North Korean Leadership: Kim Jong Il's Integenerational Balancing Act

Abstract

One key to the unexpected longevity of North Korea-the world's last unreformed Stalinist polity-lies in Kim Jong Il's adroit balancing act between the old and young elites since coming to power in 1994 following his father's death. Based on "inclusive politics" and an "honor-power sharing" arrangement, Kim Jong Il's's balancing act has effectively reduced factional cleavages that might otherwise have crippled the hereditary succession plan. The "honor-power sharing" arrangement-which gives honors to the older elites and real power to younger elites has secured the loyalty of both the old guard and younger hopefuls. As long as Kim Jong Il's's balancing act works and internal solidarity remains firm, the new regime could survive for a prolonged period. If the balance breaks down, Pyongyang's power circle will slip into a centrifugal spiral, followed by power struggles among rival factions and the eventual collapse of the regime.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA394294

Entities

People

  • Jei Guk Jeon

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Age Groups
  • Army
  • Collapse
  • Demographic Cohorts
  • Electronic Mail
  • Families (Human)
  • Field Army
  • Guerrilla Warfare
  • Internet
  • Korea
  • Leadership
  • National Security
  • North Korea
  • Security
  • Ussr
  • War Colleges
  • War Games

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Educational Psychology
  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.