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2008-09-09 China-Japan-Koreas
US intelligence thinks Kimmie may be gravely ill
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Posted by tu3031 2008-09-09 10:12|| || Front Page|| [10327 views ]  Top

#1 More...

Suggestions that the North Korean leader has been taken ill have been bolstered by reports that a team of elite Chinese doctors have been dispatched to North Korea to treat an unnamed official.

Kim has not been seen in public for several weeks and experts on the North Korean situation say it is hard to believe that he would willingly miss marking the 60th anniversary of the nation.

For the 50th and 55th anniversaries of his country’s founding, Mr. Kim attended elaborate parades in which columns of armored vehicles and rocket launchers rumbled through Pyongyang’s main plaza as legions of goose-stepping soldiers saluted him.

Although 60th anniversaries are important milestones in Korea, Tuesday’s parade featured only civil defense militia groups and ordinary citizens, according to Yonhap, South Korea’s main news agency, which monitors North Korean news.

South Korean media were quick to note the unusually low-key ceremony. KBS, the national television network, called it “completely unexpected.”

“It’s unclear what, but something unusual seems to be transpiring,” said MBC, another broadcaster, adding that the confusion showed how difficult it was to find out what was going on in the secretive regime.
Posted by tu3031 2008-09-09 10:35||   2008-09-09 10:35|| Front Page Top

#2 It's always a good thing when a tyrant dies.

It's too bad so many tyrants get to die peacefully in bed, when there's plenty of rope and a bunch of perfectly good lamp-posts sitting idle.
Posted by Mike 2008-09-09 10:42||   2008-09-09 10:42|| Front Page Top

#3 Fox is reporting this morning that Kim Jong Mentally Ill had a stroke.
Posted by JohnQC 2008-09-09 10:45||   2008-09-09 10:45|| Front Page Top

#4 If it's a stroke he could be debilitated but he could still hang in there for months or even years. It could be messy. Some of the generals might be wondering if they should wait that long before they make their moves.
Posted by Ebbang Uluque6305 2008-09-09 11:55||   2008-09-09 11:55|| Front Page Top

#5 Does the Kimchee have a strong son to follow in his dynastic tradition, or is it back to the warlord days if he's done and gone?
Posted by AlanC">AlanC  2008-09-09 12:31||   2008-09-09 12:31|| Front Page Top

#6 Presently, Kim Jong Il has three sons: Jong Nam (37), who was born to movie actress Sung Hye Rim (deceased in 2002), Jong Cheol (27) and Jong Woon (25), who were born to Ko Young Hee (deceased in May 2004), a former dancer in the Pyongyang Mansudae Art Troupe.

Regarding the hereditary succession of power from father to son, suggestion and rumors have been circulating internationally; for example that Kim Ok, who is acting as the de facto wife of Kim Jong Il, and Lee Jeh Gang, the First Vice Director of the Guidance Department, are moving to install Kim Jong Cheol as the successor, or that Kim Jong Nam, who is currently travelling overseas, is ultimately to return to the North with China's backing.

However, the public discourse in North Korea and in international society regarding the third generation succession issue has been extremely negative lately due to the fact that none of Kim Jong Il's sons has shown clear signs of being a competent leadership figure.

South Korean experts have differing opinions about the available candidates, but collectively choose the second eldest son Kim Jong Cheol as the most likely.

Jeon Hyun Joon, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, is of the opinion that the actual probability of a successful third-generation succession is low, "Because international discourse has been unfriendly regarding the succession system, North Korea cannot help but feel the pressure,” he suggests, “Kim’s sons do not have the ability to overcome the current threats to the country. Instead, a third party, from the military, for instance, will be elevated as leader.”

Meanwhile, Lee Gi Dong, the Institute for National Security Strategy Inter-Korea Research Office Chief, predicted, “If a sudden mishap involving Kim Jong Il were to occur, then a third-generation successor will assume power behind the scenes. However, if a third-party who is not Kim’s son tries to take the leadership, the elites know very well that a power struggle will result, causing internal confusion. They will therefore try to place one of Kim’s sons in the top leadership position and exercise their power through him.”

Cheong Seong Chang, a researcher of South-North relations at Sejong Institute, also pointed out, “North Korean citizens are also uncomfortable with the ongoing hereditary succession system, but as one knows, the North Korean regime is not one that moves according to the views of its people. If Kim Jong Il selects a third-generation successor, no one will oppose him.”

The reason for experts choosing the second eldest son Jong Cheol as the most likely successor is that “Compared to Kim Jong Nam, the eldest, he has less weaknesses, retains a degree of mystique (Jun Hyun Jun said), an international understanding and a temperate personality (Lee Gi Dong said), and is receiving actual lessons on succession while working at the Guidance Department (Cheong Seong Chang said).”
Posted by tu3031 2008-09-09 12:50||   2008-09-09 12:50|| Front Page Top

#7 His son is a playboy that has been more or less exiled for years, he wouldn't last the weekend against the establishment in the North.
Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-09-09 12:51||   2008-09-09 12:51|| Front Page Top

#8 his oldest son that is.
Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-09-09 12:52||   2008-09-09 12:52|| Front Page Top

#9 good, and the unwinding continues.
Posted by Spiny Gl 2511 2008-09-09 13:03||   2008-09-09 13:03|| Front Page Top

#10 ..none of Kim Jong Il's sons has shown clear signs of being a competent leadership figure.

Well, that makes them as qualified as just about anyone else in North Korea.
Posted by Procopius2k 2008-09-09 13:09||   2008-09-09 13:09|| Front Page Top

#11 Drudge has a link to a WSJ article.
Posted by Ebbang Uluque6305 2008-09-09 14:26||   2008-09-09 14:26|| Front Page Top

#12 Hey wait a minute!!!!!!!

THERE'S the perfect spot for Obama that the world loves so well!!!!!
Posted by AlanC">AlanC  2008-09-09 15:53||   2008-09-09 15:53|| Front Page Top

#13 It seems to me that this is a situation where almost any change is welcome. Things could change for the better in a wide variety of ways. Even if it gets worse, the potential for additional change remains large. North Korea has been like a constipated colon for a very long time. Movement is good.
Posted by Richard of Oregon 2008-09-09 16:27||   2008-09-09 16:27|| Front Page Top

#14 Forgot to mention in my post that I love the selected photo. When he dies, can someone photoshop this image into a casket? It would be a wonderful way to remember him.
Posted by Richard of Oregon 2008-09-09 16:30||   2008-09-09 16:30|| Front Page Top

#15 TED KENNEDY now KIMMIE.

Ted + Kennedy Clan have CAROLINE, plus of course MRS. "GOVERNATOR/DA ARNUUULD' Maria over in Californai.

KIMMIE + NOKOR, ala OWG NEW GIRL ORDER???
Posted by JosephMendiola 2008-09-09 21:59||   2008-09-09 21:59|| Front Page Top

#16 "Kimmie may be gravely ill"

Yawn.

Call me when he's gravely DEAD.
Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut  2008-09-09 22:21|| http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]">[http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]  2008-09-09 22:21|| Front Page Top

#17 Let's send him a Get Worse card.
Posted by Chuckles Flimp4638 2008-09-09 23:34||   2008-09-09 23:34|| Front Page Top

23:57 rjschwarz
23:34 Chuckles Flimp4638
23:32 JosephMendiola
23:25 Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields
23:23 JosephMendiola
23:08 European Conservative
23:03 trailing wife
23:03 Frank G
23:00 Barbara Skolaut
22:57 European Conservative
22:55 European Conservative
22:53 Barbara Skolaut
22:48 trailing wife
22:46 3dc
22:43 European Conservative
22:42 Mike
22:40 Mike
22:36 European Conservative
22:35 European Conservative
22:24 Barbara Skolaut
22:22 JohnQC
22:21 Barbara Skolaut
22:19 JosephMendiola
22:10 JohnQC









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