Kim Jong Un Is Doing Everything He Can to Keep North Korea’s Youth in Line

SEOUL—Kim Jong Un enjoys absolute power across North Korea and is regarded as godlike by his own people. But one threat appears to loom large for the 41-year-old dictator: disloyalty from his country’s youth.

He is particularly worried about the foreign media trickling into his information-repressed country, affording North Koreans a rare glimpse into the outside world via Hollywood films or K-pop albums. Possessing or distributing such content—which Kim refers to as “dangerous poisons”—carries ever-stiffer penalties, even death.