Kim Jong-on does want economic development, but on his terms.

And the only reason he wants it is not because he cares about the people of North Korea.

Like he definitely does not care about the people of North Korea.

But he wants people's living standards

to rise a little bit so that he can take the credit for it, so he can keep his job for longer.

Hi, I'm Ian Bremmer, and welcome to the GZero World Podcast. It's an audio version of what you can

find on public television, where I analyze global topics, sit down with big guests

and make use of little puppets. This week I sit down with Anna Fyfeld, Beijing Bureau Chief for

the Washington Post. Let's get to it.

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Thank you. Public.com to learn more. Wonderful to be here with Anna Fyfield, Washington Post, Church Beijing correspondent,

and author of the excellent new book, The Great Successor,

all about Kim Jong-un, North Korea. You've traveled there more than any Western correspondent,

yeah? Not quite, but I have been there 12 times over a period, like I started going in 2005.

So I've got this kind of historical background there that I can see the changes taking place.

The big news that you broke is that the half-brother of Kim Jong-un, the one that was

poisoned to death, you say was working with the CIA.

Yeah, that's right. That's one of the things I discovered during the course of my reporting

that Kim Jong-nam, who was the older of my reporting, that Kim Jong-nam, who

was the older half-brother of Kim Jong-on, somebody who Kim Jong-un very much viewed as a threat,

...