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Death of Kim Jong Il

Monday, 19 December 2011, 7:05 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

Phil
GOFF
Foreign Affairs spokesperson
19 November 2011 MEDIA STATEMENT
Death of Kim Jong Il

The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may cause instability in North Korea and concern among its neighbours if there is a struggle over succession and power, Labour Foreign Affairs spokesperson Phil Goff says.

“Change in North Korea would be welcome in a country which is the world’s last Stalinist regime,” Phil Goff said.

“But it would be optimistic to believe that change in this instance will provide a better country for its people.

“North Korea is a hereditary autocracy with power planned to move to Kin Jong Il’s youngest son, Kim Jong Un.

“The elite will fight to preserve its total control over the country and maintain its privilege and hold on to power through its control of the military.

“Change in North Korea is needed to create an economy that can lift its people out of poverty and free them from systematic oppression of human rights,” Phil Goff said.

“Bringing North Korea back into the international community and away from the development of nuclear weaponry would also make the world a better place.

“But such change may be more an expression of optimism than a reality given the entrenched autocracy in that country and the reluctance of those who exercise power to give up their privileged position,” Phil Goff said

 
 
 
 
 
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