North Korea's Kim at critical crossroads decade into rule

As North Korea’s first millennial dictator marks a decade in rule, he may be facing his toughest moment yet, as crushing sanctions, the pandemic and growing economic trouble converge.

Too young. Too weak. Too inexperienced.

Since taking power following his father’s sudden death 10 years ago this week, Kim Jong Un has erased those widespread doubts that greeted his early attempts to extend his family’s brutal dynastic grip over North Korea.

Early predictions about a regency, a collective leadership or a military coup were crushed by an estimated hundreds of executions and purges targeting family members and the old guard. That ruthless consolidation of power, together with a larger-than-life personality seemingly made for carefully packaged TV propaganda, has allowed Mr. Kim to make clear that his authority is absolute.