????? News: North Korea Overthrows Dictator Kim Jong-un - No

[JustJohn or JJ]

This came across this AM. No other report about it yet.


Oct 04
BREAKING: North Korea Overthrows Dictator Kim Jong-un



North Korea’s Organization and Guidance Department (OGD), the country’s most powerful group of officials, has stopped taking orders from Kim Jong-un. amid reports that the dictator has been overthrown.

Kim Jong-un has been missing for over a week and authorities originally tried to cover-up his absence by claiming he was recovering from ankle surgery.

According to a think tank in Seoul formed by North Korean defectors, the dictator’s sister is currently running the country, making all important decisions in the wake of her brother’s disappearance.

A former North Korean counter-intelligence officer, Jang Jin-sung, has claimed that Kim Jong-Un is no longer in control of the nation and is now just a ‘puppet leader’.

Jin-sung believes that the current North Korean regime will collapse in the near future and that Kim Jong-Un could be replaced by one of his brothers, either Kim Jong-nam, 43, or Kim Jong-chul, 33.

“North Korea is currently embroiled in a sort of civil war”, he said in his speech.

Some officials want to keep the communist status quo, he said, others are open to elements of capitalism being introduced.

The capital of North Korea, Pyongyang, has been placed into lockdown with even the elite banned from entering or leaving.

Officials say that this kind of measure is only put in place when a coup has taken place – or is suspected.

[karl]

Interesting idea if proven to be a fact. For Mr. Kim Jong-un has for some years,as reported, some health issues being: Gout/Diabetes and high blood pressure, none fatal but non the less as health issues.

Karl

[JustJohn or JJ]

American Thinker

October 5, 2014

North Korea shock. Something big is happening

By Thomas Lifson

It is impossible to know exactly what is going on in North Korea, but something big has happened. The third generation Kim dynasty heir, Kim Jong-un, has been missing from public sight for a month, and may be ill, dead, or overthrown. There is much speculation, and contradictory reports are circulating, including the assertion that Pyongyang is sealed off, and no one is being permitted to enter or leave. But one fact is clear and it is dramatic. CNN reports:

With Kim Jong Un out of sight for a month, a covey of North Korea's high officials popped down to South Korea for a last minute jaunt on Saturday, and delivered a diplomatic bonbon.

The three officials told South Korea that Pyongyang is willing to hold a second round of high-level meetings between late October and early November, South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement Saturday.

_{Hwang Pyong-so (left), director of North Korean military`s General Political Bureau, shake hands with
South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae at Incheon Oakwood Hotel on Saturday. (Yonhap)}

High level visits from North Korea to Seoul don’t just happen casually, because some people wanted to attend the closing ceremonies of the Asian Games, the official pretext being offered. I strongly suspect that some kind of deal with the South is being sought by the North, probably out of desperation over their situation, which is very bad, and possibly triggered by Kim Jong un’s illness, death, incapacity, or overthrow.

Politics in North Korea revolve around factions built on personal loyalty. If there is currently a group that wants some form of rapprochement with the South in power, it is always possible that they will be overthrown by a hardline group. However, the willingness of people to leave Pyongyang and visit Seoul suggests that they are reasonably confident of their hold on power.

The fundamental dynamics of North Korea’s confrontation with the South have changed dramatically over the past decade, leading me to be more hopeful than ever before of the possibility of reform there.

North Korea is no longer hermetically sealed off from information about the outside world.

Until the advent of cheap video players and memory sticks, as well as cheap cell phones, in many cases dropped or smuggled into North Korea, most people knew very little about the vast gulf that separated their lives from those of their cousins south of the border. But now, thanks to these technologies cheaply produced in mass quantities by South Korea and widely available in the North, despite the regime’s best efforts, North Korean realize that they do not have to live at the margin of starvation, that people just like them, quite nearby, have cars, air-conditioning, flat screen TVs, and all the appurtenances of a prosperous modern life.

Those propaganda videos on the glories of the Kim family and the need to fight back against the imperialist exploiters of the South Korean masses fall a little flat these days. South Korea is now a rich, developed nation, a peer of Europe, Japan and America, and that is a huge source of pride for Koreans, whose national inferiority complex is severe, after decades of subjugation to the Japanese that still rankles.

If Kim Jong-un is dead, seriously ill, or overthrown, finding a legitimate successor may be quite difficult. Given the factionalism there, competing successors may exist, and war between factions associated with them could be anticipated.

It may seem that the wealth South Korea potentially could provide would heal a lot of wounds, particularly if the leadership negotiates an amnesty for themselves, and perhaps enough money to live comfortably in the south of France for the rest of their days.

I have to wonder how much information our South Korean allies are sharing with American diplomats. If I were they, I would be very cautious about involving the Obama administration, whose diplomatic competence is open to serious question.

It is always possible that nothing will come of this shocking diplomatic foray, or that the forces of the hardliners in Pyongyang will triumph. Or even that a desperate war will be started by a regime that fears its own death.

But for now, I have my fingers crossed that we may finally see the end of an evil, repressive, communist regime.

[JustJohn or JJ]

It appears that this is not true at all. There is no confirmation anywhere and from sources in South Korea, Nothing has changed.

[JustJohn or JJ]

Another report !!!



Is Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong in charge?

The Situation Room
By Brian Todd and Dugald McConnell, CNN
updated 7:15 PM EDT, Wed October 8, 2014
www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/10/08/tsr-dnt-todd-north-korea-sister-in-charge.cnn.html

(CNN) -- The mystery surrounding North Korea's erratic young leader, Kim Jong Un, only deepens by the day.

He has not been seen publicly in more than a month. Rumors are flying that Kim is ill with gout, diabetes, even possible problems with his ankles. Now, a group of defectors say they believe Kim's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, may be running the country while he recuperates.

The North Korea Intellectuals' Solidarity, a think-tank run by defectors, says Kim Yo Jong may be at least temporarily leading the government. The group has not revealed the source of its information, and CNN cannot independently confirm it. But Kim Yo Jong's star appears to be rising.

Michael Madden, who runs the blog North Korea Leadership Watch, says Kim Yo Jong has been identified in North Korean media as deputy director of the Workers' Party, a very powerful position.

Victor Cha, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies who previously handled the North Korea account with the National Security Council, says Kim Yo Jong began surfacing publicly earlier this year at party functions.

"Clearly it's an effort to slow-track her into becoming somebody who is important within the system," Cha says. "I can see how it's possible that she's in some sort of temporary position. It's very difficult for the North Korean system to run without one of the Kim family at least titularly in charge. So, if Kim Jong Un is indisposed, she's really the only available body that's left, in terms of a direct Kim family line."

Madden says Kim Yo Jong was born in 1987 or 1988, and attended private school in Switzerland with Kim Jong Un. They both stayed at the North Korean embassy while attending the Swiss school, Madden says, and lived there under assumed names.

Madden says Kim Yo Jong is the youngest of seven siblings their father, Kim Jong Il, had with four women. Many of them are half-siblings, but Kim Jong Un and Kim Yo Jong have the same mother.

Madden says Kim Yo Jong was always close to her father, and after returning from Switzerland, she was appointed to positions of responsibility in the government. She would act as an advance-team leader, inspecting sites before official visits, and had administrative duties as well.

Now, he says, she continues those duties and has taken on more responsibility under her brother's rule: dealing with policy and receiving intelligence briefings. She acts "almost like a White House chief-of-staff would," Madden says.

He says he believes she had a large role in planning the recent trip by three top North Korean officials to South Korea while her brother was absent from the scene.


Given her age and that so little is known about Kim Yo Jong, North Korea-watchers are concerned about her being in the top leadership spot, if only temporarily. The stress and palace intrigue inside the North Korean regime, they say, may be overwhelming.

"If in fact she is running the country -- as someone in their early to mid twenties, to me that is quite alarming," Cha says. "It means there is something seriously wrong with Kim Jong Un and there is some sort of void that they're desperately trying to fill."

All eyes will be on a significant event this Friday, October 10. That's the 69th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party. Kim Jong Un attended the anniversary event last year. If he doesn't show up at Friday's ceremonies, concern over his public disappearance will only grow.

If he does attend, intelligence analysts will be looking at his appearance, his body language -- every detail -- very carefully.

[Jaga]

I have heard these rumors. We will see tomorrow whether the chief would show up during national holidays. He acted pretty childish in the past, so overthrowing him may be a good idea, especially if no blood is shed and if the next leader would be more internationally savvy

[JustJohn or JJ]

Hermit Watch

10.10.14




Kim Jong Un: Erased?


He was a no-show once again today at an event he normally wouldn’t dare miss. If he does resurface after his ‘leg injury,’ here’s how we’ll know if his enemies have gotten to him.

Today, Kim Jong Un did not appear at any event commemorating the 69th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party, heightening speculation as to his health and political standing in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim, the party’s leader by virtue of his position as first secretary, was also a no-show on Tuesday at an event marking the 17th anniversary of his father’s elevation to the top of the party. Kim’s skipping the event would ordinarily be considered a serious breach of the regime’s Confucian-inspired protocol, a failure to honor one’s father and predecessor.

So was young Kim disrespectful or indisposed? He has not been seen in public since Sept. 3.

Seoul and Washington apparently believe little is amiss in North Korea, however. “It seems that Kim Jong Un’s rule is in normal operation,” said a South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman on Friday.

“The last time was when everyone was predicting that Kim Jong Un would be pushed aside by his more experienced uncle,” said a “senior official” to The New York Times, referring to Jang Song Thaek. “And look what happened to him.” Jang, once considered the North’s second-most powerful official, was executed last December. At the time, most analysts believed Kim pushed aside his uncle in the most final manner possible.

It’s possible, however, that Kim was so weak politically that he could not protect Jang, married to his ailing aunt. Uncle Jang, acting essentially as regent, had ruthlessly purged opponents and grabbed lucrative revenue streams, especially from the military. So it is possible that those regime elements—and not Kim Jong Un—did in Jang in an act of revenge at the end of last year.

And this year, the victors in that vicious struggle have been attacking Jang’s nationwide patronage network, causing further turmoil throughout the North Korean state. With signs that Kim himself is now under stress, it is possible that those who had Jang killed have now sidelined the young leader as well.

Kim does not have to worry that he will be torn apart by large-caliber rounds, the most likely form of Jang’s execution. The regime depends on the Kim bloodline for its legitimacy—one of the reasons there is so much speculation about the role of his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, in decision-making—so it’s likely he, a male in a male-dominated regime, will be kept as the public face of the ruling elite.

How will we know if Kim, when he eventually surfaces, is ruler or figurehead? As Felix Patrikeeff of the University of Adelaide suggests in a Daily Mail interview, the new leader is the one who becomes “prominent in the public eye” and eventually makes “significant announcements.”

This is why Gen. Hwang Pyong So’s visit to South Korea on Saturday is so fascinating, because here is a senior figure grabbing the international spotlight. Hwang, fresh from two significant promotions this year, apparently turned down a meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on the weekend. That meeting would almost certainly made him too prominent for the liking of jealous officials in Pyongyang, but we will know he is the new boss if he meets with her in the not-too-distant future.

Now that “Fatty the Third,” as Kim is known in some quarters in China, has missed two important ceremonies in a week, the big issue is whether Hwang can eventually signal dominance in a new ruling group in Pyongyang.

[JustJohn or JJ]

North Korea leader Kim is still in charge, has leg injury: source

Oct 10th 2014 9:08PM


By Benjamin Kang Lim and James Pearson/Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in firm control of his government but hurt his leg taking part in a military drill, a source with access to the secretive North's leadership said, playing down speculation over the 31-year-old's health and grip on power in the nuclear-capable nation.

North Korea's state media, which usually chronicle Kim's activities in great detail, have not mentioned any public appearances since he attended a concert with his wife on Sept. 3 and the official KCNA news agency indicated he did not attend an important political anniversary on Friday.

In the previous two years, Kim marked the anniversary of the founding of North Korea's Workers' Party with a post-midnight visit to the Pyongyang mausoleum where the bodies of his father and grandfather are interred.

But the report by KCNA did not mention Kim's name in a list of high-level party and military officials who attended an event at the mausoleum on Friday. A flower basket from Kim was placed at the mausoleum, it said.

The source with access to the North's leadership, who has close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing, said on Thursday that Kim had hurt his leg while inspecting military exercises.

"He ordered all the generals to take part in drills and he took part too. They were crawling and running and rolling around, and he pulled a tendon," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"He injured his ankle and knee around late August or early September while drilling because he is overweight. He limped around in the beginning but the injury worsened," the source said.

Kim, who has rapidly gained weight since coming to power after his father died of a heart attack in 2011, had been seen walking with a limp since an event with important officials in July, which would imply he may have aggravated an earlier injury.

Kim needs about 100 days to recuperate, said the source, whose information could not be independently verified.

"Kim Jong Un is in total control," said the source.

Kim's absence from public view is fuelling speculation over the state of his health and whether he may have been sidelined in a power struggle.

"The longer he remains out of the public eye, the more uncertainty about him, and the status of his regime, will grow," said Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.

NOT KIM'S FIRST ABSENCE

On Friday, South Korea's Unification Ministry said it believes Kim remains in charge, citing a message conveyed by him via a delegation visiting last weekend, and Pyongyang's continued public position that Kim leads the country.

"So it appears it is being normally ruled by Kim Jong Un," ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said.

Patrick Ventrell, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, said the United States monitored events in North Korea extremely closely and had seen the reports about Kim Jong Un's health, but played down speculation about upheaval in the country.

"Given that the (North Korean) regime is the most opaque on earth, it's not surprising that there is very little reliable and publicly available information about this. Regarding rumors of a coup, as we have said previously, those appear to be false," he said.

North Korean officials have denied that Kim's public absence since early September is health-related and a U.S. official following North Korea said this week there were no indications he was seriously ill or in political trouble.

It remains unclear why a leg injury would keep Kim out of the public eye for so long, although this is not the first time he has been missing from view.

In June 2012, six months after coming to power, state media failed to report on or photograph him for 23 days.

Kim re-appeared the next month when he was reported attending a show at a dolphinarium.

Speculation that Kim's unusually long absence from public view may be due to ill health was fueled by a North Korean television report late last month that said he was suffering from "discomfort".

Some North Korea watchers also suggest that Kim may have been sidelined in a power struggle, a scenario they say was reinforced by the unexpected visit on Saturday of a high-level delegation to the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

Another interpretation of that visit holds that it was meant to convey stability in Pyongyang.

The source with knowledge of Kim Jong Un's health said rumors of a coup were "rubbish".

"It would have to be a very subtle coup indeed not to disrupt international travel plans," said Andray Abrahamian of the Choson Exchange, a Singapore-based group running a program for North Koreans in Southeast Asia.

North Korea is a hereditary dictatorship centered on the ruling Kim family. Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, is known to have an official role within the ruling party. His brother, Kim Jong Chol, and his estranged half-brother are not in the public eye.

Kim was absent from a Sept. 25 meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly, or parliament, the first he has not attended since coming to power three years ago.

Abrahamian said it was unlikely Kim had been usurped.

"Kim Jong Un has always shared power with other key figures and even if the internal balance of power has shifted, it is unlikely that they would want to remove him, given his unmatchable symbolic value. Again, though, everyone is guessing," he said.

(Additional reporting by Ju-min Park in Seoul and Jeff Mason and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Chizu Nomiyama)

[JustJohn or JJ]

Where Is Kim Jong Un? 'SNL' Offers One Answer In Cold Open


www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/12/kim-jong-un-snl_n_5972754.html?cps=gravity