North Korea & the Kim Dynasty
Warfare
History Hit
4.5 • 943 Ratings
🗓️ 29 July 2022
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
With Kim Jong-un having issued a new threat of nuclear war just this week on the anniversary of the Korean War armistice in 1953, we take a look at the origins of the North Korean state and the Kim dynasty that has ruled it with an iron fist since that conflict.
From founder Kim Il-sung, to his successors Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un, the ruling family of North Korea have lasted remarkably long by the standards of authoritarian dictators.
In this episode - the fifth and final of our special miniseries on the Korean War and its legacies - James is joined once again by former Pyongyang AP bureau chief and co-host of The Lazarus Heist podcast, Jean Lee, to take a deep dive into the birth of North Korea and the Kim dynasty.
Produced by Elena Guthrie and Aidan Lonergan. Edited by Aidan Lonergan.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone I'm your host James Rogers and this is the Warfare Podcast. |
| 0:04.3 | For the past month we have been dedicated to shedding light on the forgotten war. |
| 0:08.8 | It feels a lot less forgotten to us now but this is the Korean War and I'd just like to start by thanking the |
| 0:14.2 | warfare team to Elena Sophie and Aidan for all their incredible hard work. |
| 0:19.0 | They're the ones who have secured our on-site recordings in places like HMS Belfast and all are fascinating guests. |
| 0:26.5 | So if you've enjoyed the podcast, if you've enjoyed all the hard work and you're continuing |
| 0:31.2 | to enjoy the podcast, then wherever you are around the world, |
| 0:34.4 | pop us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, or now, with one click on Spotify, |
| 0:38.8 | or wherever you get your podcast, really, because it helps us to get out there to everyone who loves history |
| 0:43.6 | and to keep us doing what we love. As for this episode well this is the climactic |
| 0:49.1 | final episode of our Korean War mini series and along the way we have covered perspectives from the |
| 0:54.4 | UN Allied Forces, the veterans who served in the conflict, South Korean civilians and |
| 0:59.1 | like I said we even took you on board HMS Belfast to find out about the history of that rapid response ship. |
| 1:06.0 | Yet we are missing a perspective and we need to rectify that. |
| 1:10.0 | So we're going to look into the North Korean perception of the Korean War. |
| 1:14.6 | Specifically, we're going to focus in on the Kim dynasty. |
| 1:17.8 | It's often overlooked, but the Kim family rule was forged out of the fires of conflict. |
| 1:23.0 | Its supreme leader, Kim Il-Sung, the grandfather of the current leader, Kim Jong-un, was an officer fighting |
| 1:29.4 | for the Soviet Union during the Second World War, and the entire political, social and military workings of the nation today continue to focus on and be built around war, specifically nuclear war. |
| 1:42.0 | So, to take us through this remarkable specifically Nuclear War. Nuclear War. |
| 1:43.0 | So to take us through this remarkable history and to bring a close to our Korean War miniseries, |
| 1:48.7 | we welcome back Jean H. Lee to the podcast. |
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