If we translate the message of the new 5,000, 2,000 and 1,000 won bills into simple language, they say: Kim Il-sung has founded the country and led it successfully. He is the first, senior generation of our glorious leadership. The second generation is now in charge, with Kim Jong-il carrying on the proud tradition of the anti-Japanese guerilla fight and our revolution, being firmly and closely connected to Kim Il-sung, the Eternal President. Kim Il-sung is not presented as "the" leader anymore, but as the first and most senior leader. If there is a first and a second generation, this creates room for a third one.
The message that Kim Jong-il carries on the work of his father is hardly new; it can be found frequently in official North Korean media such as the Rodong Sinmun. Kim Jong-il`s picture has for many years hung next to the images of his father in every home and office in North Korea. However, so far there was no Kim Jong-il statue in North Korea, no Kim Jong-il street, no Kim Jong-il plaza, no Kim Jong-il university, no Kim Jong-il Art School, no Kim Jong-il theater. And there was no reference to Kim Jong-il on the country`s currency.
The latter has been changed now, and we can expect the other "no`s" to follow. This is far from being a meaningless formality or another bizarre image from a strange country. It breaks with a logic that has been the foundation of Kim Jong-il`s power ever since he officially resumed control of North Korea in 1997 after a three-year mourning period. Kim Jong-il has always made it very clear that he leads because legitimacy has been transferred to him by Kim Il-sung. This made it impossible to challenge him without automatically questioning the authority of Kim Il-sung, which is unthinkable in North Korea.
This has worked well; it protected Kim Jong-il and ensured that his claim to power was uncontested. However, as the issue of succession emerged, this strategy became a problem. Kim Jong-il can only bestow legitimacy upon the next generation if he possesses enough of his own independent and genuine legitimacy. North Korea needs a strong leader(ship) who can check the centrifugal powers of economic malaise and outside pressure. A successful transfer of power to Kim Jong-un -- or to a committee -- would require Kim Jong-il to create his own, independent legitimacy first. The development of the atomic bomb is an achievement that could substantiate such a claim. Now, the ideological implementation follows.
Kim Jong-il is stepping out of the shadow of Kim Il-sung. He takes a great risk by exposing himself in such a way; but this is inevitable if he ever wants to be able to transfer power actively -- either to his son, or to a collective. Technically, the new North Korean currency is an attempt to bring the economy back under control. But the picture of the elderly Kim Il-sung, the first-ever appearance of Kim Jong-il, and the reminder that these two leaders form a unity and that the Party is above the military also indicate that a power change in North Korea is drawing closer.
By Rudiger Frank