Jake Jones
North Korea Has A Massive Military, And It May Be Growing
A state-run newspaper reports nearly 5 million people volunteered to enlist or reenlist in the Korean People's Army in the past few days.
LEARN MOREDecember 17, 2017
Dec. 17 is an important day in North Korea: It's the anniversary of the former Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il's death. Mourners paid their respects Sunday. But according to South Korea's Yonhap News, current Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un didn't visit his father's grave.
If that's true, it would be the first time Kim Jong-un skipped the annual visit to his father's tomb in the six years since he died.
Since the younger Kim took power he's tried to mold himself after his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, who is much more popular in North Korea than Kim Jong-il.
And based on the information we have about North Korea's current leader, it doesn't seem like he and his father were all that close. In-depth reporting on the family revealed Kim Jong-un was sidelined growing up because he was the youngest of Kim Jong-il's three sons. He only became the de facto successor after his older brothers were deemed unfit to lead.
Once he did take power, the youngest Kim cracked down on dissent. Executions — including that of one of his uncles — became more frequent.
Kim's push to develop a nuclear missile program could also be explained by his desire to prove himself a worthy leader. There was speculation North Korea might mark the day with another test launch. The country touted the most recent missile tested as capable of hitting "the whole mainland of the U.S."
