North Korea Amasses Support for Dear Leader

North Korea will conduct a congress this Friday to foster greater support for leader Kim Jong Un and the Workers’ Party of Korea, according to Associated Press. Leaders intend to unify the country against, so-called, U.S. imperialism, while drumming up support for economic progress. The Hermit Kingdom has incurred indignation from world powers as nuclear tests continue, and analysts expect its nuclear program to form a core part of the rallying event.

North Korea will conduct a congress this Friday to foster greater support for leader Kim Jong Un and the Workers’ Party of Korea, according to Associated Press. Leaders intend to unify the country against, so-called, U.S. imperialism, while drumming up support for economic progress. The Hermit Kingdom has incurred indignation from world powers as nuclear tests continue, and analysts expect its nuclear program to form a core part of the rallying event.

Details of the congress remain scant, but foreign journalists are allowed into the secretive country to cover the event. North Korea’s last congress took place in 1980, when Kim Jong Un’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, ruled the nation until he died in 1994.

The 1980 congress was crucial because Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, received prominent positions that prepared him for the throne. Kim Jong Un never had the opportunity to be groomed into Supreme Leader status, which is why the congress is crucial to his reign.

A relatively stable North Korea is imperative to the preservation of Kim Jong Un’s legacy and the political establishment, and Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong confirmed this by stressing improved living standards and a more efficient economy as core concerns of the government.

North Korea recently finished a loyalty test lasting over three months, forcing businesses to work harder in support of the Dear Leader and the party. Despite the work drives and political rallies, advancements cannot take place without an open system and a free market that allows increased investment, including the willingness to deal with other nations on a diplomatic level.

The North has a minimal infrastructure base, poor medical care, and a lacking food supply that keeps people malnourished. Moreover, North Korea’s economy has suffered immensely due to extreme economic isolation, which manifested under Kim Il Sung. The first leader established the notion of Juche, an ideology calling for economic self-determination and independence from international trade and financial assistance.

Part of this philosophy stems from Korea’s colonization by various world powers throughout history, but Juche has produced a severely outdated economy, which keeps most of its citizens in perpetual poverty. Rulers use repressive measures to brainwash the masses while forcing them into submission and the labor camp system is a driving force that squashes dissent and prevents political insurrection.  

With that, North Korea’s control over society is slowly waning as people consume more products smuggled from the outside world. The government cannot control the flow of goods in a growing free market system, forcing authorities to become reluctant participants in the world economy, and the Supreme Leader has implemented some market-based reforms in recent years.

Kim Jong Un’s receptiveness to change, however, reaches a limit, as many overseas companies that do business in the North do not enjoy a free flow of capital, and authorities have a major problem with money leaving the country. Rigid control of the markets and antagonistic rhetoric will prove to be a detriment to growth in the long-term, forcing officials to make some concessions to the international community along the way.