Busy as North Korea may be lobbing artillery shells at a South Korean island, it’s also making time to fire orders at its 23 million people about its dictator-in-the-wings. You may recall that in September the NoKos awarded Kim Jong Un, the youngest son of ailing dictator Kim Jong Il, with the rank of Daejang, equivalent to a U.S. four-star general.
Given that the pudgy putative plutocrat has never served in uniform, his fellow citizens — as well as Pyongyang’s 1 million troops — could probably use some guidance on how to treat the guy. So in recent days, there has been a flurry of reports on the topic:
– Badges featuring his baby face have been handed out to North Korean army officers for mandatory wearing when in uniform, the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reports.
– January 8, Jong Un’s birthday, is now an official North Korea holiday, according to Seoul’s Chungang Ilbo newspaper. He turns 27, or maybe 28, next month. A Seoul-based welfare group with contacts in the North recently reported on propaganda briefings held over the past two months in the northeastern city of Hoeryong. “January 8th, the birthday of the ‘Young General,’ is also one of our biggest holidays,” the propaganda director is quoted as saying in the group’s newsletter.
– And about that “young general” title? It’s history, apparently, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. No point in focusing on the heir-apparent’s callowness, the thinking goes. Orders to stop using the honorific have gone out to NoKo’s diplomatic missions around the world and North Korean traders working in China. The preferred terms now are “honorable comrade general” or “brilliant comrade general.”
All of this is bemusing long-time Korea-watchers like John McCreary, a one-time DIA intelligence analyst. As he says this morning on his NightWatch blog:
The North Korean leaders are adept at making themselves look foolish to outsiders. The perpetuation of Stalinist terms and usages in the North Korean dynastic despotism proves the identity of the two supposedly antithetical systems.
As for Kim Jong Un, he has done nothing of note that would make people honor him. He was educated in Switzerland which qualifies him as a member of the bourgeoisie, but not a comrade. No source has credited him as a brilliant student. He has never worn the uniform or undergone the training rigors of the Korean People’s Army, just like his father.
The Kim family and its acolytes continue to expound the fantasy of their illustrious accomplishments. The people know the story is false because there is little food. It is no wonder that the birthday train was sabotaged.
Oh — perhaps you missed that last bit of news. It seems a train heading from China to Pyongyang derailed and overturned on December 11. It included eight cars reportedly crammed with televisions, watches and other luxury goods intended for Jong Un’s upcoming birthday bash.
