One of the oldest theoretical concepts about the earlier history of North Korea is the division of its politicians into four factions.

The Soviet faction was composed of Koreans who lived in the USSR, so the theory goes, the Yan’an faction of those from China, the internal faction of Communists of colonial Korea, and the partisan one: members of Kim Il Sung’s unit.

While, as it always is, life has proven itself to be more complex than any scheme – and there were people who eventually defied their supposed allegiance –  this framing was remarkably accurate. In most cases,