On January 1st, 2015, North Korean leader Kim Jung Eun delivered his third New Year��s Address. This address was an imitation of his grandfather Kim Il Sung��s propaganda and agitation. It is documented in North Korean records that Kim Il Sung, skilled at public speaking, enjoyed ��verbal politics�� from his early 20s. The history of North Korea��s New Year��s address began after the New Year��s bell ringing ceremony in Pyongyang at midnight heading into  January 1st, 1946, when Kim Il Sung gave his speech, ��Cry to the nation��s people in greeting the new year��. After the late ��60s, until which internal political opponents of the Workers�� Party were eliminated, Kim Il Sung became deified as ��Suryeong�� and the New Year��s Address quickly rose as a ��lesson�� to be strictly followed by all residents of North Korea. 

However, Kim Jong Il was different from his father, Kim Il Sung. He never personally delivered the New Year��s Address. There were expectations for Kim Jong Il to deliver the address in place of his deceased father on January 1, 1995,  but instead he suddenly opted for a military base onsite visit as his first official New Year��s activity. It was the ��Dabaksol guard post�� visit that was interpreted by North Koreans as full-fledged action of Kim Jong Il��s military-first politics. Rumors say he made excuses saying, ��The New Year��s Address is only possible by the Great Leader (Kim Il Sung), how could I dare to imitate him.�� During the Kim Jong Il era, the New Year��s Address was replaced with a ��New Year��s Joint Editorial�� published by other party, military, and political publications such as Rodong Sinmun, the North Korean People��s Army, and Minju Joseon. Among North Korean residents, word spread widely that ��our General (Kim Jong Il) does not deliver the New Year��s Address because he is not as eloquent as our General.��

Interestingly enough, Kim Jong Eun also made a different choice than that of his father (Kim Jong Il). In truth, he was engrossed in ��Kim Il Sung costume play�� ever since his days as successor. He gained weight in order to look like Kim Il Sung, and took on the hairstyle and clothing that were popular in Pyongyang several decades ago. After Kim Jong Il died, he personally delivered the New Year��s Address instead of releasing in the form of the New Year��s Joint Editorial. North Korea��s supreme leader himself is the most effective method of propaganda and agitation: his words become the government��s objectives and the places he visits become managed as ��revolutionary historical sites��. People who have personally met the supreme leader are referred to as ��receivers�� and their consideration by and advancement in the Workers�� Party is guaranteed. These factors would lead one to assume that North Korean media outlets would be very effective tools in fostering Kim Jong Eun's emulation of Kim Il Sung. 

However, Kim Jong Eun��s New Year��s Address delivery on KCTV on Janaury 1st was cloaked in failure. It was said that Kim Jong Eun��s authority was showing a trend of stabilization after Jang Song Thaek��s execution, but Kim Jong Eun appeared patently uneasy in the footage released by North Korean media outlets. 

Kim Jong Eun��s New Year��s Address broadcast on KCTV was irrefutably edited. As the New Year��s Address must be published by Rodong Sinmun, which promulgates the address to the entire nation by January 1st, it is common knowledge that the address must be prepared before the year end. It also appears that the delivery clip was filmed before the arrival of the new year. The clip was 28 minutes 50 seconds long, but an audience or facilitator does not come into view for even the briefest of moments. Despite the lack of an audience, incorporation of applause was seemingly deemed necessary, and so an applause sound effect was employed at intermittent spots throughout the address--in total, 39 times. Each time the applause is audible, the screen jumps to a fixed image of the Chosun Workers�� Party Central Committee building. The awkward sound of applause is held for numerous seconds over a still image--not video. The applause sound effect makes up approximately a total of 4 minutes and 30 seconds of the footage; therefore, nearly 1/7th of the total New Year��s Address was taken up by the applause sound effect and a picture of the Chosun Workers�� Party Central Committee building.

Kim Jong Eun stepped onto the podium holding files that looked like a script, and several times, appeared to be reading them. While following his gaze, one can assume that there are approximately two teleprompters located in front of the camera. Kim Jong Eun��s pronunciation is not accurate and he speaks far too quickly. After the ten minute mark, his voice slowly begins to crack. At times there there is a sense that he is struggling with his breathing-- he appears to have difficulty controlling his breath even while merely reading from the teleprompter. 

Moreover, signs of four so-called NGs, video edits due to mistakes on Kim Jong Eun��s part, are discernible. The leader's voice can be heard,  but the visual image is of the Chosun Workers�� Party Central Committee building, not the young leader. The image employed during the applause sound effect also appears four times while Kim Jong Eun's speech delivery carries on without any pause. 

The footage reveals Kim Jong Eun to be visibly nervous from beginning to end. He seems unable to be still for even a single moment. The most embarrassing instant is when he grips the podium with both hands and pushes out his rear end. The only way to describe this is to say that he ��sways.�� Although the lower half of his body from his waist down is hidden by the podium, his hands, shoulders, and gaze lean forward then push back-- and at some moments rock from left to right. Whether due to his smoking or obesity, Kim Jong Eun��s lower half keeps trembling. The camera that must follow Kim Jong Il��s movements also shakes with him. 

A message is not just contained in the sounds coming from someone��s mouth. It is said that even before the ��meaning�� of those sounds are even interpreted, the eye has already picked up on the nonverbal messages. UCLA psychology professor Albert Mehrabian said that the factors affecting the recipient of a message take place in the order of visual (55%), auditory (38%),  then content (7%). Peter Desbergy. a psychology professor at California State University, described anxiety during speeches as ��stage phobia�� and defined it as ��a dread believing that one��s speech will be evaluated negatively.�� 

When referencing theories of relevant specialists, the Kim Jong Eun in the video clip is still too unseasoned. Asking to call forth Kim Il Sung��s image based on Kim Jong Eun��s performance would really be pushing it. 

When read, Kim Jong Eun��s New Year��s address is not much different from that of last year. Last year��s address also laid out over exaggerations of successes and the same old requests of the party, military, science, economy, society, and South Korea and international relations. In truth, this sort of fossilized New Year��s Joint Editorial and New Year��s Address is one of the many representative aspects of old North Korea. Furthermore, when Kim Jong Eun, the main character of the performance, gives a show as lacking as this one, it is worrisome that an excessive interpretation of the New Year��s Address could instead ensnare us in a ��trap of misjudgment.�� Many North Korea specialists have started to hold suspicions of doubt on questions such as whether ��North Korea has the will to maintain the New Year��s Address�� and ��even if they had the will, whether they have the actually abilities to accomplish them.�� This means North Korea��s New Year��s Address lacks the substantial implications and logical completeness of the past.

If there are still readers immersed in interpretation of the words and phrases of North Korea��s New Year��s address, I would like to recommend that you first take a look at the video clip of Kim Jong Eun��s delivery of the speech. The visual cues given by Kim Jong Eun himself are significant and frequent. Kim Jong Eun personally displays the heart of a North Korean regime that wishes go back in time to thirty years ago but cannot do so. 

Particularly, looking at the ending scene when Kim Jong Eun says, ��I hope that all families in the country find happiness as they greet the hopeful new year of 2015,�� and bows his head, we witness a particularly unusual moment that would not have taken place in Kim Jong Il��s era.