North Korea Ends 100 Days Of Mourning For Kim Jong-il

People attend the memorial service to mark the 100th day since the death of Kim Jong Il, late top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on March 25, 2012. (Xinhua/Zhang Li)

Kim Jong Un Ends 100 Days Of Mourning In North Korea For Father -- Miami Herald/Bloomberg

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended a national 100-day mourning period for his father, Kim Jong Il, while U.S. President Barack Obama looked across the world’s most fortified border into the totalitarian state.

The younger Kim and senior party and military officials visited the mausoleum at Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang to observe three minutes’ silence, “expressing high tribute to the portrait of smiling leader Kim Jong Il,” North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported today. All flags were at half staff and commemorative sirens and whistles rang nationwide at 12 p.m., KCNA said.

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More News On The End Of Mourning For North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il

DPRK holds national memorial service for late leader Kim Jong Il -- Xinhuanet

NKoreans honor Kim Jong Il as mourning period ends -- AP
North Koreans observe end of 100-day mourning period following death of leader Kim Jong Il -- Washington Post/AP
N. Korea holds national mourning for Kim Jong-Il -- AFP
Kim Jong-un visits mausoleum to mark 100th day of late leader‘s death -- Korea Herald
North Korea marks 100 days since Kim Jong Il's death -- UPI

My Comment: He will not be missed.

The Appetites Of A Dictator

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il downs a drink during a toast with a South Korean media representitive Kum Chang-Tae in Pyongyang, North Korea Saturday August 12, 2000. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il loves his fancy food. But will he have to start eating more kimichi and less caviar if a U.N. resolution passes banning the sale of luxury goods to North Korea? (AP Photo/Yonhap)

The Unpalatable Appetites Of Kim Jong-il -- The Telegraph

While his people are left to subsist on boiled grass and ground tree bark, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il indulges shamelessly in only the world’s finest food and wines

In 2003 a Japanese sushi chef bearing the pseudonym Kenji Fujimoto penned a memoir that gave rise to the expression 'cook and tell’. The subject of Fujimoto’s indiscretion was Kim Jong-il, for whom he had served as personal chef for more than a decade. The rotund North Korean leader had greater passion for good food than for beautiful women, allowing his chef as intimate an understanding of his psyche as any of his many purported mistresses, though none of them – as far as I know – ever wrote a memoir.

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My Comment: In the meantime, this is what the average North Korean is going through .... and this is what they are eating.

North Korea's Kim Jong-il Looks Very Healthy

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

A combination photo shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il posing with former U.S. President Bill Clinton (not pictured) on August 4, 2009, left, and again with a Russian delegation on May 17, 2011 in these images released by the North Korean official news agency KCNA. The photo of Kim Jong-il (right) published this week by state media shows the North Korean leader looking comparatively healthy compared to two years ago when he appeared aged and frail. KCNA via Reuters

World Watches As Kim Jong-il Returns To Health -- Scotsman

North Korea's iron leader Kim Jong-il is looking healthier by the day after seeming to be at death's door two years ago following a stroke, prompting speculation his rule may last longer than many had imagined.

Recently published images of the 69-year-old "Dear Leader" show him looking portly and pudgy-faced. That is a far cry from the sickly figure photographed in parliament in 2009 and the frail person holding on to a handrail at a military parade last year.

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Update: Does new picture illustrate Kim Jong-il's improving health? -- MSNBC

My Comment: He looks very healthy to me. I guess rumors of his impending death were greatly exaggerated.

What Is North Korea's Kim Jong-il Dreaming About?

Kim Jong-Il. Photo: REUTERS

Kim Jong-il 'Dreamed Of being Stoned' -- The Telegraph

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had nightmares of being stoned by angry members of the public.

The dictator told the late founder of the Hyundai group, Chung Ju-Yung, of having a dream that he was being stoned "first by Americans, second by South Koreans and finally by North Koreans," said Mr Chung's son, Chung Mong-Joon.

"I think Kim wanted to express that he was well aware of the desperate reality of North Korea," the younger Mr Chung said.

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My Comment: He clearly does not go to bed each night with peace of mind.

This Is One Way To Hurt The Dictator In North Korea

Kim Collects Cash For 'Private Economy' -- Washington Times

Defector suggests cutting off U.S. currency as way to punish 'Dear Leader'.

Kim Kwang-jin clearly remembers watching North Korean insurance managers pack a lavish birthday present for their "Dear Leader" — $20 million in U.S. hard currency.

He throws up his hands in exasperation as he recalls the incident, which took place while he was in Singapore in February 2003. In the six years that he worked at Korea National Insurance Corp. (KNIC), Mr. Kim said, bags stuffed with cash were sent to Pyongyang from Singapore, Switzerland, France and Austria for Kim Jong-il's birthday celebrations. Feb. 16, the North Korean leader's birthday, is a national holiday in his country.

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My Comment: A girlfriend once told me that the only way that people can learn is when they get hit in their pocket book. I am sure the same rule will apply to this tyrant .... hurt him in his own pocketbook .... maybe he will then get the message.

North Korea's Kim Jong-il Ends His Trip To China

A vehicle, part of a convoy carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, leaves Tianjin railway station

Rare Glimpse Of Kim Jong Il Shows North Korean Dictator In Good Health -- Times Online

The world has been given a rare glimpse of the reclusive leader of North Korea after he emerged from his Stalinist stronghold to visit his nearest and closest allies in Communist-ruled China.

Only after Kim Jong Il had returned home on his special armoured train today did the two state news agencies announce that the 68-year-old strongman had been touring China since Monday. He had been stalked by the foreign media since he crossed the border but the only pictures were a couple of slightly fuzzy shots snatched as he left a hotel.

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More News On Kim Jong-il's Trip To China

North Korean Leader Reaffirms Denuclearization Pledge -- Global Security Newswire
North Korea set to resume nuclear disarmament talks, says China -- The Guardian
Kim leaves China after affirming return to stalled nuclear talks -- Gulf News
Report: China, Iran, North Korea have formed strategic alliance -- World Tribune
Witness: A day chasing North Korea's camera-shy Kim -- Reuters
Secret China visit: All aboard Kim Jong-il's luxury train -- Christian Science Monitor
China's embrace of North Korea's Kim irks neighbours -- Swiss Info

My Comment: Will China make sure that Kim Jong-il keep his word .... I am skeptical, but (for now) I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il Travels To China

It is Kim's first trip abroad since he suffered a suspected stroke in 2008.
Photo from Sky News

Kim Jong-il Turns To Lone Ally China Amid Rising Tensions -- The Guardian

North Korean leader on rare visit abroad seen as mission to bolster isolated regime with new economic support.

Kim Jong-il, North Korea's leader, has arrived in China on a rare foreign trip that is being seen as an attempt to win financial and political support from his impoverished nation's only remaining ally.

Kim, on his first overseas visit since suffering a stroke in 2008, reportedly crossed the border in his luxury train early this morning before arriving in Dalian, a prosperous port city in north-east China.

There he is expected to see, at first-hand, the benefits of decades of free-market reforms before he leaves for talks in Beijing tomorrow.

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More News On North Korea's Kim Jong-il's Trip To North Korea

North Korean leader in China seeking cash, clout -- L.A. Times
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il travels to China -- Times Online
North Korea's Dear Leader sneaks into China again -- The Telegraph
Report: North Korea's Kim Jong Il visits China -- Washington Post
Kim Jong Il visits China -- Beijing news.net
Kim unlikely to face any pressure in China -- Sydney Morning Herald
Did North Korea's Kim Jong-il take a secret train to China? -- Christian Science Monitor
Kim Jong Il Arrives In China (PHOTO) -- Huffington Post

A 'Range Of Options' If NKorea's Kim Goes: US Military

US Pacific Command Commander Admiral Timothy Keating, seen here in February 2009. The United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region are planning a "wide range of options" for a possible leadership change in North Korea, a top US military commander said Wednesday. (AFP/File/Toshifumi Kitamura)

From Yahoo News/AFP:

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region are planning a "wide range of options" for a possible leadership change in North Korea, a top US military commander said Wednesday.

"We are prepared to execute a wide range of options in concert with allies in South Korea and in discussions through State (Department), which would have the lead, with countries in the region and internationally if necessary," said Admiral Timothy Keating, the top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is widely believed to have suffered a stroke last August and speculation has flared about his deteriorating health.

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My Comment: I recall war games were conducted two years ago by U.S. and South Korean forces, with Chinese and Russian observers present. A few weeks later a Chinese exercise was done with U.S. and South Korea observers present. What struck everyone with the exercises, is that the geography/seashore used for these exercises were very similar to what a military will expect if they enter North Korea.

I am sure that there are war plans as well as diplomatic procedures that all the countries will go through if there is a change in leadership in North Korea .... especially if things start to disintegrate.

But these are just plans and ideas.