On September 13, North Korea released 61 photos of General Secretary of the Workers’ Party Kim Jong-un’s on-site guidance through the Rodong Sinmun website. The photos released are divided into 47 photos of inspection of the Korean People’s Army Special Operations Forces training base, 9 photos of inspection of the 600mm multiple rocket launcher performance test firing range, and 5 photos of on-site guidance of the Nuclear Weapons Research Institute and weapons-grade nuclear material production base. On the one hand, the number of photos is surprising, but it is also unusual to release on-site guidance photos of three locations in one day. This suggests that North Korea and Kim Jong-un intend to show something internally and to the international community.
In particular, this is an unexpected news story for the Korean media ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the nation’s biggest holiday. The most notable of these was the sight of Kim Jong-un touring the nuclear weapons research institute and nuclear material production facility that North Korea has revealed for the first time.
This photo is sure to be used as an important news image by each media outlet. This photo, which emphasizes North Korea’s nuclear capabilities, carries a strong message to the international community.
But what caught my attention the most was the scene where Kim Jong-un inspected the training base of the Korean People’s Army Special Operations Forces. Among them, the heavily armed guards standing next to Kim Jong-un were particularly impressive. They were wearing dark-colored combat uniforms and bulletproof helmets and were holding guns that seemed to be loaded with live ammunition. It is very symbolic that Kim Jong-un is standing with them at the training site to show off the menacing appearance of North Korea’s special forces.
![Between fear and show-off… Kim Jong-un’s photo in front of a human weapon [청계천 옆 사진관]](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/09/13/130044400.1.jpg "Between fear and show-off… Kim Jong-un’s photo in front of a human weapon [청계천 옆 사진관]")
Kim Jong-un’s expression in the photo does not simply show the appearance of a simple leader. His face shows subtle tension and a sense of crisis. The pressure Kim Jong-un feels while leading these military exercises is not limited to internal problems in North Korea. It could be an expression of the political and military burden he is enduring amidst the constant tension with external forces such as the United States and South Korea. On the other hand, it could also be related to reports that public sentiment is pessimistic amid the scorched earth situation in various parts of North Korea due to floods this summer.
In the summer of 2024, what Kim Jong-un values most is his own life and his own photo.
Kim Jong-un seems to be fearing for his own life while flaunting his powerful military power both domestically and internationally. He constantly takes photos of himself and tries to let the world know that he is in power.
In this respect, the photos released by North Korea go beyond simple military training and simultaneously capture Kim Jong-un’s political and military sense of crisis.
These photos that North Korea has released to South Korea and the international community ahead of Chuseok could be a tool of intimidation in and of themselves, but at the same time, they could also be a reflection of the anxiety and crisis that Kim Jong-un feels within North Korea.
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![President Yoon and his wife greet Chuseok holiday with children from multicultural families[청계천 옆 사진관]](https://dimg.donga.com/a/180/101/95/2/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/09/13/130044525.1.jpg)
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2024-09-13 13:09:26