Well, this story certainly has one of the stranger headlines I’ve seen in quite a while. Disclaimer: the accompanying picture is a dramatization.
Women danced in mini-skirted military uniforms as North Korea marked the 60th anniversary of its communist party on Monday, while speculation mounted over whether its leader would use the occasion to name a successor.
At an event attended by leader Kim Jong-il and thousands of his military brass and cadres on Sunday, the emphasis was on Pyongyang’s long-standing “songun†military-first policy and its “juche†ideal of self-reliance.
“We should fully embody the party’s songun politics, an all-powerful treasured sword for victory in revolution under any circumstances and conditions, and direct primary efforts to the strengthening of the Korean People’s Army,†the North’s No. 2, Kim Yong-nam, said in remarks carried on the KCNA news agency.
The anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea is a time when the reclusive country revels in mass games and provides its citizens with a few extra bowls of rice to celebrate.
Hey, nothing captures the fun-loving nature of a repressive commie dictatorship like martial trollops flaunting their gams and cavorting for the party. And hey, extra rice. Bonus!
Unfortunately, there is also a serious side to this story.
But for this anniversary, outside attention has been focused on whether Kim Jong-il will name one of his three sons to a key post in the ruling party, which in effect would amount to naming a successor-in-waiting in the world’s only communist dynasty.
The Russian news agency Itar-Tass last week quoted a diplomatic source in Pyongyang as saying Kim may use the event to announce a successor. Analysts said the precise timing and which son he would pick were anyone’s guess.
Alas! The odds are not in favor of the oldest of Kim’s brood.
The eldest of his known sons, Kim Jong-nam, has apparently fallen into disfavour for trying to sneak into Japan on a false passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
Hmmm … yeah, I could see how that could be considered a strike against him.