I read in the New York Times today that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is seriously ill and probably suffered from a stroke. He also suffers from chronic heart disease and diabetes. Unlike his father before him, Kim has not been grooming one of his 3 sons to succeed him as North Korea’s leader after his death. Thus, the question of a power struggle in the nuclear-armed DPRK is on everyone’s mind.
New York Times: Awesome picture of North Korea’s 60th birthday celebration in Pyongyang.
This is all very exciting, but one thing in this article particularly caught my eye. The New York Times reports that Kim Jong-il “is believed to be in his mid-60s.”
He is believed to be in his mid-60s? How tight of a dictatorship does someone have to run for no one to know his exact age. This is the ultimate glory for people like my father who have been turning 39 for the past twenty years.
Maybe I just don’t know the reason for this age discrepancy, but nevertheless, North Korea never fails to surprise me.
