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North Korea
This Week in AsiaGeopolitics

North Korea’s leader has charmed Trump, Xi and Moon. But are they all just keeping up with the Kims?

  • Kim Jong-un is heading to Vietnam for a second date with the US president
  • Opinion is split over whether the millennial dictator’s charm offensive is a genuine quest for legitimacy or a rebranding of his old playbook

Reading Time:9 minutes
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North Korean leader Kim Jon-un’s New Year speech saw him come across as an assured modern leader, in control on the world stage. Photo: Reuters
John PowerandMeaghan Tobin
When Kim Jong-un delivered his annual New Year’s address last month, the scene was unrecognisable from his first speech as leader of North Korea six years prior. Gone were the Maoist suit and lapel pin featuring the images of his father, previous ruler Kim Jong-il, and grandfather Kim Il-sung, who founded the country.
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In their place was a suit and tie that would be at home in any office in London or New York. Rather than sheltering behind a podium in an austere auditorium, his voice faltering intermittently as it had before, Kim sat composed in an armchair in a wood-panelled office.

Trump, Kim’s Vietnam summit will be in Hanoi

North Korea watchers uttered descriptions such as “statesmanlike” and “Oval Office-esque”. Moon Chung-in, a close adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told local media the speech was in line with “international standards”.

Kim’s 30-minute address focused heavily on the economy, but he found time to say that North Korea was willing to continue denuclearisation talks with the United States – and to warn that the hermit kingdom would take a “new path” if Washington did not ease its pressure against it.
Far from the image of an erratic dictator with his finger on the nuclear trigger, here was an assured modern leader, in control on the world stage.

“Kim has dramatically changed his image from a medieval, antisocial dictator to a reform-minded, peace-seeking, responsible leader – a statesman with whom the world can do business,” said Sung-Yoon Lee, Korea studies professor at The Fletcher School in Boston, referring to the charm offensive that has been under way since last February’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Spectators were enthralled by a North Korean delegation that included musical acts and the presence of Kim’s younger sister Kim Yo-jong – making her the first of the Kim dynasty to ever visit South Korea.

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Kim’s first meeting with US President Donald Trump last June came as part of a succession of meetings with other world leaders. After an initial face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping in March 2018, Kim has since met South Korean President Moon Jae-in three times and Xi another three. He will be thrust into the international spotlight once again when he meets Trump in Vietnam on February 27-28.
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