Many analysts conclude that Kim Jong Il has played a poor hand of cards skillfully. I believe that he is smart. And I think he can be ruthless. He's a man who will not loosen his grip in any way on the people around him. At this stage, Kim Jong Il is displaying only short-term thinking, Mansourov added.
Survival is critical.
I don't detect signs of a long-term strategy. But I think that will change. It is easy for outsiders to demonize Kim Jong Il, a dictator who spends an estimated 25 percent, or more, of his country's GNP on the military while many in his country go hungry. But in North Korea, closed off from outside influences, fearful of threats from its neighbors, and subjected to decades of political socialization on top of a long tradition of a strict hierarchical system, Kim Jong Il is viewed positively by most people, said Han S. Park of the Center for Study of Global Issues. He is regarded by many as not only a superior leader but a decent person, a man of high morality.