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North Korean leader | The Apprenticeship |
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The Three Revolution Teams |
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North
Korean dancers perform a rendition of
the ‘Three Revolution Teams’ |
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This was simultaneously an organization as well
as a movement, which played a vital role in Kim
Jong-il’s acquisition of power. Created upon Kim
Il-sung’s orders on February 13, 1973, Kim Jong-il
was appointed as the organization’s supervisor in
September that year. The ‘Three Revolution Teams’
were ‘teams of key Party functionaries and young
intellectuals, dispatched to all sectors of the
People’s economy to assist cadres in overcoming
conservatism, mannerisms, and other obsolete forms
of thought, to the end of lending more strength
to the Three Great Revolutions (Ideological, Technological,
and Cultural)’.
Given the authority to control, inspect, and supervise,
team members were dispatched to various Party and
state bodies. Their primary role was to directly
inform the Central Committee on the activities of
each organization. Therefore, the teams gave Kim
Jong-il access to a direct chain of command encompassing
organizations on all levels, through which he could
gather information and give directions. He was thus
able to control most of the Party’s organizations,
utilizing the teams as a broad basis of political
power. |
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Kim Jong-il’s Rise to Power |
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Kim
Jong-il inspects the KPA ranks, 1997 |
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Kim Jong-il’s first appearance at the forefront
of power took place at the October 1980 6th KWP
Congress. On this day, he was elected as Cadre
of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Secretariat,
and member of the NDC. Holding offices in both
the Political Bureau and the Secretariat made
him one of the most powerful figures in the Central
Committee, while a position in the NDC gave him
access to the higher military authorities.
Kim Jong-il began summit-level diplomatic activity
during his 1983 visit to China, while exchanging
greeting cards with top Chinese and Soviet leaders
ever since 1986. The term ‘on-site instruction’,
previously referred to as being given by Kim Il-sung,
started being used for Kim Jong-il as well from
1988. His 1990 appointment as 1st Division Chief
of the NDC (with his father as Chairman), followed
by his 1991 appointment as Commander-in-chief
of the KPA and 1993 election as Chairman of the
NDC served to complete Kim Jong-il’s solidification
of political and military power. Needless to say,
this process was made possible through the full
backing of his father.
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The 'Rule by Legacy' |
It was around this time that Kim Il-sung died
(1994). While Kim Jong-il’s ascension to power was
taken for granted, the process still involved some
measure of uncertainty because a father-son succession
for the supreme position of power was previously
unheard of in communist states. On a personal level,
Kim Il-sung’s death was a political threat for Kim
Jong-il. On a national level, the event could have
sparked a crisis in the regime. Kim Jong-il overcame
the situation with an ingenious system - the ‘Rule
by Legacy’. Preserving a symbolized version of Kim
Il-sung’s charismatic leadership and blending it
with the traditional Eastern virtue of filial piety,
Kim Jong-il solidified his power while maintaining
the integrity of the regime.
The three years of the ‘Rule by Legacy’ are not
unrelated to the traditional Korean mourning period
of three years observed on the occasion of a parent’s
death. The ‘Kim Jong-il Era’ came into full effect
following his October 1997 election as Secretary
General of the KWP, his 1998 re-election as Chairman
of the NDC, and the constitutional amendments at
the 1st Meeting of the 10th SPA. (☞
Kim Il-sung’s death and the ‘Rule by Legacy’) |
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Titles Conferred on Kim Jong-il, in Chronological
Order |
1974
'Center of the Party'
1975
'Monolithic Leader'
1983
‘Commandant’, ‘Commander-in-chief’
1986
'Father of the People'
1987
'Great Leader', 'Great Commandant', 'Shining Star
of Mt. Baekdu', 'Guiding Star'
1991
'Another Great Chairman'
1993
‘Great Chairman of the Party and People', 'Father
of the Korean People’, 'Leader of the People', 'Expert
Military Tactician', 'Master of Steel'
Since the beginning of the Kim Jong-il era, he has
typically been addressed as the ‘Comrade and Commander-in-chief’,
‘General’, and ‘Dear Chairman’. |
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Kim Jong-il’s Leadership - ‘Rule of Virtue’, ‘All-embracing
Politics’, and ‘Military First’ |
While ‘rule of virtue’ and ‘all-embracing politics’
are phrases used to emphasize Kim Jong-il’s leadership,
the ‘military first’ slogan is more of a policy
guideline that focuses on the KPA’s role in fortifying
national security, economic growth, and the well-being
of the people.
Rule of Virtue
This expression first appeared in the January 28,
1993 issue of the Nodong Simmun (Worker’s Daily),
as a part of an article titled “Long live the Socialist
Revolution, where the Rule of Virtue is exercised!”
The expression cites the people as the source of
power, claiming that ‘the rule of virtue involves
carrying out political affairs based on love and
trust toward the People’. According to the phrase,
Kim Jong-il ‘bears a great love for the People’,
which leads him to ‘do his utmost to rule [North
Korea] in the best way possible’. Kim Jong-il emphasized
the expression himself in a 1994 thesis titled “Socialism
is a Science”. The ‘rule of virtue’ has been the
subject of mass propaganda via all mediums ever
since.
All-Embracing Politics
This phrase is closely linked to the ‘rule of virtue’.
According to North Korea definition, the phrase describes
‘a form of rule that embraces every one of the People’,
and that ‘does not leave out those with complicated
family or sociopolitical backgrounds’ but ‘warmly
embraces them as eternal partners on the path to
Revolution’. In short, the expression aims to emphasize
Kim Jong-il’s talents in leadership.
Military First
The slogan, ‘military first’, forms the backbone
of North Korea’s ruling ideology. Rather than replacing
‘Juche’ thought, it was intended to act as a practical
strategy to implement ‘Juche’ ideals. The emphasis
placed on the military suggests that it was the
only actual resource available to Kim Jong-il. (☞ The Kim Jong-il Era - Military First) |
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Kim Jong-il’s Policies |
The crisis of North Korea regime became more serious
due to its economic difficulties and recurrent episodes
of famine. Borrowing from an event that took place
in the time of the anti-Japanese resistance, the
slogan, ‘grueling march’, was introduced to mobilize
the people in an effort to overcome a situation
where the economy was caught in a quagmire and hundreds
of thousands were dying of hunger. It can be said
that the truly ‘stable’ Kim Jong-il era began only
after the 2000 announcement that the ‘grueling march’
was finally over. Upon observing the extent of reform
and economic liberalization during a visit to China,
Kim Jong-il reportedly remarked that he had seen
a ‘whole new world in the making’. This experience
led to the pursuit of the ‘Shineuiju SEZ Project’
(☞ New
Economic Initiatives and the Shineuiju SEZ)
and the ‘7.1 Economic Reforms’ (☞
7.1 Economic Reforms).
The 2nd North Korea Nuclear Crisis can be interpreted within
the context of North Korea’s struggle to maintain its
regime, along with its reforms and moves to open
up its economy. While the coming of the George W.
Bush administration upended the improvements in
NK-U.S. relations realized in the last years of
Kim Il-sung’s rule, discovery of North Korea’s secret
nuclear weapons development program sparked the
2nd North Korea nuclear crisis. The crisis is a viewed
as an audacious high-stakes gamble on the part of
Kim Jong-il aimed at maintaining his regime. |
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