North Korean Workers' Party of Korea military parade [Yonhap News Agency file photo] Starting last year, there were YouTubers who claimed Xi Jinping was on the verge of collapse, citing his supposed health issues, severe natural disasters, and the decline of the Chinese economy. We dismissed all of their predictions. Xi Jinping, who was predicted to fail immediately, instead consolidated his power by swiftly taking control of the military, which had been a threat to his regime, in January of this year. 

Then, those YouTubers, driven by profit, insisted that the Chinese military would surely retaliate with a coup and that Xi Jinping would fall. We confidently stated that such an event would never happen.

Furthermore, professors and doctors I met with scoffed, saying defectors didn't understand, asserting that it is a historical truth that dictatorships inevitably fall due to internal rebellion.

I am not writing this to brag. It is not that we defectors are inherently wiser or smarter than South Koreans. The one advantage defectors possess is the direct experience and knowledge gained from living in a communist dictatorship and in North Korea.

Fifteen years ago, when the young Kim Jong Un ascended to the throne, South Koreans confidently predicted he wouldn't last long. They observed him stripping naval officers, who were older than his father, of their uniforms and making them swim in the frigid sea, executing officials wherever he went, and even killing his uncle by marriage. They all claimed his regime would collapse within days.

Even then, defectors said Kim Jong Un's regime would not fall. Indeed, Kim Jong Un's regime has thrived for 15 years, treating the South Korean government like a servant. He has even invited the US President. I understand he is scheduled to meet with President Trump again this coming April.

Those who have not experienced communist society will inevitably make mistakes when predicting the fate of countries like China or North Korea based on their limited imaginations. This is also why the left-leaning government in South Korea, despite recklessly distributing assets, fails to understand how to deal with North Korea – they do not grasp North Korea's inherent nature.

The national management systems, military, and surveillance mechanisms in communist countries are beyond imagination. They are entirely different from those in South Korea. China's citizen surveillance system, in particular, is the best in the world. 

Even in North Korea, all activities and spoken words of ministers and generals of division commander rank and above are reported to Kim Jong Un every 30 minutes. All phone calls are tapped, and drivers, aides, and nurses are all informants. 

That's not all. Any hint of rebellion, however slight, results in the annihilation of not only the individual but also their entire lineage.

Anyone who believes a military coup or rebellion can occur within such a system fundamentally misunderstands the principles and operational mechanisms of a communist state. 

Of course, change will eventually come to both China and North Korea, but do not expect immediate coups. Look at Cuba and Vietnam, which have some degree of freedom but have not dared to change.

Even in capitalist countries, figures like Venezuela's Maduro and Iran's Khamenei would likely have lasted until their deaths if the US hadn't intervened. For one-party dictatorships like communist states, the situation is even more entrenched.

There are some in South Korea who foolishly boast that they fought and shed blood to achieve freedom. We dismiss such people as ignorant.

South Korea was originally established as a multi-party liberal democracy by President Syngman Rhee. However, some criticize President Park Chung-hee's strong handling of those who betrayed the nation as dictatorial.

If President Park Chung-hee had truly been a dictator, how could figures like Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam have survived and become president? If a dictatorship like North Korea had existed on South Korean soil, the South Korean leftists would have been completely eliminated long ago.

It must be remembered that the democratization movement in South Korea was, in fact, the anti-state activity of foolish individuals exploited by North Korea's strategy to eliminate South Korea.

◆ Advisor Kim Tae-san

Advisor to the Hankuk Ilbo, former representative of a North Korean trading company in the Czech Republic. In South Korea, he works as the Deputy Director of the North Korean Society Research Institute, offering in-depth insights and experience on inter-Korean relations and North Korean issues.