Free Republic

Can Kim Jong-un Subdue the N.Korean Military? As soon as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un became vice chairman of the Workers Party's powerful Central Military Commission there emerged signs of a sweeping purge. Around a dozen high-ranking officers, including an assistant chief of the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces, an assistant chief of the General Staff Department as well as frontline commanders were brutally executed, ostensibly for being drunk or for sexual harassment during the mourning period for dead leader Kim Jong-il. But what does the purge mean, and what is exactly is going on in the North Korean...

/begin my excerpts On the Kim Jong-eun's Order "Not even a hair should be left" ... Mortar Used Lee Yong-soo Kim Jong-eun Ordered, "Not even a hair should be left" More than ten generals purged this year, "Another day, another one disappears." Since Kim Jong-il's sudden death last year, Kim Jong-eun took over and N. Korean military has been in the vortex of unprecedented 'purge drive' and the means of execution is (very) cruel, such as using mortar fire, a knowledgeable government source on N. Korea revealed on Mar. 21. He said, “Since Dec. 30 last year when Kim Jong-eun...

/begin my excerpts Exclusive: Drinking during Kim’s Mourning Period... Vice Defense Minister Shot in Public A Deputy Chief of Staff also shot for a sexual misconduct Kim Jong-eun, Vice Chairman of Party’s Central Defense Commission, purged senior military figures in an attempt to establish discipline in military after Kim Jong-il’s death, according to sources on Mar. 20. They said, “Last January, Kim Jong-eun gave an order to ‘eliminate anybody who did outrageous things during General’s (Kim Jong-il’s) mourning period.’ We have intelligence that a Deputy Chief of General Staffs was arrested for committing a sexual misconduct during Kim’s mourning period...

Kim Jong-eun visiting Man-Kyong-Dae Revolutionary Academy, a school for kids from elite families in N. Korea.

5 – North Korea Implosion or Explosion Don’t be fooled by stories of how smoothly the transition is proceeding in Pyongyang. The first rule of analyzing North Korea—it’s the world’s most opaque regime and no one really knows what’s going on inside—has not changed. Maybe things really are going smoothly. Maybe they’re already off the rails. We do know that North Korea is a nuclear power, that provocation is its traditional foreign policy tool of choice, and that North Korean collapse is the likeliest way to bring American and Chinese soldiers face to face in an unpredictable and dangerous security...

 Kim Jong-nam Says N.Korean Regime Won't Last Long Kim Jong-nam Former North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Jong-nam has said the isolated regime will eventually fail with or without reforms. The comment appears in e-mail conversations exchanged over seven years between Kim Jong-nam and a Japanese journalist and obtained by the Monthly Chosun. The nearly 100 e-mails were sent from 2004 until December last year to Yoji Komi, an editor at the Tokyo Shimbun daily. The two also spoke in person in January and May last year. ◆ Oppostion to Dynastic Succession Kim Jong-nam, who was passed over...

The Signs Are Bad, and Time Is Short By The Daily NK [2011-12-30 09:52 ] On Thursday, ten days of mourning for Kim Jong Il was wound up. Internally, there have been no signs of anything out of the ordinary since Kim’s sudden death was announced on December 19th. In content and style, the mourning process was very similar to that of Kim Il Sung, up to and including the wailing mourners. Although international observers have long held concerns about the new leader, twenty-something year old Kim Jong Eun, the North Korean authorities have not taken long to proclaim him...

Who Is in Charge of N.Korea's Nuclear Weapons? New North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is taking control of the renegade country's nuclear weapons, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told the National Assembly's Defense Committee last Tuesday. "It also seems that Kim Jong-un has the final say on nuclear weapons considering that the power is being handed over to him now," he added. Kim Jong-un is vice chairman of the Workers Party's Central Military Commission, which now commands the military. A South Korean intelligence officer said the North Korean military attaches the greatest importance to the nuclear arms, and Kim Jong-un is...

Purges 'Ensure Kim Jong-un's Succession' A series of executions and unexplained deaths since North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son Jong-un was anointed heir to the throne in January 2009 were apparently meant to remove obstacles to the transition. Kim senior instituted several bloody purges to ensure his iron grip on power since he officially took over from his own father in 1994. The most prominent example is perhaps the death of Ri Je-gang, a former senior deputy director of the Organization and Guidance Department and a close aide to Kim Jong-il who oversaw key military appointments for more than two...

December 26, 2011 Jang Song-taek Cements Position in N.Korean Regime Jang Song-taek, the uncle and patron of new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, appeared on state TV on Sunday dressed in full military uniform for the first time. Until now, Jang had only been spotted in a suit and tie. Korean Central TV broadcast footage of Kim Jong-un and Jang paying their respects to dead leader Kim Jong-il, who lies in state at Kumsusan Memorial Hall in Pyongyang. Jang's insignia confirm his military status as a four-star general in addition to his existing titles of vice chairman of the powerful...

In North Korea, young Kim Jong Eun will test age-old reliance on maturity By Marc Fisher, Published: December 23 At 28 or 29, Kim Jong Eun, the presumed new leader of North Korea, will be the youngest person ever to have authority over a nuclear arsenal. At that age, neuroscientists say, the brain is still in the final stages of development. Developmental psychologists say thereÂ’s a good reason that AmericaÂ’s Founding Fathers set 35 as the minimum age for a president: People younger than that just donÂ’t have the experience or skill to deal with complex decision making. Historians warn...

'He couldn't speak English, didn't pass any exams and was obsessed with basketball and computer games': Kim Jong Un's Swiss school days revealed By Allan Hall Last updated at 4:14 PM on 22nd December 2011 He is the heir poised to become the next leader of rogue state North Korea. But a probe into the school days of Kim Jong Un - youngest son of dictator Kim Jong Il - proves he is little more than an academic failure who squandered his education playing computer games and basketball. /snip But the signs are not good. Despite having thousands of pounds...

FMR. PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER is today reported to have not only sent off a condolence message to North Korea over the death of mass murderer, horrendous DICTATOR Kim Jong-il, in it he also addressed comments to the heir-apparant, Kim Jong-un, and wished for "his success" as he goes forward to "assume power."

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il's death opens a period of intense danger and risk, but also potentially enormous opportunity for America and its allies. Kim's health had obviously been poor for some time, and his regime has worked to ensure an orderly transition to his son, Kim Jong Eun. The Kim family and its supporters, with everything obviously at stake, will work strenuously to convey stability and control. Indeed, the official North Korea news agency has already referred to Jong Eun as "the great successor to the revolutionary cause." But the loathsome Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) is...

North Korea's new leader is depicted in U.S. intelligence assessments as a volatile youth with a sadistic streak who may be even more unpredictable than his late father, according to U.S. officials. U.S. intelligence officials say they have limited information about Kim Jong Eun, the youngest son of Kim Jong Il and his anointed successor. The U.S. has had few direct contacts on which to make a "conclusive assessment" of Kim Jong Eun's nature and character, a senior U.S. official said. Some analysts say Kim Jong Eun's youth, inexperience and lack of public exposure raise questions about whether he can,...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Kim Jong Il, North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic leader, has died. He was 69. Kim's death was announced Monday by state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008 but appeared relatively vigorous in photos and video from recent trips to China and Russia and in numerous trips around the country carefully documented by state media. The leader, reputed to have had a taste for cigars, cognac and gourmet cuisine, was believed to have had diabetes and heart disease.

Kim Jong-il is dead

Old Hardliner Returns to N.Korean General Staff Kim Kyok-sik (file photo) Kim Kyok-sik (file photo) The septuagenarian hardliner Gen. Kim Kyok-sik, who is believed to have supervised the North Korean military's deadly shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in November last year, appears to have regained the favor of the regime. Kim (71) was fired as chief of General Staff in 2009 and since headed the Fourth Army Corps. It has been some two months since he disappeared from view in the area covered by the Fourth Corps. "But he's suddenly showing up at high-level military events in Pyongyang recently," a senior...