Kim Jong Il is dead, long live a relatively unknown factor...

[Kitsa]

What do you think?:confused:

[10,000 Volt Ghost]

Hopefully they start electing their leaders by the current starcraft 2 champion.

[Zhukov]

It's probably a rather large coincidence that they already are.


Kim Jong Un wont take over just yet, a committee of upper echelons will run things for now, and I couldn't tell you if that means any changes are ahead. Most likely not, apart from the slow and constant change to a similar capitalist market that China has, over the next decade or two.

South Korea or USA wont encourage any rocking of the boat. Their aim is to keep NK ticking along without blowing anyone up, but they certainly don't want any political upheaval, or worse, a re-unification.

[Colonel Flagg]

Kim the younger doesn't look like much - a little portly with relatively little presence. If I were a military general in the People's Army, I'd seriously consider giving him a "fatal cold".

[Evil Robot II]

Somebody must remember Kim Jong Eun from high school. He went to a boarding school and most likely had a roomate. We need to locate this person and ask thier opinion of him.

[Sacks]

I wish the other son who got put on the shitlist for trying to escape to Tokyo Disney was next in line.

[Colonel Flagg]

He had balls, but no taste.

[Zhukov]

Somebody must remember Kim Jong Eun from high school. He went to a boarding school and most likely had a roomate. We need to locate this person and ask thier opinion of him.

He probably had no idea who he was.

[Dimnos]

Not that they ever would but I really wish China would do something. You know like "stabilize" the region.

[Zhukov]

Actually, China is doing quite a lot. Short of just taking over the place, they are influencing the economics of the region enough that pockets of government sanctioned "free market zones" exist in the north of DPRK. If things continue as they are, (although that can't be assured) eventually DPRK will be very similar to China as far as economic structuring goes. The ruling elite in DPRK can see that the best way to stay in power/luxury is to give up on a Stalinist vision of socialism in one country, and just turn to capitalism like China when nobody is looking

China is already outsourcing manufacturing to factories in DPRK, and the government there is desperate for the chance to give it's citizens actual work to do that doesn't involve pruning grass or washing concrete. North Korea is on track to be the cheaper, smaller, more brutal version of China.

[Dimnos]

No I mean "stabilize" in the american since.

[Zhukov]

Fair enuf. Probably would stabilise things, but man, can you imagine the carnage?

[MailCall]

The latest on the new "supreme commander."

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-24/asia/world_asia_north-korea-successor_1_north-korea-comrade-kim-jong-korean-central-news-agency?_s=PM:ASIA

[dextire]

Looks like any hope this guy would be better is gone.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/30/us-korea-north-idUSTRE7BT04S20111230

[Colonel Flagg]

Does it really matter who is actually in the position of "dear leader" at this point? If he did anything else other than continue the recent rhetoric, he would be dead of a fatal cold.

[Zhukov]

Definitely doesn't matter.

[Kitsa]

I'm constantly amazed that their system manages to keep a chokehold on soldiers willing to carry out all of the executions. The documentary I just watched (Kimjongilia) featured an ex-soldier defector who described the military as being on starvation rations, receiving a small lump of pork on Dear Leader's birthday and having uncontrollable diarrhea because their bodies no longer knew how to digest it. A woman who was a dancer in the propaganda films told how she had to puff up her clothes to make it look as if she weren't starving, and march around singing things like, "What will we do with all this bountiful harvest?"

[Zhukov]

Yeah, and the army is receiving more than most people (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songun). The entire population is living off rations, and the vast majority receive nothing.

[Kitsa]

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/winningatreincarnation.jpg