Saturday, July 21, 2012

(Opinion) North Korea: Signs of Change?

We all accept the world's in flux and change is the new constant  but for the last 60 years or so there has  been a corner of the globe that has bucked the trend, and it goes by the name of North Korea. Kim Jong-Un, North Korea's new leader, is really shaking up the way things are run in a country notoriously resistant to change as he has sought to gain control over the economy from the military.

He has sacked a military chief appointed by his father Kim Jong-Il, and appointed a new military chief as the young leader seeks to surround himself with new faces, some as young as his. It was revealed in the guardian that the reason for the recent changes undertaken by new regime were in light of conflict over plans to weaken the control the military has over the economy.

The recent shake up has commentators in the west speculating that Kim Jong- Un could be a catalyst for much needed change as the military's handling of the economy as been poor to say the least. While minor but
necessary economic reforms are possible, don't expect branches of mickey D's and Burger King to pop up in Pyongyang anytime soon.

However signals indicate Kim Jong-un will be his own man guided by people he has handpicked. He seems to have have a vision for where the country could be, possibly following the example of china, a nation they can count as an ally.

In sum, while it's hard to predict what will happen in the future, what we can take from the last few months of Kim Jong-um reign  is that change through reform is a possible outcome.

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