Information Flows Into North Korea As Key For Change – Former Diplomat

By Nabilah Saleh

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- North Korea is grappling with severe internal challenges, including economic difficulties and rising social unrest.

Despite these issues, the regime has continued to push forward with its missile development, recently commissioning 1,000 new KN-24 ballistic missiles.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC on Aug 2, Ri Il Kyu, the highest-ranking North Korean official to defect since 2016, provided rare insights into the regime's views and aspirations.

Ri highlighted that North Korea still sees former US president Donald Trump as a potential negotiating partner regarding its nuclear weapons programme, despite the breakdown in talks in 2019.

Kim Dong Soo, senior adviser to the Seoul-based Institute for National Security Strategy and a former North Korean diplomat, shared his thoughts with Bernama on this recent testimony.

“In North Korea, diplomats have more of a vested interest in the regime than any other group, making them highly supportive. However, in recent years, there has been a growing number of diplomats who are reconsidering their allegiance to their leader.

“In this context, the recent exodus of North Korean diplomats working abroad, followed by their subsequent defection to South Korea, has led to testimonies of widespread dissatisfaction with Kim Jong Un’s regime within North Korea's central government and state institutions at the provincial, municipal and military levels,” he said.

The future survival of the regime will be determined by how the people react and move.

Kim Dong Soo opined this is why the spread of information from the outside world, particularly from South Korea, could significantly impact the population and drive change.

He suggested that efforts to send accurate information into North Korea could be more effective than military measures.

“A strategy that targets, by class, the North Korean leadership, the middle class who are forced to be blindly loyal, and the lower classes who remain abandoned by Kim (Jong Un), is needed now more than ever to connect North Korea's grave human rights problems with the momentum for regime change,” he added.

Kim Dong Soo stressed that while the global community needs to raise awareness of North Korea’s poor human rights record, it is also crucial to educate North Koreans about the value of freedom, democracy, and human rights.

He suggested using broadcasts, printed materials, films, and MP3s to deliver these messages, helping North Korean soldiers and civilians understand life in a free and democratic society.

He highlighted the importance of making the North Korean people aware that international community support in these efforts is crucial, as it could lead to the rise of individuals within North Korea who advocate for reform and openness.

The global community is watching closely, and the success of these efforts could play a key role in the future of the Korean Peninsula, he further noted.

-- BERNAMA