The murder of Kim Jong Nam in a Malaysian airport two weeks ago has injected fresh energy into the debate about the mechanisms through which North Korean politics works. 

What it boils down to is personality versus structure in the Pyongyang political system. Which one is more important?

Kim, who was assassinated with a lethal nerve agentas he was preparing to fly back to Macao from Kuala Lumpur on February 13, has been described in colorful terms since his grisly demise at the hands of two women working, investigators believe, for elements in the ruling Korean Workers’ Party. These