Question

North Korea functions as a highly centralized, one-party state. The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) has an estimated 3,000,000 members and dominates every aspect of North Korean politics. Kim Jung-Un of the Kim Dynasty is the current Supreme Leader or Suryeong of North Korea. He heads all major governing structures: he is Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army. Despite its official title as the 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea' (DPRK) some observers have described North Korea's political system as a hereditary dictatorship. North Koreans have been referred to as "some of the world's most brutalized people" by Human Rights Watch, because of the severe restrictions placed on their political and economic freedoms. The North Korean population is strictly managed by the state and all aspects of daily life are subordinated to party and state planning. Employment is managed by the party on the basis of political reliability, and travel is tightly controlled by the Ministry of People's Security.

What characteristics of an absolutist regime are being expressed by North Korea? Choose all that apply.

1. Political Centralization

2. Vicious Cycle

3. Suppression of Creative Destruction

4. Extractive Political Institutions

5. Elites setting up exclusive economic institutions

Answer 1

The characteristics of an absolutist regime which are being expressed by North Korea are:

1. Political Centralization

4. Extractive Political Institutions

5. Elites setting up exclusive economic institutions