The news of the summary and incredibly swift execution of Kim Jong Un's uncle this week sent shockwaves in nearby South Korea and the rest of the world.
The uncle in fact, was a ubiquitous figure in past presentations and photo ops during the entire length of Kim Jong Il's, and his father's, life.
The incredibly swift military trial and execution is an ominous sign of things to come. For Un to have unseated and killed the second most powerful man in North Korea can mean many things, but none of them good.
The accusations of course seem trumped up. Although they might not be completely untrue. A young Un might be seen as incompetent and pharaonic, something that could run counter with the image and past of the Kim's dynasty.
Jang, in fact, had been there from the very beginning. He was a faithful servant of both Kim Jong-Il and Kim Il Sung. But the new dynastic member must have seemed inadequate to the aging Jang, who could possibly have made a move to unseat the young dictator.
All this, however, might be the fruit of a well orchestrated propaganda campaign, and news releases to fit just that campaign.
What it does reveal however, is that Un is, in many ways, worse than his father and grandfather when it comes to crushing dissent or even a bit paranoid. That paranoia is a problem that could translate to the larger world. If anyone hoped that Un could have been 'Westernized' and maybe surprise the world with a radical departure from his parents' agenda, that hope is now completely crushed.
It remains to be seen how young Kim governs himself in his first years at the helm. The question that bothers most, is that young Kim might not have a good grasp of the balance needed to maintain North Korea in the holding pattern it is now. Without that balance, Kim's North Korea could easily devolve in even worse crimes and human rights violations. But even worse, his recklessness could engender the return of nuclear threats, which have always loomed large. But if they were threats before, they now seem a possibility, if young Kim is the kind who acts without thinking of the consequences, as he has just done by executing uncle Jang.
By taking out 'number two' so to speak, he has also sent a message to his inner circle that no one is safe, no matter how close, and that, in itself, is a destabilizing factor.
There could be therefore, many more Jangs in the near future.
Op-Ed
Partial Source : Al Jazeera / 12.13.13
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