Kim Jong-un

[shunyadragon]

Maybe he wants to hike the Tallahassee trail...

. . . more likely walk, ah . . . run the Great Wall.

[Ronson]

I'll defer to the ever reliable Bill Palmer.

Also, I am reminded of stretches of silence when the same happened in the Soviet Union. IIRC, those silent moments and lack of refutation were a sign of a power vacuum and a certain degree of chaos.

[seanD]

Memes about Kim Yo Jong are going crazy on social media.

[Mountain Man]

It would make the left happy if Kim Yo Jong took over. They were all googly eyed over her during the Olympics when she supposedly upstaged Vice President Pence.

• New York Times:
  ""
• Daily Beast:
  ""
  ""
• CNN:
  "Kim Jong Un's sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics"
  "North Korea is winning the Olympics --and it's not because of sports"
• Reuters:
  "North Korea heads for diplomacy gold medal at Olympics"
• Washington Post:
  ""

[Ronson]

It would make the left happy if Kim Yo Jong took over. They were all googly eyed over her during the Olympics when she supposedly upstaged Vice President Pence.

• New York Times:
  ""
• Daily Beast:
  ""
  ""
• CNN:
  "Kim Jong Un's sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics"
  "North Korea is winning the Olympics --and it's not because of sports"
• Reuters:
  "North Korea heads for diplomacy gold medal at Olympics"
• Washington Post:
  ""

But if she greeted Trump and they smiled at each other, she would be just as quickly be villainized by the same group.

[Thoughtful Monk]

It would make the left happy if Kim Yo Jong took over. They were all googly eyed over her during the Olympics when she supposedly upstaged Vice President Pence.

• New York Times:
  ""
• Daily Beast:
  ""
  ""
• CNN:
  "Kim Jong Un's sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics"
  "North Korea is winning the Olympics --and it's not because of sports"
• Reuters:
  "North Korea heads for diplomacy gold medal at Olympics"
• Washington Post:
  ""

All true but to repeat myself from a few posts ago, I think North Korea is too sexist to allow her to have power. I think we might be looking at the end of the Kim dynasty and maybe they're so silent because they're still fighting over who the next leader will be.

[seanD]

All true but to repeat myself from a few posts ago, I think North Korea is too sexist to allow her to have power. I think we might be looking at the end of the Kim dynasty and maybe they're so silent because they're still fighting over who the next leader will be.

I don't know about that. She was carrying some pretty hefty weight and power even before Kim "disappeared," at least according to sources I've read. I would think that if she's as ruthless as Kim, they'd want her there in that position, hopefully to mislead their opponents into thinking she's nicer than Kim to take advantage of them. Which is all the more reason to fear her rise to power, since she may be under pressure to act even more ruthless to show she's not weak just because she's a woman. In fact, that's the fear of any country run by a woman; they may feel the need to be even more aggressive than their male counterparts to be seen as equal (I know that sounds sexist and I'm in no way saying women shouldn't be in positions of power and authority).

[Mountain Man]

I don't know about that. She was carrying some pretty hefty weight and power even before Kim "disappeared," at least according to sources I've read. I would think that if she's as ruthless as Kim, they'd want her there in that position, hopefully to mislead their opponents into thinking she's nicer than Kim to take advantage of them. Which is all the more reason to fear her rise to power, since she may be under pressure to act even more ruthless to show she's not weak just because she's a woman. In fact, that's the fear of any country run by a woman; they may feel the need to be even more aggressive than their male counterparts to be seen as equal (I know that sounds sexist and I'm in no way saying women shouldn't be in positions of power and authority).

The question is, was she powerful only because she was Kim's proxy or because she wielded power in her own right?

[NorrinRadd]

Memes about Kim Yo Jong are going crazy on social media.

I felt sad for Azula.

[Sparko]

I think he is somehow incapacitated.

Maybe whoever takes over if he dies will have the sense to dissolve the NK regime and reunite with South Korea.

[rogue06]

Actually, I am pointing out that Trump's attempts to negotiate with N.K. were pretty much as non-productive as all previous presidents, none of whom gave N.K. the "honor" of face time with a U.S. president.

Let's see... off the top of my head North Korea has stopped testing nukes. For awhile they even stopped testing missiles something they didn't even pretend to do for previous presidents. In any case they seemed to stop launching them toward Guam. FWIU there was a very sharp decrease in anti-American propaganda inside North Korea after their meeting (although that could have picked back up since then). The bodies of a number of American soldiers have been returned -- something they wouldn't even discuss previously. And IIRC the leader of South Korea heaped a good deal of praise on Trump after his meeting with Kim Jong Um saying it significantly eased tensions between their two countries.

So while it serves your narrative to pretend that nothing whatsoever changed, the facts, as usual, just are not on your side.

[rogue06]

I think he is somehow incapacitated.

Maybe whoever takes over if he dies will have the sense to dissolve the NK regime and reunite with South Korea.

His sister, who the MSM went gaga over during the Olympics, will likely take over. She's basically the only "heir" he didn't have killed.

One rumor is that he had surgery to have some stints put in and the doctor, who knew if anything went wrong his entire family would suffer horribly, was so nervous that he botched it. If true that would be pretty ironic. He spent so much time consolidating power and making everyone scared to death of him and that might be the very thing responsible for doing him in.

Another prominent rumor is that he's got the Chicom coronavirus.

[rogue06]

It would make the left happy if Kim Yo Jong took over. They were all googly eyed over her during the Olympics when she supposedly upstaged Vice President Pence.

• New York Times:
  ""
• Daily Beast:
  ""
  ""
• CNN:
  "Kim Jong Un's sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics"
  "North Korea is winning the Olympics --and it's not because of sports"
• Reuters:
  "North Korea heads for diplomacy gold medal at Olympics"
• Washington Post:
  ""

I can't remember who it was but someone back then was proclaiming just how progressive North Korea was for having a woman in line for being their next dictator unlike the benighted, backward U.S. (who had their chance to have a female dictator but the ignorant rube voters blew it )

[Ronson]

His sister, who the MSM went gaga over during the Olympics, will likely take over. She's basically the only "heir" he didn't have killed.

One rumor is that he had surgery to have some stints put in and the doctor, who knew if anything went wrong his entire family would suffer horribly, was so nervous that he botched it. If true that would be pretty ironic. He spent so much time consolidating power and making everyone scared to death of him and that might be the very thing responsible for doing him in.

Another prominent rumor is that he's got the Chicom coronavirus.

You'd think he'd go to another country, like China, for surgery. But perhaps he was more afraid of COVID.

[carpedm9587]

Let's see... off the top of my head North Korea has stopped testing nukes.

NK has had gaps in testing in the past of 3 years (2006-2009, and 2013-2016) and 4 years (2009-2013). Then they went into a spate of tests from early 2016 through 2017. We are now less than 3 years into another hiatus. I'm not sure how that makes what Trump did an "accomplishment" any different from the previous incidents.

For awhile they even stopped testing missiles something they didn't even pretend to do for previous presidents. In any case they seemed to stop launching them toward Guam.

Again, gaps in missile testing are not unprecedented and this one didn't even set records. As soon as KJU saw he wasn't getting what he wanted, they started up again. Meanwhile, KJU got one of the things he very much wanted: initially complete cessation of, and now significantly scaled back, military exercises with South Korea. And what did Trump get? Pretty much nothing.

FWIU there was a very sharp decrease in anti-American propaganda inside North Korea after their meeting (although that could have picked back up since then).

Documentation of this claim, please?

The bodies of a number of American soldiers have been returned -- something they wouldn't even discuss previously.

Rogue - about 50 boxes of remains were returned of the 5,300 missing. As much as I respect the military, we are talking about a fraction of the problem about six decades too late. This was a political stunt - not much more. I'm glad some families experienced closure, but it pales in practical significance to the possession and use of nuclear weapons.

And IIRC the leader of South Korea heaped a good deal of praise on Trump after his meeting with Kim Jong Um saying it significantly eased tensions between their two countries.

And any comment about people "praising" Mr. Trump is suspect from the outset. Mr. Trump has created an atmosphere of hostility in which anyone who does not bow and praise and compliment is subject to his wrath and his vindictiveness. SO we see a lot of bowing and scraping, and diplomats will always put things in the best light they can manage. Not much of an argument here.

So while it serves your narrative to pretend that nothing whatsoever changed, the facts, as usual, just are not on your side.

Unfortunately, your response/rebuttal is not all that convincing. It ignores a lot of practical/historical realities.