After closing off his country at the start of 2020, Kim Jong Un is storming back onto the world stage with a series of audacious moves: He has abandoned North Korea's seven-decade goal of reuniting with the South.
Kim is presenting himself as more confident than ever - with more-advanced nuclear capabilities and a newfound alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. That means President-elect Donald Trump will find a much more brazen counterpart in Pyongyang.
Rachel Minyoung Lee noted a clear shift in the way Pyongyang portrays its role in the world, asserting, 'I think it views itself as a bigger player than it used to.'
Kim not only survived the pandemic-induced border closures that should have sunk his broken economy, but used the opportunity to impose even-more-draconian measures to keep the populace under control.
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