This does make you wonder if for security precautions the North Koreans kept Kim Jong-un indoors somewhere or maybe he was just to lazy to show up for the picture?:
Recent photographs of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared to have been doctored, prompting speculation regarding Kim’s wariness about his personal safety as tensions rise on the peninsula.
The photographs that ran on the seventh page of state newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Friday show Kim surrounded by a large group of party officials, posing before the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported.
Kumsusan is also the mausoleum of the late Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s founder.
But something doesn’t look quite right.
On closer inspection, the main flag at the top of the building flutters in one direction, while a group of flags in the background flies in the opposite way, an unlikely phenomenon if wind was blowing at the time the photograph was taken. [Business Insider]
I hope no one is shocked by this news that the North Koreans sent undercover agents into the Kaesong Industrial complex to monitor workers and steal technology. I would be more surprised if they did not. It will be interesting to see how much the North Koreans have learned over the past ten years to see if they can run this industrial park by themselves:
Internal North Korean documents exclusively obtained by KBS have revealed that the communist state may have prepared for freezing assets of South Korean businesses at the inter-Korean Gaeseong Industrial Complex from the early stages of the cross-border project.
Papers from organizations of North Korea’s Workers’ Party in 2006 show directives to Pyongyang officials to learn and acquire the South’s “advanced” technologies at the Gaeseong industrial park.
While calling South Korea the “enemy,” the orders also stress that the North’s officials must be able to manage and run the factory facilities without the South’s help.
Another exclusively obtained document suggests that the North Korean regime also set up a surveillance unit to monitor workers at the factory park. Circumstantial evidence has also been revealed to suggest that North Korean soldiers could have been employed at the industrial complex as undercover agents.
Papers from North Korea’s Sixth Infantry Division also show authorities there had aimed to minimize the consumption and intake of South Korean products and “capitalist” culture. [KBS World]
Dennis Halpin at NK News has a long article about how the Chinese could turn to Kim Jong-un’s half brother, Kim Jong-nam to lead North Korea if they tire of Jong-un’s antics. It is a good read about Kim Jong-nam if you don’t know much about him, but it seems installing him with a palace coup would be tough to do in North Korea:
Kim Jong Nam, despite a globetrotting playboy image which has seen him periodically surface in Southeast Asian watering holes in Indonesia and Malaysia, has voiced criticisms of his younger brother similar to those espoused by his own student son. Kim Jong Nam reportedly emailed a Japanese journalist in 2012 a prediction that “the Kim Jong Un regime will not last long.” He has also voiced support for economic restructuring, stating that “without reforms, North Korea will collapse,” which would be music to the ears of the leadership in Beijing. Kim Jong Nam’s close familial ties to his purged uncle, Jang Song Thaek, who was widely seen as Beijing’s point man in Pyongyang, would also likely earn him kudos among the Chinese leadership facing a quandary of what to do about North Korea. The question is how to preserve a reliable buffer state against American influence in South Korea while curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs which increasingly threaten regional stability. Kim Jong Nam, despite his bad boy image, would likely prove far more pliant than his disagreeable and defiant little brother. [NK News]
You can read the rest at the link, but I look at Kim Jong-nam more likely taking power if a regime collapse scenario was to happen and the Chinese intervened and needed to get a new leader quickly in place. Kim Jong-nam could then open up the country following the Chinese model becuase Kim Jong-nam does not have any human rights violation, crimes against humanity, or any other excess baggage hanging over his head if he decides to open up the country and the reality of the North Korean gulags becomes public. He can blame it all on the old regime and vow that he is working on fixing the problems the old regime created. This may be enough to get world leaders to except him and work to drop sanctions and offer financial assistance in exchange for ending their nuclear program.
Those are just some quick thoughts I have, does anyone else see any other scenario that Kim Jong-nam could take power?
It looks like ROK intelligence must have had some chatter warning them of a possible upcoming cyberattack:
South Korea has upgraded its military information surveillance status in response to growing threats of North Korean cyber attacks, a military official said Sunday.
“We believe there’s a larger possibility that North Korea may launch cyber attacks on the South, and recently upgraded our Information Operation Condition,” the official said, without elaborating further. [Korea Herald]
Over at One Free Korea there is a post up that discusses some of the inside baseball involved with the passing of the North Korea sanctions bill that is set to hit the President’s desk. I found it interesting that Senator Rubio had such an interest in North Korea that he read the entire bill and left his own track changes comments. Even Senator Feinstein has come out in strong support of the bill:
By now, most of you know that the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, the Senate’s version of H.R. 757, passed the Senate unanimously Wednesday night. The House is expected to pass the Senate’s version this morning and send it to the President’s desk.
In an election year, when floor time is especially precious, it was remarkable and humbling that the Senate spent an entire day debating this bill. Senator after senator came to the floor to give supportive speeches. If you read only one of them, read the moving speech of Senator Diane Feinstein (D, CA) about human rights, but be warned — this is the stuff of nightmares, and not for children’s eyes.
The speeches should be available on video here within the next few days. [One Free Korea]
You can read the rest at the link, but the house approved the Senate’s bill with a vote of 408-2. It appears that how to deal with North Korea has more bipartisan support now then even how to deal with ISIS.
Kim Jong-un is either taking a very hardline against corruption or this is just a cover to eliminate people he doesn’t completely trust or may be it is both:
North Korea has executed its army chief of staff, Ri Yong Gil, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, which, if true, would be the latest in a series of executions, purges, and disappearances under the country’s young leader.
The news comes amid heightened tension surrounding the isolated North Korea after its Sunday launch of a long-range rocket, which came about a month after it drew international condemnation for conducting its fourth nuclear test.
A source familiar with North Korean affairs also told Reuters that Ri had been executed. The source declined to be identified, given the sensitivity of the matter.
Ri, who was chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff, was executed this month for corruption and factional conspiracy, Yonhap and other South Korean media reported. [Business Insider via reader tip]
