September 24, 2023
Analysis

The image of Stalin in North Korea

The last ‘Stalinist’ system has little regard for the Soviet leader himself

One can often hear North Korea being described as a “Stalinist state.” Although the DPRK of the present day is quite different from the USSR of Joseph Stalin, this definition is still mostly accurate.

Many of these who see such a description might assume that the DPRK still has some cult of Stalin with him being portrayed as a great predecessor of Kims – much as Stalin himself created a cult of Marx, Engels and Lenin. However, this is not so.