“Victory Day,” the Canonization of Kim Jong-il, and North Korean Succession Politics
Why did the North Korean commemorations of the July 27, 1953 Armistice dwell so heavily on Kim Jong-il, who was just a child during the Korean War? Adam Cathcart investigates how shifting histories in Pyongyang are laying the groundwork for ongoing succession narratives for the present leader.
Kim Ki-nam: North Korea’s Orchestral Politics
Octogenarian propaganda doyen Kim Ki-nam has survived at the top of North Korean politics for decades. Quite apart from all the perks that tend to accrue to such people, the other thing former Rodong Sinmun editor Kim has earned from his exertions is the attention of Adam Cathcart.
Is He or Is He Not? Political Authority, Media Appearance, and the DPRK Leadership Question
Is Kim Jong-un merely a symbol? Pekka Korhohen, a visiting scholar at Kyoto University, reviews Kim Jong-un’s charismatic leadership in both theory and practice, engaging with assertions that North Korea is not actually ruled over by the Marshal.
Tuning Out Beijing’s Six-Party Drumbeat: Wu Dawei in Pyongyang
What has Chinese diplomacy on the North Korean nuclear issue accomplished recently? Not a great deal, to put it mildly. Damning demonstration by Chief Editor Adam Cathcart.
Kim Jong-un within Songun Legacy Politics
In part three of an AKS-funded series, Sino-NK describes why a speech in August 2013 forcefully indicated Kim Jong-un’s fixation with Songun politics, the implications of which Jang Sung-taek learned the hard way.
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