Reflection Week 7

This week's simulation was interesting and I believe our group did fairly well in presenting the argument of our group as realistically as possible. Besides this week's simulation, there is not much to discuss about in-class material. However, one thing that caught my eyes while browsing through the news was an interesting series of events happening in North Korea.

First of all, one of Kim Jong Il's son, Kim Jong Un, was named a four-star general few weeks ago, and there was a speculation that he would be the next North Korea's ruler once Kim Jong Il passed away. However, recently, it has been published that experts on North Korea speculate Kim Jong Un to be the 6th in line of succession after several high-ranking party officials. Moreover, there has been a parade in North Korea to which 60 journalists were invited to attend, which is surprising considering how North Korea didn't allow much media coverage of its nation, in which Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un were both present. According to the CNN report, the parade was full of fireworks and applause, yet the central focus remains on the presence of Kim Jong Un together with Kim Jong Il.

It has been speculated for a long time that Kim Jong Il was in a fragile health and experts on North Korea were frantic on predicting what would happen to North Korean politics once he died. However, naming of one of his young sons as a 4-star general seemed a political move in which Kim Jong Il was choosing Kim Jong Un as his successor. Although I am not an expert on politics, and especially in North Korea, it seems to me that there are conflicting political battle going on within North Korea. Kim Jong Il is in a fragile health and wants to appoint one of his sons as his successor, while internal party politics do not allow it to be so, as we can see from what the experts speculate to be the line of succession where Kim Jong Eun lies 6th. Therefore, it would be interesting to see whether Kim Jong Il gets it his way, or the internal party politics play out to produce another leader.

However, another point to consider is that North Korea is adept at manipulating the media; it invites journalists to events they want to show, while banning any other media coverage. Because there is not much information available, North Korea's next move is unpredictable, and it would be worth it to watch out for how the politics end up when Kim Jong Il dies and how it would affect East Asia.