After the death of Kim Jong il, all of North Korea seems to be mourning over his death. However, with his death, is it possible that the change of leadership will affect Korea, to be more capitalist and less totalitarian?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203686204577116162967853258.html
According to this article, it seems that the trade borders between China and North Korea opened up quickly after Kim Jong's death, partially due to N. Korea's dependence on China, but also perhaps as a sign to come, to be less isolationist? Though people have been told to grieve his death, the slogan is to 'Turn grief to strength,' and most people have been more focused to business and economy.
The article talks about how Kim Jong il's song Kim Jong un is now the new leader, he is still mostly a figurehead, and the country is ruled more by his relatives, like his aunt's husband, Jong Song Thaek. The hope is that, people like Jong Song Thaek, who oversaw the establishment of special economic zones and ties with China, will bring his policies in with the new change in leadership.
What do you guys think? Do you think that Kim Jong il's death marks a change in North Korea's foreign and economic policy? Or do you think that, once his son, Kim Jong un, regains power, he'll revert back to his father's ways?
Saturday, December 24, 2011
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4 comments:
I think that it is possible that North Korea will start to lean away from a totalitarian government. Kim Jong il suppressed the will of his people in order to keep them inline. However, like Zhili said, if Kim Jong's son is truly to become a figure head, then it is possible that people like Jong Song Thaek can influence the government to become more capitalistic. I don't think we can actually tell until the new structure of the government sets in. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
I think the DPK government is going to remain just as oppressive, if not more, now that Kim Jong Un is in charge. I've read on numerous news articles that he's just simply a younger version of his father. From what I gather, Kim Jong Un is very short tempered, arrogant and despotic - just like Kim Jong Il. Though most of this is all speculation. Because North Korea is so cut off from the rest of the world, I honestly doubt that anyone has a clear image of what Kim Jong Un's really like. Though I highly doubt he's a lenient and sympathetic character; otherwise his dad wouldn't have named him to be the successor. Everyone knows that North Korea is nutty and unstable. Nobody can really predict what's gong to happen in the future.
I agree with Michelle that North Korea will be as oppressive as during Kim Jong Il's reign. After all, Kim Jong Un is the son of Kim Jong Il and studies have shown that children tend to display similar characteristics, such as demeanor and temperament, as their biological parents even when raised in different households. So even though Kim Jong Un was raised in Switzerland it is likely that he will act with the same iron grip over North Korea as his father did in the past.
I don't think the death of Kim Jong Il will make much of a difference. Kim Jong's son has grown up seeing how much power his father had, and he is going to want that for himself. Once he gets even the smallest taste of that power for himself he won't give it up. Someone outside of the family is going to be the one who changes North Korea.
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