On certain trends in North Korea's domestic policy in 2018–2020

Although the study of the DPRK’s internal policy is associated with a number of additional difficulties, we can note several trends characteristic of recent years. First of all, it is the completion of constitutional changes that strengthen the leadership of the new leader, as well as the disappearance of references to the Taean system and the “Songun” principle from the Constitution. We also mention economic construction as the highest priority after the nuclear shield has already been forged. At the same time, while there is no reason to question the stability of Kim Jong-Un's power, he does not develop his own cult of personality, perpetuating his father instead and introducing the term “Kim Il-Sung – Kim Jong-Il ideas”. The leader of the DPRK often rotates officials, but the removal from the office does not mean total purge. It can be assumed that although all strategic decisions are made by Kim, there are carriers of different approaches around him who are given the opportunity to prove their conceptions. The regime is actively fighting corruption and abuse of power, pursuing more attention to internal problems and more open discussion of them (by North Korean standards). This is accompanied by a certain tightening of the screws in the sphere of ideology and information policy, but Kim's strategy looks more subtle, is not limited to simple prohibitions and is partly based on available scientific and technical solutions. Finally, the North Korean nomenclature has a female face. First of all, this is Kim Yo-Jong, but Choi Song-Hee and Hyun Song-Wol can be noted in less significant areas. Thus, we can say that Kim Jong-Un is developing his own leadership style, which fully meets the requirements of the time, adjusted for the country's endemics: restructuring of the system in the DPRK is underway and is aimed not at “preserving the regime at any cost”, but at improving the quality of the state and party apparatus.The reported study was funded by RFBR, project number 20-014-00020