NORTH KOREAN SYSTEM OF SUCCESSION OF POWER - August 8, 2006

Comrade KIM JONG IL, the present leader of the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, is an extraordinary man. To begin with, he had an unprecedented opportunity to be the closest and most faithful assistant of Comrade Kim Il Sung, who was his father and the first leader of the North Korean communist state.

As his official biography reveals, Kim Jong Il “always held fast to the banner of socialism and the banner of revolution”. He demonstrated the capability of “turning misfortunes into blessings and adversaries into favorable conditions”. Straight from his childhood, he showed remarkable abilities that unquestionably predestined him to become a great politician and the leader of North Korea in the future. He was surprisingly clever and wise, with “power of keen observation, clear analysis and extraordinary perspicacity with regards to things and phenomena”. As if that was not enough, he possessed “human love and broad-mindedness, was generous, unceremonious and warm-hearted among people”. 

More thorough analysis shows also some parallels with Jesus Christ. Likewise the Christian God, Kim Jong Il was born in secret camp in very dangerous conditions. Later in his life, he developed some powers to control the nature. For example, on November 23, 1996, while visiting the areas of Namp’o seaport he caused the bad weather to clear instantly and the sun to shine while the soldiers started taking pictures with him. Another time, while visiting a military base, a fog covered the facility for almost 12 hours preventing the Japanese and US imperialists from spying on him. Considering these facts, the President of Korean Christian Federation - Rev. Kang Yong-sup, announced in 1997 that Kim Jong Il is “the God of Korean nation”.

If any Western imperialist doubted the above listed abilities of the North Korean leader, he should maybe take a look at another significant argument, which indisputably confirms his uniqueness and distinctiveness. For as a matter of fact, Kim Jong Il is the leader of the last truly communist state in the world, which despite being poor and small-sized has a dangerous capacity of sparking a global military conflict.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was founded on September 9, 1948. Around that time, DPRK was only one among many other communist states around the world, including the USSR, People’s Republic of China (1949) and several countries in Eastern Europe. Almost sixty years later, North Korea stands as the last remaining stronghold of the socialist ideologies, when other communist states either rejected revolutionary orientation or simply ceased to exist.

The USSR disintegrated at the beginning of the 90's; Eastern European countries overthrew socialist authorities in the late 80’s and reshaped their economical and political systems. Also China conducted numerous market-oriented reforms, opened up to international investments and normalized its relations with other countries. Remarkably, the North Korean example constitutes an exception in that history and though communist ideology proved completely inefficient, backward and harmful to the well-being of the societies, it have preserved unchanged in DPRK and flourished over years.

The formula, which enabled the communist authorities to survive in North Korea and avoid repeating the fate of the USSR, was quite original and courageous as for a system of real socialism. To secure its ruling, the Kim clan invented a political conception of family-based succession of power.  When Kim Il Sung reached 61 year of age, he designated his son, Kim Jong Il, as his successor. Kim Jong Il replaced his father at the position of the leader of the country almost 20 years later. The long period of waiting between the designation and the actual replacement was successfully used for propaganda and security purposes. During that time, a theoretical basis supporting the succession system was created and indoctrinated into the minds of the Korean nation, while all political opponents and possible contra candidates to the power were exterminated or vanished in unexplained circumstances. As a matter of fact, such early designation was crucial for securing that the Kim family remained in charge. As it was proven by the history of other communist states, lack of the system of succession of leadership was one of the most important reasons to be blamed for the downfall and rejection of communism by societies. Usually after the first revolutionary period, the next generation of the more moderate politicians was coming into power and some changes were implemented, eventually leading to the abolition of the real socialism system in a particular country. North Korean communists point out a scary example of Nicolae Ceausescu – the Romanian communist leader overthrown by his opponents and executed in 1989 – as a sufficient reason for creating and implementing a solid method of succession of power.

Till date, the above conception has been functioning efficiently, enabling Kim Il Sung to strengthen his political position under the tutelage of his father and remain in power after his death. In 2003, he similarly designated his 21 years old son, Kim Jong-chul, as the next successor.  

North Korea is the only communist state ever created, which has not conducted any market-oriented reforms till date. Unfortunately, severe economic conditions have not caused the nation to upraise against the Kim family’s ruling so far. Several things should be blamed for the situation, among them effectively functioning system of succession of power is one of the most important. Another one is the creation of imaginary enemies, which helps to keep the nation alert, mobilized and misinformed about the real problems of the state. Considering present circumstances, it seems doubtful that any internal transformation and changes in the North Korean foreign policy will occur if the family system operates undisturbed and Kim family remains in power.

Sebastian Aulich

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