Kim Jong Un may be in trouble, according to WaPo:
Kim Jong Un is angry, and he’s lashing out.
North Korea’s last economic plan failed “tremendously,” he complained. And his inner circle lacked an “innovative viewpoint and clear tactics” in drawing up a new one, Kim told the ruling Workers’ Party last month, yelling and finger-pointing at frightened-looking delegates.
His economy minister, appointed in January, has already been fired.
It’s not altogether surprising. North Korea is suffering its worst slump inmore than two decades, experts say. It’s a combination of international sanctions and especially a self-imposed blockade on international trade in attempts to keep the coronavirus pandemic out.
Management through terror can only last for so long. 38 North reports that the use of the country’s propaganda radio channel is mandated:
Kim’s call to improve the third broadcast comes as the country appears to be embarking on a new crackdown on foreign media. In December, the Supreme People’s Assembly adopted the “Law on Rejecting Reactionary Ideology and Culture,” according to state media reports.
The law is a timely example of the use of closed networks by the state.
Details of the law and its penalties have not been disclosed by any North Korean media that can be monitored from overseas. Doing so would highlight the problem of foreign media and culture on the country. Instead, the state is disseminating details to citizens through the weekly propaganda lectures that all North Koreans must attend and, almost certainly, through the third radio network where it can be heard.
Alongside the new law, the state is also responding to the influx of foreign media by strengthening and expanding its own offerings. North Korea is expanding the availability of multi-channel television throughout the country via digital TV and intranet broadcasting. Up to four channels are now available in areas with the expanded service.
One part distraction, one part reinforcement of the importance of Kim.
Is it likely that Kim will abruptly go away? The North Koreans have had many opportunities to rid themselves of the dictatorship, but realistically it seems unlikely. Substituting one dictator for another seems like a waste of time, and the ignorance of the masses of other governing systems makes it unlikely that they’ll suddenly become socialists, much less capitalists.
They remain one of the great conundrums of humanity.
