I think Kim Jong-un has consolidated power better than most expected. I also think that being able to declare the north a nuclear power is one of the key elements to his ability to ensure that he remains in power.
V/R
Dave
N. Korea's Kim Jong-un has stably consolidated power: South diplomatic paper
2013/08/16 17:52
SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un has stably consolidated his grip over the communist country's powerful governing party and the military while pouring money into extravagant projects designed to glorify his regime, the South Korean foreign ministry's white paper showed Friday.
"Kim Jong-un dominated the (governing) party and the military in his seemingly stable process to consolidate his power" since officially being named the head of the state in July, the white paper on major diplomatic developments in 2012 said.
The leader in his late 20s or early 30s took over control of the reclusive communist country after his father Kim Jong-il suddenly died of a heart problem in December 2011.
Since coming to power, the Swiss-educated Kim has repeatedly highlighted the importance of propping up the livelihoods of starving North Koreans and reviving its sickly economy with North Korean watchers saying that the North introduced a capitalist-oriented reform on June 28, 2012 in order to raise domestic productivity and give more economic freedom.
The white paper said, "Despite the wild rumors, any specified news about its implementation has not been heard yet."
Instead, the country has been focused on pouring its much-scarce resources into "displayable" projects like a plan to beautify the capital Pyongyang and an old amusement park, rather than on making systemic changes for an economic revival, according to the paper.
Instead, the country has been focused on pouring its much-scarce resources into "displayable" projects like a plan to beautify the capital Pyongyang and an old amusement park, rather than on making systemic changes for an economic revival, according to the paper.
The international community had high hopes for the North after it pledged to take sincere steps to denuclearize after Washington and Pyongyang reached the so-called Feb. 29 agreement last year. Under the agreement, the United States agreed to provide food in return for the North's promise to stop its long-range missile launch, nuclear tests and uranium-enrichment programs, the diplomatic paper said.
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