Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

The purge of Jang Song-thaek, uncle of the current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and previously one of the most powerful men in Pyongyang, has sparkled fierce debate and wide speculation among the world's public opinion. In particular, South Korea, Japan and the US reacted fiercely to the political turbulence with negative conjectures about Pyongyang's next move and biased comments on young Kim's performance during the past two years.

According to a report by the JoongAng Ilbo, one of the three biggest newspapers in South Korea, a high-ranking official from the Blue House suggested that North Korea might prepare for another long-range rocket and nuclear test to shift domestic attention away from Jang's execution. "To have a nuclear weapon potentially in the hands of somebody like Kim Jong-un just becomes even more unacceptable," US Secretary of State John Kerry told the ABC's This Week.

Nevertheless, the rather stable scenario so far in the North has proved that their concerns were overstretched. This alliance might have an ulterior motive, hoping that turmoil keeps haunting the desolate land. They lack actual technical evidence showing that Pyongyang is preparing for another imminent nuclear test.

Pyongyang's development of nuclear capacities has nothing to do with nuclear leakage and proliferation. North Korea is, first of all, a sovereign state with a relatively stable regime. Therefore the comment by some Western scholars that any nuclear arsenal expansion by the North will encourage other nations to develop nuclear weapons does not hold water.

Because Jang's purge is part of the internal affairs of Pyongyang, it is unwise to attempt to determine the nature of the incident.

More importantly, North Koreans live and work as usual, affected little by the incident.

In fact Kim Jong-un has rendered an unexpectedly outstanding performance since he came to power. North Koreans now live in a relatively stable society with standard of living gradually improving.

The young commander, though inexperienced, attaches more importance to economic, cultural and social development than his father Kim Jong-il, creating an amicable image and winning public support.

For instance, Pyongyang is working on a renovation project for the May Day Stadium and is building a riding club. Kim also has paid particular attention to improving the conditions of women and children.

It is also Kim's hope to communicate with the rest of the world through rounds of economic collaboration, cultural exchanges as well as diplomatic activities. The Ninth Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair held in September attracted more than 800 participants from 12 countries including China, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Singapore and Italy, offering a good opportunity to boost diversified forms of trading cooperation with foreign countries and regions.

The newly founded Korea Economic Development Association is now sparing no efforts in easing market access to its special economic zones.

North Korea's trade with China accounts for appropriately three quarters of its total foreign trade volume, so remarks that Jang's incident demonstrates that North Korea is moving away from China are groundless. China also serves as a major provider of food and other humanitarian aid.

What's more, the Rason Special Economic Zone headed by Jang in conjunction with China is in normal operation.

Given the social stability in North Korea and Kim's endeavor in economic and diplomatic fronts, the predictions from Seoul and its allies might be unfounded. However, both Pyongyang and regional stakeholders should make more efforts to reduce frictions and build up mutual trust.

The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Wang Xiaonan, based on an interview with Li Shanjin, a Beijing-based expert on Korean Peninsula affairs. wangxiaonan@globaltimes.com.cn

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