Lil' Kim: The Dear Leader

So far in my very short weblog career I have kept my rants confined to the business world. However as I am wont to do I will from time to time veer off into the realm of world affairs (something that I find fascinating).

Today is one of those days and I am delighted to let you know that the topic is one of my favorite's and your's, the cuddly Kim Jong-Il.

As despots go, Mr. Kim (Lil' Kim as I like to call him), or the Dear Leader as he is known in North Korea, is not much of an imposing man. Five feet tall on a good day and sporting a wild hairdo, Lil' Kim has been running the North since 1994. He took over for his dad, the Supreme Leader, Kim Il-Sung (much cooler name).

Since then Lil' Kim has been preoccupied with starving his people, building a nuclear arsenal and pretty much going out of his way to irritate every leader in the world.

The world has put up with it because, frankly, we don't know what to do. The US is preoccupied seemingly everywhere else (except Africa of course), Russia is busy with its own internal issues, China also has its own internal issues and is preoccupied with getting rich.

The fact that Lil' Kim has a nuke is problem number 1 - 5. But the bigger problem is that China, Japan and Russia have dropped the collective baton in securing their regional issues. Each seems to be playing a game of hot potato with the other (probably hoping secretly that the Great Satan - the US - will ride in on its white tank and take over).

Only this is one where we should sit out. Yes the North has a nuke but more than likely if they get it airborne it is not going anywhere near the US (we don't even know for sure they can get it this far). Besides I still find it hard to believe that a country that can't even grow enough food to feed its people and who chief export is opium can get it done the bomb department.

Hawk's View: Bottom line is that Lil' Kim is going down soon. Either via coup, health, or family jealousy, he's going to be out. And as a result 4M North Koreans will begin to stream over the borders into Russia, China, Japan and South Korea. The influx of refugees will destabilize the regions of each of these countries that border the North and a problem that was once controllable (e.g., power and food for nuke dismantlement) will become, pardon the pun, a nuclear one.