Who Is North Korea Leader Now
The current leader of North Korea is Kim Jong-un. He assumed office following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, who had ruling the DPRK since 1994. Kim Jong-un takes the title of chairman of the Workers’ party of Korea and supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. He is the third monarch in the Kim dynasty, which began with his grandfather, the late Kim Il-sung.
Kim Jong-un was born in January of 1982 in Pyeongyang, North Korea. His exact birthday and place of birth are unknown and have been highly guarded. His education is also shrouded in mystery, however reports suggest that he attended the International School in Bern, Switzerland, which caters for diplomatic and business families. This lead some experts to believe that Kim Jong-un has a westernized background that is contrary to the highly authoritarian and isolationist North Korean regime he has been ruling for the past few years.
Kim Jong-un was not the heir apparent when his father regime began to fail. Originally, his older brother, Kim Jong-nam was the next successor before he fled North Korea in 2001, in order to avoid the same fate that befell his uncle, Jang Song-thaek by his hands. Then Kim Jong-un quickly rose up the ranks and achieved his current position as supreme leader due to his father’s health problems. Since becoming the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un had been utilizing the existing oppressive political system and its brutal awareness methods to avoid any form of dissent within his state’s borders.
Kim Jong-un’s reign has been characterized by relentless pursuing of nuclear weapon development and its threat of use. Relations between his regime and the outside world have been strained due to the antagonistic rhetoric and strong-arm tactics used by the North Korean state to survive and make its point across. This approach has achieved some success as North Korea has entered talks with the US and managed to secure a much needed economic assistance which managed to stabilize the North Korean economy without relinquishing its weapons of mass destruction.
Overall, Kim Jong-un’s rule has brought North Korea even closer to its isolationist past, where foreign influence was banned and all connections with the outside world were tightly controlled by the regime. Kim Jong-un has continued tight control on all political, economic, and human activity within his nation, making it one of the most repressive regimes in the world.
Although Kim Jong-un’s rule has been highly oppressive, he has brought economic growth to North Korea, managing to used the economic aid received to stabilize the country and even bring certain improvements to its infrastructure. His pursuit of nuclear weapon technology have made North Korea a major player in the relations between nations and he has managed to survive despite strong sanctions and diplomatic pressure from the international community.
State Control over Economy
North Korea is a centrally-planned economy dominated by state-owned enterprises and government-allocated resources. All resources, wages, and businesses are controlled by the state and Kim Jong-un ensures that private businesses are deprived of economic freedom. Under Kim Jong-Un’s leadership, the North Korean economy is still subject to a series of international economic sanctions that applies immense pressure on the economic development.
The international community has imposed economic restrictions in order to pressure the North Korean regime to stop its development of nuclear weapons.These restrictions include a set of export and import restrictions, financial and travel bans which prevent North Korea from engaging in the global economy. Additionally, the North Korean government has been using unregistered currency exchanges to trade and save foreign currency, which possesses a significant risk due their unregulated nature and lack of oversight from the North Korean society.
The North Korean economy is mainly agricultural, but there has been an increase in small-scale industrial production in recent years, which is mainly concentrated in mining and textile industries. Although there has been some improvement, North Korea still faces high levels of poverty and it is widely regarded as one of the least economically developed countries in the world. The North Korean government has been putting effort into developing its economy and it has introduced a number of development projects and economic reforms since Kim Jong-un came to power.
Relationships with Foreign Nations
Kim Jong-un has been highly antagonistic towards foreign nations, leading the United States, Japan and South Korea, to push for a wide spectrum of international sanctions on the North Korean government to deescalate the nuclear arms race. Despite the sanctions, North Korea is still receiving economic aid from its only ally, China, and it is attempting to improve its economic and political relations with the United States and other foreign nations. North Korea and the United States have held numerous talks in recent years in order to diffuse their differences, but so far there has been no tangible breakthrough.
North Korea has recently made attempts to reach out to the world and developed better diplomatic relations with its neighboring countries. The Kim Jong-un government is also trying to increase its presence in the world stage by holding summits, dialogues and participating in international organizations. Additionally, North Korea sent its athletes to the recent Winter Olympics in South Korea, which heralds a sign that relations between the two nations are improving. However, North Korea still considered a pariah nation in the international community and it is receiving near-constant condemnation from the United Nations.
Kim Jong-un’s leadership has had a significant influence over the way North Korea is perceived and interacted with by the international community. His rule has seen the nation become increasingly aggressive and his policies come with global scrutiny as the nation further isolates itself with its military and nuclear technology development.
Human Rights Situation
The North Korean human rights record is widely considered to be one of the worst in the world. Reports indicate that abuse of the rights of citizens of North Korea and those living abroad is widespread in the country, and the majority of victims are often identified as those who are critical of the government, political dissidents, and refugees. This has resulted in various human rights violations, such as restrictions and indoctrinations of religious and political beliefs, arbitrary incarcerations, torture and other forms of abuse, arbitrary executions, and forced disappearances.
There is little public information on the human rights situation in North Korea, as the government has remained largely unwilling to cooperate with international organizations, such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, in addressing these issues. The few reports of human rights violations in the country are mainly gathered from North Korean defectors and human rights organizations. These reports have been strongly condemned by the international community, yet no substantive steps have been taken to push the North Korean government to reform its policies and to improve the human rights situation in the country.
The North Korean government has so far stood firm by its rights policies and have refused to cooperate with the international community over human rights abuses. This can be largely attributed to Kim Jong-un’s authoritarian approach to rule and his unwillingness to pursue more open and cooperative relationships with the outside world. Despite strong public disapproval of the Kim Jong-un’s approach to the human rights situation in his country, his regime has managed to remain in power and largely unchanged.
Leadership Style
Kim Jong-un has a very authoritarian and populist leadership style, which emphasises his cult of personality and his close relationship with the military. Kim Jong-un is seen as the absolute ruler of North Korea and the leader of the Worker’s party, and his rule is strictly enforced by his security services. The media in North Korea are heavily censored and under strict state control.
North Korea is also one of the most opaque countries in the world, and since coming to power, Kim Jong-un has intensified restrictions on information exchange and further restricted access to the outside world. There are also reports of increased social control and surveillance of its population by the state and its security apparatus.
Kim Jong-un continues to abide to his grandfather’s rule of Juche, or self-reliance, which is the cornerstone of his policy making and the main tenet of his people-centered ideology. Kim Jong Un has insistently favored the interests of North Koreans and actively pursues the state’s independence from foreign influence. This is achieved through his continued commitment to heavy military investments and North Korea’s defiance of international sanctions from the United Nations.
Nuclear Weapon Program
The North Korean government has invested heavily in missile and nuclear weapon technology since Kim Jong-Un came to power. North Korea has conducted several nuclear tests, and their weapons have grown in power and advanced capability. The North Korean nuclear program has raised serious security concerns from its neighbors as they fear the possibility of a nuclear attack. This has resulted in an increase of regional tensions and placed pressure on the international community to take action to de-escalate the situation.
North Korea has so far dismissed international pressure and continues to developed its nuclear and ballistic missile technology. This has been a major source of the current tensions between North Korea and United States and its allies in the region. There have been fears that North Korea may use these weapons to attack its enemies, and the international community has been pushing for the negotiation of a nuclear non-proliferation agreement. However, the North Korean government has been reluctant to enter talks and is unlikely to comply without some form of economic assistance from the United States.
Kim Jong-un has made it clear that North Korea does not intend to abandon its nuclear weapons technology, and so far the United States has been unable to persuade North Korea to stop its nuclear program. This has made the possibility of a nuclear conflict all the more likely in the future and the United States has recently upped its military presence and increased its ballistic missile defenses in order to better protect its allies and its own territory from a North Korean attack.
Military might of North Korea
The military power of North Korea is largely credited to its nuclear weapon development program. This program has enabled Kim Jong-Un to build a powerful military force and this strength has been used to exert pressure on its neighbors and the United States. The North Korean military is one of the largest in the world, estimated to have over 1.2 million active personnel.
North Korea is also considered to possess one of the most powerful special forces in the world and its defense capabilities are further strengthened by its extensive military arsenal, which includes tanks and other armored vehicles, artillery, surface-to-air, ground-to-ground, and anti-ship missiles, as well as chemical and biological weapons. North Korea has also produced a variety of modern weapon systems using reverse engineering and counterfeit technologies to support its military efforts.
The North Korean military is considered to be a potent force, and its military strength is a cause for concern for the United States and its allies in the region. North Korea is regularly conducting military exercises and its nuclear weapon development program has made it a potential threat to the security of the United States and its allies in East Asia.
Kim Jong-un has heavily relied on his military strength to achieve his political objectives, and he has leased out access to its nuclear and ballistic missile technologies to other nations. The North Korean military is thus a powerful tool used by
