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When the dictator cried: Kim's tears revealed the crises in North Korea
Although known for his cruel purges, the sincerity with which the leader spoke during the military parade is part of his attempt to shape the figure of a leader who is attentive to his people.
As the economy collapses due to sanctions, the corona and natural disasters, the dictator tries to appeal to his citizens in an unprecedented way
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North Korea
Kim jong un
Reuters
Tuesday, October 13, 2020, 1:25 p.m.
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In the video: A military parade in Pyongyang to mark the 75th anniversary of the Labor Party (Photo: Reuters)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shed tears over the weekend as he thanked his citizens for their sacrifice.
This was the most notable example to date of how he tries to promote his character as a “man of the people” as his way of dealing with the deepening crises in the country.
Although he has established his rule in the isolated country through brutal purges, North Korean experts say he is also trying to present himself as a more traditional political leader than his eccentric father Kim Jong Il.
"Kim's modesty and sincerity, with the tears and choking, were very unusual, even for someone who publicly admitted to the mishaps and positioned himself as expressing his feelings," said Rachel Myung Lee, an independent researcher and former analyst from open sources for the U.S. administration.
She said the speech, carefully designed for the home community, established Kim's character as a talented and charismatic leader, with a human side.
Kim, who burst into big smiles with the introduction of new and huge missiles during the parade, hung North Korea’s ongoing economic crisis on international sanctions, the corona plague and natural disasters.
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Moves away from his father's character.
Kim Jong Un at the parade, Saturday (Photo: Reuters)
Since inheriting his father in 2011, Kim has put economic progress at the center of his agenda.
He also met with US President Donald Trump, and made an unprecedented personal connection with him that included cordial letters.
However, his ambitious plans for international trade, construction projects and other economic measures were halted due to the sanctions imposed on his nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. The borders were almost entirely due to the corona epidemic, and typhoons in the summer months caused floods that further threatened the food supply.
"Our people trusted me, as high as the sky and as deep as the sea, but I could not always stand it adequately," said Kim. He choked back tears. "I'm really sorry about that." Kim said the state's success in preventing the corona outbreak and facing other challenges was a "great victory achieved" by the citizens. "Our people have always been grateful to our party, but he and no one else deserves credit. "Thank you," said the dictator.
Lee noted that such a large focus on citizens is a major change in relation to such events, where speeches are usually full of more ideological and praiseworthy issues for the ruling Labor Party.
"The speech is clearly meant to be for the people and the people," she said.
Threats alongside tears.
The new intercontinental missile presented at the parade
Unlike his distant father, Kim took his wife to the peaks with foreign leaders.
He sometimes hugged children and socialized with employees during his public tours.
Benjamin Kazaf Silverstein, an economist for North Korea from the Stimson Center in the United States, said part of Kim's popular approach shaped his response to his country's economic crises.
"Kim is present and more visible at sites that have been through natural disasters and the like, and he prioritizes symbolic construction projects designed to show economic progress," he said.
However, he added that despite some steps he took at the beginning of the road towards the markets, he is not a real reformer and his policy is based on the moves of his father and grandfather, the founder of the regime.
"Kim was actually left with tears, apologies, quick fights and exploitation of money wherever they could be found," Silverstein said.
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