Just 15 months after he was named as heir-apparent, Kim Jong Un was officially dubbed the “Great Successor” on December 19th, when state media finally reported his father’s death. Nominally, at least, that puts North Korea’s 24 million people, many of whom are so destitute they supplement their meagre maize-based subsistence with grass and whatever else they can forage, under his heel. They are spied on by neighbours, and live in a fearful uncertainty, not knowing what might befall them or their families if they step out of line.