Continuity and change in North Korea: ten years of Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Un's rise to power after the death of his father in December 2011 generated much scepticism about the future of North Korea. The young leader had made his public debut only a few months earlier and very little had been known about him, apart from a background in an educational institution in Switzerland and a passion for American basketball. Inexperience and the lack of solid foundations within the circle of power were considered sufficient reasons, combined with the country's serious economic difficulties and international isolation, to doubt the effectiveness of the new transition. Ten years later, however, it is easy to see not only how the regime has withstood the blows, but also how Kim Jong Un's position has consolidated and he himself has gained confidence, despite the many vicissitudes of these years. Of course, the problems have not disappeared: the country is still subject to serious economic difficulties - as acknowledged by the leader himself - and the changes in the ranks of the party in the first part of 2021 suggested that something was happening in the inner circle of power. Nevertheless, and despite the international sanctions to which the country is subject and the self-imposed closure after the outbreak of the pandemic, North Korea appears to be a stable country. Reviewing the decade of Kim Jong Un, therefore, could provide useful indications on the trajectory of the young leader, with particular attention to the traits of continuity and eventual change, both within the regime and in its relations with the outside world.

🗣Our speaker: Antonio Fiori

Antonio Fiori is associate professor of history and institutions of Asia at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Bologna. His research interests are aimed in particular at inter-Korean relations, domestic and foreign policy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China's external relations. He has lived and studied in several Asian countries and he has been a visiting researcher at the United International College of Zhuhai (PRC), the East West Center (Honolulu, USA), and the Kyjanggak Insitute of Seoul National University. He has participated in numerous national and international research programs and he is currently director and principal investigator of two Capacity Building projects on Myanmar financed by the European Union. He is also the President of the Asia Institute, located in Bologna. Among his recent publications: The Routledge Handbook of Europe-Korea Relations (2022); The Korean Paradox (2019); and the second edition of Il Nido del Falco. Mondo e Potere in Corea del Nord, just published.

🎤Our moderator: Elena Malfer

Elena Malfer is an Italian student currently enrolled in the Master degree in International Politics and Economics at the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna. She started studying Chinese very early, at the age of thirteen, and kept deepening her knowledge of the Chinese world during the first cycle degree in Languages, Markets and Cultures of Asia with a thesis on the new religious and spiritual wave in contemporary China. Her main fields of expertise are business in China and Chinese spirituality.