North Korea Fires Prime Minister

azconservative ^ | 15 April 2007 | John Semmens

[John Semmens]

North Korea abruptly fired Prime Minister Pak Pong Ju. While the reason for the dismissal has not been disclosed, observers note that Pak’s dozing during a musical performance praising Kim’s leadership with the songs “Love of Comrades” and “Always looking up to the Leader” was the “final straw.” Kim is especially fond of these tributes.

Pak reputedly has been in the “dog house” since Kim discovered that Pak’s suggested name for the nation’s intercontinental missile—the “No Dong”—caused a “loss of face.”

“Falling asleep during a ritual homage to Kim would’ve been bad enough,” said Alexander R. Vershbow, U.S. Ambassador to Korea. “But coming on top of Kim’s discovery that in the West ‘No Dong’ was virtually synonymous with ‘eunuch’ it was just too much for the Korean dictator to bear.”