Kim Jong-il Has Died

(Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died Saturday on a train trip, a tearful state television announcer, dressed in black, reported Monday.

The announcer said that the 69-year old had died of physical and mental over-work on his way to give "field guidance."

The reclusive state had begun the process of transferring power to his son Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s.

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What is known about Kim Jong-un's ability to govern?

RedSun wrote:What is known about Kim Jong-un's ability to govern?

Basically nothing. Regimes of that nature tend to keep issues of political succession very quiet.

Given the fact that North Korea is essentially dealing with a modern dynasty, the odds of Jong-un being an especially capable individual are not very good. Of course, that does not necessarily mean that his rule will result in some sort of calamity.

We all knew this day would come.
Korea is about to make its move in the world stage with Her new leader.

R.I.P. Kim Jong il I am sure the Juche idea will love on through his son Kim Jong un.




Long live the DPRK!

It should be interesting to see the direction Kim Jong-un takes the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The nation has obviously been economically crippled since the collapse of Soviet trading bloc and the various trade embargoes imposed on the nation from the bourgeois states, so there's very little the regime can do aside from either continuing in its autarkic path or integrating itself into the world economy via reactionary neoliberal reforms.

The Juche ideology is obviously contemptible for a variety of reasons, but I would abhor seeing North Korea degrade into yet another capitalist cesspool. It would be excellent if Jong-un takes measures to democratize certain elements of the DPRK's economy and political system, but I find the possibility of the state undertaking such progressive reforms to be negligible.

From what I've heard about the ideas of Juche, it doesn't sound entirely contemptible, apart from requiring absolute loyalty to the Workers' Party of Korea and the leader thereof. I was under the impression that the issue was not faulty ideology, but the Kim family applying that ideology in the same way that Stalin applied socialism or Saddam Hussein applied Ba'athism.

EDIT: Or maybe not. Apparently in Juche the military is seen as the primary revolutionary force within the nation, not the proletariat.

RedSun wrote:From what I've heard about the ideas of Juche, it doesn't sound entirely contemptible, apart from requiring absolute loyalty to the Workers' Party of Korea and the leader thereof. I was under the impression that the issue was not faulty ideology, but the Kim family applying that ideology in the same way that Stalin applied socialism or Saddam Hussein applied Ba'athism.

EDIT: Or maybe not. Apparently in Juche the military is seen as the primary revolutionary force within the nation, not the proletariat.

In Juche military is first, and how can we expect them to take an attitude any different when they are surrounded by hostile forces? Thousands of US troops on the South Korean border?

Juche ideology was developed and by Kim Il Sung and then made the official ideology of NK by Kim Jong Il. By that time it wouldn't need to be a "revolutionary force". Juche is for Koreans and it is Korean socialism.

I simply dislike the attitude of the military being a revolutionary force separate from and superior to the proletariat. It seems to me that's more conducive to a military junta than a socialist state. I prefer the Strasserist attitude that the military are part of the proletariat, as signified in the symbol of the hammer and sword.

A humble tribute of mine, dedicated to Kim Jong-Il

RedSun wrote:I simply dislike the attitude of the military being a revolutionary force separate from and superior to the proletariat. It seems to me that's more conducive to a military junta than a socialist state. I prefer the Strasserist attitude that the military are part of the proletariat, as signified in the symbol of the hammer and sword.

Of course the military should be part of the proletariat that goes without saying,But the military should be the embodyment of revolutionary/ideological spirit
The workers should follow and belive in the national ideology but for the armed forces it should be almost a religion.

RedSun wrote:I simply dislike the attitude of the military being a revolutionary force separate from and superior to the proletariat. It seems to me that's more conducive to a military junta than a socialist state. I prefer the Strasserist attitude that the military are part of the proletariat, as signified in the symbol of the hammer and sword.

I don't think Juche separates the military from the workers, the military are the defenders of the nation thus the defend the true embodiment of the nation which is the workers. Obviously the military is not a "revolutionary" force; usually the military is the force of reaction. The North Korean revolution has already been carried out though so I do not think "Military First" places the military as a prime revolutionary force.

What's your opinion on the other actions of the DPRK's government? I think even taking into account a certain anticommunist bias on the part of the media, their system is still clearly repressive and unsuccessful.

RedSun wrote:What's your opinion on the other actions of the DPRK's government? I think even taking into account a certain anticommunist bias on the part of the media, their system is still clearly repressive and unsuccessful.

I disagree. Which aspects do you consider repressive and unsuccessful?

I dislike personality cults, for one thing. For another, I have yet to see a single assessment of the North Korean situation, from any outside (non-North Korean) source, that does not involve immense and unnecessary restriction upon personal freedoms, internment camps, and general mismanagement of the already flawed state socialist system leading to famine. You may cite media bias if you wish, but I see no reason to take the DPRK government's claims at face value, and I await evidence to the contrary.

What do you like about the North Korean government?