[ANALYSIS] Frequent military parades signify NK leader finding it tougher to stay in control-苹果im虚拟机

[ANALYSIS] Frequent military parades signify NK leader finding it tougher to stay in control

2024-05-28 22:33:25

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un,<strong></strong> center, salutes during a military parade at Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, Feb. 8, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean military. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, salutes during a military parade at Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, Feb. 8, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean military. Yonhap

Military parades held almost every year under Kim Jong-un

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Kim Jong-un is set to surpass his father and grandfather by becoming the North Korean leader to have overseen the largest number of military parades.

His father Kim Jong-il (1941-2011) and grandfather Kim Il-sung (1912-1994) are tied with 13 military parades held during their respective reigns. Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, ruled the country for 46 years, and his son, Jong-il, was in power for 18 years until 2011 when he died of a heart attack. This means that, on average, a military parade was held every 3.5 years during the Kim Il-sung era, and every 1.4 years when his son was in power.

Since Kim Jong-un rose to power in 2011 following his father's death, he has overseen a total of 13 military parades so far. In other words, North Korea's show of force has been held almost every year.

Following the massive nighttime military parade in February, the totalitarian state is expected to hold another event on July 27 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.

"I believe Kim Jong-un likes the military parade," Hyun In-ae, a guest professor of Ewha Womans University's Department of North Korean Studies, told The Korea Times. "His father liked choirs and orchestral music and when he was alive, he once said he became energetic when listening to the music. Just like music was a source of inspiration for his father, for his son, Jong-un, military parades are something that seems to boost his morale."

Hyun, a North Korean defector who graduated from Kim Il Sung University, said the Kim family has taken advantage of the military parades to achieve two aims: They want to make sure their residents are united and they also seek to send a signal to the outside world that the North Korean army is strong and formidable.

"It's a political event," she said.

Watching the military's show of force on TV, she explained that ordinary North Koreans feel proud of their strong army and state-of-the-art arsenals, and are determined to further "tighten their waist belts"― a euphemism for a willingness to endure necessary pain and hardship to achieve a set goal ― to help their military become stronger.

"The military parade has drawn keen attention from the Western media. Kim Jong-un might have felt that he was at the center of global attention," she said.

North Korea displayed its new arsenals and weapons of mass destruction during the events. In its latest edition on Feb. 8, North Korea unveiled a dozen intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), including solid-fuel ICBMs, tactical missiles and long-range cruise missiles.

The military parade, meanwhile, has helped those outside of the North to find clues about the military capabilities of the country.

North Koreans wave flags enthusiastically as the Hwasong-17 missile mockups are rolled through the streets during the nighttime military parade, Feb. 8. Yonhap

Despite the regime's intention to unite citizens through these events, Cho Chung-hui, the director of a research institute at the Suwon City-based development NGO, Good Farmers, said military parades are no longer an effective political means to control North Koreans because they have been held too often.

"Since Kim Jong-un took power, it has been an annual event," Cho told The Korea Times over the phone.

As to why Kim Jong-un has been holding military parades more often than his father or grandfather, Cho said that it is partly because the event organizers are not creative enough.

Inside the Workers' Party, he said there is a team of people responsible for organizing and preparing various events.

"They are powerful enough to make their voice heard. When they work on a plan for a certain event, they consider various internal and external factors and set the size and direction of the military parade, accordingly," he said. "I think they keep proposing a military parade again and again, partly because they don't have any other ideas or partly because they wanted to curry favor with Kim Jong-un because he likes it."

Cho said that military parades becoming an annual event under Kim Jong-un's leadership could signify that it has become more challenging for him to gain control of the people.

"Last year, there was a rare photo time after the military parade," he said.

According to Cho, Kim ordered all soldiers and university students, who had returned home or military units after wrapping up the military parade held in April, to come back to Pyongyang. Then the North Korean leader posed with them for photos and each of them returned with that souvenir, he said.

"I think Kim followed advice from party officials who heard of grudges from the participants about their returning home empty-handed after the event. Calling back the participants who went back home or their military units for a photo opportunity with a North Korean leader is unprecedented," he said.

Cho claimed the North Korean leader was infected with COVID-19 while he was mingling with North Korea's Millennials and Generation Z for photos.

Last year, Kim's sister, Yo-jong, said her brother had a fever.

In a speech in August to declare "victory" in North Korea's battle against the pandemic, the North Korean leader's sister said her brother was seriously ill with a high fever but the illness did not stop him from dedicating himself to state affairs and the livelihoods of North Korean citizens.

She did not provide further details of when he was infected with the virus.

（作者：汽车电瓶）

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