Over the course of late 2022, North Korea has become increasingly threatening.
As well as formally declaring that it's now a nuclear weapon state, it's also conducted
a series of major missile tests - including a rocket designed to hit the United States.
But, in amongst all this, there was another fascinating development.
In November, pictures emerge of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un,
attending a missile site with his daughter.
In a country that's been called 'The Hermit Kingdom', and has already seen power pass through
three generations of the Kim family, could this be our first glimpse of North Korea's next leader?
Hello and welcome to the channel. If you're new, my name is James Ker-Lindsay and here
I take an informed look at international relations, conflict, security and statehood.
Even in the 21st century, the principle of inherited leadership
remains surprisingly prevalent around the world.
Indeed, around 40 of the 193 members of the United Nations are monarchies.
In many cases, particularly in the West, this comes with no political power.
The king, queen, prince or grand duke is merely a symbolic figurehead.
Elsewhere, for example in the Middle East,
they continue to have a direct say over their countries.
But perhaps far more interestingly are those republics where political
power has passed from one generation to the next.
Sometimes, this is done through democratic - though occasionally controversial - processes;
as has happened in the United States, India, and Greece.
At other times, it's occurred in autocratic systems - as we've seen in Syria and Azerbaijan.
But perhaps the most interesting example is North Korea.
This highly secretive communist state has now been ruled by three generations of the same family.
And there are signs that the dynasty may continue.
So, how did this Marxist monarchy emerge? How has it survived? And are
we really seeing the emergence of a fourth generation leader?
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, more usually known as North Korea, lies in East Asia.
To its south, it borders the Republic of Korea.
To its north, it has a 1400 kilometre border with China
as well as a tiny 17 kilometre border with Russia.
At 120,000 square kilometres,
or 47,000 square miles, it's the 98th largest member of the United Nations.
While there are no reliable demographic indicators available for the country,
it's believed its population is around 26 million - roughly half of the 52 million in the South.
Likewise there are no reliable figures for its economy.
Estimates suggest that its per capita GDP stands at around US$620,
putting in the bottom 10 of countries worldwide.
Korea has a long and fascinating history.
Having emerged as a unified kingdom in the 8th Century, the Korean Peninsula has
spent much of its history caught between its larger and more powerful neighbours.
However, our story really begins in 1910 when Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan.
Suffering a particularly brutal form of colonial rule, this lasted until the end
of the Second World War, when Japan Was defeated and forced to withdraw.
But as the Cold War began, both the United States and the Soviet
Union wanted control of the Korean peninsula.
In the end, they agreed a compromise and Korea
was divided into two zones of control along the 38th parallel.
In the South, the United States Military Government in Korea remained in control
until May 1948, when the new Republic of Korea was created under its first president Rhee Syngman.
Meanwhile, in the North, Soviet rule continued until November 1948,
when the People's Democratic Republic of Korea emerged led by its premier, Kim Il-sung.
Kim Il-sung was born Kim Song-ju in April 1912 close to Pyongyang,
now the capital of North Korea.
Having been brought up in China after his parents fled Japanese rule,
he joined a communist group in his youth and ended up in jail.
Following this, he then joined the anti-Japanese resistance adopting
the nom de guerre of an earlier fighter against Japanese rule.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, he joined the Soviet Army becoming a major.
And with the end of the war, he quickly rose up the ranks of Russian-controlled Korea.
As well as becoming the first premier of the new DPRK,
he also became the head of the ruling Korean Workers Party.
With North Korea now under his control,
Kim set his sights on reunifying the peninsula under communist rule.
And on the 25th of June 1950 he launched a full-scale Invasion at the South.
With the Soviet Union boycotting the United Nations, the Security Council passed a
resolution calling for the North Korean forces to withdraw to the 38th parallel.
But, when this failed, it then authorised the use of force to repel the attack.
As the U.S. led forces of the United Nations fought back,
the North Koreans were forced to retreat.
It was at this point that communist China, then allied to the Soviet Union, stepped in.
The Korean War eventually came to an end with a ceasefire on 27 July 1953.
After three years a bitter and brutal fighting
that's believed to have left over a million dead, little had changed.
The peninsula continued to remain partitioned along the 38th parallel.
Following the war, Kim consolidated his hour by eliminating any and all remaining rivals.
However, he now faced a new challenge as tensions grew between his patrons:
the Soviet Union and communist China.
Eventually, he distanced North Korea from them both; formulating the principle
of self-reliance - Juche - that guides the country's outlook to this very day.
Meanwhile, as the country retreated in on itself,
Kim Il-sung began to craft a personality cult; becoming "the wise and beloved leader".
Alongside this, he also increased his family's standing.
His father became revered as a revolutionary hero who'd fought the Japanese.
Likewise, his first wife, who died in 1949, was venerated as a hero of the war against Japan.
At the same time, his younger brother came to prominence and was seen as a potential successor.
That was until his son came onto the political scene in the early 1970s.
Starting his career as an aide to his father, Kim Jong-il,
though rarely mentioned by name in public, quickly climbed the ranks of the ruling party.
And as rumours swirled about the president's health, and it became increasingly clear that
the president's brother was unfit for office, Kim Jong-il began to be groomed to take over.
And despite claims that this was opposed by elements within the ruling party, in 1980 the
young Kim was formally designated as his father's successor - a first in a formally socialist state.
In the years that followed,
Kim Jong-il Consolidated his position - even serving as head of the armed forces.
Moreover, under his de facto leadership, North Korea became increasingly aggressive.
This included launching high-profile attacks against South Korean targets,
including the bombing of an airliner over southeast Asia in 1987.
As a result, the United States now designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.
In July 1994, Kim Il-sung the "Great Leader", as he was known, died aged 82.
As planned, Kim Jong-il now assumed the Reigns of power.
But while he became the chairman of the Korean Workers Party in October 1997, he never took
the post of President - a position that was reserved for his father, "the Eternal President".
Instead, his place as the country's "Dear Leader"
was cemented by a complex range of other posts in the state apparatus.
Like his father, Kim Jong-il placed heavy emphasis on the idea of self-reliance.
However, following a decline that had begun in earnest in the 1970s,
the country instead deteriorated rapidly.
This was marked by a disastrous four-year famine that began around the time he took over.
Widely believed to have led to anywhere between one and three million deaths,
the country became increasingly dependent on international aid.
But rather than soften its position, North Korea instead became increasingly aggressive.
As well as increasing the power of the military, the country began to
develop long-range missiles and stepped up its nuclear weapons research program.
This came to International attention in October 2006 when news broke that
North Korea had tested its first nuclear bomb.
Condemned by the UN Security Council, the move cemented the country standing as a pariah state.
This reputation was also further underscored by growing reports
of the country's involvement in international organised crime; including human trafficking,
counterfeiting, and drugs and arms smuggling.
On 17 December 2011, Kim Jong-il died after 17 years in power.
Having become the first and only example of a hereditary communist regime,
the country confirmed its place as a fully fledged
Marxist monarchy when the late leader was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un.
As an aside, though, he hadn't been the first in line for the post.
Instead, Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-il's [corrected] older son by a different
partner, had been the expected successor.
However, he'd been demoted after being caught using a false passport
trying to get into Japan to go to a theme park.
Having gone into exile, he was eventually assassinated in Malaysia in 2017.
At first, there were hopes that the new leader, who was just 29 years old,
would perhaps open the country and take it in a new direction.
Having been educated in Switzerland, he was known to have a fondness for Western culture.
But any hopes that this would mark a softening of attitudes were quickly dispelled.
While it's unclear if there was any serious challenge to his accession at
the time he had assumed power, the new Supreme Leader quickly ensured
that any challenge to his authority was swiftly and ruthlessly put down.
Most famously, this led to the trial and execution of his uncle, the vice-chairman of the National
Defense Commission - a post-widely regarded as the second most senior in the North Korean state.
Meanwhile, having consolidated his power at home,
Kim Jong-un continued to pursue the country's nuclear program - even after a high profile,
if rather bizarre, attempt at disarmament during the Trump Administration.
Since then, tensions have continued to grow.
In September 2022, North Korea announced that it was now formally a nuclear weapon state and,
more to the point, it would no longer be willing to discuss giving up its nuclear bombs.
Since then, it's gone even further;
claiming that it now intends to build the world's strongest nuclear force.
On top of this, the country has also continued with its wider arms development programs.
These include efforts to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles.
And it's this that's led to the interesting insight into
the potential future leader of the country.
In early November 2022, North Korean State television aired footage of Kim
Jong-un touring a missile site accompanied by his daughter.
Although very little is known about her, it's believed that her name is Kim Ju-ae,
that she's the middle of his three children, and is aged around 9 or 10 years old.
Since then, further pictures have emerged and all
this has naturally fed speculation that she's now been groomed to take over.
Of course, it's far too early to say whether she will in fact become the
fourth generation of the Kim family to lead North Korea.
But given the persistent rumours about her father's health, it's a
development that's inevitably raised a lot of of international interest.
But there may yet be an interesting twist to this whole story.
There have also been rumours that Kim Jong-un's younger sister, Kim Yo-jong,
could also be lining up to take over should anything happen to her brother.
Either way, therefore, North Korea could well be on course to have its
first female supreme leader; the first queen at the Hermit
Kingdom - a leader who would also become the modern world's first woman dictator.
But, of course North Korea isn't the only country that poses a
threat to International peace and security,
here's a playlist looking at other pariah and failed states that you might find interesting.
Thanks so much for watching and see you in the next video.