ED Change for the better
Kim Jong-un should keep up with the world
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's charm offensive and diplomatic overtures have raised a question: Is he really changing his leadership style and his policy of building a nuclear arsenal and achieving economic growth at the same time? No one knows for sure, except Kim himself.
Kim, 34, is widely known as being an unpredictable and volatile young leader of the reclusive country. He was educated in Switzerland, and took the helm of North Korea in a hereditary succession after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in 2011.
He was apparently trying to look and behave like his grandfather and founder of the country, Kim Il-sung. He was also seen as a ruthless dictator who ordered his men to kill his uncle Jang Song-thaek and his half-brother Kim Jong-nam.
But now, he looks like a totally different person. He has begun to wave an olive branch toward Seoul and Washington since the start of this year. This marks an abrupt change from a series of provocations ― long-range missile launches and a nuclear test last year.
Kim has gone on a charm offensive by sending his sister, Kim Yo-jong, to the South during the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. He has expressed his willingness to denuclearize the North, offering to hold an inter-Korean summit and a North Korea-U.S. summit.
Kim is scheduled to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in, April 27, and U.S. President Donald Trump in May or June. In late March, he made a surprise visit to China and met President Xi Jinping. His aim was to restore the Pyongyang-Beijing alliance and seek Chinese help in dealing with Moon and Trump in the upcoming summits.
Kim has also shown some signs of changing how to govern the country. On Tuesday, he presided over a meeting of the Politburo of the ruling Worker's Party ahead of the Supreme People's Assembly sessions. It is worth noting that he lowered the status of the head of the military's powerful General Political Bureau to a lay member of the State Affairs Commission.
The move could weaken the military's influence over state affairs. Kim appears to be trying to strengthen the role of the party in running the country just as other socialist countries do. It is considered a positive sign that Kim and his country are changing.
One may argue that he is just attempting to portray himself and North Korea as a normal leader and normal country before the denuclearization talks. This attempt was evident when he was accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju when meeting with Xi as well as having dinner with the South Korean delegates led by National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong early last month.
Yet it is too early to tell if Kim has changed. He might try to change his tactics without altering any key strategies. However, what's for sure is that Kim and his country cannot survive by sticking to the old ways. In this sense, he should change for the better to keep up with the world.