Loading ...Kim Jong Un Is Still Missing . . . Does Anybody Really Care?
Kim Jong Un, the public face of the North Korean government hasn’t been seen lately, and everybody who has nothing better to do is wondering what on earth became of him. Did he get purged? Did he have a heart attack or some other health problem? Who’s running North Korea if he isn’t?
His father was reclusive and was rarely seen in public, but Kim Jong Un seems to enjoy the spotlight, and since he “is” North Korea, everyone has gotten used to seeing the ubiquitous film clips showing him inspecting all sorts of factories and meeting with all kinds of dignitaries. According to one publication, “Clearly, his goal is not just to look at things, but to be looked at.”
And now we can’t see him, so we are feeling bereft.
The most reliable guess as to his whereabouts, after a video clip on September 3 showed him limping and said he was suffering from “discomfort” because of his excessive hard work for the sake of North Korea, is that he is recovering from ankle surgery.
It seems that Kim Jong Un isn’t entirely incommunicado — he has written several items, including letters to Bashar al-Assad and various communist leaders abroad.
However, everyone agrees that if he failed to show up for the October 10 celebration of “Party Foundation Day,” something is seriously amiss in North Korea.
And it looks as though something is up, because Kim Jong Un failed to show up at the 69th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Workers’ Party. Speculation is still running wild, but alas, no real information has yet emerged.
Then there were a couple of “appearances” that nobody could seem to confirm. In other words, the pictures published in North Korea’s news publications could have been taken any time and almost anywhere.
Sooner or later, we’ll find out something, and when we do, we’ll be sure to let you know.
(http://www.defenseone.com/, October 8, 2014; http://www.washingtonpost.com/ October 11, 2014.)