Kremlinology Update
Kim Jong-Il’s third son, the likely successor to the North Korean leader, has been appointed acting defence chief under his ailing father, a Japanese newspaper reported on Saturday. Kim Jong-Un started supporting his father as acting chairman of North Korea’s National Defence Commission, the evening edition of the Mainichi Shimbun said, quoting unnamed sources close to North Korean leadership. [AFP]
I don’t believe one word of it. Even if Kim Jong Il were incapacitated — a possibility I certainly wouldn’t rule out — there’s no way a porcine, corrupted, spoiled 26 year-old is going to manage a nest of vipers as wily as North Korea’s septuagenarian generals.
Meanwhile, the AP’s Kwang-Tae Kim reports on the ROK Defense Minister’s speculation that Kim Jong Un may not be the successor at all. Consider your own guess as good as mine, though the article is interesting reading nonetheless.
When did we establish he’s porcine?
And of course it’s not true that’s really acting anything of importance. Still, this announcement itself may be meaningful, since it means that any of the ailing KJI’s handlers have not blocked this rise in any way.
And if those septuagenarians are old and frail, I’d say the ability of a 26-year-old groomed as as the leaders’ grandson and son might be able to physically run circles around them… which could be of value in palace intrigue.
Ah, this would all be so entertaining were it not for my apartment being so close to North Korean artillery.
This is kinda sorta not really the place to say this, but ar you ever going to comment on the latest missile tests? I mean its the same old thing, but thats the story of North Korea.