Becoming Kim Jong Un: A Former CIA Officer’s Insights into North Korea’s Enigmatic Young Dictator by Jung K. Pak was a no-nonsense read which is what I would expect of Pak, whose credentials on Korea are exemplary. She has held senior positions at the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Becoming Kim Jong Un was an accessible read that seemed at times slow and academic, yet thankfully never dipped into the sensationalistic such as reporting on the Kim dynasty’s expertise at shooting multiple holes-in-one.
Pak covered the history of the Korean peninsula with the emphasis on the twentieth century onward. In order to understand the current leader we must know about the founding of the DPRK and its first two leaders, Kim Jong Un’s grandfather Kim Il Sung and father Kim Jong Il. Of the book’s 248 pages, the first 58 were devoted to this history.
Kim Jong Un didn’t inherit the DPRK in a vacuum, and Pak outlined the years of grooming to prepare him as the next Great Leader. When I was in the DPRK in 2011 his presence was known among the people as the Next In Line. One can see him on the cover of Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, dated September 11, 2011 as he accompanies his father Kim Jong Il during some on-the-spot guidance tour. I picked up this newspaper when I was there:
Pak portrays Kim Jong Un as being very much in control and, not, as in some western media, as a child let loose in a toy store. He was brought up in an insulated world where one day he might inherit the kingdom, and knew what to do with it when he did. Kim Jong Un is no mere figurehead being manipulated by senior officials behind the scenes. He is competent and rational yet at the same time focussed on holding an iron grip on power.
The chapters on the purges and executions of Kim Jong Un’s uncle Jang Song Thaek and half brother Kim Jong Nam kept me glued to the pages. Pak’s level of intelligence showed that these jobs weren’t sudden “off with his head” pronouncements and required deep planning and secrecy.
The final chapters dealt with Kim Jong Un’s summits with the American president. Pak showed just how skilled Kim Jong Un is at playing the American president, using his charm to flatter, all the while conceding nothing. This approach is typical DPRK style, and a handshake and smile enabled Kim Jong Un to walk all over him. To this day, the DPRK still possesses nuclear weapons and conducts tests, regardless of whatever faux good news the American president crowed from his golden throne about making the Korean peninsula nuclear-free. The president got bragging rights about being the first sitting US president to meet a leader of the DPRK, yet he accomplished nothing. He announced that he “fell in love with” Kim Jong Un and all it took the DRPK was to give him an enormous prop envelope that looked good for the cameras.
I read through the entire bibliography, recording titles for future reads. Becoming Kim Jong Un is one of the best sensible reads about the DPRK and its series of leaders, and is devoid of tabloid pop sensationalism.