RFI : #urgent Corée du Nord: Jang... North Korea’s power transfer. Author: Alexander Vorontsov, Russian Academy of Sciences.
North Korean realities. Author: Peter Drysdale, Editor, East Asia Forum One of the more momentous changes in Asia that heralded in the New Year was the sudden death of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, and the succession by his son, Kim Jong-un.
Kim Jong-il’s death had long been seen by some outside observers as portent for the collapse of the North Korean regime and the announcement encouraged much comment that reflected these forebodings, including calls for calm from political leaders who should have been in the know. Anything seemed possible. Certainly there were anxieties about whether the assumption of the North Korean leadership by a relatively untried and youthful Kim Jong-un would be accompanied by a power struggle in the North and political instability. Cooler heads saw little immediate sign of that.
Delury and Moon point out that there are no signs of political ferment in North Korea. Leadership Transition in North Korea. Author: Ken Gause, Director, International Affairs Group, Center for Naval Analyses Publisher Council on Foreign Relations Press Release Date January 2012 Share Overview.
Kim Jong Il’s death: continuity plus opportunity to engage. Authors: Peter Hayes, Scott Bruce, and David von Hippel, Nautilus Institute When North Korean leader and founding father Kim Il Sung died in July 1994, his son Kim Jong Il had effectively held the reins of power since 1981.
The problem with Kim Jong Il dying during an ‘on the spot guidance’ on December 17 — as announced by the North Korean official media on December 19 — is that not much is known about his third son and designated 27-year-old successor, Kim Jong Un. Unlike his father, Kim Jong Un has had only one year, and not 15, to prepare for leadership, although his grooming began in 2008. Who Has North Korea’s Nuclear “Football”? Few Have Answer. PrintShareEmailTwitterFacebookLinkedIn By Elaine M.
Grossman Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON -- On the heels of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s death, outside experts seem more uncertain than ever about who retains control over the hermit nation’s nuclear weapons or authority for their potential use (see GSN, Dec. 19). Kim Jong-un and other heirs apparent. 20 December 2011Last updated at 10:00 By Kate Dailey BBC News Magazine What will North Korea be like under Kim Jong Un?
Although there has been no official confirmation, all the indications are that Kim Jong-un, the youngest son, will take over from his father as leader of North Korea. But as these examples show, the transfer of power in family dynasties, or a child following in a parent's footsteps, can have mixed results.
Kim Jong Il’s economic legacy, in one chart. One easy way to evaluate the legacies of North Korean dictators Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il is to compare their country’s economic performance with South Korea’s over the past four decades.
The difference is stunning. Back in 1970, the two countries were roughly comparable — in fact, AEI’s Nicholas Eberstadt argues that, at the time of Mao Zedong’s death, North Korea’s workers were more productive and better educated than China’s. But, as you can see from the graph below, North and South Korea’s economies massively diverged around 1976, as North Korea’s rigid central-planning economy failed to keep up: Nukes, Missiles and Porn: Kim Jong-Il’s Awful Legacy. North Korea Leadership Watch.
N Korea 'names Kim's successor' Sees Kim Jong Il Holding Power Until Death. PrintShareEmailTwitterFacebookLinkedIn Past and current U.S. officials believe ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will maintain his dictatorial rule until he dies, even though a power transfer to his youngest son is broadly thought to have begun, Reuters reported Friday (see GSN, Oct. 1).
North Korean state media announced last week that Kim Jong Un had received several key military and political posts, including being made a four-star general, further confirming a long-held international belief that he was Kim Jong Il's favored candidate for succession. "The elder Kim may have picked his heir, but he's unlikely to actually give up power until he dies," an unidentified U.S. official said. Kim Jong Un is in his late 20s and not thought to be experienced in military and foreign affairs. As the large majority of North Koreans know little about him, "it'll take a long time for him to build up a power base," the official said. Blog Archive » Apparent Heir: Kim Jong Un’s Ascension and The Challenge to South Korea.
Having spent the past week in Seoul in the aftermath of the September 28 Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) conference and on the eve of the unprecedented 65th anniversary celebrations of the WPK’s founding, I was struck by just how few facts South Korean analysts (and the rest of the world!)
Yet have at their disposal in analyzing the latest North Korean developments. Despite rampant speculation in South Korea, most analysts are at a loss to provide evidence for exactly why the conference was delayed from early September, or to fully grasp the internal implications of a complex and elaborate set of new personnel announcements designed to reconstitute a party infrastructure that had been allowed to decay since the twenty-first Party Congress held in 1993.
Ruediger Frank has provided an excellent wrap-up on the conference over at Foreign Policy. The widely projected central purpose of the conference, to put in place the foundations for a smooth leadership succession, was crystal clear. What's in a Face? Profile: Kim Jong-un. 2 January 2014Last updated at 06:13 ET.
Kim Jong-un: a profile of North Korea's next leader. Profile: Kim Jong-un - Asia-Pacific. Kim Jong-Il nomme son fils général. Kim Succession Spurs North Korean Provocations, Gates Suggests. PrintShareEmailTwitterFacebookLinkedIn U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday that recent hostile actions by North Korea were likely to be connected to efforts by the country's presumed next leader to establish his military bona fides, Reuters reported (see GSN, Aug. 12). "I have a sneaking suspicion that [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Il's son, who wants to take over, has to earn his stripes with the North Korean military," the secretary said in California.
This could be the reason for "the sinking of the Cheonan, and so I think we are very concerned that this might not be the only provocation from the North Koreans," Gates said. The United States and Seoul have blamed the North for the March 26 incident that killed 46 sailors on the South Korean warship. Kim's health is widely believed to be poor and reports have circulated for some time that his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, has been chosen to take his place as leader of the isolated country.
Kim Jong Il and the Grim Reaper. When Jimmy Carter was last in Pyongyang, according to KCNA, he was reminded that “it is the behest of President Kim Il Sung to denuclearize the peninsula.” How wholeheartedly NDC Chairman Kim Jong Il shares that wish is another question. In the judgment of Richard Bush of the Brookings Institution, not so much: “The best chance for a significant change in DPRK policies (the ‘silver lining’ of the current situation) is a political succession, apparently now underway due to Kim Jong-il’s poor health.” Just how nigh is the moment? (The apparent delay of the 3rd WPK Party Conference has people wondering, certainly.)
No one can say, but you’ll get a sense of it by viewing this sequence of photos from Xinhua. April 2004: October 2005: January 2006: North Korea: Significance of the postponement of the KWP conference. Author: Andrei Lankov, Kookmin University and ANU By its nature, media is supposed to report on important or unusual events.
When elections are held, terrorists bomb an airliner or an UFO is spotted over New York, it will make the news. Media outlets usually remain silent when an airliner arrives safely and no Martians are seen walking in Central Park. Kim Jong-il en dépression nerveuse? - Firefox.