North Korea

Trump says that Kim's health being bad is fake news and attacks the likes of CNN for reporting it.

Rodman is worried and hopes that they're just rumors.

Breaking: Vice President of Hong Kong Satellite Television is saying Kim is dead.

This is still one person, but we'll likely get news soon.

Anyone know if said channel is credible?

Edited by Rationalinsanity on Apr 24th 2020 at 5:19:39 AM

Joongang Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, apparently accidently published a prewritten article on twitter saying he died. Which is probably the source of that.

I would say that's probably an article they have on standby when he does kick the bucket.

Reuters: China has sent a team including medical experts to advise Kim on the coronavirus.

Japanese weekly Shukan Gendai is claiming they heard from one of the Chinese medical professionals sent to advise Kim that Kim is in a vegetative state after a failed cardiac surgery.

Again, take with a grain of salt.

I heard about that. Still waiting for confirmation either way.

So who takes over if Kim bites it?

His sister is one possible candidate.

And no, I doubt she'd be better than Kim.

I have quite a bit of doubt actually, she runs the nations propaganda department, is reportedly married to the person who is in charge of laundering the states money, and has immense favor with the military... You don't get that status in NK by being a good person.

Besides, defectors are saying that people just kinda take the God Emperor Kim thing for granted and all the oppression is just institutional and inertial.... that the North Korean government being more full of tired bureaucratic types who just write out execution orders like they're parking tickets sounds much more bleak and depressing than being evil henchmen... The government punishes families for generations and kills people because it's just what you do there not because Kim asked them to...

Which is honestly some how even more fucked up and depressing.

Edited by Imca on Apr 25th 2020 at 5:10:44 AM

That was what I was saying. I doubt she'd be better morally.

Oh derp, sorry its getting near time for me to sleep and I read that as "And, I have no doubt she will be better then Kim"

Sorry.

I've read that North Korea is too patriarchal for a woman to rule, at least in the open. She might become a de facto leader.

...I have my doubts that Un's son is very safe, if his father is vegetative or dead.

Women have a history of ruling korea, and apperntly there was concern about other female members of the family having too much power and being a threat last gen.

Honestly i just feel bad for however did the operation on him if he is truly dead. I really hope they don't get the ax for that, but given that people got "taken out" for much less there...

Edited by Lalapolpolpol on Apr 25th 2020 at 5:48:27 AM

Or news is reporting that that is exactly what caused the operation to be botched, the doctor was so worried about what would happen if he fucked up that a 1 minute procedure ended up running 8

Turns out threatening your doctors with death/gulags if they screw up makes them more likely to screw up out of stress...

@Imca, I know something of Korea's history with female rulers, but these accounts were regarding the Party being something of a boy's club. But again, I'm not sure if they were reliable.

If North Korea was so concerned about keeping the top boys-only, maybe somebody should have found a way to stop the Kims from purging each other every other decade...

Edited by Euodiachloris on Apr 25th 2020 at 10:04:15 AM

Yeah, as I said previously: When your family already has a history of illness, maybe pruning the tree isn't such a smart idea to maintain dynastic power.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on Apr 25th 2020 at 11:52:56 AM

RE: Female rulers in Korea

-looks at the most recent one-

Well...it isn't exactly a glorious history.

The Guardian: Kim Jong-un's train possibly spotted at North Korean resort [1]

Edited by nova92 on Apr 26th 2020 at 4:48:40 AM

The Associated Press is reporting that South Korea continues to deny that there are any "unusual developments" in North Korea indicative of Kim Jong Un having a life-threatening condition.

I wonder if this is going to blow up suddenly, or if it's going to turn out that the real problem is a massive wave of COVID-19 infections in the country, with the leadership fleeing to quarantine themselves.

Edited by Fighteer on Apr 27th 2020 at 8:04:35 AM

Kim could be quarantining himself, he has a lot of risk factors for it to be very bad for him.

The NY Times has a video regarding KJU being MIA.

Looks like Kim Yo-jong's getting subjecting to anime/manga memes.