The two-day hysteria in the world media about the possible death of the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, began to subside a little by Monday morning. “The position of our government is firm. Kim Jong-un is alive and well, ”admitted South Korean National Security Advisor Moon Jung-in, although reports of failed heart surgery had been circulated before. Since official Seoul is now declaring this ... The term "South Korean fakes" has long been firmly established in the everyday life of information war experts.
According to Moon Jeong In, the last couple of weeks, "Comrade Kim" is located in the resort town of Wonsan, where his personal armored train was discovered. He was spotted from satellites by the Yankees sensational from the 38 North site. An interesting name, isn't it? The figure is obviously the 38th parallel, the line of demarcation between North and South Korea. The resource aims to "convey the best analysis of events in the DPRK to specialists and the general public." Who, besides the CIA, might be interested in this?
Kim Jong-un train, like his father, definitely prefers to the plane. Like the good old dictators of the 20th century, confident that they should take care of their precious life, otherwise their peoples will be in trouble. The visit to Russia, to Moscow, of Kim Jong-un's father was like Solzhenitsyn’s return. The green caterpillar slowly crept from the east of the country to the west, stirring up interest in an unusual guest. The train has another advantage. It can be abandoned and thereby mislead the enemy. An ingenious bully in a white coat, Kim Jong-un is probably capable of this.
One way or another, it was on a parked armored train that they noticed in Seoul. “No suspicious movements were recorded,” the adviser to the South Korean president argued. When dealing with closed societies, the “free world" often has to analyze indirect features. Thus, the arrangement of members of the Politburo on the rostrum of the Lenin Mausoleum allowed the Kremlinologists to draw a conclusion about the true hierarchy in the leadership of the CPSU. Who knows, maybe those who stand by the edge just have a weak bladder, Soviet people sneered.
But it all began so brutally. After an emergency heart operation, Kim Jong-un turned into a vegetable, is in a “vegetative state," claimed The Washington Post, citing a mysterious American biographer of the DPRK leader. The doctor who operated on him allegedly shook hands, the Americans wrote, not at all embarrassed. Where can anyone get such detailed information from? Did you hold a candle? Helicopters barrage over Pyongyang, people are buying up basic necessities, continued to escalate spiteful critics.
Of course, there is no smoke without fire. Rumors were not born from scratch. The head of North Korea did not appear in public since April 13, and most importantly - did not attend the ceremony on Sun Day - the birthday of the founder of the DPRK, his grandfather Kim Il Sung. Well, like all living people, the current North Korean leader can get sick.
But is it worth making far-reaching conclusions from this, and even more so to disperse fakes across the planet?
But the world, with the filing of the Americans, has already begun to discuss the issue of successor Kim Jong-un. His younger sister, 31-year-old Kim Yo Jeong, who occupies a position in the propaganda and agitation department of the Central Committee of the DPRK Labor Party, can replace him as head. Like, such a decision has already been made at a plenary meeting of the Central Committee. This "Xena - Warrior Queen" really looks domineering and probably able to insure her older brother. Another “backup” successor is the younger brother of Kim Jong Il - Kim Pyeong Il.
All these dynastic perturbations are important only in the context of maintaining the stability of the North Korean regime. Is Kim Jong-un healthy or sick - a secondary issue for the world. Everyone is interested in whether the sovereign DPRK will remain on the world map or whether it will befall the fate of East Germany, absorbed by the pro-Western FRG due to an oversight of the USSR. From the attitude to the fictional or real illness of the North Korean leader, completely indisputable geopolitical conclusions can be drawn. Who is friend and who is enemy. Including for us - Russia.
America, fanning information about a possible collapse of power in the DPRK, unequivocally advocates an apocalyptic scenario. To her, the worse "in the North", the better. The bitter memory of the 1950s Korean War haunts? Interestingly, even in South Korea, they are not at all eager for the speedy collapse of the regime in Pyongyang, clearly understanding the scale of a possible catastrophe, redistribution of territory, etc. All that Seoul would like is more security. They are in no hurry to sacrifice their peaceful, well-fed life with the Samsung smartphone in their hands to the interests of the United States.
DPRK and China do not want a fall. Still, China has a common border with North Korea. American missiles are already deployed in the south of the Korean Peninsula, spreading them farther to the north will not add security. Especially now, when Washington withdrew from the INF Treaty and removed all restrictions for pumping offensive weapons in the region. All this applies to Russia. The common border with the DPRK obliges us to track what is happening with our neighbors with reasonable concern.
The special political style of the DPRK leadership is of independent value to the world. On a planet where until recently truly sovereign countries could be counted on the fingers of one hand, North Korea was one of those. Full autarky, reliance solely on one's own strength (the Juche idea), an atomic bomb of its own design and its own missile program put it on a par even with the United States. That is why the arrogant Trump negotiated with Kim Jong-un about denuclearization - he recognized himself as an equal.
More recently, the DPRK was perceived at best as exotic (for example, tours to Russia from there were very popular), and sometimes as an example of the state’s poor living standards. But what if autarky after the coronavirus epidemic, complete independence from external forces will become the most profitable survival strategy for states? In this case, the experience of North Korea may be in demand. And let’s think, is it because Trump was so addicted to Kim Jong-un that he himself would like to rule America as a tough leader?
The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.