Word: kim
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...were digging in along the North Korean border, possibly to repel a wave of refugees expected to flee the North should there be political upheaval. In other reports from the South Korean and international press, North Korean generals were said to be defecting in droves; ubiquitous propaganda portraits of Kim were mysteriously disappearing from Pyongyang's public places; and fewer North Koreans traveling abroad were wearing lapel pins depicting Kim's visage. In an interview with Fuji Television, influential Japanese lawmaker Shinzo Abe underscored a general sense of foreboding when he urged his nation to dust off contingency plans...
...North Korea's isolation certainly makes it seem as if anything is possible?the country remains a black box to the outside world. But informed Western diplomats and North Korean refugees who maintain contacts with relatives back home say it does not seem as if Kim's collapse is imminent. Pyongyang's closest ally, China, appears unworried. Vice Foreign Minister Wu Da-wei last week flatly denied that his country was massing troops at the border. Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue denied any knowledge that Kim Jong Il had been toppled and admonished the world to ignore "groundless reports and news...
...Still, pressure on Kim's regime is rising. North Korea's refusal to continue nuclear-disarmament talks with neighboring countries and the U.S. makes the North an increasingly worrisome misfit in the international arena, and there are signs that Kim is facing unprecedented challenges at home. He recently purged his brother-in-law, Jang Song Taek, for trying to set up his own power base in the military, according to South Korean intelligence testimony to Seoul lawmakers last week. Jang may have been an obstacle to Kim's plans to some day hand power over to one of his three...
...Indeed, North Korea's on-again-off-again economic reforms may be sparking some of the speculation regarding Kim's status. North Korea can't condemn capitalism and still allow increasingly open markets without overhauling its ideology and propaganda. China's economic reforms, begun 25 years ago, coincided with the demise of Mao Zedong's cult of personality. It makes sense that Pyongyang, too, will begin a process of change by lowering Kim's profile. Professor Ruediger Frank, a North Korea specialist at the University of Vienna, visited Pyongyang in September and for the first time noticed that portraits...
...Frank suggests that trimming Kim Jong Il's personality cult could be a sign that the country is paving the way for economic reforms and possibly for a more collective form of leadership. If that's the case, then removing Kim's portraits from public places may be more a sign of strength than of weakness. Besides, the regime's ability to control its citizens appears undiminished. This summer, North Korea launched a sweeping crackdown on illegal bootleg videos of South Korean TV dramas now flooding into the country from China, according to North Korean defectors. In May, Kim took...