Kim Jong-Il Dead

[DZComposer]

Kim Jong-Il has died. He was the leader of the DPRK, AKA North Korea.

As expected, his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un, will be his successor. Many things I have read over the past couple of years have suggested the potential for a coup if Jong-Un were to succeed Jong-Il. Now it has happened.

Let's hope that the DPRK doesn't destabilize. IMO, the Korean peninsula is the hotspot most likely to start WWIII due to chaining alliances involving the US, China, and Russia.

[Wes]

Let's hope that the DPRK doesn't destabilize. IMO, the Korean peninsula is the hotspot most likely to start WWIII due to chaining alliances involving the US, China, and Russia.

Let's hope this doesn't happen.

[Brutus]

What's funny is, all the threads i've seen on all the boards i'm on have stated "is dead" rather than "R.I.P." which is more common. Even when Khadaffi and Osama Bin Laden (supposedly) died, people typed "R.I.P." in the subject lines. That ought to say something :lolhyst:

[Arashikage]

Well, perhaps his son won't be a nutjob. I heard they were supposed to train him for 20 years, but only got to train him for 6 or something. So maybe he won't be exactly like his father or his grandfather.

[Thu'um]

eh, i'd like to see an increase in NK and the US's realtionship. and more importantly a higher standered of life for the people there as i hear it can be quite rough

[CrypticQuery]

Hopefully they'll come out of their state as a cold-war relic and actually embrace the world rather than shun it. Or, you know, WWIII.

[unoservix]

y'know, i'm just not convinced that China gives such a shit about North Korea that it's willing to eradicate its largest trading partner and demolish its own economy just to prop the little nutballs up. in any war over the Korean peninsula, the North will lose, no matter who else wins, and everyone from Beijing to Washington knows it--including Pyongyang, which is why they never push the situation into outright war, despite their ginormous military and various threatening noises. so i suspect there's a limit to China's patience for its crazy little pet dictatorship.

but either way, while Kim 2.0's death is sudden, they've been preparing for this for a while. as long as Kim 3.0 installs properly, the world has nothing much to worry about. North Korea always makes threatening noises when its relevance starts to slip, but those threatening noises are generally just noises and are generally accompanied by hints that they're willing to come back to the table in exchange for delicious humanitarian aid so the party elite don't have to cut back on their Hennessy.

for that matter, South Korea doesn't particularly want war either. they would probably win, but it would be a bloody and costly affair, and Seoul is pretty much right in the line of fire for all of it. so they can make all the threatening noises they want, but that doesn't mean much until someone tries to act on all that rhetoric--and once they do, no matter what, the North gets annihilated.

[Thu'um]

y'know, i'm just not convinced that China gives such a shit about North Korea that it's willing to eradicate its largest trading partner and demolish its own economy just to prop the little nutballs up. in any war over the Korean peninsula, the North will lose, no matter who else wins, and everyone from Beijing to Washington knows it--including Pyongyang, which is why they never push the situation into outright war, despite their ginormous military and various threatening noises. so i suspect there's a limit to China's patience for its crazy little pet dictatorship.

but either way, while Kim 2.0's death is sudden, they've been preparing for this for a while. as long as Kim 3.0 installs properly, the world has nothing much to worry about. North Korea always makes threatening noises when its relevance starts to slip, but those threatening noises are generally just noises and are generally accompanied by hints that they're willing to come back to the table in exchange for delicious humanitarian aid so the party elite don't have to cut back on their Hennessy.

for that matter, South Korea doesn't particularly want war either. they would probably win, but it would be a bloody and costly affair, and Seoul is pretty much right in the line of fire for all of it. so they can make all the threatening noises they want, but that doesn't mean much until someone tries to act on all that rhetoric--and once they do, no matter what, the North gets annihilated.

yes for all of this. north could never win. the mountains would be able to make for great strongholds and there is already a significant american Garrison there

[DZComposer]

...as long as Kim 3.0 installs properly, the world has nothing much to worry about.

That's kind of the point I am getting at. I'm not worried abouty Jong-Un, but rather what would happen if there was a coup that didn't resolve quickly. That could turn into a real mess.

[TCPeppyTc]

It is likely that China/ Russia will try to keep the ancien Regime in power in North Korea. They cant really afford to tolerate meaningful reform. If North Korea ceases to be totalitarian, millions of North Koreans will leave for China/ Siberia or South Korea. It will be interesting to see what happens......

[Star Fox Runner]

I heard about this from Catwings about an hour after it happened.

I doubt anything will really change if Jong-Un is succeeding him, one nutjob gets out of power for another to come right in, and it's his son at that. So if the transition goes smoothly, things will probably end up the same as they've always been. Not saying that's good, but still.

[Harlow]

Um, I think a 28-year-old spoiled brat (rough, but true on the world of politics, so people here are fair game) with a country full of nuclear power won't lead to any good. North Korea it's like Venezuela times 20: A country with a huge factor of wealth, but, becasue of a deluded leader and people who believe he's of the utmost importance, won't advance. Only said leader will live as a king, while the rest survives on foreign aid.

Can you believe some North Koreans believed Jong-ll controlled the weather? Jong-ll won't be happy to find out he isn't as important or critical as he thought, and that N. Korea didn't dissapear in the wind.

It would be great if China, the only country supporting the DPRK, suddenly said "Sorry, no more help from us, fend for yourselves"

Jong-Un said that "He's willing to make peace, but the only obstacle are the US troops on the South..."

Nuff' said.

Can be translated as "You won't imagine the bomb we'll shove up yours once those guys are gone"

BTW, on a hypothetical WW3, I think China's more likely to side with the US rather than the DPRK or Russia. China/US relations are easily the strongest between any country on various aspects. IMO, a twisted perception of "nacionality pride" isn't an excuse to break such a productive bond.