DPRK Forum

The cracks in the regime have been widening for some time, and the age of information cannot be suppressed even in the ultra-reclusive policies of North Korea. In days past, the suppression of information was very successful. There are a lot of variables in the succession question, and this could very well be one of them. Today, I explore the infiltration of information, the media and defectors and how it may undermine the legitimacy of the Kim family cult.

As Richardson pointed out in the comments in the last posting, North Korea was not always as bad as it is today. It was a slow downturn over the years and accelerated in the 1990’s when famines and mismanagement took its toll. The collapse of the Soviet Union did not help matters either. During the early days, North Korea had several sets of plans that rapidly built North Korea, and suggested North Korea was better off than the South. In 2002, more sets of reforms took place and in my opinion, were largely unsuccessful (The food, medical, supply, trade and other sectors are still a mess). To get a better understanding of the famines and reforms in 2002, please take a look at Marcus Noland’s book. It talks about it in very vivid detail. Furthermore, you also would want to check out One Free Korea’s postings on Marcus Noland and Stephen Haggard’s book “Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid and Reform” to gain a better picture.

Continue reading ‘The Path To Succession: Information Infiltration’