It’s hard to tell if Kim Jong-il had the entirely plausible heart surgery – bypass, stint, etc. – or if every detail is now being interpreted in that light. At any rate, “emaciated” or “gaunt” are not words I would use to describe even the apparently slimmed down Kim Jong-il:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s trademark [...]
Asia Times: Roh gropes for a graceful exit (Don Kirk)
Dong-a Ilbo: Emaciated Kim Jong Il
Yonhap: SK to ship 6,200 tons of fuel oil to NK next week
Kyodo: US to tolerate energy aid to NKorea before nuke shutdown
Japan Today: NK denuke steps must be confirmed before fuel aid: Japan
RIA: Six-party N. Korea talks may [...]
Via the Dong-a Ilbo, “Drinking Alcohol After Work Is Common for Korean Workers”: “A survey revealed four out of 10 workers drink alcohol ten times or more a month in South Korea. . . 33.9 percent of respondents think they often excessively drink, and 25.2 percent of them said they usually drink too much.”
From the Dong-a Ilbo: “The [GNP] has released a new North Korean policy, called “Vision for Peace on the Korean Peninsula.” . . . the conservative party announced it would no longer link “nuclear disarmament” to economic corporation and economic aid.” December, and ROK presidential elections, is getting closer.
After missile and nuclear tests and uranium enrichment, the U.S. sanctions North Korean firms while Pyongyang reverses, making overtures. It’s not an accident, it’s a pattern of strategic disengagement.
- #Vanity Fair, of all publications, has a lengthy article on North Korea’s counterfeiting operations, including Office 39. Well worth a read. (h/t NE Asia Matters)
- #The Chosun Ilbo has an article about a new book by Chang Jin-song (formerly affiliated with the North Korean Workers' Party) that details Kim Jong-il private life, including the inside scoop on all his lady friends. According to Chang, one unfortunate young lady to get Kim's attention was, "brutally executed after she spurned Kim's persistent advances and fell in love with another man."
- #Gizmodo has an excellent array of Kim Jong-il photos; In Which We Provoke Kim Jong Il in 77 Offensive and Hilarious Ways. Some are sure to become often used classics.
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