North Korea’s bad luck is that, despite his incompetence, Kim Jong-il seems to have managed to bequeath the dynasty he inherited to his youngest son, Kim Jong-un. Given other North Korean institutions’ apparent indifference to the mess that the Kims have made of their country, there seems scant chance of any serious change of course being initiated from within.
中国的从家天下向专制以及随后的从马克思主义转向资本主义是中国人民的大幸。朝鲜的不幸在于治国无能的金正日似乎成功地把江山传给了幼子金正恩。其他朝鲜机构似乎对金家给国家带来的混乱无动于衷，因此我们看不见朝鲜发生由内而外的重大变革的可能性。但是，权力的斗争仍然有可能让朝鲜的体制崩溃。