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Geopolitics · Kim Jong-Un · North Korea · Sanctions
Kim Jong-un, North Korea's Supreme Leader, solidified his absolute authority by reinstating the Worker's Party of Korea as the central political organ, purging top officials, and rebalancing military influence, ensuring regime survival amidst economic challenges and international sanctions.
Kim, the third generation of the Kim dynasty, systematically consolidated power after inheriting leadership in 2012, executing figures like his uncle Jang Song-thaek in 2013 and Minister of Defense Hyon Yong-chol in 2015, and replacing three top military generals in June 2018. This reasserted the party's control over the military, shifting the power dynamic from "party, army, state" to "party, state, army," according to Michael Madden of North Korea Leadership Watch.
Despite North Korea being among the world's poorest nations, an estimated fifty elite families, known as *donju*, control significant wealth and influence the economy, which grew at its slowest rate in over a decade in 2018, as reported by South Korea's central bank. Kim's *byungjin* policy aims for parallel nuclear and economic development, introducing market liberalizations and incentive-based systems, but future economic growth and diplomatic efforts, particularly with South Korea, depend on carefully managing elite support and the pace of change, as noted by Ken Gause of CNA and Jung H. Pak of Brookings Institution.
