Several days ago, the world mass media reported that the leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong-un, was urgently convening an “emergency” plenum of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party, at which “fateful” decisions were to be made. The plenum did take place, several publications reported that Kim Jong Un gave more powers to his sister Kim Yeo Jung on itwhose political influence has been much talked about in recent months, especially during Kim’s supposed serious illness.
Shortly before the plenum of the Central Committee of the WPK, the South Korean weekly Chosun Ilbo reported that Kim Jong-un bans keeping pet dogs in North Korea, since they are supposedly a shining symbol of capitalism. Dogs, according to Kim, represent a “bourgeois ideology of decline.” Sources of “Joseon Ilbo” allegedly learned that the owners have even begun to forcibly take away their pets for transferring to zoos or selling dog meat to restaurants.
–
–Professor Andrey Lankov
–
Professor of Kunming University in Seoul, an expert on the problems of the Korean Peninsula, Andrey Lankov, answers RS questions.
– The scanty reports about the Korean Workers’ Party plenum say that Kim Jong-un has allegedly delegated some of his powers to other people in the leadership. Can you confirm these messages?
– No, I, of course, cannot confirm them, because these reports, although they appeared in the press in connection with the plenum, in reality have nothing to do with it. The fact is that yesterday morning one of the deputies of the South Korean parliament spoke about what the representatives of the South Korean intelligence said during the next briefing. Briefings are held formally behind closed doors, but somehow a tradition has developed that what is said there becomes known to the press after some time. So, what you said – a statement that Kim Jong-un allegedly made the decision to delegate authority to people like his sister Kim Yeo-jung, the prime minister, an ardent reformer Kim Dok Hoon, and so on – all of this comes from not from the published reports of the plenum (rather short, indeed), but from this briefing by the South Korean National Intelligence Service. This is a completely different message, which accidentally appeared in the world media in one packet with the message about the plenum.
Kim Jong-un is much more respectful than his father for the letter of the official documents of the Workers’ Party of Korea
–
–
– Earlier it was reported that the plenum was a kind of “emergency” plenum. Many expected a big surprise, perhaps even an official announcement that the DPRK now possesses nuclear weapons. What was going on there? Why was it called? And was it really an emergency plenum?
– One of the features of Kim Jong-un, which distinguishes him from his father, is that he treats with much more respect, let’s say, to the letter of the official documents of the Workers’ Party of Korea, first of all, to its charter. In particular, under Kim Jong Il, during the entire period of his reign from 1994 to 2011, not a single formal plenum of the Central Committee of the WPK was held. Under Kim Jong-un, plenums began to be held quite regularly. Since 2016, when the current composition of the Central Committee was formally elected, this plenum was already the sixth.
–
–Kim Yo-jeong
–
All this concerns not only plenums. In general, the work of party bodies begins, let’s say, more and more “according to the rules.” To a certain extent, this can be compared with the changes that took place in the Soviet Union after the death of Stalin. Stalin, as you know, was also not very concerned about convening congresses and plenums on time.
The frequency of the plenums in North Korea, generally speaking, is not clearly specified in the existing instructions. But they began to be held at least once or twice a year. There is something unusual about this, only when compared with the previous reign.
The current plenum, apparently, was mainly devoted to economic issues. There was a fairly straightforward and frank admission that North Korea has not fulfilled its previous five-year plan for 2016-2020. There was a reference to objective circumstances, a lot of unexpected difficulties. It is impossible to argue with this: there were difficulties, and they really arose unexpectedly. This was the first point. And the second point was a statement that the next eighth congress of the WPK would be convened in January next year. In nearly 75 years of North Korean history, this seems to be the second congress in general, meeting on time. In theory, since 1956, the congresses were supposed to meet once every five years. In practice, after 1956, this will be the first congress to meet on time. Indeed, five years have passed since the last congress, it is time to collect the next one, and they collect it, oddly enough. This is the new style of Kim Jong-un: it is said to collect the congress – will collect the congress. The agenda of the congress has already been officially announced – the next five-year plan will be adopted there.
Kim returned to his absolutely normal and, by the way, very intense schedule.
–
–
– You and I spoke a few months ago about concerns that Kim Jong-un is experiencing serious health problems. Did his appearance at the plenum dispel these doubts?
– He really, no particular doubts, experienced health problems. From mid-April to mid-July, it was practically invisible. During all this time, he appeared in public ten times, and, as a rule, these were some kind of closed events, where the ordinary public was not allowed. But everything changed dramatically about a month ago – in mid-July. It seems that the doctors told him that he must take care of himself for three months. This term ended, and he returned to very active work.
From about July 15-20, Kim Jong-un appears everywhere. He also supervises construction sites “on the spot,” as they say in North Korea. And he participates in all sorts of meetings: he is at an expanded meeting of the Politburo, then he communicates with the economic leadership, then he scolds the generals. That is, Kim returned to his absolutely normal and, by the way, very intense schedule.
Yes, it was practically not visible for three months. Yes, he has strange wounds on his left arm, which most likely indicate that he had some kind of vascular surgery using modern technology, when they get to the heart through the vessels. But all this is already in the past. He is now active as always.
The dog ban announcement is reminiscent of “black propaganda” on the South Korean right.
–
–
– You mentioned that you talked about economic difficulties at the plenum. And in this regard, I cannot help but ask about a message that came a few days ago that Kim Jong-un allegedly banned North Koreans from having dogs as pets. In this regard, I am reminded of China, which once also banned dogs precisely because it was believed that Chinese citizens could not afford to keep them when the country was struggling with economic difficulties. Was such an order really given? If so, what is the fate of the dogs? And in general, in my opinion, this should be a very unpopular measure, because we are talking about the fact that dogs are taken from wealthy North Koreans.
– I am skeptical about this message. I cannot say 100% that this is not true. We must wait. In a few weeks everything will become clear, but by then the reading public will have forgotten about the message. And if it turns out to be a “duck”, and I would, let’s say, put 4 to 1 or even 8 to 1 that it is a “duck”, then, naturally, the main world newspapers will not write about the fact that the dogs still run in North Korea. There was such information or, rather, disinformation. It is imprinted on the human brain. Then, even if it is refuted, a very narrow circle of people who are interested in North Korea will find out about these refutations.
Why am I suspicious of this information? Firstly, it has so far been published only in one source – the newspaper “Joseon Ilbo”. “Joseon Ilbo” is often criticized, it is said that it constantly posts “ducks”. This is partly true and partly not. The newspaper does provide often unconfirmed reports, simply because of all South Korean newspapers it writes about North Korea the most. And in the flow of information that goes there, of course, there are often accidental or deliberate errors.
–
–
–
If we talk about the message about the ban on dogs, it reminds me all the same, let’s say, “black propaganda”, which is engaged in the South Korean right. And sometimes I don’t even understand why. But, in principle, from time to time, the South Korean right, both at the level of the media and at the level of people of right-wing conservative views, say, in the South Korean special services, throw up such incriminating disinformation about North Korea, which puts the country in a somewhat comical light.
You can recall how they said several years ago in the same way that in the DPRK, they say, there are only 2-3 types of hairstyles, that all men should wear a hairstyle like Kim Jong-un. This was not true, but the image of North Korea was strengthened as a kind of strange, pardon the colloquial expression, a “cut” country. I will say right away that there is more than enough “cut” there. And, say, the official regulation of hairstyles in North Korea actually takes place. But not so exaggerated.
I am still in some bewilderment, because, as they say, one source is not a source in such matters. It is necessary to wait until the information is confirmed or refuted. I expect this message to be refuted, and in a few months we will learn that the dogs are barking happily and happily around Pyongyang. Small, curly, well-groomed dogs in the homes of wealthy North Koreans.
But on the other hand, Kim Jong-un is really prone to impulsive and strange decisions at times. And I will not be surprised, more precisely, I will only be slightly surprised if I learn that domestic dogs were really banned.
–
–
