Kim Jong Un missing/sick? (1 Viewer)

[johnnycakes]

This is just weird. I'm willing to bet that there was a coup but if there was you'd think it would be for really only two reasons - either some military guy wants to be even stronger than him and land 3 guys on the moon while shooting an 18 at Augusta - or they want to open the country up to the west. And either way there would have been some kind of announcement to that end.

How in the samhel do we now know who is running a country? Even a country as closed as North Korea - with the money we spend on defense and intelligence we seriously don't know? Or......... do we?

Wait - I got it. Obama spearheaded the coup because he is going to take over the country once his presidency ends. Yeah - Glenn Beck will be all over that in a few weeks.

I have personally heard a CIA intelligence analyst say, and I quote, "we know jack about North Korea."

 

[Fennis]

add NK to the list that has had a women tyrant before the US

 

[GroveDiesel]

This is just weird. I'm willing to bet that there was a coup but if there was you'd think it would be for really only two reasons - either some military guy wants to be even stronger than him and land 3 guys on the moon while shooting an 18 at Augusta - or they want to open the country up to the west. And either way there would have been some kind of announcement to that end.

How in the samhel do we now know who is running a country? Even a country as closed as North Korea - with the money we spend on defense and intelligence we seriously don't know? Or......... do we?

Wait - I got it. Obama spearheaded the coup because he is going to take over the country once his presidency ends. Yeah - Glenn Beck will be all over that in a few weeks.

There are reports that NK has not only been reaching out to SK to have high level diplomatic talks, but has approached the UN to discuss their nuclear weapons.

So scenario 2 is looking very possible. That would be great news if true.

I can only guess that if it's true, that they are trying to ease into things and get some help from the international community on how to handle things/transition so that the country doesn't descend into chaos upon learning that Dear Leader is dead.

 

[lod01]

How in the samhel do we now know who is running a country? Even a country as closed as North Korea - with the money we spend on defense and intelligence we seriously don't know? Or......... do we?

You are on a need to know basis and you don't need to know.

 

[Sinn Fein]

This is just weird. I'm willing to bet that there was a coup but if there was you'd think it would be for really only two reasons - either some military guy wants to be even stronger than him and land 3 guys on the moon while shooting an 18 at Augusta - or they want to open the country up to the west. And either way there would have been some kind of announcement to that end.

How in the samhel do we now know who is running a country? Even a country as closed as North Korea - with the money we spend on defense and intelligence we seriously don't know? Or......... do we?

Wait - I got it. Obama spearheaded the coup because he is going to take over the country once his presidency ends. Yeah - Glenn Beck will be all over that in a few weeks.

I hate to get in the way of good schtick, but Kim Jong un is not the golfer. His father was the golfer.

Kim Jong un is just a fat kid with a bad haircut. Don't think he has been to the sun, or even played a round of golf, let alone set course records.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

This is just weird. I'm willing to bet that there was a coup but if there was you'd think it would be for really only two reasons - either some military guy wants to be even stronger than him and land 3 guys on the moon while shooting an 18 at Augusta - or they want to open the country up to the west. And either way there would have been some kind of announcement to that end.

How in the samhel do we now know who is running a country? Even a country as closed as North Korea - with the money we spend on defense and intelligence we seriously don't know? Or......... do we?

Wait - I got it. Obama spearheaded the coup because he is going to take over the country once his presidency ends. Yeah - Glenn Beck will be all over that in a few weeks.

There are reports that NK has not only been reaching out to SK to have high level diplomatic talks, but has approached the UN to discuss their nuclear weapons.

So scenario 2 is looking very possible. That would be great news if true.

I can only guess that if it's true, that they are trying to ease into things and get some help from the international community on how to handle things/transition so that the country doesn't descend into chaos upon learning that Dear Leader is dead.

Maybe. I just find the whole thing fascinating. We have a potential nuclear country and we know nothing about who is running the place? I really find it hard to believe.

 

[El Floppo]

This is just weird. I'm willing to bet that there was a coup but if there was you'd think it would be for really only two reasons - either some military guy wants to be even stronger than him and land 3 guys on the moon while shooting an 18 at Augusta - or they want to open the country up to the west. And either way there would have been some kind of announcement to that end.

How in the samhel do we now know who is running a country? Even a country as closed as North Korea - with the money we spend on defense and intelligence we seriously don't know? Or......... do we?

Wait - I got it. Obama spearheaded the coup because he is going to take over the country once his presidency ends. Yeah - Glenn Beck will be all over that in a few weeks.

There are reports that NK has not only been reaching out to SK to have high level diplomatic talks, but has approached the UN to discuss their nuclear weapons.

So scenario 2 is looking very possible. That would be great news if true.

I can only guess that if it's true, that they are trying to ease into things and get some help from the international community on how to handle things/transition so that the country doesn't descend into chaos upon learning that Dear Leader is dead.

Maybe. I just find the whole thing fascinating. We have a potential nuclear country and we know nothing about who is running the place? I really find it hard to believe.

Matt Damon

 

[Don Quixote]

Latest report is injured leg. I guess this makes him questionable for tomorrow. His sister might be a waiver wire fill-in.

BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in firm control of his government but has hurt his leg, a source with access to the secretive North's leadership said on Thursday, playing down speculation over the 31-year-old's health and grip on power.

North Korea's state media, which usually chronicles Kim's whereabouts in great detail, has not made any mention of his activities since he attended a concert with his wife on Sept. 3.

The source said that Kim hurt his leg while inspecting military exercises.

"He ordered all the generals to take part in drills and he took part too. They were crawling and running and rolling around, and he pulled a tendon," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"He injured his ankle and knee around late August or early September while drilling because he is overweight. He limped around in the beginning but the injury worsened," the source said.

Kim, who has rapidly gained weight since coming to power after his father died of a heart attack in 2011, had been seen walking with a limp since an event with key officials in July, which would imply he may have aggravated an earlier injury.

Kim needs about 100 days to recuperate, said the source, whose information could not be independently verified.

"Kim Jong Un is in total control," said the source, who has close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing.

Friday is the 69th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's Workers' Party, an event Kim has marked in the past two years with a post-midnight visit to the Pyongyang mausoleum where the bodies of his father and grandfather are interred.

If Kim does not turn up, it could fuel speculation over the state of his health and whether he may have been sidelined in a power struggle, experts said.

"The longer he remains out of the public eye, the more uncertainty about him, and the status of his regime, will grow," said Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington....

 

[Fat Nick]

Latest report is injured leg. I guess this makes him questionable for tomorrow. His sister might be a waiver wire fill-in.

BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in firm control of his government but has hurt his leg, a source with access to the secretive North's leadership said on Thursday, playing down speculation over the 31-year-old's health and grip on power.

North Korea's state media, which usually chronicles Kim's whereabouts in great detail, has not made any mention of his activities since he attended a concert with his wife on Sept. 3.

The source said that Kim hurt his leg while inspecting military exercises.

"He ordered all the generals to take part in drills and he took part too. They were crawling and running and rolling around, and he pulled a tendon," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"He injured his ankle and knee around late August or early September while drilling because he is overweight. He limped around in the beginning but the injury worsened," the source said.

Kim, who has rapidly gained weight since coming to power after his father died of a heart attack in 2011, had been seen walking with a limp since an event with key officials in July, which would imply he may have aggravated an earlier injury.

Kim needs about 100 days to recuperate, said the source, whose information could not be independently verified.

"Kim Jong Un is in total control," said the source, who has close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing.

Friday is the 69th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's Workers' Party, an event Kim has marked in the past two years with a post-midnight visit to the Pyongyang mausoleum where the bodies of his father and grandfather are interred.

If Kim does not turn up, it could fuel speculation over the state of his health and whether he may have been sidelined in a power struggle, experts said.

"The longer he remains out of the public eye, the more uncertainty about him, and the status of his regime, will grow," said Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington....

...But he still finished the drill in record time. Faster than any human ever.

 

[El Floppo]

"He injured his ankle and knee around late August or early September while drilling because he is overweight. He limped around in the beginning but the injury worsened,"

seems like a low blow. he could've just injured it because he was trying super-awesome things.

 

[mcintyre1]

Latest report is injured leg. I guess this makes him questionable for tomorrow. His sister might be a waiver wire fill-in.

BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in firm control of his government but has hurt his leg, a source with access to the secretive North's leadership said on Thursday, playing down speculation over the 31-year-old's health and grip on power.

North Korea's state media, which usually chronicles Kim's whereabouts in great detail, has not made any mention of his activities since he attended a concert with his wife on Sept. 3.

The source said that Kim hurt his leg while inspecting military exercises.

"He ordered all the generals to take part in drills and he took part too. They were crawling and running and rolling around, and he pulled a tendon," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"He injured his ankle and knee around late August or early September while drilling because he is overweight. He limped around in the beginning but the injury worsened," the source said.

Kim, who has rapidly gained weight since coming to power after his father died of a heart attack in 2011, had been seen walking with a limp since an event with key officials in July, which would imply he may have aggravated an earlier injury.

Kim needs about 100 days to recuperate, said the source, whose information could not be independently verified.

"Kim Jong Un is in total control," said the source, who has close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing.

Friday is the 69th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's Workers' Party, an event Kim has marked in the past two years with a post-midnight visit to the Pyongyang mausoleum where the bodies of his father and grandfather are interred.

If Kim does not turn up, it could fuel speculation over the state of his health and whether he may have been sidelined in a power struggle, experts said.

"The longer he remains out of the public eye, the more uncertainty about him, and the status of his regime, will grow," said Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington....

Yeah, right.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

His father would have executed that leg. He's obviously too weak to govern

 

[GroveDiesel]

I don't think that you can "pull" a tendon. They aren't stretchy like a muscle or even a ligament. You either tear a tendon or maybe even bruise it, but you don't pull it.

We need Dr. Bremel in here.

 

[Fat Nick]

I don't think that you can "pull" a tendon. They aren't stretchy like a muscle or even a ligament. You either tear a tendon or maybe even bruise it, but you don't pull it.

We need Dr. Bremel in here.

Maybe they meant "pull a tendon" out of your teeth...you know, like if you got one stuck in there eating a huge bucket of Korean BBQ Chicken or something...

 

[El Floppo]

I don't think that you can "pull" a tendon. They aren't stretchy like a muscle or even a ligament. You either tear a tendon or maybe even bruise it, but you don't pull it.

We need Dr. Bremel in here.

I thought the same thing.

and did a quick google... ... you can pull or strain a tendon according to wherever the first link took me.

 

[lod01]

Get well soon, fat little toad.

 

[Rayderr]

I don't think that you can "pull" a tendon. They aren't stretchy like a muscle or even a ligament. You either tear a tendon or maybe even bruise it, but you don't pull it.

We need Dr. Bremel in here.

So you're saying that Dear Leader has again done the impossible?

 

[The Ref]

If I'm in the inner circle of the NK power structure and I've seen the outside world and know how the rest of the world lives, I'm thinking opening up to the west is a fairly good idea. You have to think all the other powerful families feel the same way. If they can oust the current regime or get them to change course without losing the power they currently hold then I could see them being in favor of change.

 

[VA703]

so ronrey

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

This is just weird. I'm willing to bet that there was a coup but if there was you'd think it would be for really only two reasons - either some military guy wants to be even stronger than him and land 3 guys on the moon while shooting an 18 at Augusta - or they want to open the country up to the west. And either way there would have been some kind of announcement to that end.

How in the samhel do we now know who is running a country? Even a country as closed as North Korea - with the money we spend on defense and intelligence we seriously don't know? Or......... do we?

Wait - I got it. Obama spearheaded the coup because he is going to take over the country once his presidency ends. Yeah - Glenn Beck will be all over that in a few weeks.

There are reports that NK has not only been reaching out to SK to have high level diplomatic talks, but has approached the UN to discuss their nuclear weapons.

So scenario 2 is looking very possible. That would be great news if true.

I can only guess that if it's true, that they are trying to ease into things and get some help from the international community on how to handle things/transition so that the country doesn't descend into chaos upon learning that Dear Leader is dead.

Maybe. I just find the whole thing fascinating. We have a potential nuclear country and we know nothing about who is running the place? I really find it hard to believe.

I don't think that whole North Korea thing works without a Kim in power.

The people won't function without one, getting rid of him would be the worse thing the powers that be could do.

Now is he being, uhm, "reeducated" somewhere? Yeah, could see that.

 

[lod01]

If I'm in the inner circle of the NK power structure and I've seen the outside world and know how the rest of the world lives, I'm thinking opening up to the west is a fairly good idea. You have to think all the other powerful families feel the same way. If they can oust the current regime or get them to change course without losing the power they currently hold then I could see them being in favor of change.

I'm sure there are some that want to but still fear that if they don't succeed, then they are dead. Then there are others that are so far up Long Duck Dong's ### that they fear that if they become a democrazy (I like that spelling), they will be thrown in prison.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

If I'm in the inner circle of the NK power structure and I've seen the outside world and know how the rest of the world lives, I'm thinking opening up to the west is a fairly good idea. You have to think all the other powerful families feel the same way. If they can oust the current regime or get them to change course without losing the power they currently hold then I could see them being in favor of change.

I'm sure there are some that want to but still fear that if they don't succeed, then they are dead. Then there are others that are so far up Long Duck Dong's ### that they fear that if they become a democrazy (I like that spelling), they will be thrown in prison.

Going glasnost is a pretty sweet deal. Nobody has to go all "democratic."

The top apparatchiks stole all the land, all the property and all the money. Then bingo they decide hey you know what we like some private property after all. Guess who gets to Step 3 Profit in like 5 seconds?

Of course the people are like robot slaves, the kind of thing that East Germans and other Central/East Europeans never were. They were completely out of touch with modern society but they were not this bad off. The North Korean populace could really snap.

 

[Rayderr]

As is all things with North Korea this story is extra weird and no one really knows what is going on, but tomorrow is the ruling party's 69th anniverasry. If Kim Jong doesn't show up during any of the festivities probably safe to assume he's dead/sick or hiding and definitely not in control anymore.

He's a no show.

(CNN) -- The mystery surrounding the whereabouts of Kim Jong Un deepened Friday after the North Korean leader appeared to have missed a ceremony to pay tribute to his late father and grandfather on what is an important national anniversary.

Kim's name was absent from the list of attendees at the Kamsusuan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on the 69th anniversary of the Workers' Party of North Korea, issued by state news agency KCNA on Friday.

The Workers' Party, founded in 1945, is North Korea's political party and is considered one of the country's most crucial institutions alongside the military.

According to KCNA, flowers were presented at the shrine in Kim's name, but the most senior official to attend was Hwang Pyong So, North Korea's second most important leader, who recently attended the closing ceremony of the 17th Asian Games in South Korea.

Kim hasn't been seen in public since he reportedly attended a concert with his wife on September 3. It's his longest absence from official events since he made his first public appearance in 2010, NK News said.

Analysts are puzzled and speculation is running rampant about why Kim has been out of the public eye.

State media attempted to explain his absence by saying Kim was experiencing "discomfort."

He had been seen hobbling earlier in the summer, prompting theories ranging from weight gain to gout. There have also been questions about the possible meaning behind his absence: Is he genuinely sick or are there machinations within the North Korean power circle?

South Korean official: Kim probably near hospital

South Korea's defense minister told reporters in Seoul on Friday that he "has reason to believe that Kim Jong Un is probably staying in one of his homes" near an exclusive hospital in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, with his wife and sister.

The facility named by the official, Bongwha hospital, is known to be an exclusive facility catering to high-ranking members of North Korea's ruling party.

It wasn't immediately clear why the defense minister believed Kim was staying near the hospital.

North Korea as Rorschach test

"Whenever someone doesn't show up in the public, we tend to speculate something of a power struggle," said Han Park, author of "North Korea Demystified."

Because not much is known about North Korea's internal politics, observers scrutinize public functions and ceremonies to see who appears and who does not.

"We're always operating on this incomplete info," said Joshua Stanton, a North Korea observer who created the website One Free Korea, which is critical of the regime.

Drawing conclusions about what's happening in North Korea has been likened to a Rorschach test -- it's a reflection of the views of whoever is drawing the conclusions, rather than an informed analysis based on facts. And the facts in the reclusive country are murky at best.

"People have a tendency to see the things they want to see," Stanton said. "We should default to skepticism."

North Korea's diplomacy efforts

With its top leader missing in action, North Korea has extended its diplomatic efforts with the outside world.

One of its officials said the regime was ready to restart the six-party nuclear talks, which include Russia, the United States, China, Japan and South Korea. It has also reached out to the European Union and South Korea.

High-ranking Pyongyang officials visited South Korea on Saturday, but just days later, the two countries were exchanging fire at a disputed maritime demarcation line.

The mixed messages reflect Pyongyang's "state of constant and ever-shifting cost-benefit calculation to maximize its national self interests," said Jasper Kim, founder of the Asia-Pacific Global Research Group.

"Every move North Korea makes is a negotiation attempt to see which states will accede and offer something of value in exchange for some level of stability. This has and always will be North Korea's dominant negotiation strategy."

Longest absence

Kim made only one official appearance in September. This has only happened once before, in September 2010, and that was the month in which Kim made his first official public appearance alongside his father at Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, according to NK News, a website devoted to analyzing North Korea.

Before this absence, his longest disappearance from public view as Supreme Leader was a 24-day period between June 7 and July 1, 2012. His second longest absence ever was for 29 days between July 28 and August 27, 2011 -- while his father was still alive, NK News said.

Kim's sole public appearance in September was at a Moranbong Band concert at Pyongyang's Mansudae Art Theatre, reported by state media on September 4. He was accompanied by his wife Ri Sol Ju, his sister Kim Yo Jong and several top officials including Hwang Pyong So.

 

[Wooderson]

This guy is taking his 0-5 fantasy football season hard.

 

[Fennis]

This guy is taking his 0-5 fantasy football season hard.

Dudes top three picks were Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, and Dennis Rodman.

"Thanks a lot Draft Dominator!"

 

[timschochet]

Just amazing to me that in 2014, this horrific regime is allowed to exist.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

the most senior official to attend was Hwang Pyong So, North Korea's second most important leader, who recently attended the closing ceremony of the 17th Asian Games in South Korea.

Hwang Pyong So - sounds like he's running the show while DL is sedated or under house arrest.

Cute lil' guy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwang_Pyong-so

Yaknow, KJU never really seemed to be cut from the same cloth as ol pappy and grandpappy, Swiss boarding school, the good life, Dennis Rodman obsession... I dunno, sounds like some entitled kid who has f'd up running the company business and is now being given a corner office with nothing to do.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

Just amazing to me that in 2014, this horrific regime is allowed to exist.

Explain "allowed"

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Just amazing to me that in 2014, this horrific regime is allowed to exist.

Technically we took `em out in `51 but McArthur had to cross the Yalu. Oh well.

 

[Mario Kart]

The mystery thickens. Nothing that Scrappy Doo can't solve.

 

[timschochet]

Just amazing to me that in 2014, this horrific regime is allowed to exist.

Explain "allowed"

Just what I wrote. If anything, the starving and brutalized North Korean people should have risen up years ago and toppled the government.

 

[Rayderr]

Just amazing to me that in 2014, this horrific regime is allowed to exist.

Explain "allowed"

Just what I wrote.If anything, the starving and brutalized North Korean people should have risen up years ago and toppled the government.

If you don't think US citizens can do it despite being armed because the US has tanks and such, how well do you think the NKoreans with rocks are going to do against the tanks and such?

 

[Acme CEO]

This is just weird. I'm willing to bet that there was a coup but if there was you'd think it would be for really only two reasons - either some military guy wants to be even stronger than him and land 3 guys on the moon while shooting an 18 at Augusta - or they want to open the country up to the west. And either way there would have been some kind of announcement to that end.

How in the samhel do we now know who is running a country? Even a country as closed as North Korea - with the money we spend on defense and intelligence we seriously don't know? Or......... do we?

Wait - I got it. Obama spearheaded the coup because he is going to take over the country once his presidency ends. Yeah - Glenn Beck will be all over that in a few weeks.

There are reports that NK has not only been reaching out to SK to have high level diplomatic talks, but has approached the UN to discuss their nuclear weapons.

So scenario 2 is looking very possible. That would be great news if true.

I can only guess that if it's true, that they are trying to ease into things and get some help from the international community on how to handle things/transition so that the country doesn't descend into chaos upon learning that Dear Leader is dead.

Would it? They're not gonging to really open up to western culture ideas.

NK's leadership will maintain their totalitarian regime while benefiting form western trade and technology. NK will become a more powerful puppet ally of China & Russia.

 

[flapgreen]

I don't think that you can "pull" a tendon. They aren't stretchy like a muscle or even a ligament. You either tear a tendon or maybe even bruise it, but you don't pull it.

We need Dr. Bremel in here.

Can pull or strain a muscle or tendon, only tear on sprain a ligament, not that it amounts to much on this subject.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Just amazing to me that in 2014, this horrific regime is allowed to exist.

Explain "allowed"

Just what I wrote.If anything, the starving and brutalized North Korean people should have risen up years ago and toppled the government.

Here's an example of what the NK people are facing.

They have no money, no wealth. Not even to the extent of what there was in the USSR. Every so often the country just devalues its own currency and makes its own people turn over their old currency. So even if you manage to squeak by on your official pissy salary or if you make something extra on the black/grey market they regularly take it from you. Everyone is a spy, everyone, family, postman, boss, neighbor, best friends, probably 1 of 3 people are spies or rats in some way for the government.

And getting a gun? Pfft forget it. Owning a radio, CD or thumb drive will get you jailed. No.

They don't stand a chance. They are slaves, all of them, unless of course they are the party bosses running the show, those folks are ownership.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

Just amazing to me that in 2014, this horrific regime is allowed to exist.

Explain "allowed"

Just what I wrote.If anything, the starving and brutalized North Korean people should have risen up years ago and toppled the government.

You're half a bubble off of plumb.

 

[flapgreen]

Rise up you cowards!

 

[timschochet]

Usually when there is a successful revolution, the military goes over to the rebels. So it's not a question of having weapons ( despite the nonsense propaganda put out by NRA types, private gun ownership has historically been completely immaterial to revolution or rebellion).

I recognize that N Korea is a totalitarian regime, the closest thing we have to Orwell's 1984 since Stalinist Russia. But as Hannah Ahrendt (a writer devoted to the study of dictatorships) postulated over 50 years ago, economic misery is the key eroding factor in such regimes, which no amount of terror should be able to contain. Either they transform themselves over time to a nominal version of what they once were (China, Vietnam) or they have either a bloody or peaceful revolution (Iran, the Soviet Union). The fact that none of this has happened to N Korea is odd.

 

[Rayderr]

Usually when there is a successful revolution, the military goes over to the rebels. So it's not a question of having weapons ( despite the nonsense propaganda put out by NRA types, private gun ownership has historically been completely immaterial to revolution or rebellion).

Why would the military support the rebels? The military is living in luxury compared to the peasants.

 

[Mark Davis]

Usually when there is a successful revolution, the military goes over to the rebels. So it's not a question of having weapons ( despite the nonsense propaganda put out by NRA types, private gun ownership has historically been completely immaterial to revolution or rebellion).

I recognize that N Korea is a totalitarian regime, the closest thing we have to Orwell's 1984 since Stalinist Russia. But as Hannah Ahrendt (a writer devoted to the study of dictatorships) postulated over 50 years ago, economic misery is the key eroding factor in such regimes, which no amount of terror should be able to contain. Either they transform themselves over time to a nominal version of what they once were (China, Vietnam) or they have either a bloody or peaceful revolution (Iran, the Soviet Union). The fact that none of this has happened to N Korea is odd.

I don't think it's that odd given that the military in the DPRK is the elite. They live well compared to the average citizen. Not to mention the fact of what will happen to their families if they act in any way the government views as treasonous. We also have no idea if anyone there really knows how bad they have it. The propaganda machine makes it out like they live in a paradise compared to the rest of the world. Their people are so far removed from getting world news that they may truly as a group not realize the extent of how bad things are there by comparison.

 

[Sand]

If I'm in the inner circle of the NK power structure and I've seen the outside world and know how the rest of the world lives, I'm thinking opening up to the west is a fairly good idea. You have to think all the other powerful families feel the same way. If they can oust the current regime or get them to change course without losing the power they currently hold then I could see them being in favor of change.

Uprisings typically happen not when the boot is on the neck but after the boot gets taken off. If I were in the palace I'd be scared to death of opening things up.

 

[tommyboy]

he's probably hanging upside down in a torture chamber right now from his ankle tendons

 

[lod01]

Just amazing to me that in 2014, this horrific regime is allowed to exist.

Explain "allowed"

Just what I wrote.If anything, the starving and brutalized North Korean people should have risen up years ago and toppled the government.

Here's an example of what the NK people are facing.

They have no money, no wealth. Not even to the extent of what there was in the USSR. Every so often the country just devalues its own currency and makes its own people turn over their old currency. So even if you manage to squeak by on your official pissy salary or if you make something extra on the black/grey market they regularly take it from you. Everyone is a spy, everyone, family, postman, boss, neighbor, best friends, probably 1 of 3 people are spies or rats in some way for the government.

And getting a gun? Pfft forget it. Owning a radio, CD or thumb drive will get you jailed. No.

They don't stand a chance. They are slaves, all of them, unless of course they are the party bosses running the show, those folks are ownership.

As Tim said, pretty much as close as a country can get to the book 1984. Quite the social experiment.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

he's probably hanging upside down in a torture chamber right now from his ankle tendons

Still, they need the schlub, right?

Have to roll him out there on a dolly to wave and open new dams and whatnot.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

In Kim Jong Un's absence, his sister may rule. Or not.If North Korea's Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un, is not running the Hermit Kingdom, then who is?

That presumes, of course, that the 30-something leader has run into serious health problems, physical or political, and no one yet knows that for sure -- only that he has remained out of public view for five weeks.

But in the opaque world of North Korean politics, that's enough to start a serious guessing game.

While North Korean officials quietly let the word filter out this week that Kim is doing just fine with an injured ankle, that hasn't quelled speculation on who might grasp the reins of power if they slip -- or have slipped -- from his chubby hands.

There are only a handful of possible pretenders to the throne, but perhaps the most intriguing is 27-year-old Kim Yo Jong, who wields the ultimate trump card as youngest daughter of the late departed leader Kim Jong Il and granddaughter of the founder of the country, Kim Il Sung.

A think-tank operated by North Korean defectors, the North Korea Intellectuals' Solidarity, says she may be directing the government, at least temporarily.

As with most top figures in North Korea, particularly members of the Kim family, little is known of Kim Yo Jong, and much of that is a compilation of snippets of information.

One of the most extensive bios comes from Michael Madden, who runs the blog North Korea Leadership Watch. He says Kim Yo Jong was been identified in the North Korean media as deputy director of the Workers' Party of Korea, a powerful position indeed.

It was the first explicit mention of her in a state media report as a senior party official -- and a sign of her ascension.

Madden also says she works as an aide to her brother, Kim Jong-un -- something of a chief of staff -- running his public events, itineraries and logistical needs. In addition, she has ties to the Guard Command and Ministry of State Security.

Her biggest foray to the West came as a child when she attended elementary school in Berne, Switzerland from 1996 to 2000, using the name "Kim Yo'ng Sun" and living in the North Korean Embassy. Her brother, now Supreme Leader, was also studying nearby. Madden says that some photos of her as child were captured on home video by other parents at the school.

Kim Yo Jong has made periodic appearances in public, notably in December 2011 at various events held for her deceased father, Kim Jong Il. She has also been shown in the North Korean media in the background while her brother visits hospitals or children's camps, and can be seen sitting in the elite arm chair section reserved for high officials, though on the second row, at a concert attended by her brother.

Madden also says he believes she played a large role in planning Hwang's recent trip to South Korea, raising speculation as to which of these powerful figures had the upper hand in pulling it off.

"She is one of the only people in [North Korea] that we know has unfettered direct access to (Kim Jong Un)," Madden tells Global Post. "At the present time I would not be surprised if she is sole gatekeeper."

Victor Cha, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies who handled the North Korea portfolio with the National Security Council, tells CNN that if Kim Yo Jong, at age 27, is in fact running the country "it means there is something seriously wrong with Kim Jong Un and there is some sort of void that they're desperately trying to fill."

Among those already wielding power is Hwang Pyong So, who has moved up quickly under Kim Jong Un as vice marshall of the Korean People's Army and new chief of the General Political Bureau of the KPA.

Most important, he is vice-director of the Organization and Guidance Department for the Workers Party of Korea, a post that finalizes appointments within North Korea's leadership.

Hwang's rapid rise makes him chief beneficiary of a series of recent high-level military purges, including the arrest and execution of the Supreme Leader's uncle, Jang Song Theak, a four-star general.

Last weekend, Hwang, who is believed to be around 65 years old, led a North Korean delegation on a surprise visit to South Korea, ostensibly to visit the Asian Games, where North Korean athletes were participating. The delegation reportedly gave the South Koreans only one day's notice.

Hwang, decked out in his high-peaked cap, also held closed-door talks with top South Korean officials and agreed to restart long-stalled peace talks between the two countries, which are still technically at war.

Hwang's position atop the military structure offers considerable clout in a highly structured, tightly controlled North Korea and makes him a prime contender for the top spot.

Of course, in a secretive world like North Korea, powerful figures may well operate out of the shadows. One clue to the pecking order, though, is a favorite of old Cold War Kremlinologists -- seeing who sits next to whom at public events.

One well-placed figure, literally and figuratively, has been Gen. O Kum Chol, who was shown in July sitting two seats away from Kim Jong-un at a volleyball game.

As Vice Chief of the KPA General Staff, O Kum Chol's portfolio includes military strategy and planning as well as relations with foreign militaries. He is also a member of the central committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and deputy of the Supreme People's Assembly, which gives him considerable clout.

On the other hand, the guy sitting between him and Kim Jong Un was none other than Hwang Pyong So.

Until Kim Jong Un's status is clarified, the speculation will continue.

 

[TheIronSheik]

I got a letter the other day saying I might be the next ruler of North Korea. Seems weird, but I bought some magazine subscriptions and mailed it back just in case.

 

[cstu]

Hottest totalitarian leader of all-time?

 

[cstu]

Rise up you cowards!

They do rise up. You don't hear about it because they are immediately killed.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Hottest totalitarian leader of all-time?

She looks like an escapee from a K-pop group.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Hottest totalitarian leader of all-time?

Gets my vote.

(Of course can't vote for NK leader but anyway...)