North Korean leader According to the source, Kim recently ordered officials to "place top priority" on his personal security and to keep his itinerary top secret. As a result, the venues of events he attends are swarming with guards carrying automatic rifles and hand grenades, while his personal plainclothes bodyguards can also be spotted carrying long, black bags apparently containing heavy weapons.
| Just a tad nervous, is he... |
On July 26, all mobile phone signals in downtown Pyongyang were jammed from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. while Kim attended a performance marking the 59th anniversary of the armistice in the 1950-53 Korean War.
The security service, which runs its own university, established a three to six-month course to train surveillance experts.
"Kim Jong-un desperately needs to bolster his personal security detail due to mounting opposition to his efforts to rein in the military," said one diplomatic source.
| And just how does he trust his own security detail? If I were in the opposition that's how I'd get to him... |
North Korea watchers say there is growing public discontent with the young leader. There has apparently been a surge in disobedience and a lack of discipline in the military. Sources say military officers grumble at the appointment of Choe Ryong-hae as director of the People's Army General Political Bureau, a top military position, despite the fact that he has no military experience.
"Choe appointed members from the Socialist Youth League, where he comes from, to key military posts and has assumed control of various businesses run by the military, losing trust and loyalty among the troops," the source said.
| Since the troops are losing their revenue streams and now are eating like commoners .. which is to say, they aren't eating... |
Veteran officials in the North's Workers Party are also unhappy with the young leader's confusing reshuffles and impulsive orders. They apparently complain secretly that the inexperienced leader is "running wild."
| Perhaps they should just get him a mistress... |
"Even Kim Jong-un as the ruler of the notorious North Korean regime cannot unleash an unrestrained reign of terror," said one intelligence official here. "He probably chose to launch a rocket now to gain some credibility."
| And when it fails? |