Kim Jong Un’s 10th Anniversary in Power: Memories of Ten Defectors-BBC News

Around the world, experts studying North Korea rushed to their desks and took out their documents about a man.

At only 27 years old, he became the so-called “great successor.” But few people thought he would achieve something at the time. How can a society that emphasizes age and experience be ruled by someone who owes both?

Many people predict that there will be a military coup or that the North Korean elite will take over the country. But the world underestimated the young dictator. Kim Jong Un not only consolidated his position, but also ushered in a new era called “Kim Jong Un Doctrine”.

He began to purge his political opponents, execute hundreds of people, and then turn his attention to foreign affairs. Four nuclear tests, the launch of 100 ballistic missiles, and talks with the President of the United States have become the international focus.

His relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons comes at a price. North Korea is now in crisis, poorer and more isolated than when he first took power.

So what is it like to live under his hands?

Ten defectors—including one of his senior diplomats—reviewed Kim Jong Un’s ten years.

Student Kim Geum-hyok (voice) did something that might have him shot on the day of Kim Jong Un’s father’s death. He threw a party.

“It was too dangerous. But we were very happy at the time,” he said.

For him, a young new leader, especially a leader who loves skiing and basketball, is expected to bring new ideas and prospects for change.

“We have expectations of Kim Jong Un. He has studied in Europe, so maybe he will have the same ideas as us,” he said.

Kim Jin Hyuk was born in an elite family. He was studying in Beijing at the time. This is a privilege that only a few people can enjoy in North Korea.

Life in China allowed him to see a more prosperous world. He searched the Internet for news about his homeland.

“At first, I couldn’t believe it. I believed that Westerners were lying (about what North Korea is like). But my heart and my brain are split. My brain says you don’t need to look, but my heart wants me See more.”

North Korea’s 25 million people are tightly controlled, so most people know little or nothing about world events or the outside world’s perception of their country.

They are also taught that their leader is a sacred leader with unique talents and accomplishments, who deserves their lifelong loyalty.

For Kim Jin Hyuk, the succession of this young man represents something that is under-supply.

But others are skeptical. In the corridors of power in Pyongyang, there are rumors that Kim Jong-un is a privileged child who is not fit to rule.

Ryu Hyun-woo, the former North Korean ambassador to Kuwait, told the BBC that his colleagues were angry that the leadership passed from father to son.

“My first impression is,’Sigh, another successor?’ North Koreans are tired of hereditary inheritance, especially among the elite. We want something new, “Should we not come with something different?” ‘This is what we think.’

Since the establishment of North Korea in 1948, the Kim family has been ruling North Korea. The people of this country are told that blood is sacred. This is a way to legitimize the dynasty.

“I heard words like,’So we have to always serve our dearest leader, right?'”

“What does a 27-year-old man know about running a country? This is ridiculous.”

In a speech in 2012, the new leader promised that North Koreans would never “tighten their pants again.”

For a country that suffered hundreds of thousands of famines in the 1990s, its new leader seemed to want to end their food shortage and suffering. This is a huge moment.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were ordered to promote more international investment. Some people in China have also noticed the change.

Yoo Seong-ju, a driver from a province on the east coast of North Korea, said he started to notice more North Korean-made items in the supermarket.

“We are surprised and proud that North Korean food is actually better than China in terms of taste, packaging and supply. This actually boosts confidence.”

Kim Jong-un’s best wishes for his people did not extend to people he considered threatening.

Especially his uncle Zhang Chengze has accumulated a strong network of allies.

In Pyongyang, hundreds of miles north of North Korea, near the Chinese border, businessman Choi Na-rae (phonetic) wants to know if Jang Sung-taek can become the country’s new leader.

“Many of us hope that this country will be open to China and we can travel abroad freely,” he recalled.

“We think that if Jang Chengze succeeds in taking power, he will bring a lot of economic changes to North Korea. Of course we can’t say it lightly, but we do have these expectations.”

Such rumors must be overturned.

Zhang Chengze was labelled as “a scumbag in the world” and was executed on suspicion of undermining the “party’s unified leadership.”

The young leader is showing his cruelty.

Dozens of people fled across the border to China, and eventually fled to South Korea to seek asylum in an attempt to avoid purging. Kim Jong Un decided to work hard to prevent further defections. Border security has been strengthened as never before. There are high barbed wire fences on the ground, and traps under the ground.

Ha Jin-woo (sound) managed to get about 100 people out of North Korea while working as an intermediary.

“North Korea has a separate border security force. They are required to shoot and kill anyone who tries to cross the border. They will not be held responsible.”

“In the beginning I was scared, but I have this sense of responsibility. I have had a lot of doubts about North Korea since I was a child. Why am I born here and live like an animal without rights and freedom? I had to risk my life to do it. This job.”

But he eventually became a person who was fancy to be monitored and had to run away. His mother was in prison, where the cruel treatment paralyzed her.

This matter keeps haunting Ha Jinyu, and now he hardly remembers his mother’s voice.

Despite the suppression of dissidents and defectors, Kim Jong-un still tries to be more approachable, modern, and friendly than his father.

He married a fashionable young woman Li Xuezhu. Kim Jong-un was also photographed hugging, waving, and smiling while visiting various towns and villages, and went on a roller coaster, skiing, and riding a horse.

The couple visited a cosmetics factory and displayed luxury goods.

But for ordinary North Koreans, trying to become more “modern” is forbidden.

Yoon Mi-so (Yoon Mi-so, sound) used to smuggle DVDs from South Korea. She wants to keep up with the fashion trends seen from above. She really wants to wear earrings, necklaces and even jeans.

“Once, I was caught unruly and was thrown on a public humiliation stage. At that time, a large group of people scolded me until I cried. They said,’You are corrupt, why are you not ashamed?'”

Hyun-young (Hyun-young) is a singer, just like Kim Jong-un’s wife. But all her songs must praise the North Korean leader. She tried to resist, but was persecuted.

“I have never been freely allowed to do what I want to do artistically. North Korean music has many regulations and restrictions, and I have suffered a lot.”

“The government controls this because they are afraid of foreign influence. These strict regulations show that they have no confidence in their regime.”

According to a recent human rights report, in the past ten years, at least 7 people have been executed for watching or distributing popular music K-pop videos from South Korea.

Kim Jong Un described these foreign influences as “cancers.” The trouble is not far away.

Every ballistic missile test has made global headlines, but domestically, they have not increased national pride as expected.

“People will say that they are still making weapons by squeezing the blood and sweat of the people,” said a defector.

“We don’t think this is a victory. We thought,’Wow, they spent so much money on all these tests. All the money we made for them is used to do these’,” another said.

Around 2016, Ambassador Liu received new orders from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The focus is no longer just business.

“We have to explain why North Korea needs nuclear weapons, purpose and reason.”

Hope to talk about it through diplomats, this idea will be normalized in the international community.

But this is not the case.

The escalating threats between the then President Trump and Kim Jong-un ended in a diplomatic performance.

This dictator, who is often satirized as a “spoiled fat baby” in the Western media, confidently shares the stage with the President of the United States.

This dictator, who is often ridiculed as a “spoiled fat baby” in Western media, confidently keeps pace with the President of the United States and shares the stage.

North Korean newspapers published Singapore’s handshake ceremony on the front page.

But sanctions to curb North Korea’s nuclear program are beginning to have an impact. Although people were awe-inspiring by this photo, the reaction of villages outside the main city of Pyongyang was calm.

“We don’t have the ability to analyze its meaning. We just can’t understand how that meeting brought improvements or similar things,” said businessman Cina Rai.

But the meeting did not bring any agreement. Ambassador Liu believes that this is just a performance to try to ease some sanctions.

“North Korea can never give up these weapons because it believes they are essential to the survival of the regime.”

For Kim Jong-un, the worse things are yet to come.

In January 2020, when the new crown pandemic broke out in neighboring China, North Korea closed its borders. Not only for people, but also for trade.

At the main entrance of Dandong, food and major medicines are piled up like a mountain, unable to pass through. More than 80% of the country’s trade comes from China.

“Since the new crown, many things have changed,” said Ju Seong (sound), a former driver in North Korea. He managed to have a brief conversation with his mother on the border near China.

“The economy is shrinking and prices are rising. Life is getting harder. My parents seem to have found food, but the price is too high. The pressure is high. The situation seems to be serious.”

There are reports that some people are starving.

Kim Jong-un himself described this as a “huge crisis” and even shed tears in his speech. This is unprecedented for North Korean leaders.

Kim Sung-hui (phonetic), a former doctor there, said that most drugs must be bought on the black market.

Operating rooms are often powered off, and surgeons sometimes work with bare hands because they don’t have gloves.

“When I see how different the two countries are on the Korean Peninsula, I hope that North Korea can achieve a future where the human rights of patients and doctors are guaranteed.”

North Korea does not have the capacity to deal with the pandemic, but it is difficult to deal with the public health losses caused by the virus.

Nor can it survive the current self-isolation without causing significant harm to its people.

Some defectors interviewed by us were so sad about the current situation in North Korea that they predicted a coup d’etat. But even if it is a slight possibility, there is no sign.

Facts have proved that the worship of the Kim family is ubiquitous and very stable. All predictions about the collapse of the regime are wrong.

After North Korea has been isolated from the world for more than 70 years, most of my interviewees said that their desire is for North Korea to open its borders and allow its people to move freely. Many people just want to see their family again.

They are now free to speak out and tell the story of their lives under Kim Jong Un. Those who stay are not allowed.

“Singing to myself is something I risked my life to do,” said singer Hyun-hang. “Those who stay in North Korea must bury it in their hearts until they die.”

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his ruling, Kim Jong Un is continuing to lead the country to face the crisis. He has dozens of new nuclear weapons, but his people are still starving.

In 2018, just after the South Korean president visited Pyongyang, a huge poster was posted in the center of Seoul. This is a photo of Kim Jong Un, showing him trying to put his fingers and thumbs together to make a gesture of love in K-pop.

I wrote at the time that Kim Jong-un can actually change the lives of his people with just a few fingers.

He could have given them freedom. He has that power.

In contrast, North Korea’s 25 million people are more isolated from the world than ever before.

These interviewees risked their lives to leave North Korea and now live in South Korea and the United States. Some of their names have been changed to protect their families.

Illustration: Gerry Fletcher