[TigerLikesRooster]

The editor, who asked not to be identified, estimated that in recent years, 130 North Korean generals had defected to China, about 10 percent of the military elite.

Of this group, the most significant, he said, are four who have been integrated into active duty with the Chinese military in the Shenyang district, along the Korean border.

Wow, this is an astonishing report!

Now, the South Korean editor speculated, China may be forming a fallback plan should Kim Jong Il prove incapable of reforming or holding on to power. "The scenario the Chinese are looking into is to make a buffer regime through such North Korean general defectors," he said.

Working on a pro-Chinese N. Korean regime in exile? With 130 N. Korean generals, four of whom now serve as PLA? Chinese plan must be well in progress.

[TigerLikesRooster]

You might find this very interesting!

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

Excelent news. Hope it is true.

[SirLurkedalot]

Probably just got tired of tree bark soup; went to China for take-out.

[FreedomPoster]

Replacing one fear state with another doesn't do much, in the long term.

[PJ-Comix]

Bradley K. Martin, author of a biography of Kim Jong Il, speculated that Mr. Kim might want to adopt a lower profile to avoid blame at home for North Korea's economic failures and to avoid "coming into the cross hairs of U.S. hawks, who were demonizing him the way they had demonized Saddam Hussein."

HUH? How do you demonize a devil? And Kim is definitely a devil. He is scum of the earth who lives in completely luxury while the vast majority of the N. Koreans are starving. I would love to see a trial and execution of Kim.

[Just mythoughts]

"With the reports of Mr. Kim's portraits being removed from some public buildings and news of military defections, outside analysts are speculating that the personality cult around "Dear Leader" is being curbed, either to advance painful economic reforms or to head off a military coup fomented by China."


The big daddy of all cults, bjclinton said only last year that all the mental 'Il' wants is respect.

[anniegetyourgun]

Beseech the Lord of the harvest for NK......and for protection of the remnant therein.

[BillyCrockett]

Surely our super top secret spy folks are also listening in to all cel phone traffic. This is very interesting. Perhaps the generals see the writing on the wall? Get rid of Kim and the world will love them...

[OldFriend]

Considering this is from the NYSlimes I comment guardedly.

If this is a true depiction of the situation there it is a VERY dangerous time.

Desperate factions are likely to do anything to keep or gain power.

Pray for our servicemen and women in the area.

[mtbopfuyn]

Tin foil hat on - hmm, he disappeared for months after the railway "accident" and only reappeared for short stints to prove he was alive. Now, the portraits are disappearing. Makes one wonder if he has departed this world and they're trying to slip in an imposter.

[Coop]

Praying that this happens sooner rather than later.

[AdmSmith]

four who have been integrated into active duty with the Chinese military

How does this fit into the Chinese rewriting of the Korean history?

[Brilliant]

I bet that there have been a lot of firing squads.

[traviskicks]

Anyone know where to get some North Korean Currency? When N. Korea collapses I bet it goes up some 10000000% over the next 5-10 years. :)

[sanchmo]

something interesting going on there... although i wouldn't put it past kim jong ill-in-the-head to try some bizarre disinformation.

bump for later - careful - reading.

[Malsua]

angry response to recent legislation in the United States intended to flood the country with radios that can pick up foreign broadcasts

Anyone have any more detail on this one? This is news to me.

[jveritas]

So what is NYT implying?

Are we going to get a worse regime that the Kim Jong Il (hard to believe), or it will better than Kim Jong IL regime?

[steveegg]

I'd rather have fissures in North Korea than fission.

[Steel Wolf]

As a great philosopher once observed, Strange things are afoot at the Circle K...

[Khurkris]

Very interesting. K-Boy being undermined by the PRC. It could happen. They are playing for the long run and obviously see his regieme as crumbling. They need stability.

[mylife]

this is news? what about Ron Artest and basketball fights?

Im glad to hear the ground under Kimmies feet is unfirm, but wish these folks had defected th SK vice china

[Bon mots]

Well if little Kim is in need of a new job, perhaps he could do a remake of Fantasy Island, or Austin Powers V?


I'm sure he would do a better job at that than he is capable of as a head of state.

[Graymatter]

When people can be had by promises of "meat soup, a tile-roofed house and silk clothes," they are already slaves; the chains are only accessories.

[DoctorMichael]

.....four who have been integrated into active duty with the Chinese military.....

A "government-in-waiting" to be installed by the Chinese so they will have continued influence in North Korea?

[Route101]

The Chinese rush in to save the day...mighty rice is on the way!....

[AmericanInTokyo]

This reminds me a bit of Khmer Rouge generals who began to break with Pol Pot/Ieng Sary, beginning to defect over the border from Cambodia into neighboring Vietnam, integrating into the PAVN as military leaders, and finally, coming back to Phnom Penh in January 1979 with the invading PAVN , knocking out the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge, and setting up with the new pro-Hanoi/Soviet block People's Republic of Kampuchea. I also think it would be much easier to float folks around in the Shenyang district to see what is going on, than working around the northern border areas of the DPRK. A fascinating, dangerous region right now. Also, don't you just love the Japanese take on things?

[justshutupandtakeit]

Can this be believed?

[jalisco555]

Bump for later reading of this interesting article.

[tallhappy]

What's interesting is that none of this is particularly encouraging, as you point out well when you say: "Chinese plan must be well in progress."

That's still just one scenario. This Kim has never been in charge really. Strongmen behind him consolidated power without him doesn't help much either.

Kim is getting old and regimes like this do fall.

Unfortunately the six way talks and emphasis put on how much We Need China^TM and China is Crucial^TM has been a big mistake.

On the other hand reports such as these may have very little truth in them.

[Travis McGee]

Will the DPRK see "Romanian Term Limits?"

[fella]

near total information control

The long standing dream of every DNC member that was almost achieved

this country a world dropout that is far away from the situation of meat soup, a tile-roofed house and silk clothes that Kim Il Sung promised by 1957

He had all those things by 1957.

[SevenofNine]

OH OH I think something major going down

Thanks for the article Tiger

I WONDER

[sully777]

72 posts and not one reference to Team America's song I'm So Ronery

Artist: Trey Parker Lyrics
Song: I'm So Ronery Lyrics

I'm So Ronery
I'm so ronery
So ronery
So ronery and sadry arone

There's no one
Just me onry
Sitting on my rittle throne
I work very hard and make up great prans
But nobody ristens, no one understands
Seems that no one takes me serirousry

And so I'm ronery
A little ronery
Poor rittre me

There's nobody
I can rerate to
Feer rike a bird in a cage
It's kinda sihry
But not rearry
Because it's fihring my body with rage

I work rearry hard and I'm physicarry fit
But nobody here seems to rearize that
When I rure the world maybe they'rr notice me
But untir then I'rr just be ronery
Rittre ronery, poor rittre me
I'm so ronery
I'm so ronery

[SunkenCiv]

Ping!

[ml1954]

Maybe the Chinese are tired of having a WMD armed lunatic next door who could start a big war with South Korea, Japan, and the US...directly or indirectly by using terrorist proxies. Maybe the Chinese no longer find a renegade North Korea useful. The Chinese are starting to think like capitalists and they've got to know that wouldn't be good for their economy. Maybe they'll take care of the North Korea problem themselves.

[Cold Heat]

Hmmmmmm......And the world churns.

[BJClinton]

Working on a pro-Chinese N. Korean regime in exile?

I believe we are doing the same. Recently we started allowing all N. Korean defectors to get asylum. I just hope ChiComs and the US don't go at it in a NK Civil War.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Ping

[happygrl]

We are most fortunate here on FR to have you as one of our posters.

You do singular work on North Korea, providing us with information we would otherwise not see.

Thanks.

I'm anticipating the day that one of your posts will be the news that the regime has fallen.

[Libertina]

The citizens must have been watching Team America ;0)

[jrestrepo]

2/3 for the axis of evil...but don't worry. The EU has Iran, so everything will be OK...france & germany, want some more kool-aid??

[FormerACLUmember]

If China would allow free passage to all North Korean refugees in transit to th eSouth, then North Korea would fall in a matter of months as the entire population began to flee. Similar to East Germany's rapid collapse.

[ozzymandus]

From the title, I thought this was a Godzilla thread. But a civil war in North Korea would be cool, too.

[Happy2BMe]

Holy KIMCHEE! REGIME CHANGE IN NORTH KOREA - PING.

________________________________

After weeks of reports from North Korea of defecting generals, antigovernment posters and the disappearance of portraits of the country's ruler, the leader of Japan's governing party warned Sunday of the prospects of "regime change" in North Korea.

[Constantine XIII]

130 generals is only 10% of the brass?

That's a whole lotta chiefs for that many Indians. :P