WORLD ROUNDUPNorth Korea's Marxist Revival | Orban Compares EU to USSR | Germany's AI Strategy: Closing the Gap with the U.S. and China, and more

Published 24 October 2024

·  North Korea’s Marxist Revival

·  Gulen, the Powerful Cleric Accused of Orchestrating a Turkish Coup, Dies

·  Hungary: Orban Compares EU to USSR, Urges People to ‘Resist’

·  South Korea Shocked by Trump’s ‘Money Machine’ Plan

·  Germany’s AI Strategy: Closing the Gap with the U.S. and China

North Korea’s Marxist Revival  (Benjamin R. Young, Compact)
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are mounting, with North Korea preparing to dismantle sections of inter-Korean roads and accusing South Korea of drone incursions. These actions reflect Pyongyang’s increasingly hostile stance towards Seoul, which heightens the risk of instability in Northeast Asia. Beyond the immediate provocations, these developments also signal a deeper ideological shift within the opaque North Korean system. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is reviving his grandfather’s Marxist-Leninist principles as the regime confronts complex regional geopolitics and internal challenges. By returning to the ideological foundations laid by North Korea’s founder, Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Un seeks to reinforce his legitimacy and shield his regime from the fate of the Soviet Union.

Gulen, the Powerful Cleric Accused of Orchestrating a Turkish Coup, Dies  (Daren Butler, Reuters)
The U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who built a powerful Islamic movement in Turkey and beyond but spent his later years mired in accusations of orchestrating an attempted coup against Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan, has died. He was 83.

Hungary: Orban Compares EU to USSR, Urges People to ‘Resist’  (DW)
At a rally to commemorate the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, Hungary’s Viktor Orban compared the EU to the Soviet Union and criticized the bloc’s support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s ongoing invasion.

South Korea Shocked by Trump’s ‘Money Machine’ Plan  (Julian Ryall, DW)
North Korea is keen to find cracks in the alliance between the US and South Korea, and Republican candidate Donald Trump’s recent comments about treating South Korea like a “money machine” are straining ties.

Germany’s AI Strategy: Closing the Gap with the U.S. and China(Janosch Delcker, DW)
As the global AI race heats up, Germany has a strategy to compete with global leaders like the US and China. But will the plan succeed?