When Kim Jong-il died in 2011, the world held its breath as North Korea entered uncharted waters. No other communist dictatorship in the last century – for that matter no other autocratic state that is not a monarchy – has been able to successfully transfer power to a third generation. Some analysts in Washington and elsewhere raised the possibility of the country collapsing in mere months.
But when that didn’t happen, a new theory arose – would he be the great reformer to lead North Korea to the community of nations? 8 years on, that has not yet happened either.
We still know so little about the North Korean leader – and so much of how we think of Kim Jong-un comes from media portrayals, the parodies, and assumptions amalgamated from our knowledge of other autocrats.
But a new book provides the first comprehensive and readable study of the incumbent North Korean leader. Written by the veteran Washington Post correspondent Anna Fifield, the exhaustively researched new book, titled “The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un” provides a more rounded picture of the first North Korean leader to meet the U.S. president.
Anna Fifield (@annafifield) came to KEI and sat down with KEI President Ambassador Kathleen Stephens – in fact, just before the Trump-Kim meeting on June 30, 2019 - for a brief chat.
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A Conversation with Amb. Marc Knapper on U.S.-Korea-Vietnam Cooperation
U.S.-Korea Relations at 70: A Post-Summit Evaluation
Four Decades of Korea, In & Out: Rob Rapson (Part 2)
Four Decades of Korea, In & Out: Rob Rapson (Part 1)
Divided Families: Soojin Park, Paul Lee, Ambassador Robert King
The Ethics of Sanctions on North Korea: Hazel Smith
How North Korea Responds to a Black Swan Event: Markus Garlauskas
The Retreat (And Return?) of the United States: Gordon Flake
When Cold Warriors Sued for Peace: Mark Tokola
Lasting Legacies of An Unfinished War: James Person and William Stueck
The Miracle at Hungnam: Ned Forney
A Division No One Planned or Wanted: Charles Kraus
Defending Korea and a Letter to Pvt. Parker: John Stevens
Troubles Apologies in the Time of Pandemic: Alexis Dudden
Korean Baseball Comes to Bat in America: Mark Lippert, Eric Hacker, Daniel Kim, Dan Kurtz, Esther Lee, Troy Stangarone
The Last Transition Economy: Vincent Koen
Diplomacy or Readiness: Terence Roehrig
Succession in North Korea: Ken Gause, Chris Steinitz
Two Disappearances and a Funeral: Mark Tokola
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