North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was reportedly furious after a new warship sank during its launch last month. Kim labeled the mishap as a “criminal act” and ordered punishment for those responsible, leading to the arrest of four officials.
Kim described the incident as damaging to the nation’s “dignity,” but analysts suggest that his reaction reveals more about the regime’s attempts to foster loyalty among its citizens than it does about North Korea’s international reputation.
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From this perspective, the incident is clearly detrimental to their military development efforts and, according to Mr. Choi, represents “a very embarrassing incident” for Kim Jong Un as it “highlights the limitations of North Korea’s shipbuilding.”
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “North Korea is obsessed with showing off. I imagine they were planning a whole series of performances, so of course Kim couldn’t help but be furious.”
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Rachel Minyoung Lee, a researcher at the Washington-based Stimson Centre, suggests that this public admission indicates a fresh approach to failure from Kim, contrasting with his father and grandfather who strived to maintain an image of perfection. Lee stated: “The leadership decided it was almost silly to try and hide what people already knew, and much more effective to show people they were dealing with problems.
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“And in doing so, you let everyone know that the government and the leadership are doing their jobs well.”
Eventually, the ship was fixed and relaunched, enabling the North Korean leadership to spin it as a triumph and foster further loyalty among its largely impoverished populace.
* Original Article:
https://www.the-express.com/news/world-news/175431/kim-jong-un-furious-after-north-korea-s-massive-show-humiliation-public