In the two years since he came to power, Kim Jong-un has wrought significant changes on his nation
The second-most powerful man in North Korea has sent a letter of
congratulations to Queen Elizabeth on her official birthday.
The birthday wishes were dispatched by Kim Yong-nam, the president of the
Presidium of the Supreme Assembly of North Korea, according to the official
KCNA news agency.
"The message wished the queen good health and happ[iness] and the British
people well-being and prosperity," the report said.
Sending a birthday card to the head of a hereditary royal family might seem a curious act for a communist regime, but analysts here point out that North Korea is presently being run by the third generation of the Kim family dynasty.
"They see themselves as a sort of Korean royal family," Toshimitsu Shigemura,
a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University and an authority on North Korean
affairs, told The Telegraph.
"They look at the British royalty and they want those palaces, those cars and
that sort of place in Korean society, but without the interference of an
elected government, of course," he added.
Professor Shigemura said Pyongyang is looking to cultivate friends outside of its previous circle because China is edging closer to South Korea as an ally.
Beijing has been angered by North Korea's refusal to halt the development of nuclear warheads and the ballistic missile systems to deliver them. China has attempted to bring Kim Jong-un's regime to heel, but to no avail. In January, Beijing halted exports of critically important oil over the border, an unprecedented act by the North's sole significant ally.
"North Korea is looking for new friends, while they have also sent officials to London to make money on the stock market and seek development aid," Professor Shigemura said.
"But there is also real concern in the leadership there that the regime could collapse without China's support, so they are looking for a country that might provide them with political asylum," he added. "It is possible that they think Britain might provide that."
On June 5, KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un sent a message to Bashar Al-Assad, congratulating the Syrian president on his re-election.
Source- The Telegraph
Professor Shigemura said Pyongyang is looking to cultivate friends outside of its previous circle because China is edging closer to South Korea as an ally.
Beijing has been angered by North Korea's refusal to halt the development of nuclear warheads and the ballistic missile systems to deliver them. China has attempted to bring Kim Jong-un's regime to heel, but to no avail. In January, Beijing halted exports of critically important oil over the border, an unprecedented act by the North's sole significant ally.
"North Korea is looking for new friends, while they have also sent officials to London to make money on the stock market and seek development aid," Professor Shigemura said.
"But there is also real concern in the leadership there that the regime could collapse without China's support, so they are looking for a country that might provide them with political asylum," he added. "It is possible that they think Britain might provide that."
On June 5, KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un sent a message to Bashar Al-Assad, congratulating the Syrian president on his re-election.
Source- The Telegraph
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