Communist Monarch Kim Jong Il Dies

[lpetrich]

Or so North Korean TV reports.

The Incredible Kim Jong-il and his Amazing Achievements - Telegraph

Even before his birth, the future leader of North Korea was triggering miracles. Official biographers say his birth in a cabin on the slopes of Baekdu Mountain in February 1942 was foretold by a swallow and heralded by a double rainbow. When he was born, a new star appeared in the night sky.

The first and only time he played golf, he scored 38 under par, including 11 holes in one.

He could control weather with his thoughts.

As a baby, he could walk at 3 weeks and talk at 8 weeks. When in school, he corrected teachers on their interpretations of history. When at Kim Il Sung U, he wrote 1500 books, and in 2 years, he write 6 operas, the best ever written. He was also an expert on film production.

Or so we were told by North Korean officialdom.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dead | Reuters

Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il's youngest son, is seen as the leader-in-waiting after he was appointed to senior political and military posts in 2010. He was at the head of a long list of officials making up the funeral committee, indicating he would lead it, and a key sign that he had taken, or been given, charge.

...

Kim Jong-il's sister and her husband have also been promoted to important political and military posts, creating a powerful triumvirate ready to take over the family dynasty that has ruled North Korea since its founding after World War Two.

Thus continuing the world's only Communist monarchy.

[SiliconWolf]

Makes me wonder if anything will change. The new guy's young and spent some time in Switzerland, so he certainly knows that there's more to the world than just Communism. But, often it's the Politburo/army/secret police who really wield the power. I don't see them changing much, but nothing in that country would surprise me.

[homo hirsutus]

I saw a really disturbing video of streets full of crying people. You would have thought their God had died... Oh wait.

[Seeker630]

On NPR this morning, they were saying North Korea has 4-8 nuclear devices, but no one in the West is sure if they have any way of delivering them to a target.

Now that's a pleasant thought.

[BigBlue2]

Goodbye, benevolent dictator. Oh how you loved your people.

[lpetrich]

Originally Posted by homo hirsutus

I saw a really disturbing video of streets full of crying people. You would have thought their God had died... Oh wait.

Some people asked how real this is if disapproval of the regime could get one in serious trouble. BBC News - How genuine are the tears in North Korea?

[marco di angelo]

Originally Posted by BigBlue2

Goodbye, benevolent dictator. Oh how you loved your people.

He loved them so much he tortured and imprisoned them and let them starve to death by the hundreds of thousands while he gorged himself on imported gourmet food from overseas. Let Them Eat Tree Bark.

[lpetrich]

The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - Military, NIS Now Agree Kim Jong-il's Train Never Moved
Seems like they made up their story about Kim Jong Il dying a heroic death aboard his train on an inspection tour. None of his three trains were in action on the weekend that he died.

Kim Jong-il funeral: thousands mourn North Korean leader | World news | guardian.co.uk

In death, as in life, Kim had kept the outside world guessing – this time about the timing of his funeral. The Russian and Chinese media said the images coming from Pyongyang on Wednesday were live, but the abundance of natural light at the end, just as it was getting dark in Seoul, suggested they were recorded.

As he was born, as he had lived, this Communist monarch died, surrounded by official bogosity.