N.Korea Gets New Premier

[Recursion]

Source: Chosum Ilbo (a S. Korean daily)

North Korea in a rare extra parliamentary session on Monday promoted leader Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law Jang Song-taek to vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, the top policy-making body. Prime Minister Kim Yong-il was fired over a botched currency reform late last year and replaced with Choe Yong-rim (81), the chief secretary of the Pyongyang branch of the Workers Party.

Kim Jong-il made a rare appearance at the session and personally proposed Jang's appointment.

Vice premiers Kwak Bum-ki, Oh Soo-yong and Pak Myong-sun were also fired and replaced with Kang Neung-soo, a Workers Party director, Kim Rak-hee, a party secretary in South Hwanghae Province, Ri Tae-nam, a party secretary from South Pyongan Province, and Jeon Ha-chol, a former politburo member.

The minister of machinery production Cho Byong-joo and minister of the electronics industry Han Kwang-bok were also appointed as vice premiers

Read more: http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/06/08/2010060800633.html

[David Zephyr]

1. This is like I, Claudius.

And somewhat like Republican Primaries.

[Warpy]

2. Or the Klingon high command

In any case, I suppose Li'l Kim's war threats finally alarmed the rest of them sufficiently to get rid of him at last.

The new guy will probably not be much of an improvement, but if that region avoids war, it will be worth it.

[Captain Hilts]

3. It's leadership that combines the WORST of communist absolutism and inherited monarchy. Ugh! nt

[Posteritatis]

4. Kim Jong-il is still in charge; Kim Yong-il is someone else. (nt)

[Recursion]

5. Everyone is either named Rhee or Kim

It makes keeping track of the politicians difficult sometimes.

[haele]

15. Rhee or Kim are last names -

They're all either related or from the same regions in NK.
Chances are, they're all within a couple generations of each other and from the same region.

Haele

[Recursion]

16. Well, "family" names

Not "last" in the temporal or spatial sense...

[Warpy]

9. Oh, phooey, my bad

From here they all sound alike.

[psychopomp]

10. You are correct

The title is somewhat misleading.

[AllentownJake]

6. Kim must not be healthy

Succesion is being determined.

People mistake this infrastucture, much like any other dictatorship, the people right under the dictator are actually more important than the dictator.

[Posteritatis]

7. He's been circling the drain for a few years now, yeah

One of his sons has been being moved into position for the last several months, but they're so secretive over there that the guy's face has yet to be seen.

[AllentownJake]

8. Kim is a figurehead

he is the decider in disputes amongst the people below him.

[Imajika]

11. Ahh, the utopia that is North Korea...

How are those "Workers Party" policies going? I wonder if the workers feel well represented by their leaders?

North Korea is just another tired, failed Marxist experiment showing the rest of the world exactly what not to do.

When will people finally learn that command economies will simply never work.

[proteus_lives]

13. +1

[teknomanzer]

14. The lessons of the last century...

1. Command economies do not work as they are stagnant and cannot keep pace with changing market demands.

2. Laissez Faire economies do not work as they allow the consolodation of wealth into the hands of a few elites who are then able to manipulate the market to their advantage.

3. Peanut butter and chocolate really are great together.

[David__77]

18. Socialist market economy is best.

That's the lesson.

Socialism should take account of people's needs and wants and there must be a signal for these needs and wants - that's where market comes in. But "demand" is unjust when wealth is concentrated is few hands.

[teknomanzer]

19. I would tweak that a bit...

A socialist government should be concerned with people's needs and a well regulated market economy should respond to people's wants.

Health care should not be in the hands of the private sector. Televisions should not be manufactured by state owned industries - co-ops perhaps but not the government.

[David__77]

20. Cooperatives vs. state-owned enterprises.

There can be a fine line between various forms of ownership. In fact, "state-owned enterprises" can be every bit as capitalist as a private firm in that a few may reap the profits, and they may act on the market as competing capitals.

I think there is a lot of value in macroeconomic planning. It served socialist economies very well up to a certain point. It worked well during the period of capital-intensive reconstruction, but didn't work well later on... the question is why this was the case. I believe that it had more to do with political questions than pure economic questions. There is no reason that planning cannot serve people's needs. FDR instituted much economic planning, with great benefit, for instance. "Command economy" is a boogey man of the neoliberals.

[David__77]

17. Nonsense, McCarthyite drivel...

There is no "Marxist" government in N. Korea. You can get into big trouble if you get caught with a book by Karl Marx or Lenin in N. Korea. "Juche" is at its core anti-Marxist, anti-internationalist.

N. Korea is no more representative of "socialism" than Nazi Germany was representative of "capitalism."

[Tiberius]

22. Thank you

I'm no fan of socialism -- but to equate the barbaric, savage regime of North Korea with socialism is just inaccurate. It hasn't been anything even remotely close to socialism in probably 50 years.

[iandhr]

12. Kim Yong-il was fired

Where will he be disappeared to

[Old Troop]

21. Dammit - they've lost the revolutionary fervor of the Great Leader

Story of Kim Il Sung
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) -- Early on the morning of April 15, Juche 43 (1954), President Kim Il Sung left for Samjong-ri of Junghwa County, South Phyongan Province (then).

During his field guidance over the ri, the President learned that there was a spring in its vicinity and turned his steps toward it.

The officials of the rural community told him the spring was in muddy land. But the President did not hesitate to go to it, saying that he had covered rugged paths during the anti-Japanese armed struggle.

Arriving at the spot, he advised the officials to use the spring water for fish breeding and fully supply fish to the people of the ri.

That day was his birthday.