Don't think China will be very appreciative of the US messing around in NK.

Mr_rb, hmm you could be right, on the other hand, that could be just the "official" opinion of the Chinese. It won't be the first time China pays lip service to a communist nation and hopes for the US to start a war...

"Any thoughts on what is going to happen on the Korean Peninsula?"

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True Redhouse, but in this case China really has nothing to gain from a conflict fairly close to its important industrial areas. The last thing they need is a greater Western influence in the region. Also I suppose Japan and SK would share in the burden of a conflict, so it's not like it would just be on the US's shoulders.

On a side note, I was having a discussion with a Chinese student the other day, interestingly enough the general opinion of Chinese people (even the more educated ones) regarding South Korea is not too positive, she said. Some even refuse to buy products of Korean conglomerates (e.g. LG and Samsung) because their products are seen as inferior/copies. On the other hand they see NK as something like a smaller brother of China that needs to be protected against outside influences.

cognac goes out of business

PS, the same guy is still running the country. Has been for years and prolly will for years to come. you can see him standing behind jung ill (and jung sun if thats his name) in all th pictures.

North Korea Rock Party!!

http://www.riemurasia.net/jylppy/media.php?id=85255

"By the way, if I were Obama I'd provoke a little war with North Korea. See if some "accidents" can't drive young, inexperienced Kim to make an error, triggering a war. It could be an interesting proxy war with Iran. After all, I hardly believe the Ayatollahs' love for the Kims is very deeply felt and they won't make the mistake of helping them too overtly, whereas the North Korean army could think it's an opportunity to consolidate their power in the new regime and push Kim to war.
Or, they won't push Kim for war and have to accept some "accidents" to happen the coming months. Either way I believe we should start teasing this kid. "

Yes, a "little war" with the worlds fourth largest army (or largest depending on how you count), most fortified border, and which has enough artillery and missiles trained on large asian cities to make dresden look like a bonfire... oh and they are nuclear armed

good idea...

The Kim is dead, long live the Kim!

Alas, the world's greatest golfer has passed away. Never again will the world be treated to seeing Kim stride forth and achieve 38 under par on a full size course. If only he hadn't been too focused on bettering the lives of his people he would have set the world alight. How much more beautiful would the world have been if Kim had golfed more, ruled less?

Or... perhaps more appropriately...

Ding, dong, the witch is dead. The wicked witch is dead!!! :D

Well, can't say I'm surprised that the usual suspects break out the champagne to celebrate death for the glory of the Empire. And the usual vomit passes for analysis. Kim Jong Il's big sin was not his golfing, since western puppets around the world have been showered with economic and military aid which they use to enrich themselves (see: Mubarak's billions, whom multiple people here defended without batting an eye). Nope, his big sin was not playing ball with the thugs who flattened his country and murdered millions of his people and who have never signed a peace treaty.

HES A HOUSE ON FIRE

@Putin33: if Kim Jong Idiot was such a great leader (seriously) then why, at the last world championship of football, was there a secret agent for /every/ football player, regulating his contacts with the international press and why is North Korea the /only/ country who would do such an indescribably absurd thing? North Korea is a joke.

@Putin33: obviously you opened the Havel-hread to escape the question I asked you here. And you're right in doing so, because the answer to this question is that sending the secret police with a football team is, well... because you have something to hide.

http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/5009/Archief/archief/article/detail/2768121/1998/05/27/Noord-Korea-voert-drugs-uit.dhtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_famine

http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/#CountryResults

Obviously I don't really care what a defender of the corrupt Dutch monarchy and supporter of anti-communist repression in the US thinks about Democratic Korea's security detail at the World Cup.

Can you imperialists engage in an international sporting event without trying to bribe athletes from socialist countries into defecting, like you do routinely with the Cubans?

Well what does the defender of the much more openly corrupt (see last link in last post) North Korean monarchy defender and supporter of anti-capitalist repression think about this security detail?
Pleaing guilty to the first of your accusations and not guilty to the second, I'd be happy to hear your ideas regardless.
redhouse

Putin33, you're a caricature.

Putin33 is fair enough to attack systems of power in the West - but you have nothing at all to defend what Kim Jong-il did to Korea.

I love how you bring up Cuba and the beautiful memories of the last world championship of baseball :)

By defense you mean defends from the barbaric warmongering that has been going on for decades by the western powers. Democratic Korea was quite willing to quit its nuclear program and engage in peaceful relations with the West but has been repeatedly provoked. Democratic Korea has been trying to reform its economy but those efforts have also been obstructed by the West who is so desperate for an enemy, a pariah state with which to strangle economically so it can brag about its own superiority. No country faces the constant threat of war like DPRK. It is a miracle it has survived these decades of unprovoked aggression.

Democratic Korea?

ha, democratic indeed.

"Democratic Korea was quite willing to quit its nuclear program and engage in peaceful relations with the West but has been repeatedly provoked."

Provoked in what ways?

cutting down a tree that his daddy planted and nourished him-self

or himself, either one

Putin33: Spewing mindless BS since 2008

http://gawker.com/lists/

how much of this is true by the way? If even 2 things of this list hold (which I doubt) I stand by what I said: North Korea is a joke.

Wait, is putty seriously defending Kim Jong-a-bit-worst-than-ill?

Really? I mean, I grant you I muted him, but I have a hard time believing *anyone* is that stupid

Life expectancy:
South Korea: 78.6
North Korea: 67.3

Infant Mortality (per 1000)
South Korea: 3.76
North Korea: 36.93

Executions in 2010:
South Korea: 0
North Korea: 60+

...

You know, I could go on with statistics *all* day long, but why bother? Putty is... putty. He wouldn't acknowledge that fire was bad if he was burning to death, if fire was Socially Acceptible and water was a tool of the Capitalist Running Dogs.

Actually I bet he would - he's a classic Internet Tough Guy, who talks the talk because he knows he'll never have to walk the walk

Which is ironic, as I'm willing to bet a decent sized donation to any chartity that aids the less fortunate that he hasn't had to actually strive against adversity - and I mean "being able to afford a meal more than once a day", not "daddy and mommy won't buy me a car" - in his over protected, whiny life.