KIm Jong-il: The Not-So-Dearly-Departed Leader

Image via WikipediaKim Jong-il, the North Korean strongman who held power for nearly two decades, has died at 69.  The government, whose job it was to embellish the legacy and legend of the "Dear Leader", said he had a heart attack while traveling on a train.

As dictators go, Kim Jong-il was standard issue with a few wacky touches. While his citizens starved and dissidents were either tossed into prison or killed, Kim Jong-il lived a life of luxury.  He ate well, had an absurdly low round of golf, and loved Hollywood movies to the point where he had thousands of them on DVD.

There are two reasons why Kim Jong-il was taken seriously by the rest of the world:  (A)  North Korea lies in a dangerous part of the world where a state of war with South Korea still exists, even though there hasn't been fighting in almost 60 years.  The United States has thousands of soldiers along South Korea's side of the 38th parallel.  (B)  The possibility that North Korea has nuclear weapons.  Despite claims of using nuclear power for energy needs, suspicions remain that they've built a weapon or two to use on Seoul, Tokyo, or even an American west coast city.

Adding to it is the fact that North Korea and its government is so isolated and secretive, one never knows what's really going on.

Kim Jong-il's handpicked successor is his son Kim Jong-un (apparently, his other sons were not deemed worthy).  Not much is known about him, except that he's in his 20s and is rumored to be a bit of a hothead.  Remember that attack last year on a South Korean sub?  That was believed to be his doing.

Some world leaders have expressed hope that a more moderate North Korea might emerge under Kim Jong-un, while others are more cautious.  Because the New Leader is so young and inexperienced, he may be under pressure initially to keep things the way they are.

Since he's presumably going to lead North Korea for a long time to come, Kim Jong-un might develop a taste for wine, women and movies just like his old man did.  And he can also watch his country's population shrink as they slowly starve to death.