OT- Kim Jong-Il has died

Submitted by sarto1g on

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-12-18/north-korea-leader-dies/52058036/1

 

I don't know who is next in line in their country, but for the people's sake I hope they can make some progress over there.

 

[ED:BISB - I want to leave this up, but in order to make that possible, I'm probably gonna have to delete anything that strays into the politics surrounding it.  Go nuts, and if I delete something insightful, I apologize. Kinda]

1464

December 18th, 2011 at 10:21 PM ^

He was a big fan of Hollywood.  Perhaps a plot twist?  He surfaces in Kansas?  So what can all you interlectuals tell me about his hair apparent?

buddhafrog

December 19th, 2011 at 9:17 AM ^

I live in Korea and the feeling here is not too tense yet... His craziest-ass son is the new center of the universe.  Worries are that the military will take control b/c he's too young/weak.  Having nuclear weapons pointed at my city (Ulsan) is uncomfortable, but not too bad.  You certainly get used to it after many years of not getting blown up yet.

The single best thing you can watch about North Korea is this hilarious/insightful/educational documentary from a guy who snuck into North Korea:

/http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/vice-guide-travel-north-korea/

BiSB

December 18th, 2011 at 10:28 PM ^

No OT and whatnot. But for now, this is a big thing, and is not 'politics.'

FWIW, his son Kim Jong Un has been in position to replace him for about 18 months now.

EDIT: Also, and this should go without saying, but racism (other than Team America-based racism) and actual politics are still uncool, and will be deleted.

M-Wolverine

December 19th, 2011 at 12:26 AM ^

And it sounds like something might have been deleted...but how off topic would something have to be to be "political"? Is there a contingent in support of ass-crazy murderous to their own people foreign dictators with horrible singing voices party around here to offend? North Korean sympathizers? People who REALLY didn't like Team America?
<br>
<br>I'm not seeing where the debate is going to come from...it'd be like a "sanctions against Ohio State are bad" crowd. And frankly, those trolls are probably given more leeway.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

December 18th, 2011 at 10:39 PM ^

Even better: I was in Navy intel for a little while and got to read all about it.  I'm not exactly disclosing classified info, though, when I say: yup, not very different.  I wouldn't go so far as to say "carbon copy," but there's a reason he was groomed as successor and not the other two sons.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

December 19th, 2011 at 12:38 AM ^

Less than you might think.  Honestly, the "inside scoop" is not terribly different from the public perception.  It's just faster.  I've been out of the loop for a year and a half, too, so what I "know" is getting more obsolete by the day.  Plus there's inside scoop and then there's inside scoop, you know?

It wouldn't surprise me in the least, though, if KJI died like a week ago and intel already knew.  One never gets the impression that North Korean authorities would be totally honest about this event.  No doubt all the swallows and doves in the country are shedding oceans of tears over their Dear Leader.

Rabbit21

December 19th, 2011 at 12:59 AM ^

Agree that most classified stuff on nK is boring(at least from three years ago), but one thing that scares me is what really happens now(disclaimer:all my conjecture comes from unclassifed open source type stuff, so I'm not pulling back any veils)  There's a school of thought that some of the more aggressive nK generals were being held back by KJ.  If this is true, then things may get bad-interesting faster than we might like.  This is a very worrisome day in my opinion.

 

bronxblue

December 18th, 2011 at 10:36 PM ^

I'm sure it would be pulled if it was a more active time for the board, but I'm okay with it being up for a bit just because of its importance to the world.  Also, doesn't feel nearly that political - my guess is that most posters feel that his death, while tragic in the very basic sense when anyone dies, is probably for the overall good of his country and its people given the tyranny displayed throughout his time as the leader of North Korea.  And yes, I'm sure his heir-apparent son won't be much of a change, but hopefully having a younger individual at the helm will open up more communication channels between the nation and the rest of the world.