“Kim Jong-un, the Chairman of North Korea’s National Defense Commission, appears to have a complex due to his young age as the leader of North Korea. His father Kim Jong-il began ruling North Korea in his early 30s, while Kim began at the age of 29. He is young for a leader, and appears ill at ease. Under these circumstances, there have been increasing purges for ‘disrespect’ rather than failure of policies.”
“It is known that Hyon Yong-chol, North Korea’s Defense Minister, was purged on April 30. However, North Korean TV still shows the image of Hyon. This is a rare case as North Korea erased all images of purged executives in the past.”
“Speculation about the fall of North Korea comes from people who really want North Korea to collapse. Although the North Korean regime looks fragile and seems set to fall due to weaknesses like food shortages, there are clear support factors for the regime.”
- Chung Se-hyun, former unification minister
Kim Jong-un, the Chairman of North Korea’s National Defense Commission (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Chung Se-hyun, who served as unification minister under the liberal presidencies of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, provided his view on the brutal execution of the North Korean defense minister by Kim Jong-un. He said Kim’s young age as North Korean leader has resulted in a “Reign of Terror.”
The South Korean government believes that Kim Jong-un was born on January 8, 1984. Kim was appointed as the successor of Kim Jong-il after his illness in 2009. After the sudden death of Kim Jong-il in 2011, he ascended as the supreme leader of the communist country without any political base.
Former Unification Minister Chung concluded that because Kim gained power without any political base, he is very sensitive about his young age.
By John Choi (johnchoi@koreabizwire.com)
