Days after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test, its official television network showed the No. 2 man in the regime, 60-something Gen. Hwang Pyong So, kneeling and covering his mouth to address leader Kim Jong Un, who nodded in his seat as he turned his face away.
The scene illustrated the absolute obedience Kim demands from his aides. That insistence on reverence also shows why one of the world's most unpredictable regimes has become even more erratic. Just days before conducting the nuclear test on Jan. 6 that raised tensions on the Korean peninsula, Kim had spoken publicly of his desire for warmer ties with South Korea, and there had been reports a visit to China was in the works.
Whipsaw actions — veering from provocation to conciliation and back again — aren't unusual for North Korea, but they have become more pronounced in the four years since Kim came to power. That may be due in part to a lack of considered counsel: He has ordered killed or sent away elders who served as advisers under his grandfather Kim Il Sung and his father Kim Jong Il.
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