The Dear Leader's health

Tongues are a wagging. South Korea says, Kim Jong il had a stroke on 14 August, the day before the anniversary of the Korean peninsula liberation from Japan's colonial rule. Intelligence agencies the world over think that he's very ill, but have no klew other than speculation. Of course Pyongyang dismisses all rumours. The usual right wing fringe are calling for suspending negotiations in Beijing and Pyongyang on the nuclear issue which seemed so close to resolution but Herr Bush reneged on the deal by not lifting North Korea's name from the terrorist nations' list. As a result, Pyongyang has begun reactivating Yangban, its nuclear testing site which it was dismantling. Now it seems that North Korea has a well protected second missle launching base capable of propelling ICBM's. Lee Myung bak, South Korea's president is threading cotton because his intransigeant policy towards the North and his scrapping of the Sunshine policy, leaves him holding the helm of a shaky ship of state if change occurs in North Korea. And Herr Bush has no plans but to get the hell out of Washington as fast as his term is in office, thus leaving his successor with big problems to take care of, problems which this know nothing president dished out to his fellow citizens and to the world with an insouciance that should be listed in the Guiness book of records for the biggest pair of heuvos secos. The west may be irresponsible but anyone who has an inkling about North Korea should know that nothing is left to hazard, and should Kim Jong il be ill, there is a solid core of cadre to step in and keep Pyongyang running smoothly.