Is Kim Jong-Il close to death?
According to an article by the Telegraph, The reclusive leader of the DPRK is coming close to death and that Kim is increasingly becoming detached from daily governance in the North. Also due to this, actions by the North Korean government and speculation from outside the DPRK has lead many to believe that a successor to Kim will be announced sometime in September.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...-to-death.html
I really should not be saying this, but...
What I saw in the sinking was a rogue Military General making a cry for help to the US for assistance in a coup (or at least acknowledgement that we knew that they wanted to take control of the government)
I pair it with MAO and Fidel original wanting a democracy and America being tone deaf.
Remember the lack of bravado before and after the sinking. Kim would have made this HIS personal victory. The order would have to come from Kim, yet he was involved with trains to china and appearances as well. Kim is a very "controlling guy".
Shortly after the sinking of the SKOR vessel, a very high ranking general was fired and a purge shortly followed. The regime is very weakened.
China has been bribing guards all along the border and yes, sending in modern technology so the people see what is going on in the rest of the world. The GULAG is about to end there.
Markets are to become legal again as such dire consequence the state their economy finds.
It has never been this bad in NORK. It has already collapsed IMHO.
The troops are getting edgy and the rice and grain sheds have been emptied to the population.
Last step is lash out.
China doesn't want a mess...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JMA
Can't see China letting things get out of their control there though. The last thing they want is a legitimate reason for the US Navy to hang out in the Yellow sea and the East China Sea as this would be too close for comfort.
Even more importantly, China doesn't want to have to deal with the flood of refugees and cost of dealing with a truly failed PDRK. Not to mention the fact that they would lose the use of the PDRK as a distraction to the US and ROK... think of all the money and military power that would be rolled right up to the PRC border if the Koreas were to re-unite...
In truth I don't think the ROK really wants to deal with a failed PDRK either, they're doing too good economically and the track record (reference E/W Germany) isn't the best...
-Cliff
I doubt you can honestly or accurately give such
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JMA
I can guarantee you that 100% of national leaderships across the world noticed and took the point. That matters.
a guarantee. That too matters. Even if you were anywhere near correct, most of them are smart enough not to make a standing broad jump at what could very likely be an erroneous conclusion...
Adding to the wise words from Rex Brynen, he's totally correct -- but then, no one in this case knows what the original plan really was. All most of us know is what was publicly announced. That often, even for the US, is not what's really intended. Does suck in the unthinking quite often...;)
Neat thing about being old is that I've seen dozens if not hundreds of would be prognosticators and pundidiots state categorically what the US did or did not do -- and they've most always been proven wrong. I've also read about the decline and fall of the US so many times that now I just smile. As Humphrey Bogart said, "Here's laughing at you, Kid..." :D