Kim Jong Un death watch saga takes a new twist
Yesterday a Japanese news outlet reported that Kim Jong Un was in a vegetative state. The day before that, a Hong Kong news outlet reported that Kim was dead. Before that, there were reports that Kim was in grave danger of dying after surgery, and that China had sent doctors to try to save him. Now there’s a new twist.
An official in the South Korean government is now claiming that Kim Jong Un is “alive and well.” The thing is, this has to be at least half wrong. He could certainly be alive. But under the circumstances, it’s all but impossible for Kim to be “well.” When you’re a vulnerable dictator obsessed with remaining in power, and the world is reporting that you’re dying or dead, you do everything you can to get back in front of the cameras as quickly as possible, before someone gets any ideas about overthrowing you.
For Kim to still be missing in action after this long, there are only two logical possibilities. One is that Kim is too physically ill to put himself in front of the cameras. The other possibility is that Kim – who has always been mentally deranged but well aware of what it takes to retain power – has completely snapped and no longer realizes or cares that he needs to get in front of the cameras.
The larger question here might be why the South Korean government is telling us that the North Korean dictator is “alive and well.” Has South Korea been fed disinformation, or is there something else going on behind the scenes? None of what’s being reported on this matter can be fully trusted. We’ll find out eventually.
