TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Monarchical Model of North Korea and Its Implications
AU  - MYERS, BR 
JO  - Academia Koreana
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/6/14
DO  - 10.18399/acta.2025.28.1.006
KW  - North Korea
KW  - monarchy
KW  - Paektu dynasty
KW  - hereditary succession
KW  - Kim Jong Un
AB  - Even after two hereditary successions of power and what would appear to be preparations for a third, the question of whether North Korea should be considered a monarchy is yet to be recognized as an important one. Taking both North Korean realities and relevant political-scientific discussions of the institution of monarchy into account, this paper argues that North Korea should indeed be considered a monarchy. The monarchical model, if properly understood, may afford insight into the stability and longevity of the regime, suggest a different approach to nuclear negotiations, and produce less alarming assessments of the risk of conflict than those currently informed by the perception of a conventional personalist dictatorship.