This is part of NK News’ series of opinion and analysis of the first five years of Kim Jong Un’s rule.

Five years ago on Saturday, Kim Jong Il, who ruled the country since the death of his father in 1994, died, leaving the reigns of North Korean power to a relative unknown: his third and youngest son Kim Jong Un.

When the fresh-faced and astonishingly young new leader emerged to claim his family inheritance – rule over the 24 million people who live in North Korea – no-one quite knew what to expect. Some predicted the regime would imminently