Bloomberg: Kim Jong Un’s Regime Baffles World With Contradictory Signals
(Bloomberg) -- What’s going on with Kim Jong Un? Is he sick? Worried about Covid-19? Consumed by an economic crisis? Battling internal threats?
Perhaps the North Korean leader is biding his time until the U.S. presidential election? Or maybe he’s playing the same game of threats, reconciliation and retreat that has kept his family in charge of the secretive state since the 1940s?
All those scenarios have been floated to explain months of surprises and intrigue from Pyongyang, including stubborn -- but so-far-unsubstantiated -- rumors that the 36-year-old leader is unwell. The developments have underscored how little the world knows about North Korea, and left even many professional observers questioning how they go about interpreting Kim’s actions.
“We need to check our assumptions about the leadership,” said Soo Kim, a Rand Corp. policy analyst who previously worked at the Central Intelligence Agency. “Perhaps we are imposing our own expectations and habitual knowledge about the North Korean regime on the current situation. And if these expectations are false, then we risk drawing faulty or erroneous conclusions about the regime.”
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WNU Editor: The above article says the Kim Jung-un regime is giving the world contradictory signals. I disagree. What I see is a regime that is focused on its internal problems, namely economic and limiting the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The pandemic has shaken every country in the world, including North Korea. Summits with South Korean leaders or President Trump are not possible now, so pursuing a diplomatic course of action makes no sense at the present time. What makes sense for Kim Jung-un is to consolidate his power, which he has done, and to trust the people that he has placed in positions of authority to do their jobs during this global crisis.
