NK News: Kim Jong-Un Promoted

Party members heading to the meeting

Kim Jong-Un (김정은), the son of Kim Jong-Il (김정일), was promoted this week to the military rank of General, 4 stars. This is the highest possible rank attainable within the military. On top of his promotion, he was also appointed delegate to the party Congress, which all but solidifies his status as heir to his father's throne. This has been forecast for some time now by all the major news outlets in South Korea and Japan. The grand meeting of Congress has produced no other real announcements outside of the promotion of Kim Jong-Un. According to news outlets, party leaders stressed the two ideals of Juche (self reliance) and Songun (military first) that have been the back bone of North Korean society since Kim Il-Sun was in charge.

These kinds of times are worry-some to me. I am worried about the transition of power once Kim Jong-Il passes on. They way I see it, one of two things can happen: Kim Jong-Un takes power smoothly or, because of his age and inexperience, someone attempts to seize power, throwing the already unstable country into calamity. Even if power does pass smoothly to the new heir, depending on how he wants to play with the rest of the world, he will have to prove himself to the international community. His father did this through acts of violence and aggression. I sincerely hope Jong-Un will not try to ostracize himself like his father did.

Even though I am an outsider looking in, the situation between North and South is heartbreaking. Korea has suffered through so much adversity in the past, and to see the country permanently ripped into two would be unfortunate. Families and friends forever separated, hatred for those not unlike yourself, and worst of all, the atrocities suffered by the Northerners. I suppose it's hard to know much outside of your world when your rulers will never let you experience it. I hope that one day the two Korea's can successfully reunite under a common banner of peace and prosperity.