Splitting Koreas for Good: Kim Jong Un's Desperate Push to Consolidate Power amid the DPRK Crisis

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong Un announced in 2023 that he was opting out of seeking reunification on the Korean peninsula - a direct repudiation of the political direction established by the state founder Kim Il Sung. Given that Kim Jong Un has anchored his ruling legitimacy upon the Kimilsung-Kimjongilism, the move risks introducing a degree of confusion within his regime. Despite the risk, however, the dynamics of internal and external imperatives have created an urgent need for him to find a way to even further centralize power - necessitating a transformation of his authority type from traditional to charismatic. Consequently, Kim Jong Un has shifted his focus to building his own political deeds by altering the scope of Juche application, neglecting the Republic of Korea from the ideological goal via forfeiting reunification, in anticipation for greater central authority in mobilizing followers beyond the constraints of established norms.