By Dingding Chen
Kim Jong-un’s ‘divide and conquer’ strategy won’t work. It is time for North Korea to open up to the world.
The mysterious absence of North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, from public occasions for over a month has generated a great deal of speculation around the world. The fact that three top North Korean officials paid a snap visit to South Korea only caused more speculation; the most interesting rumors question whether the young leader is still in charge. Although one can not rule out the possibility that a coup has occurred, most analysts (here and here) believe that Kim Jong-un is ill but remains in charge.
Furthermore, a series of diplomatic moves by North Korea in recent months suggests that North Korea is now desperate to end its isolation in the international community. For example, it held a briefing at the U.N. to discuss its human rights record, and surprisingly admitted that there are labor camps in North Korea with the purpose of “reforming” people. North Korea also reached out to Japan earlier to discuss the issue of abducted Japanese citizens, hoping that Japan would ease some sanctions in return. Put all these recent moves together and one might conclude that indeed North Korea is adopting a “divide and conquer” strategy as it faces very strong international pressures to give up its nuclear program.
Read the full story at The Diplomat