Assasination in malaysiaIn mid February, a man named Kim Jong-nam, who was later identified as the older half brother of Supreme Ruler of North Korea Kim Jong-un, was killed. He was killed in an airport in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, where he was reportedly taking a flight to Macau. He died from being injected or sprayed with poison by two unidentified woman who are presumed to be North Korean agents working for the government. It is believed by many that this was a planned attack by Kim Jong-un in an attempt to "eliminate" possible successors to the throne. Similar competitions for power took place in the generation before when Kim Jong-un's father Kim Jong-il exiled his brother during his reign. If this killing was cordinated by Kim Jong-un, this murder would be similar to when Kim Jong-un executed his uncle by marriage in 2013. These events show that their is extreme competition between family members of the royal family of North Korea. It is so extreme that relatives go as far as killing each other in order to have more ensured power. It shows the selfishness of people in power in North Korea and that they care more about their power than their family.
The Korea Times. 16 Feb. 2017, www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2017/02/ 197_224131.html. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017. |
Recent reports from within North Korea's capital city Pyongyang suggest rising tension within society. This tension is primarily between the wealthy class of the city, and the less wealthy ordinary citizens. The donju, an affluent middle class have been selling high quality products to the wealthy customers of the higher class, and offering sub-standard products to ordinary citizens. Sources have said that the donju are in control of the Pyongyang department store and the General Market, allowing them to determine the prices of goods and who they sell them to. Because of this, there have been complaints and criticism being voiced from the lower class portraying their feeling of alienation towards the subject. The widening gap between the wealthy and the lower class has only brought increasing conflict between members of North Korean society.
DailyNK.com. 2 Mar. 2017, www.dailynk.com/english/ read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=14392. |