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...test -- but the launching of Pyongyang's very own Sputnik. "Our scientists and technicians have succeeded in launching the first artificial satellite aboard a multi-stage rocket," KCNA said Friday. Not only that, but this little orbital wonder is apparently transmitting "the song of General Marshal Kim Jong Il" across the globe at this very moment...
...delightfully quaint piece of propaganda? There's no official word yet from U.S. intelligence. Perhaps North Korea is backtracking on its earlier belligerence out of fear that food aid will be withdrawn -- or KCNA is getting a little carried away in advance of Kim's inauguration Saturday. Still, it beats fireworks...
Most countries let off a few fireworks to inaugurate a new president; North Korea prefers missiles -- or "artificial satellites" according to their official version. Kim Jong Il (the "Dear Leader" who is already de facto head of state) is set to take over the presidency of his late father, Kim Il Sung (the "Great Leader") on Saturday -- and Western intelligence has very little idea of his intentions. "The original assumption was that he was a lightweight playboy who wouldn't last long in power," says TIME correspondent Douglas Waller. "But he's proved himself to be a very skillful operator...
...says TIME Pentagon correspondent Mark Thompson. "This is like the test track". Customers such as Iran and Pakistan, who both bought dozens of North Korean Rodongs, are bound to like the look of this new 1,240-mile-range Daepodong -- which is literally twice the missile the Rodong was. Kim Jong Il, soon to be installed as president, has a nice firework for his inauguration. And North Korea's starving millions -- well, they get the satisfaction of seeing their nation trying to establish itself as a regional power. "Plainly," says Thompson, "this is one of the world's most loony...
Indeed, Pullman is working on deals with Crosby, Stills and Nash; the heirs of author John Steinbeck; and writers for the Seinfeld TV show. He's also working on a deal with songwriters for Tupac Shakur, Kim Carnes, Heart, Patti Smith, Joan Jett, Rod Stewart and Pat Benatar. Their royalties and those of other songwriters will be bundled and sold as bonds by year-end, Pullman says. He predicts half a dozen similar deals next year...