I doubt Kim ever conceived of transitioning NK to a prosperous nation for all the people.
Kim was not originally the designated successor. Does he really even want the job in the first place? I’ve often wondered this. Part of me thinks he’d like to just go off to a nice villa on the French Riviera and live his life out, while North Korea transitions.
Of course, there’s no easy to do it without some major upheaval, so it has to be done in phases.
I could be totally wrong here, but who really knows what’s going on in North Korea.