Thursday, December 29, 2011

Kim Jong-un: Following in his father's footsteps?

On December 29, 2011, Kim Jong-un was declared North Korea's "supreme leader" at a huge rally in a central square in Pyongyang, the North's capital. Although the ceremony was partly performed for the formality of passing on the title from his deceased father, it was also symbolic of strengthening his position as North Korea's leader. Although much speculation is given to the fact that Kim Jong-un, as 27, is too young to take on the role of his father, it seems that the country has - as of now- accepted his position as the Supreme Leader of North Korea.

Very little is currently known about Kim Jong-un, including his personality as well as his political beliefs. His uncle-in-law, Jang Sung-taek, now serving as the Vice Chairman of the National Defence Commission, is predicted to act as a regent to the young Kim Jong-un, who for now will only nominally serve his position as leader. From the little information known, it seems that Kim Jong-un will be a more fragile and less "effective" ruler than his father, which - as many predict - may lead to a more powerful and possibly dangerous North Korean military. What do you guys think? What will happen under the regime of the Great Successor Kim Jong-un?

3 comments:

Timothy Leung said...

Since we don't know much about Kim Jong-un, it is too early to tell how he will rule the country. Although I think that he will leave many decisions to his advisers. Some of them were pro-business, so under Un's rule, North Korea may open its doors to world trade in a fashion like China did in the 1970's.

Alex Zuniga said...

I agree with Timothy that it is too soon to tell what type of leader Kim Jong-un will be. However Jang Sung-taek will most likely be calling the shots for a while until Kim Jong-un is old enough to rule effectively. But right now it is too soon to tell what will happen in North Korea.

Adam Sato said...

Since Kim Jong-un is rather young and unexperienced it is likely that his advisors, like his uncle, will play a large part in his decision making process. But as he is the son of Kim Jong-il he will probably be following in his footsteps, and running North Korea according to his fathers teaching.