ASSESSMENTS

North Korea: Power Plays Amid Leadership Succession Rumors

Feb 28, 2009 | 14:25 GMT

The portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung (L) and Kim Jong Il are displayed in Kim Il Sung square in central Pyongyang on June 12, 2018.

(ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images)

Summary

Ahead of the March 8 elections of delegates to North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, speculation about the country's leadership succession is rising both internationally and within North Korea. Members of North Korea's elite have been trying to position themselves behind the candidate they think will succeed Kim, and this has allowed Kim to manipulate the different factions within the elite.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has used the issue of leadership succession to maintain a balance among the factions in the country's elite....

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