On 38 North, Jongsoo Lee wonders if North Korea is trading in its old leadership for a newer version:
The recent developments since Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s speech raise the possibility of a generational shift in the leadership and political culture of North Korea at the highest level. Combined with a recent significant increase in the role for market forces in the North Korean economy, this generational change may present an opportunity for the global community to spur North Korea on a more peaceful and prosperous path, especially if Kim emerges as a North Korean Deng Xiaoping or even Mikhail Gorbachev.
The most visible manifestation of this generational shift was Kim’s decision to dispatch his younger sister Kim Yo Jong to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the recent Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. That Kim entrusted a relatively inexperienced young woman, barely 30 years old, with this critically important mission came as a surprise because it was largely unprecedented in North Korean history. There have been a few prominent women in the top North Korean leadership—Kim Kyong Hui, Kim Jong Un’s aunt, being the most recent example. However, Kim Yo Jong is the first woman to not only play such a high-profile public role, but also to do so at such a young age in such a strict patriarchal culture. Kim Yo Jong, who was educated along with Kim Jong Un in Switzerland and is likely her brother’s most trusted political confidant, is now among the most powerful figures in North Korea after Kim himself and possibly his young wife, Ri Sol Ju. It is reported that Kim Yo Jong has been the choreographer of the Kim regime’s public image. It was apparently Kim Yo Jong who encouraged her brother to cultivate a friendship with Dennis Rodman in an effort to “humanize” his image. On her visit to South Korea, she captured the world’s attention and won the hearts of many South Koreans with her winning smiles, youthful charm and western-style dress.
Sounds like there’s a firm hand on the wheel in North Korea, so President Trump is unlikely to overawe or manipulate Kim. If Jongsoo is right, then what does this portend for the future of North Korea? A bloody-minded culture, as indicated by the assassination of Jong-Un’s half brother a couple of years ago, mixed with a confident leadership and an economy moving towards a market approach could be a pathological business. Just think of the Mob taking care of rivals.
