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Business English: North Korea begins to spin leader's story
Civil servants are preparing the official narrative of Kim Jong-eun's life and successesNorth Korea's most important civil servants - the propagandists - are beginning their biggest assignment in years. In the coming weeks and months, they will have to publish an official narrative of the life and accomplishments of Kim Jong-eun, the new leader of their nuclear-armed state.
In a country where ideology always looms large, the stories that appear in official publications will be among the most important indicators of the military and economic priorities of his reign. So far, the new titles tell us little. Since the death of Kim Jong-il, his father, the state's Rodong Shinmun daily has hailed Kim Jong-eun as the "lighthouse of hope". The KCNA official state news agency calls him the nation's "spiritual pillar".
Up to the time when Kim Jong-eun was officially unveiled as the heir apparent in 2010, the only public information about the new leader came from a Japanese sushi chef who worked for Kim Jong-il. He described him as a competitive basketball player with his father's disposition, who spoke some German and English from a brief stint he reportedly spent in Switzerland.
Since 2010 he made increasing public outings by his father's side at visits to factories and military parades. Now that he is the designated leader, the task of projecting his identity has taken on a new significance.
"We have to wait until Kim Jong-il's funeral [on December 28], then Kim Jong-eun's propaganda apparatus will start to get into full swing," said Jeung Young-tae, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute of National Unification in Seoul.
South Korean analysts speculate Kim Jong-il favoured his third son as successor as he shares some of the imposing physique and physiognomy of Kim Il-sung founder of the nation.
Brian Myers, an expert in North Korean ideology at Dongseo university, said the crucial aspect to the story would be the military credentials of "the young general". This poses a strategic risk as he may feel obliged to live up to the military feats associated with him in propaganda.
Mr Jeung said North Korean media had already put emphasis on Kim Jong-eun's military prowess before his father's death, calling him a crack shot and master tactician, although he is not known to have had any military training.
Mr Myers said it was probably insufficient that propagandists associate him with two attacks against South Korea in 2010 - the sinking of a warship and the bombardment of an island - in which 50 people died. "These are not on the right scale. Those were just against South Korea, not international," he said.
Traditionally, Pyongyang tempers these tales of martial brilliance with more saccharine stories intended to secure popular devotion. Importantly, Kim Jong-il apologised for failing to bring wealth (and meat soup) to the impoverished people because he was so busy criss-crossing the nation to safeguard the borders against foes.
Indeed, the official version of Kim Jong-il's death gelled with this strand of propaganda - he reportedly expired of overwork as he journeyed the country by train.
Since Kim Jong-il's death, North Korean state media have also revealed that Kim Jong-eun was born on the slopes of Mount Baekdu, the legendary crucible of Korean civilisation. This gives him a key parallel with his father, although Russian records differ from those of North Korea, suggesting Kim Jong-il was actually born in Khabarovsk in Siberia.
Until more background on Kim Jong-eun appears, North Korea-watchers will focus on scouring KCNA dispatches listing names of officials attending important events to try to determine who forms the inner circle.
The funeral committee, published on KCNA, has drawn attention with Kim Jong-eun heading the list and Kim Yong-nam, his brother, in second place. Kim Kyong-hui, Kim Jong-eun's aunt, and Chang Sung-taek, her husband, are only numbers 14 and 19, lower positions than some expected for such power brokers.
Observers will also watch which officials are entrusted with key international negotiations such as those with China, Pyongyang's lifeline.
However, Mr Myers argues western analysts put too much emphasis on these games of Kremlinology rather than trying to work out the broader motivation of the regime that is more evident in narrative propaganda. "It is about the ideology not personalities," he says.
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The Financial Times, 10.01.2012
© 2012 The Financial Times,
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