ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the development of the North Korean elite system from the mid-1970s to mid-1990s. Since the beginning of the first father-to-son succession, North Korean political power has become increasingly patrimonial. In this period, the elite system was very stable without a large-scale purge. While the Kim Il Sung–Kim Jong Il succession was under way during the 1970s, the second-generation elite emerged onto the political center stage, providing support for the successor’s authority. Gradually replacing the first-generation elite, the second generation occupied most high-ranking posts in the party and government before Kim Il Sung’s death in 1994. This chapter addresses the elite figures and their changes in the process of the first patrimonial succession.
