{"id":4615,"date":"2020-06-17T11:57:21","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T02:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4615"},"modified":"2020-06-19T21:37:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T12:37:50","slug":"brother-sister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2020\/06\/recommendations\/brother-sister\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cNorth Korea\uff1e Kim Yo-jung Emerges as a Quasi-Supreme Leader...Has an Era of \u201cBrother-Sister Rule\u201d Officially Began"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kim Yo-jung visiting South Korea to attend the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Photograph released by the South Korean presidential office in February 2018.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6 North Korean defectors referred to as \u201cdogs\u201d<\/h2>\n

On June 5, North Korea\u2019s state media, including the Korean Central News Agency, reported a statement by Kim Yo-jung, now First Deputy Director of the Central Committee of the Workers\u2019 Party.<\/p>\n

In the statement, Kim Yo-jung harshly criticized North Korean defector groups in South Korea for sending defamatory leaflets to the North in balloons, condemning the groups\u2019 members as \u201cgarbage\u201d and \u201cmongrel dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim Yo-jung accused the South Korean government of violating the inter-Korean agreement by tolerating the groups\u2019 \u201cpropaganda\u201d efforts. While criticizing the Moon Jae-in administration, she threatened to take severe counter-measures such as the complete demolition of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the closure of the inter-Korean joint liaison office, and the cancellation of the inter-Korean military agreement.<\/p>\n

\u25c6 Kim Yo-jung\u2019s rhetoric unusually delivered at the \u201cleadership-level\u201d<\/h2>\n

This is the third time a statement has been released by the regime through Kim Yo-jung. Earlier this year, on March 3, she released a scathing criticism of the South Korean presidential office for its protest of North Korea\u2019s missile test launch. A short while later, on March 22, she released a second statement, this time praising President Trump for sending a personal letter of gratitude to her brother, Kim Jong-un.<\/p>\n

Kim Yo-jung\u2019s latest statement, however, is far different from those she released in March. With her latest remarks delivered at the level of a ruling figure, Kim Yo-jung is being introduced as a top leader.<\/p>\n

What is unusual is that the regime\u2019s department for managing relations with S. Korea, the United Front Department, issued a follow-up statement the next day, declaring that the people must take Kim Yo-jung\u2019s words to heart and discuss its contents. The statement also stated that Kim Yo-jung is officially \u201coverseeing relations with the South.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement by the United Front Department also proclaimed that, \u201cas first deputy director of the department, Kim Yo-jung has given orders for carrying out the measures alluded to in her address.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is noteworthy that the statement referred to \u201corders\u201d given by Kim Yo-jung. In North Korea, it is only the supreme leader who can give such \u201corders.\u201d (Though such an expression is also used to refer to orders received through the central party.)<\/p>\n

There are indeed a few terms which are used solely in relation to North Korea\u2019s leaders. For example, the term \u201c\uad50\uc2dc\u201d (teachings) is only used to refer to the words of Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un\u2019s remarks are referred to differently as \u201c\ub9d0\uc500\u201d. The words \u201c\ubc29\uce68\u201d (policy course) and \u201c\ube44\uc900\u201d (ratification) are also terms that are used specifically in relation to Kim Jong-un.<\/p>\n

The expression \u201c\ud604\uc9c0\uc9c0\ub3c4\u201d (on-site inspection) is another such term. When other top officials make visits to various sites, the expression \u201c\ud604\uc9c0\ub8cc\ud574\u201d is used.<\/p>\n

When Vice Chairman Park Bong-joo of the Workers\u2019 Party Central Committee made a visit to the Hwanghae Steel Company, the less-rarefied expression \u201c\ud604\uc9c0\ub8cc\ud574\u201d was used. Because the term \u201c\uc9c0\uc2dc\u201d (command) is another term that can only be used in reference to Kim Jong-un, it was instead written that Kim Bong-joo \u201cemphasized the intentions of the Workers\u2019 Party.\u201d
\nNext page :\u25c6 North Korea\u2019s Supreme Code...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25c6 North Korea\u2019s Supreme Code<\/h2>\n

The law of the land in North Korea is not the Constitution nor the Charter of the Workers\u2019 Party but, rather, the \u201cTen Great Principles of the Establishment of the Monolithic Leadership System of the Party.\u201d The \u201cTen Great Principles\u201d are treated with the highest level of confidentiality and are not published in state media.<\/p>\n

Article 4-7 of the \u201cTen Great Principles\u201d reads as follows. For your information, the word \u201cparty\u201d refers to Kim Jong-un.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Party\u2019s policies and directives must be strictly distinguished from those of individual officials\u2026There should be no systematic delivery or collective discussion of individual officials' remarks, nor should terms such as \"conclusion\" or \"command\" be used.\u201d<\/p>\n

The article stipulates that the terms \u201ccommand\u201d and \u201cdelivery of commands\u201d can only be used in reference to the Party, meaning Kim Jong-un.<\/p>\n

However, on June 8, North Korean state media gave Kim Yo-jung special treatment by using such terms to describe her statement. In addition, following her remarks, young people and workers across the country were mobilized to attend protest rallies condemning North Korean defectors. At these rallies, Kim Yo-jung\u2019s statement was recited to the gathered crowds.<\/p>\n

In other words, the \u201cdelivery of commands\u201d- a right reserved for solely the supreme leader- was extended to Kim Yo-jung. It can therefore be said that an era of \u201cbrother-sister rule,\u201d with Kim Yo-jung as a quasi-supreme leader, has officially begun. (ISHIMARU Jiro)<\/p>\n

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