Kim Jong-un is the head of the National Defence Commission (NDC), which is functionally the top organ of state power in North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea). While no small debate exists about how skillful the young Kim Jong-un is as a bureaucrat, the extent to which he is operating under the influence of senior advisors, etc., there is no doubt that documents issued by the NDC are passing through his hands and, at a bare minimum, need to be approved by Kim Jong-un prior to publication.
Therefore, today’s statement by the Policy Department of the NDC represents the closest thing we have to Kim Jong-un’s own outlook on recent noteworthy events. Among the other more striking statements in the document is: “The DPRK has clear evidence that the U.S. administration was deeply involved in the making of such dishonest reactionary movie.”
The whole thing has to be read to be believed. I’ve compiled it in three languages below at the link. Curiously, no Chinese version of the document was issued, but that is part of altogether another story.
NDC Policy Department Statement on ‘The Interview’ and Sony Hacking Scandal, 21 December 2014 (full text in pdf.)
