Thursday, October 2, 2008

Where's Kim Jong-Il?

Hanging out with Waldo? Who knows? What we do know is that he has been completely invisible of late, including at the recent Sixtieth Anniversary celebrations for North Koea, leading to widespread speculation that he is either in poor health or even deceased: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122291070711596789.html?mod=djemEditorialPage. Instability, especially in a paranoid, nuclear-armed regime such as that running North Korea, can be a very frightening thing, but as John Bolton notes, it doesn't have to be. Rather, it can also be seen as an opportunity (to hasten the passing of one of the world's most odious regimes).

The key to me would be China. Any actions we take, be they overt or covert, would draw the attention of the economic and military behemoth to the north of the Korean Peninsula, so whatever we do, the Chinese had better be kept "in the loop", or better yet, involved. I don't doubt that Chinese leaders wouldn't sanction military action against a headless North Korean state, but given that they crave stability, they also don't want anarchy on their border. The key for us will be to find that middle ground..........

1 comment:

Serket said...

By watching "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?", I discovered that in 2003 he was labeled on the cover of Newsweek as Dr. Evil.