Benjamin Franklin may have best characterized the circumstances in which North Korean elites find themselves: We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.
By transferring power from father to son, the Kim dynasty has avoided the problem that often plagues regimes such as theirs—a murderous struggle for power. Unlike Kim Il-sung, who ruled with an iron hand, Kim Jong-il had to bargain among competing elites in the military, party and cabinet, though as far as anyone knows, his decisions, once made, were final. Whether Kim Jong-un will be able to maintain that degree of control remains uncertain.
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