With a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is celebrating his party and himself. His survival strategy seems to be paying off: today he is at the peak of his power.
Two important allies of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Pyongyang for the celebrations - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. In this regard, Medvedev wrote on the new Russian platform Max that when friends are together, it makes their enemies nervous.
The purpose of the military parade is to emphasize Kim's growing power. He has never been so unshakable, never has his international importance been so great since he succeeded his father Kim Jong-il as leader of the isolated country almost 14 years ago. In September, Kim appeared at a military parade in Beijing for the first time, side by side with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Kim on a par with the world's most powerful autocrats - such a staging of strategic closeness has never been seen before“, wrote the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
Russia's war as a catalyst
Kim's power has increased thanks to Russia's offensive war against Ukraine and the economic confrontation between the United States and China. This has allowed North Korea to become an important partner for Russia. China, in turn, has taken steps to get closer to North Korea so as not to lose influence. "North Korea's status has risen significantly," former North Korean diplomat Lee Il-kyu told DW. "From that perspective, the decision to support the Russian war is correct."
As a result of the changed circumstances, Kim was able to loosen the shackles of economic sanctions against his country, imposed by the UN Security Council because of its nuclear and missile tests. Russia also provides North Korea with fuel and food, in return for which it receives ammunition and thousands of soldiers. China is also probably not enforcing the sanctions as strictly as in the past.
A recognized nuclear power
Kim's long-term strategy of ensuring the survival of the dynasty through active nuclear and missile armament has proven successful. The US military intelligence agency DIA came out in May with the assessment that North Korea is in "the strongest strategic position in decades" and poses a potential threat to US forces and their allies in East Asia. North Korea has also improved its ability to threaten US territory. The report concludes that “Kim's confidence is growing in the context of his international political legitimacy and the security of his regime“.
The most important lever for increasing North Korea's international importance is its aspiration to become a nuclear power alongside Pakistan, India and Israel. Kim has been testing more than just nuclear missiles for years - a September 2022 law legalized their preventive use and declared the country's nuclear status “irreversible“. A year later, the nuclear doctrine was enshrined in the constitution. Against this background, a freeze or even a reduction in nuclear strike power does not seem very likely.
A new meeting with President Trump?
Now the regime is reaping the results. In July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a visit to North Korea that Moscow respected and understood why Pyongyang continued to develop its nuclear program. China rejects North Korea's nuclear weapons in principle, but has long since stopped pressuring Pyongyang to give them up. Kim now hopes that US President Donald Trump will finally end the sanctions. Kim recently linked any possible new talks with Washington to the condition that the US abandon "its absurd obsession with giving up nuclear weapons". Meanwhile, there is talk of a possible future meeting between Kim and Trump in late October, when the US president visits South Korea. With the military parade for its anniversary, the Workers' Party of Korea is also celebrating its leader. Kim has made efforts to elevate the party as an instrument of power in accordance with his will. Under the "monolithic leadership" of the Central Committee, Kim rose to its chairman - following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father. In this way, he achieved absolute power, proclaiming a new kind of socialism. In September, Kim Jong-un announced that he intended to come up with a new doctrine, providing for the expansion of the army in both directions - conventional armed forces and the development of the country's nuclear power.