
in DPRK Forum Blurbs
. 0 Comments

… Kim Jong Il is making cultural and art inspections, reported the Chosun (North Korea) Central News Agency on 23rd. This is the first known public appearance by Kim Jong Il after North Korea’s flood.

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Oh My News Video: Why did 90,000 Japanese defect to NK in the 1960’s and 70’s?

Published
by
Jack
on August 26, 2007
in Books, History, Humanitarian Topic, North Korea, The region and Video
. 2 Comments

Oh My News International Korea:

Tessa Morris-Suzuki is Professor of Japanese History, Convenor of the Division of Pacific and Asian History in the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University.

A North Korean Mystery


Add to My Profile | More Videos

I should look more into this. It seems very interesting. It seems like a video summary of a book of which I now want to read but do not have the cash for right now, but for those of you with a little cash to spare, this may be worth a look:Amazon link to Exodus to North Korea:

Through travels that range from Geneva to Pyongyang, this remarkable book takes readers on an odyssey through one of the most extraordinary forgotten tragedies of the Cold War the return of over 90,000 people, most of them ethnic Koreans, from Japan to North Korea from 1959 onward. For most, their new home proved a place of poverty and hardship; for thousands, it was a place of persecution and death. In rediscovering their extraordinary personal stories, this book also casts new light on the politics of the Cold War, and on present-day tensions between North Korea and the rest of the world.

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Fence building along the Chinese border and flood updates

Published
by
Jack
on August 26, 2007
in Diplomacy, Economy, Humanitarian Topic, News, North Korea and The region
. 0 Comments

North Korea building fences along border with China:

Yes, the defections from North Korea to China have been there for a while now, and while some make it, a lot do not, either from guards shooting them as they cross the river or by the Chinese sending them back to certain death. The tragedy is unspeakable, and people risk life and limb to escape the crushing poverty and repressive leadership. Also, could the floods incite more defections? That is unknown to me, but could be a reason too I guess. Either way, something has to be done to have people who happen to defect to have asylum, but China is not hearing anything of it.

Continue reading ‘Fence building along the Chinese border and flood updates’

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The Path to Succession: Can the Dynasty Survive?

Published
by
Jack
on August 26, 2007
in Cult Of Personality, History, North Korea, Policy Elites, Politics and Speculation
. 5 Comments

Bored KPA(Note: Sorry this took longer than expected. The research on this subject is ongoing)

Probably one of the least things known in North Korea is how the inner government works. Sure, a lot of the books, papers and scholarly articles may give some very intelligent insight but nobody really knows other than the Dear Leader himself and what he chooses to tell his cronies and the outside world (which is next to nothing for that matter). So why should we worry about a possible succession if one does not know much at all about it? For me personally, it is to see how it will even be done and/or how it would survive the next handover. In the last post, I tried to decipher the first handover, and that was mind numbingly complex. Further, the process was slow and it was not until 1998 Kim Jong Il grabbed the Chairman of the National Defense Commission spot. And of course, the title of president was done away with because Kim Il Sung will probably be front and center to any succession and the all pervasive personality cult, so he would remain president and encased somewhere in a mausoleum.

Now that the last posting barely looked at the complexity of the succession to the first dynasty in the history of communism, perhaps we should look at why the dynasty took place, and why such a huge cult of personality exists. Yes, I also understand to write about the Kim family cult of personality would take an entire book, just like Juche idea is many volumes. However, perhaps one can gain a better understanding about how part of the successful leadership recipe of North Korea requires such a cult of personality. Absolute power requires absolute conformity, and what better to get that absolute conformity without the exploitation of long held cultural traditions?

I mean, why not? It has been done for the last 65+ years since the inception of the Korean Worker’s Party, and I have to say it has been pretty darn successful (not economically or freedom-wise). Despite the apparent dynastic handover problems to Kim Jong Il, he seems to be well established in power, and despite the rumors of possible inner political struggle and rumors of government collapse (and other things of that nature), Kim’s main goal is to keep grip on power no matter what, and that includes tyranny, torture, gulags, starvation, blackmail and lies. Then if Kim Jong Il are all these horrible things, then why do the people seem to buy into it? Why do they stick around and continue to pile praises on these leaders? That is hard to say, but one can take a guess, so I might as well try it too. Perhaps this can be the key to who might be next in line, but it could also pose some serious problems because of the same traditions. Could bending of the already bent Confucian traditions mess things up? Is Kim Jong Il running out of time to name a successor? Yes, he may be grooming the next leader, but it seems to me the adoring masses need to be groomed too. I have not seen any official grooming of the masses from KCNA, monuments or other items so central to DPRK life.

This posting asks the question: Can the dynasty survive after Kim Jong Il?

Continue reading ‘The Path to Succession: Can the Dynasty Survive?’

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