North Korea - officially the DPRK : Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Latest in Line of Kim's to be the “Leader” - Staged Photo Op Issuing Guidance
Kim, Jung-un
The young Kim the son of the late Kim Jong-il (1941–2011)
and the grandson of the late Kim Il-sung (1912–1994),
and the founder of North Korea
that we see today.
A bit of history about that founding:
North Korea (officially the the DPRK) began with
occupation of the Korean
Peninsula north of the 38th parallel by the old Soviet Union
at the end of WW II.
That division of Korea put the United
States in control of the south the Russians
in the North, along with some Chinese assistance.
When a joint trusteeship failed
to unite both North and South, due to Soviet intransigence, both countries were
officially established in 1948: the South free and democratic and the North,
under communist rule and it has been ever since.
Young Kim just had his Uncle, his mother's brother, tried
and then executed for various personal crimes against the state including
corruption. Reports now say Kim is purging the old guard and high ranks around
him to consolidate power for himself.
This is interesting since an on-going assessment of who
young Kim is was being developed. That U.S. assessment reached the alarming
conclusion about his personal character based on a number of interviews with
people who knew him when he was a student in Switzerland, and as reported by
former Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell recently on
CNN.
The bottom line as
they say: Kim Jung-un was dangerous, unpredictable, prone to violence,
and with delusions of grandeur. What a mix for such a young man in charge of a
country hardly anyone knows anything about.
Now what? Wait and watch and
assess more. But, maybe Dennis Rodman can bring us more up to date on Kim,
Jung-un when he comes back from another trip now underway there.
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