Kim Jong Un’s decision to conduct a fourth
nuclear test, despite the prospect of increased international sanctions, is
drawing criticism among Party cadres, who are stating that the reckless pursuit
of nuclear testing is the fault of his “irresponsible and immature
personality.”
On the 12, a Daily NK reporter spoke with a
source in Pyongyang, who said that lately high-ranking Party cadres have been
whispering stories of Kim Jong Un’s aggressive personality as a child. Kim
Jong’s Un decision to push ahead with a hydrogen bomb test without deliberating
about the international ramifications is said to have precipitated these
discussions among astonished Party cadres. There is also other talk of
how Kim Jong Il, deeming his son’s impulsive drive to get whatever he wanted
without consideration for the consequences a virtue, began to groom Kim Jong Un
as his successor accordingly.
Corroborating this news was an additional source in Pyongyang and another in North Hamgyong Province.
“[It’s like] one morning he purges some cadres and then
makes this kind of sudden reckless decision [nuclear test]; seeing this, cadres
can’t help but stay on their toes, wondering what on earth Kim Jong Un will do
next,” he said.
“He’s a loose cannon.”
According to the source, another of the
anecdotes about Kim Jong Un being bandied about by high-ranking cadres is an
incident that occurred around 2003, prior to the death of his mother, Ko Yong Hui. As the story goes, Kim Jong Il and Ko Yong Hui visited the Chongjin Air force Academy, where Kim
Jong Un happened to be participating in a basketball match. Kim Jong Un
disobeyed the referee’s ruling and suddenly threw the basketball off of the
court and became completely enraged. Although Ko Yong Hui promptly reprimanded
Kim Jong Un for his rude behavior, Kim Jong Il said “Let’s just leave it alone”
and then took the future leader aside and stated, “Great men must have great
desires.”
Apparently, this incident led Kim Jong Il
to see that Kim Jong Un’s personality was more similar to his than that of his
brothers (Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Chul). “If Kim Jong Un had been a bit more
of a nerd he never would have been selected as Kim Jong Il’s trainee for the
role of successor.,” he said.
Bolstering these claims is testimony offered by Japanese sushi chef who goes by the pseudonym of Kenji Fujimoto. He prepared meals for Kim Jong Un from the late 1980s until fleeing Pyongyang in 2001. In a memoir he wrote about his experiences within the folds of the Kim family he described Kim Jong Un as “tempestuous” even at an early age and “hating to be
treated like a child.”
If you called him ‘young commander’, he
would get very angry,” said Fujimoto in the 2003 book Kim Jong Il’s Cook.
This side of Kim Jong Un’s personality is
also evident in his foreign policy gaffes, the source added, giving examples
like the young leader’s sudden and unilateral decision to cancel the Moranbong
band’s tour in China that led to embarrassment for North Korea’s greatest ally.
One day before UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon was slated to visit the North,
Kim Jong Un abruptly canceled the visit.
“Kim Jong Un has been treated like a king
since he was a child and has a difficult time hearing other people’s points of
view. Actions like the execution his uncle, Jang Song Taek, seem to indicate
that Kim Jong Il raised a tyrant of unparalleled proportions,” the source asserted.
“Nervous about what he might do, both Party
cadres and citizens tread lightly around Kim Jong Un. But if he were to put
their backs up against the wall there is a certain possibility of backlash.
Many among them point out that if Kim Jong Un fails to figure out how to
properly interact with and support people he’s not going to last long.”
