When It Comes To The Demise Of Kim Jong Un, Be Careful What You Wish For

The War Zone ^ | April 25, 2020 | By Tyler Rogoway

[ealgeone]

Whoever wrote that should be embarrassed.

[BwanaNdege]

We could have had the beginnings of normal relations with North Korea by now, were it not for the Democrats & MSM constantly undermining President Trump.

[oldvirginian]

“No telling what approach his sister would take. It’s such a horrible situation over there.”

North Korea is notoriously patriarchal in nature. Only two women have ever held even low level positions on the Politburo. One is kJU’s sister, the other was his aunt.
If she succeeds her brother Kim Yo-jong would have to be a ruthless Dragon Lady. She would have to clear the decks of any general or political leader that opposed her and do it in grand fashion.
She undoubtedly helped her brother by pointing out people who needed terminating and installing people more to his liking.
Her own bloodbath may make her brothers pale in comparison. She may need to take out every older political leader in the country.

The Chicoms are probably in NK securing the succession of Kim Yo-jong. They have a vested interest in the Kim dynasty continuing. Easier to continue a dynasty than raise up a new one.
The Norks worship the Kim family.
Easier for all to keep that worship going.

[Bratch]

Report: China Sends Medical Team to North Korea to Aid Chairman Kim Jong-un…

Posted on April 25, 2020 by sundance

Reports of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un being in poor health, and/or dead, have been swirling for days.  President Trump said he did not trust the initial media reports and Secretary Mike Pompeo said “we’re watching the situation very keenly.”

Reuters is reporting today that China sent a team including doctors into North Korea to assist Chairman Kim; again, depending on the actual status of the DPRK leader, the delegation could mean a rather large difference in what’s going on.

Reuters is reporting today that China sent a team including doctors into North Korea to assist Chairman Kim; again, depending on the actual status of the DPRK leader, the delegation could mean a rather large difference in what’s going on.

China controls North Korea; it is simply part of their cunning geopolitical strategy to use the DPRK for their own interests and simultaneously have plausible deniability for it.  In essence Chairman Kim is the hostage of Chairman Xi Jinping, and the world has a poor understanding of the complexity created by this dynamic.

If Kim Jong-un is in a very serious physical state (and/or dead) then the visit by the Beijing delegation would likely be to establish the terms and conditions for his successor.  Again, another captive for the Chinese regime that must present an entirely different face to the world.  Hopefully this is not the issue and Chairman Kim will recover.

(Reuters) – China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to three people familiar with the situation.

The trip by the Chinese doctors and officials comes amid conflicting reports about the health of the North Korean leader. Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim’s health.

A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea on Thursday, two of the people said. The department is the main Chinese body dealing with neighbouring North Korea.

[…] Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, reported earlier this week that Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure on April 12. It cited one unnamed source in North Korea.

[…] On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump also downplayed earlier reports that Kim was gravely ill. “I think the report was incorrect,” Trump told reporters, but he declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials.

On Friday, a South Korean source told Reuters their intelligence was that Kim was alive and would likely make an appearance soon. The person said he did not have any comment on Kim’s current condition or any Chinese involvement.

An official familiar with U.S. intelligence said that Kim was known to have health problems but they had no reason to conclude he was seriously ill or unable eventually to reappear in public.

[…] A U.S. State department spokeswoman had no comment. U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, when asked about Kim’s health on Fox News after Trump spoke said, “I don’t have anything I can share with you tonight, but the American people should know we’re watching the situation very keenly.” (more)

It’s worth remembering when President Trump went to the DMZ to meet with Kim, Fox News host Tucker Carlson had exclusive access.  After the event, Carlson noted Chairman Kim seemed remarkably unfit and was gasping for breaths after walking with the President….

….Given the status of U.S. -vs- China relations (we are in an undeclared cold war); and accepting the massive geopolitical dynamic currently taking place around the Wuhan Virus (perhaps an economic weapon in that war); any destabilizing outcomes within North Korea carry much larger significance….

We live in very interesting times.

 

---

 

[TnTnTn]

I sort of like rocket man....at least he went to the table with Trump and it seemed like breakthroughs were within reach....but it was/is 1-a ploy to receive aid while giving nothing in return or 2- KJU would like to make changes but is not the one who makes the decisions....

[AFB-XYZ]

Things are happening so fast, it’s making my head spin. Didn’t even know Un was ill or in need of whatever surgery he had. Then all of a sudden, he’s either dead or incapacitated.

The sister has the deadest eyes I’ve ever seen outside of Gov. Half-Whitmer. Those two would probably get along like a house on fire.

[BlackAdderess]

I was thinking the same thing, and also that the repression would necessitate maintaining the status quo when what is needed is fixing the mess that has been handed to Kim and his sister. It would be easier for him to do this very difficult job, if he even had the will to do it.

[oldvirginian]

NK has been a crap sandwich since day one when Truman gave half the peninsula to the Soviets without an argument. The ruling class lives good while the peasants are destitute.
Nothing is going to change that.
To change would mean that everything done in the past was wrong. The Asian mind can’t comprehend such a thing.

IMVHO Kim Yo-sung would stand a better chance of even slight changes than anyone. She could portray herself as the “Mother” of modern NK while praising her grandfather, father and brother as the protectors of NK.

If KJU is replaced by her it will be interesting to see how things shake out after a couple of years of bloodletting.

[BlackAdderess]

Well I hope you’re right about her being able to change things, but if, as you said, she has to clamp down and kill off more potential rivals to maintain order because she is living in a patriarchal society, that would make change harder, wouldn’t it?

[oldvirginian]

If Beijing shows unequivocally that KYJ has complete China backing the hardliners won’t mount any kind of resistance. They know Beijing calls the shots.
KYJ will only be able to go as far as China lets her. I suspect China would give her complete backing in exchange for assurances of the status quo in relations with China/SK/US.

Kim Jong-un had gotten rid of some of the old guard, some in pretty horrific ways. I suspect KYJ was behind some of the grislier methods of execution. She appears to be more politically astute than her brother.