- Feb 22, 2007
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Normally I would dismiss their threats as just being threats, but a couple different events have occurred lately that make me wonder.
Clinton made them very angry in the meeting over the ship sinking.
More sanctions.
It is believed that Kim Jong is on his way out any day or is possibly dead.
What is an about to be replaced dictator going to do to make sure people never forget him ? For him he has nothing to lose.
http://www1.voanews.com/english/new...a-Trade-Demands-in-Border-Talks-99114054.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/24/2963256.htm?section=justin
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10748148
Clinton made them very angry in the meeting over the ship sinking.
More sanctions.
It is believed that Kim Jong is on his way out any day or is possibly dead.
What is an about to be replaced dictator going to do to make sure people never forget him ? For him he has nothing to lose.
http://www1.voanews.com/english/new...a-Trade-Demands-in-Border-Talks-99114054.html
North Korea's National Defense Commission threatened Saturday to wage a "sacred war" against the United States and South Korea, if the two nations go ahead with scheduled naval maneuvers beginning Sunday in the Sea of Japan.
Pyongyang said it will respond to the sea exercises based on the country's "nuclear deterrence."
North Korea routinely makes similar threats when South Korea and the U.S. hold joint military exercises. The latest aggressive comments come amid increased tensions on the peninsula over the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on the North.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/24/2963256.htm?section=justin
Professor Shigemura says there is deep symbolism to the unveiling of the dear leader's first statue.
"Kim Jong-il's statue has officially appeared, this is the first time. Before, Kim Jong-il prohibited making his statue," he said.
"So it means that Kim Jong-il will be losing his power, or the successor is coming."
The unveiling of the statue could be interpreted a few ways - that Kim Jong-il is preparing to step down and hand power to his third son; that he is gravely ill and his inner circle is bracing for his death; or, most unlikely, that he is already dead.
It is no secret that the dear leader is not in great shape.
Two years ago he suffered a stroke which left him partly paralysed.
And depending on who you believe, he is afflicted with everything from diabetes, to heart disease, to liver cancer to high blood pressure.
So why can't megalomaniac despots in North Korea erect statues to themselves, like megalomaniac despots everywhere else in the world?
According to Professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, North Korea's adherence to Confucianism and its core value of filial piety mean North Korea's despot normally would not erect statues to himself.
"Under the Confucianist values, son can make his father's statue, but son cannot make his statue," he said.
Even South Korean intelligence is taking this seriously, with Seoul's Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoting one spy as saying that the unveiling of the bronze of Kim Jong-il signifies the end of his reign.
The problem with that assessment is that every time the dear leader has been dispatched by pundits, spies, and specialists, he has returned from the proverbial grave as unpredictable as ever.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10748148
North Korea says it will use its "nuclear deterrent" in response to joint US-South Korean military exercises this weekend.
Pyongyang was ready to launch a "retaliatory sacred war" at any time, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
"The army and people of the DPRK will start a retaliatory sacred war of their own style based on nuclear deterrent any time necessary in order to counter the US imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces deliberately pushing the situation to the brink of a war," it added.
North Korea's delegation spokesman at the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) regional forum said the exercises were an example of 19th century "gunboat diplomacy".
"It is a threat to the Korean peninsula and the region of Asia as a whole," he said
The war games - which begin on Sunday - will involve the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, 20 other ships and submarines, 100 aircraft and 8,000 personnel.
China has criticised the plans and warned against any action which might "exacerbate regional tensions".
But Japan is sending four military observers, in an apparent endorsement of the drills.
The US announced on Wednesday that it was to impose new sanctions on North Korea, aimed at halting nuclear proliferation and the import of luxury goods.
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