North Korea: Inside the Mind of a Dictator

Kim Jong-un, ruler of North Korea, he is just 36 years old but he commands the world’s fourth-largest military, he has access to nuclear weapons and his family has ruled over their people using violence and terror for over 70 years. Kim however, is a man torn between two worlds, the traditions of his brutal Communist past and the need to become a legitimate modern leader.

Herein lies Kim’s dilemma, should he come out and become a cleaner, softer dictator, or should he continue to maintain this criminal regime that he inherited from his grandfather and father. The decision that lies before him could lead to the end of the Kim Dynasty.

Kim Jong-un is only the third man to rule North Korea, he is following his grandfather and father in the role of supreme leader. They rule over their people as gods. In the 10th year of his rule, Kim Jong-un is at a crossroads as he is a dictator with a decision to make. Should he try to drag North Korea into the modern world and become a legitimate country but risk losing his grip on power? Or should he continue to run a rouge state like his family members before him?

Without this dictator state, the Kim regime would not function due to heavy sanctions that have been imposed on the country the only way they can make hard currency is through illegal trade, the regime is in many respects a huge criminal cartel. Guns, drugs, and cybercrime bring in an estimated $2 billion a year for Kim to spend as he pleases and that is the way the regime is sustained.

Recently Kim has shown signs of modernizing, this film is an examination of the turbulent rule and complex psychology of Kim Jong Un and follows the last three turbulent years inside the Hermit Kingdom as its young and unpredictable leader tries to turn around his country’s fortunes.