North Korea

May 2005 | Risk Summary

An ideological campaign to bolster the image of leader Kim Jong-il has been stepped up in response to signs that his power is waning. Market-style economic reforms begun in July 2002 have allowed struggling North Korean citizens greater access to information from the outside world, showing them the pressures on the leadership amid the crisis over North Korea's nuclear weapons. As part of a propaganda response, the official KCNA news agency has reported on a list of deeds extolling devotion to the country's leaders, including an incident where devoted troops threw themselves on exploding grenades to protect portraits of their

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