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.
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.
- #Missed it on the 30th as I was working late, but it's now been four years since DPRK Studies has been in blog format.
- #From the Japan Times: "Yasushi Chimura and his wife, Fukie, abducted by North Korea in 1978 but repatriated in 2002, expressed relief Friday that their children [now ages 27, 25, and 21] are adapting smoothly to Japanese life as they marked the fifth anniversary of their arrival in Japan."
- #Via the NYT: "Former President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, who had been under criminal investigation for corruption, died on Saturday from a fall while hiking on a hill near his retirement home... it was unclear whether the fall was accidental or whether Mr. Roh had committed suicide ... Roh left a will, indicating that the death might have been a suicide." While the man never should have been president, it's sad to see what likely was a suicide.
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