abradley wrote:
Anthropoid wrote:
Based on comments he made in that bit where he was announcing Haley's resignation, Trump seems to think that he is gonna be able to get Kim to swing North Korea out of its alternate universe 1950s dystopian Cult State and into the modern global economy within a short span of time!?!
Trump was talking about "investors" and how "North Korea" could be huge. Jeebus, if that IS the approach he has been taking with Kim the man really is a farging genius.
I mean, it was too late to ever try that with any of his ancestors: they were all war criminals already, but this guy is only what? 3 or 4 years into his reign? He might actually stand a reasonable prospect of coming out of a Reconciliation process with some semblance of his wealth and fame if not power!
I imagine there's a powerful cliche that would be against any loosening of the regime, so against as would be willing to assassinate Dear Leader if he tried.
In fact Dear Leader may be the guy whose holding the tiger by the tail.
The first Kim, Kim Il-Sung was equally as powerful within North Korea as Stalin was during Stalin's peak. And he ruled from effectively 1948 to 1994
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Il-sungQuote:
He outlived Joseph Stalin by four decades and Mao Zedong by almost two and remained in power during the terms of office of six South Korean Presidents, ten U.S. Presidents and the rule of British monarchs George VI and later his daughter Elizabeth II. Known as the Great Leader (Suryong), he was the focus of a personality cult which dominated domestic politics in North Korea.
At the 6th WPK Congress in 1980, his oldest son Kim Jong-il was elected as a Presidium member and chosen as his heir apparent to the supreme leadership. Kim Il-sung's birthday is a public holiday in North Korea called the "Day of the Sun". In 1998, Kim Il-sung was declared "eternal President of the Republic". During his rule, North Korea was widely characterized as a totalitarian state with widespread human rights abuses, including mass executions and prison camps
Obviously, a pipsqueak nation so I don't mean to suggest that Kim Il-Sung was "as powerful as Stalin" internationally. But I do believe that the power of "Juche" within the boundaries of North Korea might well have been the most potent Nationalist/Ethnicist elixir known since ancient times and just being a "descendant" of that type of magic is bound to carry with it a lot of potency too.
His son was Kim Jong-il, who ruled from 1994 to 2011. I have the impression that he lacked a great deal of his fathers powerful presence, and that his role as despot was more tenuous.
Quote:
Kim Jong-il was the focus of an elaborate personality cult inherited from his father and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-il was often the centre of attention throughout ordinary life in the DPRK. On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country on the occasion of his Hwangap.[54] In 2010, the North Korean media reported that Kim's distinctive clothing had set worldwide fashion trends.[55]
The prevailing point of view is that the people's adherence to Kim Jong-il's cult of personality was solely out of respect for Kim Il-sung or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage.[56] Media and government sources from outside North Korea generally support this view,[57][58][59][60][61] while North Korean government sources aver that it was genuine hero worship.[62] The song "No Motherland Without You", sung by the KPA State Merited Choir, was created especially for Kim in 1992 and is frequently broadcast on the radio and from loudspeakers on the streets of Pyongyang.
Nonetheless, there never seems to have been any real internal challenge to this authority nor "unrest," and that is despite the country suffering through horrific famines and economic stagnation.
This latest Kim is his son,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-un and he has only been in power since 2011. He appears to have assumed power unopposed, so if there are any "cliques" to speak of which might somehow oppose him, they have so far been complacent and allowed the continuation of the Kim Dynasty. That fact, by itself, means that Kim is the de facto ruler of the entire country with effectively absolute power. In sum, any "clique" which might conspire against Kim would be doing so at considerable demonstrable risk, as it is pretty clear he has already had a couple of his disloyal relatives put to death and heaven's knows how many "questionable" persons have been tossed in the clink or just offed as a demonstration of what happens to those who question his authority. Throughout history, once a dynasty has achieved this type of ascriptive status, they seem quite capable of retaining it indefinitely. Certainly there are no lack of examples of despots having been betrayed and assassinated or even overthrown but generally those who do the betraying and overthrowing don't benefit so much either.
It may be that Kim has to play it smart if he were to actually invite in external influences into RoK, but I would say his chances of meeting an untimely end at the hands of a junta or some other coup are just about as risky if he does make overtures to reform as if he doesn't. "Tiger by the tail" does seem to be an apt metaphor.
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