- [Voiceover] When seen through the lens
of North Korean propaganda, he looks like
the happy winner of the best job in the world contest.
Each time he's out in public, he has the air of a man
marveling the discovery of a populous country
that his parents built just for him.
A country where he has a hand in just about everything,
drawing up plans for a new corporate Pyongyang,
being a lifeguard for the youth of North Korea,
sampling the biscuits which will soon
flood the regime's groceries,
overseeing the growth of the chicks on the state farms,
and even acting as an adviser to the country's hair salons.
Arduous days, but days where he can still find the time
to try out the latest rides at the capital's amusement park.
These absurd, amusing, but also terrifying images
are the only ones we have
to help us understand this young man
who is at the controls of a nuclear power.
Kim Jong-un does not give interviews,
so we have decided to go and meet those
who know him best
in an attempt to draw a clear portrait of him.
Our journey begins in the heart of the Swiss Alps,
in Bern, the capital of the Swiss Confederation.
This is the home of one of the biggest
North Korean communities abroad.
It's a discreet community whose activities
have nonetheless attracted the attention of a member
of the consortium of investigative journalists.
- There is a historical explanation.
Switzerland is a neutral country,
a member of the United Nations in Geneva
and other international bodies,
and North Koreans have always had access to Switzerland
with its peaceful side and its respect for privacy.
Many famous people have sent their children
to be educated here in Switzerland.
These are probably the reasons that compelled Kim Jong-il
to send his children to Switzerland.
- [Voiceover] A study of Swiss administrative documents
reveals the existence of a Mr. Pak, for whom in 1992,
the North Korean embassy in Switzerland
requested a visa and the posting to Bern.
The visa request bore the names of three children:
Chol, Hun, and Mi-yong.
The names were only slightly ordered
and the birthdays were identical.
Mr. Pak's children were, in fact,
those of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.
- We knew the children were here.
We knew their real identities,
but it was not a problem for the Swiss authorities.
It was even seen as a boon.
- [Voiceover] Why?
- To maintain links with the country
which had already cut itself off from the rest of the world.
- [Voiceover] The unusual family spent a year
living at the embassy
in a residential suburb of Bern.
Chol, the eldest, enrolled at a nearby international school
for the children of diplomats and businessmen.
His brother, Hun, joined a state school in the town.
He spoke German with his classmates.
After a few difficult months,
he was said to be a rowdy loner
but he finally made a handful of Swiss friends
and settled into school life.
- The boy's school was (mumbles).
They were sometimes mediocre,
sometimes alright,
and he was very much into sports.
And he was particularly interested in basketball.
He was very keen and quite good at it.
- [Voiceover] Around this time, the Pak family moved
into an ordinary apartment near the school.
Visitors were not welcome,
but there were photos of the property
on the estate agent's website,
showing a standard, middle-class family home.
Living here meant the children could enjoy
a free and easy life with their friends.
They sometimes had lessons in Swiss democracy at school.
They even got to visit the Swiss Parliament.
- And then, yes, he made friends.
Some of them even told us that they were invited
to his home to play Gameboy, et cetera.
We also know that Kim Jong-un used to
play basketball wth his neighborhood friends,
not necessarily of his own class,
pretty much every evening,
and that he was a perfectly pleasant kid
like all kids of his age.
- [Voiceover] The pictures we have of Pak Hun
are in sharp contrast with the images
we have of Kim Jong-un.
How can we be certain that this is the same man
who spent his entire adolescence in Switzerland?
Judicial identification experts compared the two images.
Facial spacing, ears, teeth,
there seemed to be no possible doubt,
added to which, another clue was unearthed
by the Swiss secret service.
A North Korean woman by the name of Ko Yong-hui
regularly arrived in Switzerland by private plane.
The Swiss agency who tailed her suspected
she was smuggling precious metals,
but the truth was something else altogether.
- So she would arrive and usually stay
two, three or four months
and she would stay at the house, too.
But she would also go off on regular shopping trips
in the great capitals of Europe.
Or there would be big family get-togethers.
I was told about a family reunion
which took place in a hotel at Interlaken, for instance,
where the family rented out a whole wing
of the hotel in (mumbles).
- [Voiceover] During the '90s,
Kim Jong-il's private life was a state secret.
Nobody knew about his three mistresses and four children.
And when his health started to deteriorate,
North Korea's neighbors were worried
about who would succeed him,
and what might happen if Kim Jong-il
were to disappear suddenly.
But within the Kim family's secretive bosom,
the decision had long since been made.
The eldest son, Kim Jong-nam, would have seemed
to be the natural successor in the Confucian tradition,
just as Kim Jong-il had inherited power from his father.
But Kim Jong-nam had committed several gaffes,
among them, an embarrassing arrest in Tokyo
with a fake passport.
He had wanted to visit Disneyland with his family.
The second son, Kim Jong-chul, educated in Switzerland,
was considered too soft, even too feminine, by his father.
Kim Jong-un may well have been the youngest son,
but he was also the son of Kim Jong-il's
greatest love, Ko Yong-hui.
The former dancer would play a significant role
in the corridors of power.
- Ko Yong-hui played an important part in ensuring
that her sons took over the reins of power.
Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son, already had an important role
in the country's hierarchy, with an elevated position
at the general bureau of data processing,
where he specialized in communication networks.
But since Kim Jong-un took control,
Kim Jong-nam has found himself in an awkward position.
He can no longer return to North Korea.
(crying, wailing)
- [Voiceover] The 17th of December 2011,
North Korea was in mourning.
Kim Jong-il, the shining son of the 21st century,
had died just a few days before.
It was time for the propaganda machine
to set up the funeral scene.
The funeral would also be the confirmation
of the youngest son's succession,
which had been confirmed to North Korea
and the rest of the world a year earlier.
- Kim Jong-il was ruling the country
basically had senior position for quite some time
before he became the leader;
at least 10 years that he was involved.
And Kim Jong-un, I think, it all came very suddenly.
The propaganda, they did a bit of going back
and sort of trying to create a story about how
he was being trained many years in advance,
but that wasn't the case at all.
I mean, the fact of the matter was that
his father had the first stroke and that's when
they started becoming concerned about his succession.
And then he died quite suddenly,
and I think the young fellow was not ready.
There was a plan, I think, to have him become
the next leader, but I imagine they were thinking
five, 10 years, not one year.
I think it was very clear from the funeral everything,
the way he looked, and the way he was behaving,
that he was in shock and not really ready to take over.
- [Voiceover] Kim Jong-un's problems had already begun.
(somber music, wailing)
Did the aging generals gathered around his father's coffin
see such a young leader in a favorable light?
Kim Il-sung, the founder of the nation, staked his claim
by leading the anti-Japanese guerilla army
during the second World War.
Kim Jong-il was the regime's second-in-command
for 15 years also, and then assumed power after 50 years.
Kim Jong-un, however, was a mere 26 years old
with no experience and no reputation to precede him.
So in order to keep his grip on the reins of power,
he embarked on a monstrous purge.
The regime needed to be represented
by a whole new generation.
- Today, Kim Jong-un needs to connect with people
who remember the great famine from their childhood.
I believe it will be harder to maintain solidarity
between the elite and the leader
than it was for the two previous regimes.
Things could be rather fraught
and so the power structure will be built
on a foundation of differing interests and terror.
- I think that there probably is a lot
of internal churn there
because what seemed to be clear was that
after Kim Jong-un did take power, he was trying
to move some of the business concessions,
and the political power in the military
that his father put there, right;
his father believed in so-called "military first" politics;
and move it over to the party
or at least balance out the party and the military.
All of the generals that were with Kim Jong-un
by the hearse of his father in the funeral procession
are all gone.
None of them are left.
And so very clearly, he's wiped out a group
and is trying to bring in a new group.
- [Voiceover] The most prominent victim of the purge
was just behind him during the funeral:
his uncle, Jang Sung-taek, married to Kim Jong-il's sister.
Since the '70s, this member-by-marriage of the family
had been at the very heart of power.
His brothers were powerful generals.
He, himself, had held a number of key posts
in the armed forces and the economy.
When Kim Jong-il's health first started
to become a cause for concern,
his name was mentioned as a potential successor,
or at least as a regent to the dictator's young son.
Two years after coming to power,
Kim Jong-un decided that his apprenticeship was over
and had his uncle executed,
along with most of his closest relatives.
- For us, Jang Sung-taek was a very competent man.
I worked with him.
He was funny, and kind to his subordinates.
He took good care of us and worked hard.
- Certainly, the news of his arrest
and then his execution were quite surprising
to many of us who study this country.
But I think what was the most surprising was
the written statement that came out
explaining why he had been killed.
You know, in the past, in North Korea
when these sorts of thing happen,
they happen very quietly,
it's a car accident, or it's a sickness,
and there's really not much explanation given,
but in this case, a very clear explanation,
in many ways exposing vulnerabilities inside of North Korea.
- [Voiceover] The charge sheet accused Jang Sung-taek
of wanting to overthrow the regime.
This was a tacit admission of a struggle
at the heart of the power structure.
He was also accused of being an unfaithful husband
and a corrupt communist.
And rumors of his fondness for young girls
were confirmed by the official press.
- Jang Sung-taek's public execution was very
damaging for the regime.
North Korea is a deeply Confucianist country
where respect for one's elders,
especially relatives, is ingrained.
Murdering his own uncle is more likely
to harm the people's loyalty to Kim Jong-un
than consolidate his power.
I think the members of the elite
who lose respect for their leader
could also turn away from him.
- [Voiceover] In order for his succession to power
to succeed,
Kim Jong-un decided to use terror
to subdue the regime's old guard.
(applause, thumping)
He then concentrated all the key posts
and surrounded himself with those loyal to him.
- I think that Kim Jong-un is in charge.
I don't think that there are puppets behind him
because I think the system is designed
to only have one person in charge.
And so everybody must demonstrate
their personal loyalty to him in order to survive.
- [Voiceover] Twenty million Koreans live
in the city of Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
Twenty million people more obsessed
with their own success than with Kim Jong-un.
However, close scrutiny reveals
that the whole city is ready for war.
The military's control over the city
makes it an impregnable citadel.
A vast underground network was conceived
as a shelter from any attack by the north.
But people no longer notice the gas masks
and the emergency rations provided in ever-dwindling numbers
in the underground stations.
- I'm not worried about war.
I've done my national service.
The nuclear capacity, on the other hand,
that does worry me greatly.
- I don't understand why he wants
to develop nuclear weapons.
To blackmail us?
To threaten us?
To get something out of us?
Or just for his own personal glory?
- I'm not really afraid of war.
The nuclear threat seems to be
their only survival mechanism.
- [Voiceover] The North Korean border
is only 30 kilometers away.
It's an impassable demilitarized zone two kilometers across,
with hundreds of thousands of soldiers either side of it.
Seoul is well within range of canon fire.
The soldiers in the south can see villages in the north.
Unlike his father,
Kim Jong-un personally inspects the advanced posts,
which are the greatest threat to Seoul.
- The main difference that was felt
in the early days of the Kim Jong-un era
was that he seemed much more belligerent
and hostile than Kim Jong-il.
This was particularly noticeable in his military policy.
It was very public.
He didn't try to hide it.
He stressed the importance of operations designed
for a potential confrontation with South Korea.
He increasingly put his armed forces on a war footing.
This approach was illustrated by the training and exercises
that the North Koreans were subjected to.
(applause)
- [Voiceover] Kim Jong-un made his first
North Korean propaganda appearance
a year before his father's death.
He was made a four-star general,
signifying his arrival at the heart of power.
In North Korea, power means
first and foremost, the army.
- I believe that he attended for a period of time,
perhaps maybe six months,
one of the military academies.
They have given him some titles.
And of course, the way that they're creating the myth
is that he planned the Cheonan sinking
and the shelling of YPdo.
I don't believe he has any credible military experience
but I think that they are trying to create that myth.
- You know, he was given the title of a four-star general
in one of the People's Assemblies
as they were making the transition,
but not any experience that we know of.
The propaganda says he's an artillery expert
so they try to create a myth around him that shows
that he's a great warrior, a great military man.
And I'm sure, for the military in North Korea,
you know, they probably don't like that;
you know, that this young fellow with no experience
all of a sudden gets four stars and is considered
one of the top military brass in the country
even though he has no experience.
(patriotic hymn plays)
- [Voiceover] The North Korean army consists
of several million men and six million reservists.
Morale-boosting inspections of all units
is a daily obligation for the great leader.
(patriotic hymn plays)
But the army's thousands of tanks and hundreds of aircraft
inherited from Soviet-era Moscow
are all but obsolete.
(patriotic hymn)
- Pyongyang and Seoul, 90 miles, 20 miles to the border.
With the DMZ,
you don't need such conventional sophisticated weaponry.
You need manpower,
multiple rocket launchers.
Within 90 minutes, you could be a disaster, so...
And there's also the asymmetrical side,
I mean if you look at the military
in the conventionals sense
with conventional weapons.
And then we're saying the priority's been the missile
and the nuclear program.
Actually, there's also a symmetrical warfare
looking at other capabilities
like cyber capabilities and what have you.
And elements of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
It's not only nuclear but you got biological program,
you got chemical program, so...
I think this is a government that's invested heavily
in their military but it doesn't always come across
in a convention military capabilities.
It's a myriad of capabilities
and some of them are very potent.
(blasting)
- We all have to care about North Korea.
Let's be practical.
North Korea has nuclear weapons.
It's (mumbling) nuclear weapon state.
The assessment is from six to 12,
maybe even more nuclear weapons.
And they're developing their programs.
They have a uranium emission program
to build nuclear weapons.
They have missile systems.
They have the Scud, they have the Nodong,
they have the Taepodong,
They're building the KN-08
which is an intercontinental ballistic missile
which is a mobile missile (mumbles)
Such great capabilities.
So North Korea is persisting with their nuclear program,
their missile program, and the prospects
of proliferating some of that,
selling some of that material.
- [Voiceover] Kim Jong-il's nuclear program
was his grand project.
But his son decided to carry it on
and even to intensify its development.
While its conventional (mumbles) was not
after the job of fighting its enemies,
the atomic bomb became a North Korean obsession.
Despite international objections,
a huge amount of resources was poured into the project.
Pyongyang believed that earning the atom bomb
was the only way the regime could survive.
It is the only deterrent to its great enemy, the U.S.A.
with whom it was at war during the 1950s.
Washington perfectly well understands the relationship
between the superpower and the small Asian country.
The memorial to the Korean War is just a few blocks
away from the White House.
Since the 1953 ceasefire, the American government
has kept a close eye on the Korean crisis.
Thirty thousand soldiers are still stationed
on the south side of the demilitarized zone.
Crisis and crisis management scenarios
are constantly being re-evaluated.
This show of strength is seen by Pyongyang
as a direct threat to its survival.
- I think that they fear the Ceausescu-en
they fear the Gaddafi-en,
the Saddam-en,
all those leaders who have lost
because they didn't have nuclear weapons;
they made agreements with the United States
or their people rebelled, Ceausescu's case,
they don't wanna end up in those cases.
And when they look at South Korea,
they don't believe that they will be given
a future in South Korea,
and clearly, a democratic south who would
try and send to jail their own presidents,
they can only imagine what they would do
to North Korean, you know, to the regime,
given the atrocities and crimes against humanity
that they've committed.
- North Korea's goal is to, if you will,
to place North Korean situation
so that
no one in the rest of the world
would dare attack North Korea.
Having said that, while the media today
has tremendous focus on this question,
can North Korean missiles reach Alaska
or California or wherever,
in reality, North Korea today has the capability
of transferring Weapons of Mass Destruction
anywhere in the world
through its trading companies, their affiliates
and a very sophisticated shipping network.
So, North Korea already has the ability worldwide
to deliver WMD anywhere.
- [Voiceover] North Korea is already a nuclear threat.
But it has also been developing some of the world's
most powerful cyber-warfare units.
For example, the attack of the South Korean financial sytem
as well as Sony's film studios in the U.S.
in the wake of a comedy movie
which openly mocked Kim Jong-un.
- You know, many of us who negotiated with North Korea,
I have great respect for their capabilities.
But those who have not spent much time in North Korea,
or dealing with the north, can easily say,
"Look at this country, I can't figure its people."
We have (mumbles) going on and so forth
and you have this economic development
which is minimal, if anything,
and the public distribution system doesn't work.
You compare North Korea and South Korea,
I mean, there's no comparison.
South Korea is a, is a, is a...
country that has a significant GDP
and per capita income is high
and North Korea, since the '60s,
is just going down and down,
having been at a high level at one point
and going down and down.
So they've not done that
in that way.
But we should never underestimate their capabilities.
When they put their mind to it,
they're very effective.
When they put their mind to a nuclear program,
they're very good.
Many people said they can not have
a uranium enrichment program
which (mumbles).
Of course, they could.
Missile delivery systems, of course they could.
You mentioned cyber, I'm of the school, yes.
If they put their mind to it,
they don't need an Internet system per se.
They need people who are focusing on cyber technologies,
the tools necessary, and how you do that, and so forth.
And they're very good when they put their mind to it.
So I have high respect for the North Koreans
when they focus their attention
and put their resources behind it,
on building capabilities.
- One thing every North Korean leader has understood
and he does as well, I think,
if they lower their guard, in their perspective,
if they lower their guard,
they will be treated by the major powers
as the used furniture of history.
They'll simply be discarded,
walked over, ignored,
otherwise, why pay any attention to them?
So they have to make sure
their people care about them,
that the people don't see just the dark spot on the map,
which is a favorite thing when we show.
But understand that this is a real
operating, not-feeling country
with 24 million people.
They're somehow gonna continue to exist
and become more vibrant in northeast Asia.
That's a tall order to fill
and who knows if they'll be able to achieve it?
- [Voiceover] In order to maintain his grip on power,
kim Jong-un decided to fight a war on two fronts.
One of these was the pre-eminence of the army
and the operators of repression.
The young leader spoke openly about the country's poverty.
He claimed he would not be able to sleep
until his people had an adequate standard of living.
From his youngest days, Kim Jong-un spent a long time
with his father's Japanese chef,
who became his close companion.
The Japanese chef recalls the future dictator's
innermost nocturnal faults.
- I remember one night
we started talking at about 11:10 p.m.
When we had finished, I looked at my watch.
It was nearly 5 a.m.
We spoke of many things.
He told me, "I've been to Europe,
"to Asia, to Japan several times.
"The shops are full of food,
"but in my country, there's none.
"Something should be done."
Then he said, "I think
"we should follow the example of China's policy."
When I heard that,
I realized
that he was determined to go down the route
of economic liberalization and reform.
- [Voiceover] Everyday, propaganda portrays Kim Jong-un
as the great orchestrator of the renaissance
of North Korea's agriculture and economy.
Early results were modest
but the country seemed to have consigned to history
the famines which decimated the population during the '90s.
- You know, in his first speech in April 2012,
I got the impression that one of his main goals
was to convince his own people
and the rest of the world
that this was, in one sense, a new North Korea.
Many of the things that happened in the past
were of the past.
(marching trumpet music)
- Our people's army must be the embodiment
of our great general slogan, "Help the People".
The people's army soldiers and officers
did more for the people than they would do
for their own families.
Our people are the finest people in the world.
They've faithfully supported the party
in the face of great challenges.
They should never have to tighten their belts again.
They should be able to benefit fully
from the riches of socialism.
That is our party's firmest resolution.
(applause)
- His focus is on the future.
Now, he's gonna be able to build
the North Korea he's hoping for.
And it looks to be something obviously more prosperous,
able to stand up better against South Korea
even though they'll never catch up to South Korea.
And they have a military strong enough
so that they have to be taken seriously.
- North Koreans do not live in abject poverty
like they once did.
We no longer have absolute famine.
We now live relatively well.
There's just a gap between rich and poor,
but there's no longer extreme penury.
You may see awful images of starving North Koreans
but that was 10, 15 years ago.
It isn't the case nowadays.
- North Korea is turning internally, as we speak.
There are amazing changes
occurring within that country.
Kim Jong-un is allowing an unprecedented number of people
to leave the country, to learn about the basics of business,
to learn about international economics,
to learn about how to transition
from a controlled economy to a market economy.
Now, this is remarkable, that he is allowing
this sort of situation to occur.
North Koreans are now able to go to Singapore
to learn about the basics of business.
North Koreans go to Hong Kong,
they go to Vietnam.
As we speak, there are North Koreans in Canada
learning about international economics.
And at the same time, North Korea is actually allowing
a certain number of people, including some from Singapore,
to go into North Korea,
and to discuss the basics of business.
So this is a different day, a different world,
and it is impossible at this point in time
to ascertain what this will mean
and what the consequences will be.
- From what we know, Eric Donnely,
from people who have been,
not just in Pyongyang but in the countryside,
there are resources being devoted to development.
Housing, infrastructure, some accent food.
In the agriculture area, it looks as if there's some
reforms or changes that could lead to increased harvest.
None of these things, at this point, are real big,
and anybody in North Korea who's
implementing them
probably is all but worried that they might get reversed
because it's not yet clear that they've been completely
and totally endorsed from the top.
But there's a cumulative effect.
- [Voiceover] A new economy for a political beast
born of the Cold War,
just like when China's Deng Xiaoping
opened the country for business
while playing father of the nation.
But North Korea's psychological control over its people
reaches a whole new level, like that of a secretive sect.
Will it be able to survive this new openness?
- I think, in general, because they
have no problem with getting cash
through small projects like Kumgang Mountain
or the North-South Joint Industrial Complex.
But something that really opens the country
up to free market forces
that allows for free and open exchange,
these are all things that may make them richer
but it is seen as a threat to political control.
And that's what we've seen throughout Asia.
If economies start to grow,
you get middle-class incomes,
they start demanding more political freedoms.
This is what we saw in Taiwan.
It's what we saw in South Korea.
You've seen this throughout history in Asia.
And I think, they're very threatened by that,
so they're not willing to take the big steps
in terms of economic reform,
even though this young fellow
spent some time in Switzerland, right?
He was educated in the west.
For exactly that reason, he understands
the threats that come with trying to open up too much.
- [Voiceover] For Kim Jong-un, it's a matter of survival.
After the years of poverty of his father's reign,
North Koreans need to be given a new sense of hope
if the country is going to stay together.
His cheerful appearances and chubby frame
contribute to the resurrection of the image of Kim Il-sung
who he's come to resemble physically.
- In North Korea,
even the smallest child in the street
loves Kim Il-sung.
He was the great leader.
During his time, people ate well
and were not poor.
It was from the reign of Kim Jong-il
that the country experienced the worst poverty.
So Kim Jong-un is trying to show
that he is not like his father,
but like his grandfather, whom everybody loves.
And that's why he tries to be like his grandfather now.
- [Voiceover] Grandfather Kim Il-sung,
the revered founder of North Korea,
is still the official eternal president of the country.
At times during his reign, its development
was faster than that of South Korea,
thanks to the unconditional support of the Kremlin.
But when the Soviet bloc fell,
Pyongyang had to change its tune.
Its economy fell apart.
And under Kim Jong-il's rule,
the country endured the great famine.
By adopting his grandfather's style,
Kim Jong-un seeks to recreate the mythical glory years.
He wants to make a link
between this supposed glorious past
and the new generation,
brought up during the dark days
and now being sent all over the world
to learn about economic reforms;
a new generation which sees a leader in its own image,
who enjoys basketball and theme parks
and is happy to mingle with the general population
in front of the lenses of the propaganda machine,
whereas Kim Jong-il fullly found it difficult
to shake North Koreans by the hand.
- It seems to me it's a combination
of very deliberate effort
to have him be different from his father,
to be more open,
at least to appear more open to the people,
to mix with them more freely.
There's one wonderful episode,
a couple of them, actually.
One of them is when he went to
one of the newly-built apartment houses.
And in the process of welcoming this couple,
he sits on the floor with them
and has his wife sitting beside him,
like everybody's Korean mother.
I just can't imagine Kim Jong-il
ever doing anything like that.
You might imagine Kim Il-sung doing that,
it's possible.
The other thing was when
Kim Jog-un was on site
guidance for a army unit, female army unit.
And when he was leaving,
he didn't just take a picture with the entire unit.
He stood there and the young women
came up one at a time
like he was a rock star.
They grabbed his arm
and had their pictures taken.
I was so astounded.
I could not imagine that ever happening before.
- [Voiceover] Something that seemed equally unimaginable
was to hear Kim Jong-il's voice.
Throughout his reign, the only propaganda put out
was either silent films or images.
He never spoke in public.
- Kim Jong-il couldn't speak.
He had a stutter,
so he couldn't speak in public.
I only ever heard his voice through a door
when he was having a meeting with his chiefs-of-staff.
He stammered, he struggled with language.
Kim Jong-un, on the other hand, he can talk,
Moreover, he talks like his grandfather.
He even imitates his voice.
So in the beginning, it was even said that
Kim Il-sung had been resurrected.
It had become like an actor's job to recreate his image.
(marching, clapping)
- Our nuclear capacity is our guarantee
of protecting our national sovereignty.
It allows us to build peace, prosperity and power,
as well as the happiness of the people.
(applause)
- There is a generational difference, for one thing.
In my eyes, Kim Jong-un and Kim Jong-il
have different styles.
Kim Jong-un studied abroad
so would have closer understanding
of international criteria.
Therefore, he seems more normal than Kim Jong-il,
who had too many wives
and wanted to keep his family, especially his sons, hidden.
Kim Jong-un will not be like his father.
So I think he's trying to demonstrate
that he has a relatively normal presidential style.
(applause, drum beat)
- [Voiceover] But how can one follow a normal path
when one comes from a family with such history?
Kim Jong-un seems to have chosen to allow
a degree of transparency where his family is concerned.
Since the beginning of his reign, he has shown off his wife.
She accompanies him on his many excursions.
Immaculately turned up, she occasionally treats herself
to luxury toiletry items.
North Korea has, for the first time, its own First Lady.
Always smiling, she is a symbol of modernity and diversity.
Kim Jong-il, for his part,
had a great many secret mistresses,
most of them selected from among the ranks
of the regime's official artistic community.
This troupe was conceived essentially
as a harem for the dear leaders.
Kim Jong-un's mother, like his wife,
issued from these ranks.
It was at the end of his adolescence
that Kim Jong-un could begin to make his choice.
- Kim Jong-un was never forbidden from going out with girls,
but he just wasn't interested.
He was just interested in sports;
he was always playing basketball.
But one day, I felt relieved.
That day, amongst the pleasure brigade,
there was a buxom young lady.
Kim Jong-un called me over and said,
"Fujimoto, look at those puppies."
I was so relieved to hear him say that.
I told myself, "He is a lad,
"and everything is gonna be fine."
- [Voiceover] There is one other women to whom
the regime is giving an increasingly significant profile.
She was seen behind Kim Jong-un during his father's funeral
although the propagandists never named
this young woman in mourning.
She is the dictator's younger sister, Kim Yo-jong.
- When she was playing and her trousers or her nappies
would start to fall down,
it was always Kim Jong-un who noticed.
"Watch out, watch out", he would say
and he would pull them up.
He was so fond of her
and he is still fond of her today.
Kim Jong-il was equally fond of his little sister.
So he is doing exactly what his father did,
just the same.
- What's interesting is that strong women,
he surrounds himself with.
And there was a picture of him
when he opened one of the fun parks.
He's walking, he got his wife,
he had his aunt, Kim Jong-il's sister,
he had his father's last consort
who was apparently a very strong woman;
I can't remember there was one or two more.
So it's not completely a patriarchal system there,
it seems to me.
I guess he's listening to women, as well.
- [Voiceover] Kim Jong-un is grooming his sister
for succession, in case any crisis, like a health issue,
should befall the regime.
In late 2014, the dictator disappeared for a few months
because of a surgical procedure on his ankle.
Even then, his transparency on the official media
was astonishing,
portraying a limping convalescent.
(crowd cheering)
This remarkable contrast with the image of a living God,
so common-place in Korea's daily life,
almost seems to embarrass even him.
Just like when the soldiers he's visiting
seem to be completely irrationally magnetized
by his presence.
(chanting)
- There's nothing special about these pictures.
It's perfectly normal.
Here in North Korea, Kim Jong-un is like Jesus.
If you were a Christian and you were to see Jesus
aboard a boat by the river,
wouldn't you try to follow him?
This is no different.
- Clearly, it's so very far-fetched.
The great leader who can make grenades from pine cones,
the great leader who can move at supernatural speed,
even the weather is linked to his greatness.
Every song sings his praises.
You can't take it all too seriously.
But brainwashing is very dangerous.
When people are constantly exposed to songs,
videos, and moving or even grandiose stories,
they start to believe them.
It's what's called mass psychology.
(marching trumpet music)
- [Voiceover] This allows North Korean television
to present the dictator as an instructor for airline pilots.
This scenario may appear ridiculous to an expert,
but it's part and parcel of the regime's tenor.
One question springs to mind when watching these images.
To what extent does the main actor believe in the play?
And to what extent has this fever-pitch propaganda
influenced Kim Jong-un's persona?
- You see humanity in the man smiling
and reaching out to the people
and engaging.
These are, my God, how could you do that
to your own people?
How could you've been so brutal to your own uncle?
How does that come together?
But this is what we're looking at.
We're seeing a leader who is...
And that's why people say
he has not been that rational an actor.
On one hand, you see the humanity in the man,
the charisma.
And the other, you see the brutality.
And you say, "What do we have here?"
(slow piano music)
- [Voiceover] At the frontier between the two Koreas,
the sentry posts have become tourist destinations.
South Koreans come here for a family outing on Sundays,
to take a look at these vestiges of the separation
between the two countries.
- I don't know.
It's difficult to get any real information about Kim Jong-un
other than what's disseminated by the media.
But when I see that, I get the feeling
that he won't remain in power for long.
- Even Germany reunified.
And Korea is only a tiny little country
yet we remain separated.
For Korea to be powerful and prosperous,
I believe it needs to be reunified.
- Kim Jong-un? His demeanor worries me.
I think he's too young.
He comes across as more aggressive and unstable
because he's young.
I think he's a very dangerous man.
(mellow piano music)
- I would
stake my 34 years in the military,
South Korean military would defeat North Korea.
But it will be bloody, it will be tragic,
South Korea will suffer tremendous destruction
and as I started out saying,
the entire world will be impacted,
at least economically, if there is a war.
(mellow piano music)
- [Voiceover] Could this final frontier
of the Cold War possibly fall?
For many Koreans, the question is not irrelevant.
Personal and family connections have all but vanished
after 60 years of separation.
Sixty years of watching the Kim family show in Pyongyang,
a soap opera which holds the keys to the future
of the Korean Peninsula.
(mellow piano music)