Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — The young North Korean leader’s “reign of terror” and continued purges of ranking officials have given rise to “anti-Kim Jong-Un sentiment” among North Korea’s ruling elite members, a South Korean government official said. North Korean military officers and senior officials are increasingly fearful after a key […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda machinery has gone into overdrive eulogizing the “Xi Jinping spirit.” Exhortations about “deeply implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s series of important talks,” have suffused commentaries in People’s Daily, Seeking Truth and other major party mouthpieces. One commentary claimed that […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — Russia plans to divert resources blocked by sanctions to North Korea to upgrade its sub-standard electrical power infrastructure. In exchange it will reap a strategic bonus. As traditionally strong North Korea-China ties continue to suffer, Moscow is proposing to repair North Korea’s poor power grid infrastructure […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com President Xi Jinping has determined to outdo Mao Zedong in terms of building up a cult of personality: he has ordered a gigantic military parade at Tiananmen Square this autumn to demonstrate his ironclad hold over the army – and most other levers of power in the country. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com There is evidence that after two years of no-holds-barred projection of Chinese power, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership under President and Commander-in-Chief Xi Jinping has softened its diplomatic rhetoric. Recent statements by senior officials have emphasized Beijing’s willingness to abide by international norms laid down by the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Defectors from North Korea all have harrowing tales of suffering that are difficult to imagine in real life. Their stories differ widely depending on the circumstances — some have spent time in prisons, most have not. Many have been hungry, or have seen relatives and friends starve to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il increasingly sees the younger generation as a threat, sources and defectors here said. The Kim dynasty’s power is based on the state-sponsored personality cult and insulation from outside information. “The younger generation born after the great famine in the md-1990s has […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com Chinese pundits have a nickname for the Communist Party’s Central Commission on Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI): the “Eastern Factory.” The “Eastern Factory” is a notorious spy agency which emperors and eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) used to bring down, torture and kill their enemies. While General Secretary and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un is much more fearful of a U.S.-led human right offensive than financial sanctions, analysts here say. “Kim’s concern was reflected by his New Year’s message that emphasized mending ties with South Korea,” a senior government source said. “By creating a reconciliatory mood […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com Despite reports that the China’s GDP is about to surpass that of the United States, much of Chinese politics is still governed by Maoist norms of the 1930s and 1940s. One of Chairman’s Mao Zedong’s most famous dictums — “power grows out of the barrel of a gun” […]