North Korea’s Kim Dynasty Still Continues to Pose Threat to U.S. and Allies

King Louis XIV is said to have declared: “L’État, c’est moi,” or “I am the state.” Whether or not the French monarch uttered the exact phrase, absolute monarchies and dynastic succession were the order of the day in the 17th century. Four centuries later, it is rare to see both still alive and well, but they are in a remote corner of Asia.

Enter the Kim dynasty in North Korea. Widely known as “The Hermit Kingdom” for its regime’s reclusiveness and opacity, it has also been billed by experts the only country in the world today that has successfully “smuggled monarchy through the front door of its communist system.” Louis the XIV, meet Joseph Stalin.

About the Author

Igor Khrestin

Igor Khrestin serves as senior advisor for global policy at the George W. Bush Institute and serves as a visiting fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University.

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King Louis XIV is said to have declared: “L’État, c’est moi,” or “I am the state.” Whether or not the French monarch uttered the exact phrase, absolute monarchies and dynastic succession were the order of the day in the 17th century. Four centuries later, it is rare to see both still alive and well, but they are in a remote corner of Asia.

Enter the Kim dynasty in North Korea. Widely known as “The Hermit Kingdom” for its regime’s reclusiveness and opacity, it has also been billed by experts the only country in the world today that has successfully “smuggled monarchy through the front door of its communist system.” Louis the XIV, meet Joseph Stalin.

About the Author

Igor Khrestin

Igor Khrestin serves as senior advisor for global policy at the George W. Bush Institute and serves as a visiting fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University.