[TheNegotiator]

News has been that the 1st hereditory communist ruler of North Korea, Kim Jong-il has died of a heart attack. State TV is apparently showing how upset 'his' people are which is perhaps an interesting piece of expected propaganda. When you consider the 'work camps' that are widespread which supposedly hold entire families of individuals accused of political opposition, I'm guessing that there are at least a few who are a little bit happier today, even if they're not allowed to be ecstatic. I hope their and North Korea's people's fortunes improve. The suggested inexperience of Kim Jong-il's successor, his third son Kim Jong-un, is something which the same people and the world is somewhat nervous about. Kim Jong-un is apparently in his late 20's and had at least some of his education overseas in Switzerland.

So can he bring a more balanced, peaceful and democratic approach to governing the country? Under his father, North Korea was well known for military and nuclear threat as well as its communist dictatorship policies toward politics. Well, overnight all of the Asian markets were down suggesting at least for now, the jury's out. Certainly North Korea's neighbours will want to develop relations with Kim Jong-un but two questions of importance remain. Will he want to be any different from his father and open up North Korea and it's economy to the world in a similar way to what happened in China, or will he be a strict and saber-rattling type dictator? Clearly it would be beneficial to the region and the world if the former were true. But the second question is perhaps the most important one. Will he be able to impose himself as leader? He is young and inexperienced and potentially vulnerable to political dissenters from within. Whatever his own personal approach might be, if it doesn't sit well within the current heirarchy of power or even if it does, will there be a power struggle and if he does remain in power, will he be strongly persuaded to operate in a certain manner?

I believe there are likely to be many questions which need to be answered in the short term and ones which will only become clear with time. But it is intruiging if not slightly worrying as an observer.

[Tams]

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......... Korean Spring?

[Landser]

Originally Posted by Tams »

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......... Korean Spring?

LOL.
I think that Kim Jong-il wasn't the only upholder of the existing political system in North Korea. There's also the Workers Party which has been setting the course since AFAIR 1946 and those people won't easily surrender. Therefore Kim Jong-Un will be just the next Kim Jong-il.