Life Is Good For The North Korean Dictator

Warlike: The 30-year-old dictator has issued a series of thundering pronouncements directed at the West

The Teenage Dictator Who Drove A Mercedes, Smoked Menthols And Was Obsessed With Van Damme: Kim Jong Un's Bizarre Childhood, By His Father's Sushi Chef -- Daily Mail

* North Korean despot had specially adapted car when he was just seven
* Kim bought gym kit and protein shakes to be like Jean-Claude Van Damme
* Revelations from Kim Jong Il's personal sushi chef Kenji Fujimoto

Kim Jong Un may be fond of fiery anti-Western rhetoric, but in fact the North Korean dictator is obsessed with the European and American lifestyle, according to a man who has known him since he was a little boy.

Kenji Fujimoto, who served as the personal sushi chef of Kim's father Kim Jong Il for 13 years, has revealed that the 30-year-old despot is a fan of the Beatles and longs to look like Hollywood star Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Kim also drinks Bordeaux wine, smokes Cartier menthol cigarettes and has enjoyed driving around his palace in a Mercedes since he was just seven years old.

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My Comment: Like father .... like son.

North Korea's Kim Jong-un Comes Out Of Hiding

Reuters

Kim Jong-un Appears In Public For First Time In Fortnight -- The Telegraph

The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made his first public appearance in a fortnight with a midnight pilgrimage to his grandfather's tomb in Pyongyang.

Mr Kim paid tribute to North Korea's founder – and his grandfather – Kim Il-sung, at the start of a three-day national holiday commemorating the 101st anniversary of the Great Leader's birth.

Tensions have been steadily growing on the Korean peninsula since February 12, when North Korea incurred the ire of the international community with an underground nuclear test.

Recent weeks have seen the atmosphere grow increasingly hostile with an almost daily barrage of threats against South Korea, Japan and the United States emanating from Pyongyang.

Yet throughout the turbulent fortnight, North Korea's youthful leader has been nowhere to be seen. Kim Jong-un's last public appearance reportedly came during a parliamentary session on April 1.

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Update #1: Kim Jong-un Comes Out of Hiding for Missile-Free Holiday -- The Atlantic
Update #2: North Korea's Kim Jong-un celebrates missile-free holiday -- Christian Science Monitor
Update #3: Kim Jong-Un makes first public appearance in two weeks for visit to grandfather's tomb as U.S. offers to be 'ready partners' if rogue state halts nuclear programme -- Daily Mail

My Comment: I suspect that Kim Jong Un will be very much in the public eye when he goes on this particular summer vacation.

Where Is North Korea's Dictator Kim Jong Un?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un watches soldiers of the Korean People's Army (KPA) taking part in landing and anti-landing drills, in the eastern sector of the front and the east coastal area. - Reuters

Nobody's Seen Kim Jong Un Publicly for Two Weeks -- Atlantic Wire

North Korea's been owning headlines for the better part of a month now with its threats against the American imperialists and friends. Kim Jong Un, however, has been less conspicuous. In fact, the country's supreme leader has basically been absent from the public eye altogether, so much so that there are whispers of a coup. That hardly seems likely based on what we've seen the North Korean army doing on the ground, but it's curious nonetheless.

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Update #1: Kim Jong-Un Not Seen Publicly For Two Weeks -- Inquisitr
Update #2: North Korea's Kim Jong-un missing in Public for Two Weeks -- IBTimes

My Comment: The Korean Central News Agency is always publicizing his public appearances .... but it is true .... there has been no new video/photos of him for the past two weeks.

Update: Kim Jong-un appears in public for first time in fortnight -- The Telegraph

Inside The Cult Of Kim

North Korean Tensions: Inside The Cult Of Kim -- The Economist

Despite doomsday warnings, life continues as abnormal as ever in the capital.

IT IS hard to talk about normality in North Korea. But as its leaders each day cranked up the threats of merciless all-out war with America and South Korea, residents in and around the capital, Pyongyang, appeared to be busier preparing for the coming of spring than a coming war.

At a time of high tension on the Korean peninsula, a propaganda blitz in Pyongyang warning of something akin to a doomsday “do-or-die” battle was relentless. On March 26th people crowded around television screens to watch a newsreader in pink bark out orders from the top brass of the Korean People’s Army for field units to be ready to attack American bases and conduct “physical action” against South Korea.

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My Comment: My parents grew up under Stalin .... so I only know too well how surreal this may sound to outsiders, but for those who are living in it .... it is surprising very effective. My father  grew up in the Ukraine during the height of the 1932-33 famine.  And while he was always hungry (as well as everyone else) .... they all had to gather together to sing the praises of Stalin .... and as my father told me .... they believed it.

Is North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un's Young Age A Factor In Today's Korean Peninsula Tensions?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (2nd L) and an unidentified woman visit the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground, which is nearing completion, in Pyongyang in this undated picture released by the North's KCNA on July 25, 2012. According to North Korean state run media, the couple is now married. (Reuters - Courtesy)

How Worried Should We Be About Kim Jong Un's Youth? -- Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer, The Cable, Foreign Policy

We may not know much about the man currently plowing full speed ahead toward international nuclear crisis, but one thing we do know for sure is that he is young -- 29 or 30. And this, most news outlets seem to agree, is an important factor in understanding how we wound up where we are today -- and where we may be headed. CNN calls Kim Jong Un "a rash young leader." "Young, reckless, without great political savvy," writes the Christian Science Monitor. The Daily Mail calls the North Korean supreme leader a "boy despot."

It's conventional wisdom that age and experience are calming forces in international relations -- that with a few gray hairs comes the moderation and wisdom to avoid, say, calling other, much larger states, "boiled pumpkin[s]." But one academic study on the question finds the connections between age and political crises to be a little more nuanced. For every brash, brassy Louis XIV -- who, at 29, invaded the Spanish Netherlands in 1667 and was forced to give almost all of it back a year later -- there is a Nikita Khrushchev placing missiles on Cuba in his late 60s.

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My Comment: There is something to say about experience and wisdom .... but I count on him being a new father as a more stabilizing influence .... at least I hope so.

Did Dennis Rodman Disclose Some North Korean Secrets?

Kim Jung Un Loves 80s Music, Basketball And Dotes Over His Baby Daughter: Dennis Rodman Defends His 'Friend For Life' -- Daily Mail

Former basketball star Dennis Rodman revealed more about his controversial trip to North Korea, and accidentally spilled that the country's dictator has an heir to his power.

He said that Kim Jung Un- the ruler that Rodman called a 'kid'- has a young baby girl and that he heard Kim's wife talk all about her at length during his trip to the exiled regime.

The 51-year-old athlete also told how the North Korean leader likes 80s disco music, is humble and normally wears normal clothes when not appearing for cameras.

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More News On Dennis Rodman And His Trip To North Korea

Did Dennis Rodman Just Spill a North Korean Secret? -- Newser
Kim Jong-un is a father and it’s a girl, says Dennis Rodman -- Euronews
Dennis Rodman accidentally reveals North Korean state secrets -- Daily Caller
Why I danced to Michael Jackson with North Korean tyrant -- The Sun
Kim Jong Un Has A Daughter? Dennis Rodman Claims North Korean Leader A Father -- Huffington Post

My Comment: The Onion has (in my opinion) posted probably the best commentary on North Korea's "leader" since the Dennis Rodman trip.

North Korea's Next Leader?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) and his wife (red), who was named by the state broadcaster as Ri Sol-ju, visit the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang in this undated picture released by the North's KCNA on July 25, 2012. REUTERS/KCNA

Hermit Kingdom Intrigue -- Free Beacon

South Korea confirms Kim Jong-un’s wife gives birth

North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un is a new father after his wife secretly gave birth to a child that intelligence officials believe could emerge as the communist dynasty’s fourth hereditary dictator.

South Korea’s government recently confirmed that Ri Sol-ju, Kim’s wife who was shown in recent months wearing designer fashions and expensive jewelry, had a child in late 2012. The confirmation ended months of speculation about her pregnancy.

The sex of the child is not known, according to U.S. officials and Western diplomatic sources familiar with intelligence reports.

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Update #1: Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s mysterious leader, fathers potential communist heir -- Washington Times
Update #2: South Korea reportedly confirms Kim Jong Un’s wife gives birth -- FOX News

My Comment: Kim Jong Un does not strike me as a man who will be changing the diapers.

Dennis Rodman Meets With The North Korea Leader At The Basketball Court

Report: Dennis Rodman And Kim Jong Eun Hung Out, ‘Laughed Together’ -- Washington Post

A few days into former American basketball star Dennis Rodman’s bizarre and apparently impromptu trip to North Korea, Chinese state media have reported that Rodman actually met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun.

The two reportedly sat next to one another during a (tied!) basketball game between North Korean players and visiting members of the Harlem Globetrotters. According to Xinhua, they “talked directly to each other and laughed” throughout the game and without an interpreter. So Kim definitely speaks English.

Rodman reportedly said, “Although relations between the two countries are regrettable, personally I am a friend of Marshal Kim Jong Un and the DPRK people.”

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More News On Dennis Rodman Meeting North Korea's Kim Jong Un

Dennis Rodman is North Korean leader's 'friend for life' -- CNN
Rodman Meets With North Korea Leader, Courtside -- New York Times
In Pyongyang, Kim, NBA's Rodman Watch Basketball -- Voice of America
Friends forever: Rodman warms to North Korean dictator -- Christian Science Monitor
Quoted: Dennis Rodman pledges friendship to Kim Jong Eun -- Washington Post
Dennis Rodman makes the front page in North Korea -- Passport/Foreign Policy
Dennis Rodman tells Kim Jong Un: 'You have a friend for life' -- FOX News/AP
The Kims' long love affair with basketball -- Passport/Foreign Policy

My Comment: I am truly surprised .... such a get-together is unprecedented .... the idea that Kim Jong Un would hang out with Dennis Rodman and speak English without a translator is something that I would never have predicted .... and I am doubly sure is also raising many an eyebrow in Washington.

Intelligence Agnecies Want To Know What Smartphone Is North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un Using

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) was spotted with a smartphone...but which one? © KCNA KCNA / Reuters/REUTERS

Secretive Kim Jong-Un Spotted With New Smartphone, But Which One? -- New York Daily News

The North Korean leader has a new toy, and the intelligence community is frantic to find out which brand he chose.

Does the leader of the world's most secretive nation harbor a secret passion for Apple's products?

That's the question on everyone's lips after North Korea's Kim Jong-un was pictured with an as yet unidentified smartphone placed beside him during a meeting.

Speculation is mounting over the exact make of the device, which is positioned at such an angle that it is impossible to see a logo.

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More News On Kim jong Un's Smartphone

Kim Jong-Un and the mystery smartphone -- AFP
Kim Jong-Un and the mysterious smartphone -- FOX News
Kim Jong Un's Smartphone of Choice -- The Atlantic
Kim Jong-Un Has A Mystery Smartphone -- Business Insider
Kim Jong-Un, Android Fan -- Read Write
Kim Jong-Un and the mystery smartphone -- Livemint/AFP
Mystery of Kim Jong-Un's choice of smartphone intrigues South Korea -- Wired
Can You Identify Kim Jong-un’s Phone? -- Gizmodo
HTC is Kim Jong-Un’s Manufacturer of Choice -- Gizmodo
Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s Supreme Leader, Carries a HTC Smartphone -- Tech in Asia

A Worrying Look At North Korea`s Leader Kim Jong-Un

Threat: Kim Jong-Un defied warnings from across the world to launch an Unha-3 ballistic rocket on Wednesday. He is known as The Shining Son and it is said his face has been surgically altered to resemble his grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, the first ruler of North Korea

Gulags, Mass Starvation, Torture And The Boy Tyrant Who's One Step Closer To Nuking The West -- Daily Mail

* North Korea's launch of a ballistic rocket showed plan to attack America
* But state media said launch as successful positioning of weather satellite
* 'Shining Son' leader Kim Jong-Un has megalomaniac designs on West
* He lives in gilded palaces while poor are kept in camps the size of LA
* Parents and children incarcerated together and shot if they try to escape

The country has enough fissile material for a dozen nuclear bombs. It sells missile technology to rogue regimes such as Iran and Syria. And the three generations of the Kim dynasty who have run it since 1945 have all been ruthless, brutal — and terrifyingly erratic.

At 9.49 local time on Wednesday, North Korea’s isolated regime defied warnings from across the world to launch an Unha-3 ballistic rocket from a remote village near the Yalu River border with China.

The launch site is 45 miles from North Korea’s main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, where scientists are working towards the production of long-range missiles which can carry nuclear warheads.

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My Comment: Reuters is right .... after this successful missile test, the next test will be this one.

North Korea's Leader Kim Jong Un Is Still A Mystery

North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and military officer Jang Song-taek paying their respects。 (Courtesy Reuters)

North Korea's Leader Still A Mystery -- Chris Lawrence, CNN

The United States and South Korea still have no clear insight on the new leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, nearly a year after he replaced his father.

"We still don't know whether or not he will follow in the footsteps of his father, or whether he represents a different kind of leadership for the future," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta admitted Wednesday.

Panetta made the comment at a news conference on Wednesday after security talks with his South Korean counterpart. The meetings included discussion of North Korea's young leader, who succeeded his father, Kim Jong Il, after his death in 2011.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said the actual regime "seems to be quite stable," and there is hope Kim Jong Un would "try to introduce new economic reform measures to make a better life for the people" of North Korea.

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Update: North Korea new leader still a mystery after nearly a year: Pentagon -- Reuters

My Comment: Officials in the U.S. and South Korea may wonder who this new North Korean leader is .... and what he may do .... but his family has no illusions on who and what he is.

North Korean Leader Consolidates His Power

Kim Jong Un, front, is accompanied by officers of the Korean People's Army. Xinhua / Landov

Propaganda Campaign Grows in North Korea as Kim Jong Un Consolidates Power -- Time

Wednesday's announcement, combined with a pervasive propaganda push, suggests that the new leader is firmly in control

Even before Wednesday’s noontime “special announcement” that Kim Jong Un had been named to the top military title of marshal, there were signs that the young heir of deceased dictator Kim Jong Il was shoring up his standing as ruler of the isolated state. North Korea announced on Monday that military chief Ri Yong Ho had been removed from all his party and government positions, a move that was attributed only to “his illness.” And in the months before, the country was blanketed with propaganda meant to elevate the status of the status of Kim, who after the death of his father in December was quickly elevated to the top of North Korea’s leadership.

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More News On North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Consolidating His Power

Kim Jong Un awarded title of Marshal of DPRK -- Xinhuanet
Kim Jong-un becomes marshal of North Korean military -- The Telegraph
North Korea's Kim Jong-un named marshal -- The Guardian
North Korean Leader Adds Marshal To List Of Titles -- NPR/AP
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un rivals father, grandfather with growing list of titles -- Washington Post/AP
North Korea gives Kim Jong Eun higher military rank -- Washington Post
Kim Jong-un named N Korea's highest military rank -- BBC
N. Korea Names Kim Jong Un Marshal in Consolidation of Power -- SFGate/Bloomberg
Leader Kim Jong-un named head of North Korea military -- Euronews
Timeline: Kim Jong Un's Rise to Power -- Voice of America

North Korea's New Leader Cement's His Ties With The Military

Like Grandfather, Like Grandson: Kim Jong Un Plays to North Korea's Generals -- Time

On April 15, the 100th anniversary of the his grandfather's birth, beefy 29-year old Kim Jong Un stepped up to the microphone and for the first time, the citizenry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as a world of curious onlookers, could actually hear what the young man sounded like. — The spitting image of his forefather's propaganda portraits, "Lil' Kim" — as he has been called by the foreign press — spoke clearly and with confidence for 20 minutes with the military's general staff at his side and thousands of troops at attention in front of him in central Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung square, named after the founding dynast and "Great Leader."

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More News On Kim Jong-Un

North Korea Leader Says Military Is Priority -- Wall Street Journal
Secure despite rocket fiasco, North Korea's Kim lauds military -- Reuters
Pyongyang stands behind 'military-first' -- UPI
North Korean Leader Stresses Need for Strong Military -- New York Times
Coached and confident, North Korea's Kim echoes grandfather -- Reuters
North Korea’s Kim Says His Regime Can’t Be Blackmailed -- Bloomberg Businessweek
NKorean leader vows military strength in first public speech; military shows off new missile -- Washington Post/AP
In North Korea, third Kim's bloodline all that matters -- Reuters

My Comment: So much for hopes of change in North Korea.

Kim Jong Un Is Now A Four-Star General In The North Korean Military

A Year After Big Debut, ‘Illustrious’ Son Of North Korean Leader Cements Status As Successor -- Washington Post/AP

PYONGYANG, North Korea — The Illustrious General has had a busy year.

Since making his international debut a year ago Monday, Kim Jong Un has been serving as military strategist, political statesman and trusted deputy to his father, leader Kim Jong Il.

The newly minted four-star general, believed in his late 20s, is widely credited at home with orchestrating a deadly artillery attack on a front-line South Korean island that nearly brought the foes to the brink of another war. He appears regularly with his father at marquee events and accompanies him on inspection trips to farms and factories — visits now commemorated with plaques bearing his name.

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My Comment: You can tell the North Koreans are working hard to propel Kim Jong Un to "cult status" when they start threatening war to those who may question this "cult status". But a four-star general ... shesshhhh.

A New Reign of Terror In North Korea

Kim Jong-un and entourage

Kim Jong-un Unleashes Reign of Terror -- Chosun Ilbo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son Jong-un has unleashed a reign of terror and kickstarted his own personality cult to make up for his lack of experience and competence over the past year. The tubby 20-something was anointed as his father's successor at a party congress last year.

"Kim Jong-un is implementing a reign of terror using military and public security agencies," a source said on Wednesday. "The elite is becoming agitated as he has gone all out to purge senior officials who pose a hurdle to his succession."

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My Comment: Like father .... like son. In short .... nothing has changed in North Korea.

North Korea's Next Leader Celebrates His Birthday Quietly

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il inspects a machine plant in Huichon, North Korea, in this undated photo released on Dec. 22 by the Korean Central News Agency via the Korea News Service in Tokyo. Kim was accompanied by his son and heir Kim Jong-un, second from left. [AP/YONHAP]

Hacker Attack Greets Kim Jong Un on His Birthday -- Voice of America

Computer hackers breached North Korea's official media accounts on Saturday, mocking the youthful heir apparent to the country's leadership on his birthday.

A video was posted on the country's YouTube channel that depicted a caricature of Kim Jong Un driving a luxury sports car, running over women and children on the side of the road.

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More News On Kim Jong Un

On N. Korean heir's birthday, a rude cyber-greeting -- Washington Post
Hackers Celebrate Kim Jong-Un's B-Day With Video -- NPR
For N. Korean heir, a public life in the shadows -- Washington Post
What to get NKorean heir apparent on his birthday -- AP
N.Korea celebrates heir's birthday in low-key style -- AFP
Low Profile of an Heir Reinforces a Mystery -- New York Times
North Korea's Twitter account hacked to call for uprising -- The Telegraph

Official Picture Of North Korea's Next Leader Released

A screenshot of Kim Jong Un, the youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, and his heir apparent. This week, Kim Jong Un, shown seated between two generals, was elevated to top political and military positions during a rare conference of North Korea's Worker's Party (KCTV, Pyongyang)

NKorea Prints Photos of Heir Apparent Kim Jong Un -- ABC News

North Korean state-run media publishes photos, airs video of heir apparent Kim Jong Un

North Korea introduced its heir apparent to the world Thursday, a chubby-faced young man with a serious expression, combed back hair cut high and tight on the sides and wearing a communist-style black suit.

State media published the first official images of Kim Jong Un, the youngest son of leader Kim Jong Il who appears destined to inherit control of the impoverished, nuclear-armed state.

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More News On North Korean Leader Heir Apparent Kim Jong Un

NKorea prints photos of heir apparent Kim Jong Un -- Yahoo News/AP
North Korea's leader-in-waiting goes on show -- Yahoo News/Reuters
N.Korea publishes first photo of heir apparent -- Yahoo News/AFP
New images of North Korea's heir apparent Kim Jong-un -- BBC
N. Korea Publishes Photos of Likely Next Leader -- CBS News/AP
North Korea unveils first photo of Kim Jong-un as heir apparent -- Christian Science Monitor
Photo of North Korean Successor Released -- Voice of America
NKorea's Heir Apparent Makes Media Debut -- AOL
Young Kim's debut isn't exactly picture-perfect -- L.A. Times

My Comment: I now know why a picture of him has not been released until now. He looks like someone that the bullies in high school would beat up. I also now suspect (and I am guessing) that the old guard who run North Korea will only let him have the position that his father wants him to have if they are permitted a free hand to run their own 'shows'.

But I expect this to only be a temporary situation. After Kim Jong Il is gone, expect the leadership battles to break out after a year of his "mourning".