11 Mansourov, “North Korea.”
12 “Traitor Jang Song Thaek Executed,” Korean Central News Agency, December 13, 2013.
CHAPTER 9: THE ELITES OF PYONGHATTAN
1 Park In Ho, The Creation of the North Korean Market System (Seoul: Daily NK, 2017).
2 “The Complex Ties Interlinking Cadres and the Donju,” Daily NK, July 8, 2016.
3 Jonathan Corrado, “Will Marketization Bring Down the North Korean Regime?” The Diplomat, April 18, 2017.
CHAPTER 10: MILLENNIALS AND MODERNITY
1 “Rungna People’s Pleasure Ground Opens in Presence of Marshal Kim Jong Un,” Korean Central News Agency, July 25, 2012.
2 Thae Yong-ho, Password from the Third-Floor Secretariat (Seoul: Giparang, 2018), 307.
3 Yoji Gomi, Three Generations of Women in North Korea’s Kim Dynasty (Tokyo: Bunshun Shinso, 2016).
4 Anna Fifield, “What Did the Korean Leaders Talk About on Those Park Benches? Trump, Mainly,” Washington Post, May 2, 2018.
CHAPTER 11: PLAYING BALL WITH THE “JACKALS”
1 Dennis Rodman, speaking at the Modern War Institute in West Point, New York, March 3, 2017.
2 Shane Smith in VICE on HBO Season One: The Hermit Kingdom (Episode 10), February 23, 2014.
3 Dennis Rodman to Megyn Kelly on NBC, June 19, 2018.
4 Jason Mojica, “In Dealing with North Korea, Fake It ’til You Make It,” Medium, February 26, 2018.
5 Dennis Rodman in Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang in Pyongyang (2015).
6 Vice News film.
7 Vice News film.
8 Darren Prince in Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang in Pyongyang.
9 Dennis Rodman in Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang in Pyongyang.
CHAPTER 12: PARTY TIME
1 Timothy W. Martin, “How North Korea’s Hackers Became Dangerously Good,” Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2018.
2 Curtis M. Scaparrotti to House Committee on Armed Services, April 2, 2014.
3 Ellen Nakashima and Devlin Barrett, “U.S. Charges North Korean Operative in Conspiracy to Hack Sony Pictures, Banks,” Washington Post, September 6, 2018.
4 Patrick Winn, “How North Korean Hackers Became the World’s Greatest Bank Robbers,” Global Post Investigations, May 16, 2018.
5 Martin, “How North Korea’s Hackers Became Dangerously Good.”
6 Ju-min Park, James Pearson, and Timothy Martin, “In North Korea, Hackers Are a Handpicked, Pampered Elite,” Reuters, December 5, 2014.
7 Sam Kim, “Inside North Korea’s Hacker Army,” Bloomberg Businessweek, February 7, 2018.
8 Joshua Hunt, “Holiday at the Dictator’s Guesthouse,” The Atavist Magazine, no. 54, November 2015.
CHAPTER 13: THE UNWANTED BROTHER
1 Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics (New York: PublicAffairs, 2011), 30.
2 “Jong-nam Kept Antidote to Poison in Sling Bag, Court Told,” Bernama News Agency (Malaysia), November 29, 2017.
3 According to Ri Nam Ok, as told to Imogen O’Neil.
4 Song Hye Rang, Wisteria House: The Autobiography of Song Hye-rang (Seoul: Chisiknara, 2000).
5 Song Hye Rang, Wisteria House.
6 According to Ri Nam Ok, as told to Imogen O’Neil.
7 Yi Han-yong, Taedong River Royal Family: My 14 Years Incognito in Seoul (Seoul: Donga Ilbo, 1996).
8 According to Ri Nam Ok, as told to Imogen O’Neil.
9 Yi Han-yong, Taedong River Royal Family.
10 According to Ri Nam Ok, as told to Imogen O’Neil.
11 Ju-min Park and A. Ananthalakshmi, “Malaysia Detains Woman, Seeks Others in Connection with North Korean’s Death,” Reuters, February 15, 2017.
12 Based on an interview with someone with knowledge of the intelligence who spoke on condition of anonymity.
13 According to Mark.
14 Kim Jong Nam to Japan’s TV Asahi, interview aired October 12, 2010.
15 “Kim Jong-il’s Grandson Feels Sorry for Starving Compatriots,” Chosun Ilbo, October 4, 2011.
16 Alastair Gale, “Kim Jong Un’s Nephew Was in Danger After Father’s Killing, North Korean Group Says,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2017.
17 “Kim Jong-un’s Brother Visits London to Watch Eric Clapton,” BBC News, May 22, 2015.
CHAPTER 14: THE TREASURED SWORD
1 Anna Fifield, “After Six Tests, the Mountain Hosting North Korea’s Nuclear Blasts May Be Exhausted,” Washington Post, October 20, 2017.
2 Kim Jong Un to central committee meeting of the Workers’ Party, as reported by KCNA, April 21, 2018.
3 Translation from Christopher Green, Daily NK.
4 Joseph S. Bermudez, North Korea’s Development of a Nuclear Weapons Strategy (The US-Korea Institute at SAIS, 2015), 8.
5 James Person and Atsuhito Isozaki, “Want to Be a Successful Dictator? Copy North Korea,” The National Interest, March 9, 2017.
6 Alexandre Y. Mansourov, “The Origins, Evolution, and Current Politics of the North Korean Nuclear Program,” The Nonproliferation Review 2, no. 3 (Spring–Summer 1995): 25–38.
7 Mansourov, “The Origins, Evolution, and Current Politics.”
8 Jonathan D. Pollack, No Exit: North Korea, Nuclear Weapons and International Security (The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2014), chapter 3.
9 Scott Douglas Sagan and Jeremi Suri, “The Madman Nuclear Alert: Secrecy, Signaling, and Safety in October 1969,” International Security 27, no. 4 (2003): 150–183.
10 H. R. Haldeman with Joseph DiMona, The Ends of Power (New York: Times Books, 1978), 83.
11 Mercy A. Kuo, “Kim Jong-un’s Political Psychology Profile: Insights from Ken Dekleva,” The Diplomat, October 17, 2017.
12 H. R. McMaster in interview on MSNBC, August 5, 2017.
CHAPTER 15: THE CHARM OFFENSIVE
1 From Imogen O’Neil’s book Inside the Golden Cage.
2 According to sushi chef Kenji Fujimoto and Konstantin Pulikovsky, Russia’s envoy to the Far East who visited North Korea frequently during the Kim Jong Il era.
3 According to Michael Madden of North Korea Leadership Watch.
4 Author interview with Lim Jae-cheon, a Kim family expert at Korea University in Seoul.
5 Anna Fifield, “What Did the Korean Leaders Talk About on Those Park Benches? Trump, Mainly,” Washington Post, May 2, 2018.
6 Anna Fifield, “Did You Hear the One about the North Korean Leader, the $100 Bill and the Trump Card?” Washington Post, April 30, 2018.
CHAPTER 16: TALKING WITH THE “JACKALS”
1 Eric Talmadge, “Economist: N. Korea Eying Swiss, Singaporean-Style Success,” Associated Press, October 29, 2018.
2 Lee Seok Young, “Successor Looks Set for Own Escort,” Daily NK, August 26, 2011, citing Lee Yeong Guk, author of the book I Was Kim Jong Il’s Bodyguard.
3 According to Kenji Fujimoto.
4 John Bolton, “The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First,” Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2018.
5 Andrew Kim, “North Korea Denuclearization and U.S.-DPRK Diplomacy,” speech given at Stanford University on February 25, 2019.
6 Andrew Kim, “North Korea Denuclearization.”
7 First reported by Alex Ward, “Exclusive: Trump Promised Kim Jong Un He’d Sign an Agreement to End the Korean War,” Vox, August 29, 2018. Confirmed through my own reporting.
8 Freddy Gray, “Donald Trump’s Real-Estate Politik Is Working,” The Spectator, June 12, 2018.
9 Based on author interviews with sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
10 Karen DeYoung, Greg Jaffe, John Hudson, and Josh Dawsey, “John Bolton Puts His Singular Stamp on Trump’s National Security Council,” Washington Post, March 4, 2019.
INDEX
Agreed Framework, 233–234
Air Koryo, 151
Albright, Madeleine, 172, 259
Andersen, Jon (Strong Man), 1–2
Anecdotes of Ki
m Jong Un’s Life, 67
Arab Spring, 78
“Arirang,” 3, 165
army of beauties, 163
Assad, Bashar al-, 3, 78
Bach, Thomas, 244, 255
Bae, Kenneth, 196, 199
ballistic missiles, 225–226
Barthelemy, Mark, 178
Bolton, John, 267, 272, 277
Bonesteel, Charles, 17
bribery, 95, 101, 104–105, 110, 123, 127, 148, 152–153, 154–155
Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, 130
Buergenthal, Thomas, 127
Burri, Peter, 56
Bush, George H. W., 259
Bush, George W., 63–64
byungjin policy, 99
capitalism, allowance for small-scale, 99–102; drug trade, 108–111; Jangmadang Generation, 102–108. See also elite capitalists
Carter, Jimmy, 197
cell phones, 104, 109, 150, 170
Central Committee, 247
Central Intelligence Agency, 69–70, 172, 198, 213, 236
Cha, Victor, 4
Cheonan sinking and, 75–76
Chiang Kai-shek, 19
Childhood of Beloved and Respected Leader, Kim Jong Un, The, 71
China, economic policy and, 97; Jang and, 140; Kim Jong Il’s first trip to, 24; Kim Jong Nam assassination and, 205–206; Korean War and, 20; Nixon’s visit to, 232; North Korea small economy trade with, 100–101, 103–105; policy on North Korean migrants, 8; renewed North Korean relations with, 275; revolution in, 19; sanctions on North Korea and, 239, 278; support for North Korea and, 98, 133–134; Xi’s meeting with Kim, 251–253
Cho Man Sik, 18–19
Cho, Mrs., 106–108
Choe Ryong Hae, 92, 132, 248
Choe Son Hui, 175, 180, 200–201
Choi Jin-hee, 250
Chosun Dynasty, 120
Clapton, Eric, 65–66, 69–70, 215, 221–222
Clinton, Bill, 53–54, 197, 259
Cold War, 27, 234–235
Committee of Space Technology, 89–90
concentration camps, 113, 124–127
Confucianism, 70
corruption, 152–154, 154–155. See also bribery
criminal code, 123–124
Cuban missile crisis, 232
cyberattacks, 193–195
Del Ponte, Carla, 51
Delury, John, 3
Demilitarized Zone, 17
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. See North Korea
Deng Xiaoping, 3, 134, 261–262, 279–280
Doan Thi Huong, 205
donju. See elite capitalists
drug trade, 108–111
educational system, 107, 114, 227–228
Eisenhower, Dwight, 235
elite capitalists, across industries, 148–154; emergence of, 142–143, 145; Kim Jong Un as, 143–145; real estate and, 145–147; Ri Jong Ho as example of, 147–148, 154. See also millennials
famine, in Wonsan, 13
fashion, 158–159
Federal Bureau of Investigation, 194
Financial Times, 4
“Footsteps,” 42–43, 68–69, 79
Fowle, Jeffrey, 196
Fujimoto, Kenji, 6, 31, 32–35, 39, 39–42
Gaddafi, Muammar, 78, 227, 259, 279
Global Fund, 238
Gomi, Yoji, 216
Graham, Billy, 259
Group 109, 123
Guardians of Peace, 193–194
hacking, 194–195. See also cyberattacks
hairstyles, 117
Haley, Nikki, 234
Hanoi summit, 276–279
Harlem Globetrotters, 174, 177–178, 182
Hecker, Siegfried, 230–231
Hime Takada. See Ko Yong Hui
Hiroshima, 20
Ho, Stanley, 214
Hong, Mr., 73–74
Huh Yun-seok, 256
human rights abuses, prison camps, 113, 124–127
Hwang Pyong So, 184
hydrogen bomb, 223–224, 226, 229–230
Hyon, 79, 93, 102–106
Hyon Song Wol, 160, 182
Hyon Yong Chol, 131
Hyundai Economic Research Institute, 102
industry, 148–152
inminban, 122
Inoki, Antonio, 1
International Bar Association, 127
International School of Berne, 49
Interview, The, 193–194
Jang Kum Song, 133
Jang Song Thaek, aliases for travel of, 49, 180; China and, 135; demotion and expulsion of, 136–138, 180; execution of, 77, 138–139, 183, 218; Kim Jong Il’s funeral and, 77, 86, Kim Jong Nam and, 214; Pleasure Brigade and, 132; Ro Hui Chang and, 134–135; role of under Kim Jong Il, 32, 92,132–134
jangmadang, 100–102; Jangmadang Generation, 102–108
Japan, colonization of Korea and, 35–36
Jordan, Michael, 172–173
juche, 22, 63, 98
Juche Tower, 41
Jung-a, 106–108
Kang, Mr., 108–111
Kang Nara, 169–170
Kennedy, John F., 232
Kerr, Steve, 172–173
Khan, Abdul Qadeer, 233–234
Khrushchev, Nikita, 232
Kim, Andrew, 268
Kim Chaek University of Technology, 228
Kim Han Sol, 218–220
Kim Il Sung, assumption of power in North Korea, 17–19; cult of personality and, 19, 21–22, 27, 70; death of, 27; dynastic succession and, 22–23; focus on nuclear weapons and, 231–233; in Japanese occupation, 16–17; Korean War and, 19, 21; Kumsusan Memorial Palace and, 84–85; landing in Wonsan and, 11; lunch with foreign journalists of, 7; purge of Workers’ Party and, 21; reign of, 5; relations with United States and, 259; state propaganda and, 113
Kim Il Sung Military University, 63
Kim Jong Chol, 26, 31, 33–34, 46, 49–50, 60–61, 63; father’s funeral and, 86; media attention and, 65–66; Organizational and Guidance Department and, 65; relationship with Kim Jong Un, 220–222; Rodman visit and, 182
Kim Jong Il, association with famine and, 28–29; birth of, 17; breakdown of North Korean system and, 4; death of, 83–85; economic policy and, 98; funeral of, 85–87; Kim Phyong Il and, 203–204; marriages and families of, 25–26, 29–31, 38–39; military first policy and, 29; mythology of, 24–25, 70; naming of Kim Jong Un as successor and, 68; promotion of as successor, 23–24; relations with United States and, 259; speeches and, 91; stroke of, 3, 29, 68; in Wonsan, 12
Kim Jong Nam, assassination attempts on, 212; assassination of, 203–205; birth of, 25, 206; childhood of, 206–208; critiques of brother’s regime and, 216; deportation of, 212; fall from favor of, 29–30, 42, 64, 210–211; father’s funeral and, 86, 215; life abroad, 213–216; murder of, 6; schooling in Switzerland, 208–210; schooling of, 26; south Korean intelligence on, 212
Kim Jong Suk, 17
Kim Jong Un, aliases for travel, 48–49; arrival in Switzerland, 46–48; assassination of half-brother and, 203–205; birth of, 26; childhood of, 12–14, 32–35, 39–45; closing of nuclear test site and, 254–255; connection with Japan, 36; consolidation of power and, 91–93; courting of millennials and, 157; cult of personality and, 23, 64–67, 70–72, 75–79; death of father of, 85–86; devaluation of currency and, 75; development of nuclear program and, 223–228; domestic industry and, 151–152; early stories from rule of, 87–89; economic policy of, 97–102, 260–261, 273, 276, 279–280; elite lifestyle of, 143–145; enrichment of elites and, 129–130, 143, 145; escape from North Korea under, 7; friends in Switzerland, 59–62; Hanoi summit and, 276–279; health of, 255–256; home life in Switzerland, 50–52; hydrogen bomb and, 223–224, 226, 229–230; International School of Berne and, 49–50; Kenji Fujimoto on, 32–35, 39–42, 45; Kim Il Sung Military University and, 63–66; Lode Star-3 launch and, 89–90; meeting with Trump and, 266–272; military and, 190; Otto Warmbier and, 198–199; Paektu bloodline mythology and, 65; political caste system and, 120–121; preparation for s
uccession and, 14, 31, 64–65, 68, 76–79; psychology of, 191, 235–236; public persona of, 91, 93–94, 273, 276; purge of elites and, 130–132; refugees’ perspective on, 8; rhetoric on Trump of, 237; Ri Sol Ju and, 160–165; schooling in Switzerland, 54–59; Seventh Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea and, 187, 189–190; in Singapore, 261–263; South Korean intelligence and, 69–70; summits with Moon, 253–255; transition after father’s death, 83–84; US–North Korea summit as coup for, 258–259; Western expectations of, 3
Kim Kyong Hui, 86, 91–92, 132–133, 139–140, 245
Kim Phyong Il, 204
Kim Yo Jong, 26, 60–61, 85, 182, 241–248, 261–263
Kim Yong Chol, 266, 269
Kim Yong Nam, 189, 242
Ko Kyon Taek, 36, 38
Ko Yong Hui, 26, 30–31, 37–40, 50–54, 64–65, 71–72
Ko Yong Suk, 26, 37, 42, 47, 51–53
Korean Central News Agency, 27
Korean People’s Army, 19, 71, 76
Korean War, bombing on Wonsan and, 12; declaration of end of, 269–270; Demilitarized Zone and, 17; international involvement in, 19–21; nuclear threats of United States and, 231, 235
Kumsusan Memorial Palace, 84, 87, 229
Lankov, Andrei, 279–280
Lazarus Group, 194
Lee Hyun-sung, 158–160
Lee So-hyun, 158–160
Lee U Hong, 13
Lee, Yong Suk, 236
LeMay, Curtis, 21
Liebefeld, 49
Lode Star-3 launch, 89–90
Lutstorf, Simon, 60
Maazel, Lorin, 3
MacArthur, Douglas, 20
malnutrition, 102
Man-bok, 115, 124, 227
Mao Zedong, 20
“Mark” (associate of Kim Jong Nam), 213–214
Material in Teaching the Greatness of Respected Comrade General Kim Jong Un, The, 71
McCain, John, 234
McMaster, H. R., 237–238
media, criminal penalties for foreign, 123–124; Kim Yo Jong and, 247; propaganda and, 38, 113–114; smuggled from foreign sources, 118–120; treatment of meeting with Xi, 253; US–North Korean summits and, 262, 279
Micaelo, João, 57–58, 60–62
military, nuclear program and, 227. See also cyberattacks; nuclear program
millennials, consumerism and, 165–169; Kang Nara as example of, 169–170; lifestyle of elite, 157–160; Ri Sol Ju as example of, 160–165
Miller, Matthew, 196
Min-ah, 94–95, 115
The Great Successor Page 33
