Kim Jong Il and North Korea’s Policy toward the U.S

The main goal of this paper is to conduct an individual-level analysis on Kim Jong Il. In so doing, I discuss the personality, world-view and psychological attributes of Kim Jong Il and examine how Kim Jong Il’s psychological factors have impacted on the DPRK’s policy toward the U.S. I argue that the reevaluation on Kim Jong Il is essential in order to diagnose and understand the North Korean regime. Kim Jong Il regards all the military and economic hardships came from U.S. imperialism, and then runs his country as a military garrison state. Also, to consolidate its Socialism, Jong Il stressed the importance of leadership in North Korean society and demanded absolute obedience from the people. He also called the people to work and live in the spirit of the ‘Arduous March’ in order to overcome its economic hardship and to implement economic strategy of North Korea. Kim Jong Il also adopted military-first policy to strengthen the country against the American threats. This individual-level of analysis on Kim Jong Il shows that policy behavior of North Korea toward the U.S. was a function of both environmental situations and the psychological predispositions Kim Jong Il bring to the situation. I conclude Kim Jong Il’s worldview and perceptions on the U.S. were the key factors to the formation of Pyongyang’s foreign policy.