Meet the New Boss, Part 2: Kim Jong Un Makes First Appearances in North Korea’s Official Mythology
Only in a place like North Korea could a major development in a king’s succession be signaled in a kindergarten. The Daily NK reports that they’re teaching the kids a new song in Pyongyang:
In Pyongyang elementary schools, teachers have been teaching their students “The Song of General Kim Jong Woon. A Japanese source released a rumor to Daily NK on Thursday, “On the 6th, in a few elementary schools in Pyongyang, students learned “˜The Song of General Kim Jong Woon.’ The lyrics contain such mainstays of idolization as “˜gallant steps’ and “˜the General of Mt. Baekdu.’
The source reported, “Students said that they had to memorize the song, otherwise teachers wouldn’t let them go home. In Pyongyang schools, the authorities have been trying to arouse an atmosphere of succession. [….]
According to the source, a new army slogan, “Let’s escort the Morning Star General, heir to the lineage of Mt. Beakdu, the Young General, and General Kim Jong Woon with one heart,” has spread. [Daily NK]
They’re even adding a decade to Jong Un’s age and claiming that he graduated from seven universities. (Also, he personally invented a suitcase nuke, challenged Clapton to a Guitar Hero duel and won his immortal soul, single-handedly beat Team SK Telecom at StarCraft, and was born in a hollowed-out volcano as the stars realigned to form the image of a stillborn infant.) Jong Un is also making more ceremonial appearances:
Kim Jong-un, who is believed to have been tapped in January as the isolated state’s next leader, has been seen making efforts to elevate his reputation by organizing the April 15 fireworks show and initiating an economic reconstruction drive, called the “150-day campaign,” sources privy to North Korean internal affairs said on condition of anonymity. [Joongang Ilbo]
The creation of an official mythology and deification — if sustained — would strongly suggest that Kim Jong Un is being elevated to something, though, unlike some others, I don’t agree with that he’s being elevated to becoming anything but a figurehead in a gilded cage. But feel free to speculate in a factual vacuum. That’s often all you can do with North Korea, and hey, everyone else is:
In an interview with VOA on Wednesday, Scott Snyder, the director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy at the Asia Foundation, said the internal situation in North Korea is ominous and recent actions including the launch of a long-range rocket seem to have something to do with the succession question. There are opinions that for want of a properly prepared heir apparent, one of Kim’s sons will end up as a figurehead for one or the other power group in the North. [Chosun Ilbo]
I generally respect Snyder’s views, although I can’t draw a strong link between North Korea’s provocations and matters of succession. Any number of other possible reasons explain why the North Koreans are behaving this way, including (a) a sense of alarm about “cultural infiltration” from the outside, (b) a desire to test a new American administration they suspect might be weak, (c) simple extortion, (d) internal inter-factional competition to see which of them can look the most militant, (e) they’re getting all they need from China, and they’re taking the opportunity to renegotiate relations with the U.S. and South Korea on more favorable terms, and (f) they’re just assholes.
In light of those other possible explanations, I question this conclusion by an unnamed South Korean diplomatic source:
“In the past, North Korea took a flexible attitude toward South Korea when it was at loggerheads with the U.S.; and when it was at odds with the South, the North adopted a strategy of seeking dialogue with the U.S. But in recent days, the North has taken a rough stance toward both,” a diplomatic source said. “The North doesn’t seem to have made any calculations but appears to be in some other trouble.” [Chosun Ilbo]
But North Korea’s regime, as weak and vulnerable as it looked a year ago, has clearly been getting plenty of cash from somewhere since at least last fall, and when you consider the possible sources of revenue, China is only the least frightening possibility.