International
N. Korean elites brace odds, speak against President Kim
The leadership style of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been criticised by elites in the country who have expressed their discontent and have decided to turn their backs at their hard stance leader.
Leading the action is former deputy ambassador to London, Thae Yong Ho who defected to South Korea in August last year and since December 2016 has been speaking to media and appearing on a variety of television shows.
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Ho whose thrust of discuss has always been centered on his defection to Seoul and his life as a North Korean envoy revealed during his first news conference with foreign media on Wednesday that he thought Kim would make reasonable and rational decisions when he assumed power but that has not been the case.
“When Kim Jong Un first came to power, I was hopeful that he would make reasonable and rational decisions to save North Korea from poverty, but I soon fell into despair watching him purging officials for no proper reasons.
“Low-level dissent or criticism of the regime, until recently unthinkable, is becoming more frequent,” said Ho, who spoke in fluent, British-accented English.
“We have to spray gasoline on North Korea, and let the North Korean people set fire to it.” he added.
Ho is among the very few who have dared to speak out against the Kim who is regarded as a dictator, and who rumours say arrest sometimes kills government officials at the slightest whim.
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