North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s heir apparent Kim Jong-un, who is expected to become the nation’s third leader, has made his public debut before the North Korean people and foreign correspondents. The largest-ever military parade was held in North Korea on October 10 to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party. Chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff Ri Yong-ho, who has emerged as the most influential military figure of late, reported on the parade where 20,000 soldiers marched and the North’s army, navy and air force units pledged allegiance to the nation. The most noticeable person in attendance was, of course, North Korea’s heir apparent Kim Jong-un. The junior Kim, dressed in a dark gray suit as he had at the Workers’ Party meeting late last month, was seen standing side by side with his father Kim Jong-il on a raised platform saluting the parade. The younger Kim’s first-ever appearance in a military parade is interpreted as Pyongyang’s intention to officially show off Jong-un as a successor inside and outside the nation. Here’s Professor Kim Yeon-su from the Korea National Defense University to explain.

Kim Jong-un watched the military parade at his father’s side from the leaders’ stand. This indicates a power transfer to Kim Jong-un has been made official. Significantly, it suggests the military is at the center of the ongoing power transition. Chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff Ri Young-ho, who became a member of the standing committee of the Workers’ Party’s political bureau during the party’s meeting last month, said during his military parade speech, “Let’s defend our fugleman and ‘party center’ to the death.” The “party center” here refers to Kim Jong-un. In the process of transferring power to current leader Kim Jong-il in the past, the metaphoric expression “party center” was used to refer to Kim. This time, the term “fugleman and party center” implies that the military is supporting a leadership transition to Kim Jong-un. North Korea’s army, navy and air forces all participated in the military parade, reflecting the military’s pledge of loyalty to the heir apparent.

In a rare move, North Korea invited a large number of foreign reporters, including those from major U.S. cable news network CNN, to the parade and allowed live footage of the event. The North allowed camera crews to take pictures of the parade at close range and to relay broadcasting from downtown Pyongyang. Also notably, the parade showed plenty of new weapons, such as missiles and tanks. Professor Kim analyzes the North’s unusual move with various considerations.

Outside North Korea, many have suspected that the communist regime may soon collapse. But North Korea showed off its powerful weapons, as if to demonstrate that those weapons would prop up the nation and that the formidable North Korean military swears allegiance to Kim Jong-un. Inside the nation, it is a warning to those discontented with Kim Jong-un’s military-first policy and a clear manifestation that the military-led North Korean regime is strong and solid. Pyongyang is also giving the same warning to South Korea. The weapons displayed during the parade, such as new missiles and tanks and armored vehicles as well as the North’s new surface-to-air guided missile defense system, represent military confrontation with South Korea. As for relations with Seoul, North Korea makes it clear that it will take a hostile stance toward South Korea based on the military-first policy. In other words, North Korea publicly made a threat to the South.

Propaganda extolling Kim Jong-un in North Korea seems to be proceeding faster than expected. During the recent military parade, the younger Kim’s appearance smacked of his grandfather and late North Korea founder Kim Il-sung. North Korea is promoting Kim Jong-un as a great figure to reproduce the appearance and philosophy of his father and grandfather. North Korean propaganda claims that Jong-un is a crack shot, skilled at shooting at the age of three and the “genius of geniuses” who is well versed in the juche ideology, military science, economics, literature and art. Diplomatic experts note that he ascended to the leaders’ stand to review the military parade, only 12 days after he was promoted to the rank of four-star general in the military right before the meeting of the Workers’ Party delegates last month. This contrasts to current leader Kim Jong-il, who appeared on the leaders’ stand as an official successor in 1980, six years after he held his first party post in 1974. Experts agree that North Korea is speeding up the power succession mainly due to the elder Kim’s deteriorating health.

North Korea is pushing for the power transition way too fast. The reason is, no doubt, Kim Jong-il’s poor health, which has two implications. First, Kim may die a natural death soon. Even if he is still alive, he may not perform his official duties as the nation’s top leader.

Now that the younger Kim has officially dominated the military, at least on the surface as observed in the massive military parade, many are wondering what the next step will be for the heir apparent. Some experts predict that he will make an all-out effort to solidify his position within the party. They are turning their attention to potential figures he would choose as close aides, saying a successful power transition depends on how the future leader will unite the newly elected 200 members of the party’s Central Committee. Others say whether or not the junior Kim will prolong his rule depends on how he tackles the economic difficulties in the country and promotes unity among North Korean people.

To secure his legitimacy from the public and the ruling elite, it is very important for Kim Jong-un to produce visible results in the economic area. But under the party regulations, which were revised at the party convention last month, capitalism and sycophancy toward world powers are described as being reactionary and opportunistic. This means North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong-un will not pursue Chinese-style reform and openness. We, South Koreans, are hoping that North Korea will follow China’s path and focus on practical ways to improve the economic lives of North Korean people, which will inevitably weaken the military-first policy in some way. In that case, South Korea could help the North rebuild the economy on its own and improve public livelihood. A peace regime will then be established on the Korean Peninsula and political reform is possible in North Korea. If that happens, Seoul and Pyongyang could discuss unification.

To secure his legitimacy from the public and the ruling elite, it is very important for Kim Jong-un to produce visible results in the economic area. But under the party regulations, which were revised at the party convention last month, capitalism and sycophancy toward world powers are described as being reactionary and opportunistic. This means North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong-un will not pursue Chinese-style reform and openness. We, South Koreans, are hoping that North Korea will follow China’s path and focus on practical ways to improve the economic lives of North Korean people, which will inevitably weaken the military-first policy in some way. In that case, South Korea could help the North rebuild the economy on its own and improve public livelihood. A peace regime will then be established on the Korean Peninsula and political reform is possible in North Korea. If that happens, Seoul and Pyongyang could discuss unification.



[Interview] Network of College Students from N. Korea A lecture took place at a restaurant in southern Seoul last month. A group of young people were listening intently to the lecture delivered by experts from different sectors of society. The special lecture was organized by the “New Korea Youth Network,” which was launched by North Korean defectors living in South Korea in 2008 with the purpose of giving support to young North Korean settlers and promoting friendship among them. Here’s the group president Kang Ryong to explain more about the youth network.

Upon arriving in South Korea, North Korean defectors receive government aid. With the government aid alone, however, the defectors find it very hard to lead their college or social lives properly here in the South. Many of them suffer from loneliness and emotional and economic stress. Some even take their own lives. We college students from North Korea believed that we are the ones who know the defector students the best and can always stay with them. With the belief that we should help one another and prepare for unification of Korea, we launched this group.

Currently, the youth group has 150 members, most of who are college students from North Korea. The group collects membership fees regularly in order to manage the group independently and help its members get more involved in their gatherings. While fostering friendship, the members have participated in various activities, including volunteer work to deliver coal briquettes to neighbors in need. Last month, they visited a grape farm devastated by Typhoon Kompasu, located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, to help the farm recover from flood damage. Here again is Mr. Kang.

As volunteer relief workers, we recently visited a local farm hit by the typhoon in an effort to express our gratitude for what we’ve received from the government and society. We wanted to show that we don’t always receive things but we can now contribute to society. Volunteer work is considered important, since it helps improve public perceptions about defectors from North Korea and upgrade the leadership qualities of young North Koreans.

The group members hold academic seminars and discussion sessions regularly to ponder the true meaning of unification and seek ways to realize it. With the belief that they should pursue those goals together with the younger generation in South Korea, they began to accept South Korean membership into the group as well. Accordingly, they changed the name of the group from “North Korean Youth Network” to “New Korea Youth Network.” South Korean members say they felt rather unfamiliar with the defectors from the North at first but their perceptions of North Koreans have changed a lot, while mingling with them here.

I happened to make a defector friend in school last semester. I learned the term “new settler” from him. Before I joined this group, I was worried about whether I could make friends with North Koreans. It turned out that they were so nice and kind. I found myself feeling surprisingly intimate with them. While engaging in group activities, I thought I should show more interest in the human rights issue in North Korea, the human rights of North Korean defectors and the unification of Korea.

But defector students themselves experienced the most dramatic change through this group. Previously, they had many difficulties due to cultural differences between North and South Korea and prejudices against North Korean newcomers. But a variety of group activities reminded them that they, too, are the members of South Korean society. The encouraged newcomers are now nurturing their precious dreams. Here, young people from the two Koreas mingle together, empathize with one another and give hope to one another. These young people will surely become competent leaders in a unified Korea.