Last week, North Korea's KCNA news agency published this extraordinary photo of dictator Kim Jong-un. © KCNA/AFP
North Korea's dictator on his knees: A new photo shows Kim Jong-un in an unusual pose. Is he just grieving – or is there more to it, as one expert suspects?
Munich – Kim Jong-un loves to put himself in the limelight. This is what North Korea's head of state has in common with most other dictators. He prefers to show himself together with the country's military – with the "ordinary soldiers", with high-ranking generals, and very much with the latest achievements of the North Korean arms industry. Most recently, Kim was also regularly seen in the company of his daughter Kim Ju-ae – experts are already speculating whether the approximately 20-year-old woman should be positioned as a possible successor.
A few years ago, Kim Jong-un could even be seen on horseback in a very special photo series – the dictator rode a white horse through snow-covered North Korean landscapes in the winter of 2019. What often causes malice in the West follows a carefully thought-out plan: Through the careful staging of such shots, Kim wants to present himself sometimes as a statesman determined to do anything, who sacrificially cares for his people, sometimes as a father who faithfully cares for his wife and children.
Kim Jong-un on his knees: "The first time the state media show this"
At times, Kim even has scenes from his country's recent history re-enacted. For example, he can be seen kneeling in front of a campfire in the forest, surrounded by soldiers – his grandfather, North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung, had very similar footage distributed. The message: Kim Jong-un, who also looks amazingly similar to his grandfather, is the legitimate successor in North Korea's hereditary dictatorship.
Now, however, Pyongyang's state media have published a handful of photos that Korea expert Fyodor Tertitskiy of Kookmin University in Seoul calls an "unprecedented act": The images show Kim Jong-un kneeling in front of the tombstone of high-ranking military officer Hyon Chol-hae, who died a year ago. "It seems to be the first time that the state media show the Supreme Leader kneeling in front of something or someone," Tertitskiy writes in an article for the NK News site. Kim was only seen similarly emotional at the funeral of his father Kim Jong-il in December 2011, when he said goodbye to North Korea's long-time dictator in tears.
What motives does Kim Jong-un pursue with the photo?
Hyon Chol-hae, born in 1934, was one of the bodyguards of state founder Kim Il-sung as a teenager during the Korean War and became friends with his son Kim Jong-il, who was about seven years younger. In the decades that followed, he made an unprecedented career in the country's military apparatus, always closely at the side of the ruling family. Shortly before his death, Hyon was promoted to Marshal of the Korean People's Army – "the highest military rank after the leader himself," according to analyst Tertitskiy. Hyon is also said to have been responsible for the military training of dictator Kim Jong-un.
According to Tertitskiy, the fact that Kim is now paying tribute to his former mentor in such a symbolic way could have not only personal, but also very pragmatic reasons: According to the analyst, Kim may want to present himself as someone who continues the legacy of the first generation of North Korean revolutionaries.
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North Korea is massively arming itself
In order to secure his hold on power and that of his family, however, Kim is also resorting to much more tangible means than mere propaganda: he is massively arming himself. Since coming to power in 2011, Kim has conducted four nuclear tests, and another could follow at any time. In addition, Kim has already ordered more than 220 missile tests, most recently North Korea's military tested a solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time – a clear violation of UN resolutions. On Sunday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for an end to the Kim regime's nuclear and missile tests during a visit to the border between South and North Korea. "These ballistic tests have to stop. The attempt to strengthen oneself nuclearically must stop. This is a threat to peace and security in the region." Earlier, the G7 had already called on the country to completely renounce nuclear weapons at its meeting in Hiroshima, Japan.
Since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, the country has still been largely sealed off from foreign countries. The result is supply bottlenecks for essential goods such as food and fuel. Western media reports that North Korea plans to open its border with China on June 10 have not yet been officially confirmed.
