EDITOR’S NOTE:
The following article was written by Mr. Ri Jong-ho, a former top official at North Korea’s Office 39, the nerve center for managing the slush fund for the Kim family. Having defected from North Korea in 2014, he now lives in the US, writing and speaking about the Kim dictatorship.
Following myriad reports about Kim Jong-un’s health issue, the Korean press and some international media have advanced stories about his possible successor, e.g., his sister Kim Yo-jong, thereby legitimatizing the dynastic succession of the North Korean leadership for the fourth time. They argue that the fourth dynastic transfer of power is a prerequisite for regional stability. They surmise that without a smooth transfer of power from one Kim to another, North Korea would fall into chaos, creating a crisis situation for the region. By implication, North Korea would be a monarch in perpetuity, without an ability to change its system. Reporting of this nature is wrong and confusing.
In the event that Kim Jong-un does really disappear, the possibility of a crisis situation is very low. That is because the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) controls the daily life of the nation’s population. North Korea is nothing like any society in the world. Its people are subjected to tight control by way of organized group activities that impact every facet of their life. Politically, there is only one party with no competing interests scattered among various political parties like in South Korea. In the absence of Kim Jong-un, a well-organized group based on the M.O. employed by the WPK could easily control the country. This is the most practical way to replace the Kim monarch.
The transferring of power via the so-called Baikdu bloodline must be completely phased out after Kim Jong-un. A justification for a hereditary power transfer for the fourth time no longer exists. Should another dynastic power transfer occur, the people of North Korea will be subjected to oppression and fear politics for a hundred years or more, with no way for them to gain freedom. Also, the anticipated denuclearization and a peaceful Korean peninsula would not be realized.
The Kim’s imperialist monarch system has created a dictator akin to a superhuman, divine being with absolute power to lord over a congregation of a religious sect. It is a terrorist organization that maintains its control by fear politics, persisting in hanging onto the nuclear weapons while isolating its population.
Kim refuses to open and reform because he is afraid of revealing all the cruel crimes against humanity he and his party have committed over the years, thereby risking exposure to international investigation and trial. The regime has been operating political prisons (gulags) for fifty years or more, purging innocent people along the way. Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un know that the open reform policy would lead to prosperity, yet they cannot put it into practice. Further, Kim fears that the personality cult system of the supreme leader would collapse, jeopardizing his status as the absolute ruler and god.
Conversely, another dynastic power transfer would prolong this dictatorship based on a personality cult, which is possible only in an isolated environment. They would continue with the policy of isolation under fear politics, and the new regime under another Kim would continue to carry the burden of guilt for committing crimes against humanity.
Therefore, the next leadership must come from outside the Kim family. And the new leadership must build a consensus with the elites and the public and present a method for a safe, smooth transfer of power. Of course, it would be desirable for them to adopt the free democratic system during the process. In so doing, they need to select a team of cabinet members who are not associated with the crimes against humanity. Also, they should not be a part of the outmoded cult of personality.
Consequently, the new leadership should be more amenable to adopt the open reform policy, as well as replace the current planned economy with a market economy. The new leadership would follow up with the denuclearization effort in order to get relief from the sanctions levied against North Korea and move toward economic development. Furthermore, economic cooperation with South Korea and neighboring countries would follow. I firmly believe that the public will welcome the new economic policies and support the new leadership.
Currently, the second and third in the line of power are members of the Political Bureau of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), Choe Ryong-hae, and Park Bong-ju, respectively, followed by 18 additional members including Premier Kim Jae-ryong. Choe is the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK as well as the First Vice-Chairman of the National Affairs Commission. Park is the Vice-Chairman of the National Affairs Commission.
Kim Yo-jong is a candidate for the Political Bureau of the WPK and the Director of the Organizational Guidance Department of the WPK, which puts her far down in the line of power, while Kim Pyong-il has no power base whatsoever. Neither Kim Yo-jong nor Kim Pyong-il has the experience and justification for taking over the reign. The rationale for the continuation of the rule by the Kim family no longer exists.
Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un have ruined the North Korean economy over the decades, abused the people’s rights, oppressed them, and perpetuated abject poverty and hunger for the people. Thus, the dictators have completely lost the people’s trust. They are at the receiving end of resentment and loathing on account of their continued purges and cruelty. In order to put an end to the never-ending cycle of blood-shedding and confusion, the new coalition of leaders must persuade or pressure Kim Yo-jong to forgo her desire for power.
At the same time, the forces from the outside must not encourage or justify the continuation of the Kim dynasty. It is now time for a wise and sensible leadership capable of carrying out an open reform to step in. The people of North Korea have waited too long for square meals. They want peace at home without the problems related to nukes and missiles. With the advent of new leadership, they can hope and expect peaceful unification with the South.
