Kim Jong Un misses another big meeting
North Korea held a national meeting Tuesday to mark the 17th anniversary of late leader Kim Jong-il’s election as general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).
The communist nation’s leader, Kim Jong-un, however, was absent from the annual event to commemorate his father. [Yonhap]
I don’t know if Kim Jong Un is sick or well, and North Korean emperors have a tendency to go missing for extended periods, but it’s starting to look like September wasn’t his best month.
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Update: A lot of people will be watching whether His Porcine Majesty shows up on Friday, at a ceremony to commemorate the 69th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. But as commenter Greg Jones pointed out, you’d have half expected him to make some kind of appearance to welcome the North Korean athletes home from Incheon.
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Update 2: A useful caution from Chris Green, to tamp down your irrational exuberance.
One would think that King Little Fatso III would want many many pix surrounded by His athletes returning from their Incheon Asian Games triumph. His Royal Lowness apparently disagrees:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/asian-games-mass-welcome/1400476.html
I wonder if KCNA will create their own version of “Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Bernard
Random Question OFK: in the event Kim Jong Un is unable to perform the duties to of Dear Leader of the DPRK due to either Emmental overdose or Excedrin Headache Number 9(mm)…who takes over, in your best guess?
This is a strange report where the Defence Minister confirms he has been reliably informed by his intelligence department that Baby Kim is in a certain place north of Pyongyang…and they now admit they have labor camps. Connection, one hopes.
http://news.yahoo.com/n-koreas-kim-not-pyongyang-seoul-110702696.html
Something may be rotten in Denmark, but my Occam’s Razor/kneejerk reaction to the labor camp news is that the North Koreans really really REALLY want concessions from the international community.
And, if I’m reading it correctly, they only really admitted to the kyo-hwa-so “re-education through labor camps” (analogous to laogai in China). I’d be surprised if they A) allowed international inspectors into the kyo-hwa-so camps (on their own terms) or B) admitted they’ve also got these nice little hell holes called kwan-li-so camps where you and three generations of your family go to die in unspeakable conditions.
USA Today reports that King Little Fatso III missed the Party party:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/10/10/north-korea-kim-jong-un-rumor-absent/17014605/