North Korea, the country of Kim Il-sung, can North Korea reform and open? ③ [Walking with reporter Ahn Jeong-sik in Pyongyang]

Past Posts ▶ [Walking with Reporter Ahn Jeong-sik and Pyongyang] Can North Korea, North Korea, the country of Kim Il-sung, reform and open?

In ②, explaining the peculiarity of the North Korean regime, he said that there are limits to the reforms and openings that Labor Secretary General Kim Jong-un can choose.

This is because the most important thing for Secretary Kim Jong-un is to ensure that reform and openness do not undermine the power of himself and the Baekdu lineage.

In this article, we will look at which line will be the maximum of reform and opening up options for North Korea.

North Korean reform is the level that does not affect the absolute power of General Secretary Kim Jong-un.

In other words, the reform of Secretary General Kim Jong-un can be done mainly in the economic sector and in some social sectors, but it cannot extend to the political sector.

In fact, after Kim Jong-un took office, considerable reforms have been promoted in the economic sector.

Typical examples are the socialist corporate responsibility management system and the military responsibility system.

In terms of improving the people's life, Kim Jong-un is showing a pragmatic attitude to accept the capitalist incentive system.

<Socialist Corporate Responsibility Management System: A system that allows companies to fulfill their production and management responsibilities with substantial management rights.

It is a system that improves corporate autonomy and productivity by allowing companies to produce and sell products according to their own plans, breaking away from the past method of performing only tasks directed by the state.

The work is distributed to the factory workers as well.>

<Position responsibility system: The division of 10∽15 people in the North Korean cooperative farm was the smallest unit of production and distribution.

However, if you work in such a large scale, even if you work hard on your own, there is no structure in which you can receive more, so you will lose your motivation to work hard.

Accordingly, through the artillery responsibility system, North Korea made a small number of 1 to 2 ∽4 people in charge of producing specific cultivated land and receiving distribution according to the results.

As the production unit was reduced to a small scale, production at the individual or family level became possible, and as the amount of work earned increased, the motivation for production increased.>

As seen in the Mickey Mouse who appeared in the Moranbong Orchestra's performance and the overall refreshing attire of Pyongyang residents, changes in the social sector are expected to continue.

However, these reforms will not extend to the political sector such as democracy within the party.

This is because general secretary Kim Jong-un will not allow political reform that allows checks or criticism of his power.

It will be difficult for the North Korean Workers' Party to create the engine for continuous reform and openness that was possible in the CCP.

seems to be the limited regional openness that General Secretary Kim Jong-un can choose.

Like the Kaesong Industrial Complex, certain areas are isolated from other areas in North Korea and open to the outside.

In the Kim Jong-un era, North Korea announced plans to create 22 economic development zones such as Eunjeong Advanced Technology Development Zone and Chongjin Economic Development Zone, in addition to special economic zones such as Kaesong, Spiral, Geumpyeong-Waihwa Island, and Sinuiju.

In addition, the opening of tourism areas such as Wonsan Galma Tourist Area and Yangdeok Hot Spring Area is also underway.

Currently, it is not famous due to UN sanctions and Corona 19, but even if the opening to this area is promoted in earnest, external information such as, like the Kaesong Industrial Complex, strictly prohibits external handouts or communication with the outside, or minimizes contact with North Korean residents in the area. It seems that we will try our best to prevent it.

This is because the influx of outside information is a great harm in maintaining the dynasty dictatorship of the Kim family.

dictatorship If General Secretary Kim Jong-un wants to communicate with the outside world while maintaining the dictatorship, the level of dictatorship must be lowered.

Even if dictatorships like Park Jung-hee's Yushin regime, Chun Doo-hwan's regime, and the Chinese Communist Party's one-party dictatorship in Korea, they must do so at a level that allows them to live without being completely closed to the outside world.

To do this, we must give up the extreme idolization of the Kim Il-sung family.

The Kim Il-sung family must descend from the position of God to the position of humans.

This means that Secretary General Kim Jong-un has to lay down some of the absolute vested interests he enjoys in the North Korean regime, and it is doubtful that historically, powerful people have ever restricted their own powers. 

General Secretary Kim Jong-un is showing some of his attempts to break away from the blind idolization and deification of the past, such as "Do not mystify the leader".

However, unless he is willing to give up much of his absolute vested interest, the limits to such change are clear.

Although some changes, such as reforms in the economic sector and the opening of restricted areas, will not be possible, aggressive reforms and openings to the same level as China and Vietnam will not be possible, and the rigidity of the North Korean regime will not be resolved.  

(Photo = Chosun Joongang TV, Yonhap News)