The view that state-sponsored nationalism has played a major (or even decisive) role in the persistence of the North Korean political system has been expressed by a wide range of scholars, such as Brian Myers, Andrei Lankov, Jin Woong Kang and Young Chul Cho. These authors have emphasized that nationalist propaganda served the regime’s interests in a variety of ways.

From the very beginning, the (real and fabricated) nationalist credentials of Kim Il Sung constituted an important source of legitimacy vis-a-vis his intra-party opponents and the rival nation-state in South Korea. As early as 1955-1956, Kim skillfully used