Kim Jong-il's military-first politics and beyond: Military control mechanisms and the problem of power succession

Military-first politics has been at the heart of the unexpected regime stability in North Korea under Kim Jong-il and his son Jong-un. This article analyzes Kim Jong-il’s military-first politics as a strategic choice for regime survival, in which the locus of political power switched from the party to the military. At the same time, Kim Jong-il formulated a complex system of circumventing the possibility of the armed forces' political domination, including personalistic control using sticks and carrots, fortifying security and surveillance institutions, and compartmentalizing the security institutions for intra- and inter-organizational checks and balances to prevent the emergence of organized opposition to the regime. Although an effective short-term solution, military-first politics could never be a long-term strategy for building gangseongdaeguk (a powerful and prosperous nation). The current Kim Jong-un regime needs to conduct sweeping reforms to address dire economic difficulties, which might result in a departure from his father's legacy and downgrade the military's power. In this process, the current regime's (in)stability will depend on how it maintains a balance between revoking military-first politics and preserving the armed forces' allegiance.     

Assessing the leadership transition in North Korea: Using network analysis of field inspections, 1997–2012

This paper examines changes in the in the composition of the North Korean elite from 1997 to 2012, a particularly tumultuous period in the history of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Specifically, the paper assesses the changing composition of the leadership networks around both Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, using data from the entourages that accompanied the great leaders on their “on the spot guidance” inspection tours. The paper finds that there have been significant changes in the leadership elite since the succession of Kim Jong Un. The paper offers some observations regarding the implications these changes have on the receptivity of the regime to a normalization of relations with the West and future economic and political reform.     

New approaches to North Korean politics after reunification: The search for a common Korean identity

Whilst most of the literature focusing on the Korean peninsula has concentrated on how to achieve unification through confidence-building measures, dialogues, negotiation and diplomacy, little attention has been paid to how a unified Korean identity, a core component of any potential reunification scheme could develop and be sustained. The paper addresses this gap by: (1) defining what national identity is, and how Korean identities have been formed, (2) outlining how both South and North Korea have understood and used the concept of national identity, (3) suggesting possible grounds on which the two Koreas could build a new, common national identity.     

朝鲜朝文人对“夷齐”的接受与认知研究——以“燕行录”中伯夷叔齐记录为中心

自古以来伯夷叔齐就因在中国被称为忠于"节义"的"贤者"而广为人知,而另一方面,古代朝鲜朝文人同样也对伯夷叔齐具有深厚的感情。韩国著名的"燕行录"中有诸多关于"夷齐"的记录,这表明当时的朝鲜朝文人真诚崇尚伯夷叔齐并给予了极大的关注。本论文主要以"燕行录"中的有关伯夷叔齐的记录(包括日记和杂录)为研究对象,从历史文化的视角深入剖析、解读明清时期朝鲜朝文人对"夷齐"的认知态度及其变因。通过本论文的研究,在客观理解"夷齐"的文化价值和意义以及古代中韩两国的文化交流状况上都有一定的启示。     

New challenges,new alliances: union politicization in a post-NAFTA era

The ascendency of neoliberalism, anti-state ideologies, and increased corporate power has taken its toll on labor movements around the globe. Today, the proportion of unionized workers in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries is half what it was in the 1970s. I argue that unions are dealing with the crises presented by neoliberal economic integration by entering new political coalitions and nontraditional advocacy areas – particularly relating to immigration, environment, and trade – in an effort to increase their relevance, influence, and allies. I examine how the North American Free Trade Agreement helped politicize unions to move beyond traditional workplace-centered struggles and engage in broader and more diverse political struggles linked at the domestic and the transnational level. Union positions vis-à-vis immigrants have shifted dramatically from supporting draconian legislation to leading a broad-based movement for immigrants' rights. Key unions joined with environmental organizations to advocate for environmental and worker protections through a green economy and green jobs; unions continue their fair trade advocacy, fighting the Tran-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreements and investor–state enforcement mechanisms. In an interesting and important twist, unions' foray into these new arenas in part results directly from the privatization of governance practices, which has undermined democratic processes across the continent.     

试评韩国《集合建筑物法》第三次修订

虽然韩国《民法》中的土地和建筑物属于不同的所有权客体,但两者基本上适用相同的物权变动法理。然而,就部分所有权而言,土地和建筑物之间存在一定差异。土地可仅依当事人的意思及分割登记而实现对其一部分之所有。相比之下,建筑物却不能仅凭当事人的意思对其一部分进行分割和所有。只有当建筑物的相应部分具备独立性时,才能在将该建筑物的一部分登记为独立所有权的客体后,实现受法律保护的区分所有。上述内容所涉及的规定建筑物部分所有权的韩国法律,即为《关于集合建筑物的所有及管理的法律》。但由于韩国法院担心区分所有权的泛滥可能造成不动产所有权秩序的混乱,因此对《集合建筑物法》项下建筑物之一部分的独立性要件采严格审核原则,其结果导致区分所有权不会轻易得到认定。但是,综观区分所有的具体事例,从平衡性和比例性的角度来看,则会产生法院拒绝提供保护是否正确的疑问。正是基于对这种情况提供保护之必要性的考虑,遂有《集合建筑物法》第1条之2的新设,以便将此等情形中的一部分作为法律所保护的对象。但即使在法律修订后,韩国法院基本上仍对区分所有权的认定持消极态度。对此,试将区分所有权的保护问题与因韩国不动产物权变动登记主义造成的事实所有权的保护问题相联系,提出扩大保护之必要。     

Establishing correlation of footprints with body weight--forensic aspects

Analysis of footprints can reveal very important clues which can be used as forensic evidence in crime scene investigation. Apart from giving idea about the bare foot morphology and individualistic characteristics, the footprints are also indicative of the body size of the person. The present study is an attempt to establish the correlation between footprints and body weight of individuals. The sample for the present study consists of 50 male subjects ranging in age from 18 to 30 years. The subjects belonging to Gujjar caste were randomly taken from a village near Chandigarh city in North India. Three kinds of bilateral footprints were taken from each subject. First, the footprints with the subject's normal weight were taken, the footprints were taken when the subject holds 5 kg weight in his hands, then the footprints were taken when the subject holds 20 kg weight in his hands. In this way, the present study analyses 300 bilateral footprints obtained from 50 individuals. Nine measurements were taken on each footprint using precise and defined landmarks. The measurements of these three kinds of footprints were compared with each other and t-test was employed to see the significant variation. Some of the measurements of the footprints were altered significantly when the subject was subjected to 20 kg weight. However, there is no significant change when the subject holds 5 kg weight in his hands. Body weight was also estimated using regression method from the measurements of these three kinds of footprints. The utility of the study in offences like sexual assault, homicide, theft, burglary, mugging, stealing, shoplifting, dacoity, etc. has been discussed.     

Determination of sex for the 12th thoracic vertebra by morphometry of three-dimensional reconstructed vertebral models

Thirty-three linear measurements and two ratios were derived from 102 12th thoracic vertebrae of the Digital Korean database at the Catholic Institute for Applied Anatomy. Of 35 linear traits, 23 were sexually dimorphic. We created 23 discriminant function equations that predicted sex with 62.7-85.3% accuracy. The analysis using combinations of two factors gave higher accuracies: most equations with accuracies over 80% included at least one measurement involving the coronal diameter of the vertebral endplate. Using stepwise method of discriminant function analysis, three variables predicted sex with 90.0% accuracy: the coronal diameter of the superior endplate of the vertebral body, the ratio of anterior to middle height of the body, and the length of the left mammillary process and pedicle. Coronal dimensions of the vertebral body represented the major sex difference. These equations will help forensic discrimination of the sex of this vertebra among Koreans.     

A rural economic development plan to help the USA win its war on cocaine

Since the 1980s, the USA has fought cocaine in the Andes with carrots and sticks: interdiction and crop eradication wield the sticks, while Alternative Development (AD), which offers economic assistance to farmers who voluntarily abandon illicit cultivation, provides the carrots. Yet cocaine continues to permeate US streets, and rural Andean communities remain isolated from the legitimate economy. Many critics blame US belligerence for compounding the Andean drug war. The underlying problem with the existing strategy, however, might not be the aggressiveness of its military sticks, but the flimsiness of its development carrots. The inability of AD to persuade farmers to abandon coca cultivation may be causing US policy makers to over-apply military solutions – often inflaming rural communities and exacerbating regional instability in so doing. Few legal crops can match the earning power of coca. The article therefore suggests that the US carrot could be made more attractive by adopting a Venture Development model which helps rural farmers to process their legal produce into high-quality finished goods that command premium prices. Such a strategy could conceivably choke the cocaine engine by applying market-based forces to address market-based realities.     

Transnational peace building: bringing salt and light to Colombia and the USA

In 2003, Lutheran World Relief (LWR), an international relief and development NGO, began a peace-building initiative in Colombia. It facilitated the formation of a partnership between peace-sanctuary churches in Colombia and six communities of faith in the US Midwest, co-ordinated by LWR staff. This partnership, called ‘Sal y Luz’ (Salt and Light), has the goal of education and advocacy both in Colombia and in the USA. Sal y Luz represents a powerful example of transnational solidarity for peace. There are also implications and lessons of this case study for the broader field of NGO peace-building work. The Sal y Luz model of peace building brings benefits in terms of NGO accountability and effectiveness. The key innovation of the model is the means by which LWR effectively helped its US constituency to understand and become involved in peace-building work.