How sensationalizing Kim Jong Un clouds the real reason he can maintain his rule



Opinion How sensationalizing Kim Jong Un clouds the real reason he can maintain his rule Focus on the North Korean leader as a person detracts from the structures that keep the Kim family in power Benjamin R. Young May 27, 2020 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON KCNA Views expressed in Opinion articles are exclusively the authors’ own and do not represent those of NK News. In April, Kim Jong Un died and the North Korean regime was bound to collapse. At least, that was the message you got if you happened to scroll through social media or turn on the national news. From TMZ reporting on Kim’s demise to numerous op-eds talking about the next successor to Pyongyang’s iron throne, it seemed as though all was over for the DPRK. Soon, the military would take control of the country’s nukes and we would be back to “fire © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

Opinion

How sensationalizing Kim Jong Un clouds the real reason he can maintain his rule

Focus on the North Korean leader as a person detracts from the structures that keep the Kim family in power

Benjamin R. Young May 27, 2020

How sensationalizing Kim Jong Un clouds the real reason he can maintain his rule

KCNA

Views expressed in Opinion articles are exclusively the authors’ own and do not represent those of NK News.

In April, Kim Jong Un died and the North Korean regime was bound to collapse. At least, that was the message you got if you happened to scroll through social media or turn on the national news.

From TMZ reporting on Kim’s demise to numerous op-eds talking about the next successor to Pyongyang’s iron throne, it seemed as though all was over for the DPRK. Soon, the military would take control of the country’s nukes and we would be back to “fire

About the Author

Benjamin R. Young

Benjamin R. Young, Ph.D. has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dakota State University and the U.S. Naval War College. He was a 2024-25 Stanton Foundation Nuclear Security Fellow at the RAND Corporation. He is now an Assistant Professor of Intelligence Studies at Fayetteville State University. He is the author of the book "Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World" (Stanford University Press, 2021).

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