Kim Jong-un 'more arrogant, unpredictable than father'

By Choi Sung-jin

“Kim Jong-un is candid and open-minded, disclosing his thoughts and emotions as they are. Grown up as the son of the leader with absolute power, he is very self-centered and arrogant, too.”

This is the conclusion of a recent report, which compared the North Korean leader with his father, Kim Jong-il.

According to the report, the junior Kim is the aggregation of antinomy or self-contradiction. For example, he pushes for unprecedented economic reform but pursues nuclear programs that hinder the former. Kim also encourages the military to prepare for war but purges and executes key military leaders, it says, noting that he is quite different from his more predictable father.

Ewha Womans University’s Institute for Unification Studies compiled the report at the request of the Unification Ministry.

The report says the late Kim Jong-il had been a bookworm since childhood, showed excellent leadership, and contributed to the community. The senior Kim managed the regime stably throughout the 20 years of his rule through conservative personnel management that made few enemies.

The junior Kim, on the other hand, grew up isolated from the rest of North Korean society. While studying in Switzerland, Kim Jong-un might have thought about his country but inherited the governance rather abruptly without opportunities to make a contribution to his country, the report adds.

Such different upbringings have resulted in considerable differences between the two men. The father was more like an artist while the son is nearer to a sportsman, or soldier, it says.

“This notwithstanding, the incumbent Kim will have no other choice but to improve relationships with the outside world, beginning with China, on the precondition of possessing nuclear weapons,” the report says. “The South Korean government should not overlook such a situation and cope with developments more effectively to keep military tension from rising further.”