Kim Jong-un may no longer be in charge of North Korea

[Ultimate Paragon]

http://www.theweek.co.uk/people/kim-jong-un/60578/kim-jong-un-has-lost-control-of-north-korea-ex-official-says

Kim Jong-un has lost his grip on power and is now little more than a "puppet leader", a former North Korean counter-intelligence officer has said.

Jang Jin-sung, who was a member of former president Kim Jong-il's propaganda division, made the surprising claim at a conference of high-ranking exiles who met in Holland. The gathering included a senior military officer, a former official of the Ministry of Security and a number of top diplomats, Vice News reports.

The assertion comes amid reports that the North Korean capital of Pyongyang has gone into "lockdown". The respected New Focus International news website reports that "entry and exit permissions" were restricted on 27 September, limiting the movement of Pyongyang residents who, according to the Daily Telegraph, are "by definition the elite of the regime".

"This sort of action suggests there has either been an attempted coup or that the authorities there have uncovered some sort of plot against the leadership," Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University and an authority on North Korean affairs, told the Telegraph. "If it is a military-backed coup, then the situation in Pyongyang will be very dangerous and I have heard reports that Kim has been moved out of the capital."

At the conference in Holland, Jang went a step further, arguing that Kim Jong-un may already have been overthrown. In Jang's view, power now resides with the Organisation and Guidance Department (OGD), which used to answer directly to Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un's father.

If this is true, then what's in North Korea's future?

[Cerim Treascair]

Either they'll destroy themselves... or have a return to sanity.  Maybe the military's fed up with the Kims at long last...


... okay, one can hope.

[Lt. Fred]

This is possibly accurate, but it's also possibly not. Defectors can't be trusted very far.

[Sigmaleph]

http://www.theweek.co.uk/people/kim-jong-un/60578/kim-jong-un-has-lost-control-of-north-korea-ex-official-says

Kim Jong-un has lost his grip on power and is now little more than a "puppet leader", a former North Korean counter-intelligence officer has said.

Jang Jin-sung, who was a member of former president Kim Jong-il's propaganda division, made the surprising claim at a conference of high-ranking exiles who met in Holland. The gathering included a senior military officer, a former official of the Ministry of Security and a number of top diplomats, Vice News reports.

The assertion comes amid reports that the North Korean capital of Pyongyang has gone into "lockdown". The respected New Focus International news website reports that "entry and exit permissions" were restricted on 27 September, limiting the movement of Pyongyang residents who, according to the Daily Telegraph, are "by definition the elite of the regime".

"This sort of action suggests there has either been an attempted coup or that the authorities there have uncovered some sort of plot against the leadership," Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University and an authority on North Korean affairs, told the Telegraph. "If it is a military-backed coup, then the situation in Pyongyang will be very dangerous and I have heard reports that Kim has been moved out of the capital."

At the conference in Holland, Jang went a step further, arguing that Kim Jong-un may already have been overthrown. In Jang's view, power now resides with the Organisation and Guidance Department (OGD), which used to answer directly to Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un's father.

If this is true, then what's in North Korea's future?

Call me a pessimist, but I don't think North Korea will improve just because the dictator has a different family name.

[Old Viking]

I just hope the little guy's hair is OK.

[niam2023]

As long as the North Korean Hair Gel Department (HGD) is still operational, Dear Leader's Hair will survive.

[KZN02]

Makes me wonder if China is going to get involved.

[Stormwarden]

China may already be. They've been getting tired of NK for quite some time, and they tend to be subtle. But that assumes we don't read too much into it.

[Askold]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2014/10/07/25/0401000000AEN20141007002500315F.html

North Korea declares that the two Koreas will be united in 2015. In preparation for this their military is gearing up for a war (As if they hadn't been prepared for a war for the last few decades.) with additional training and bringing out more heavy firepower.

...I don't know the Koreas well enough to say wether this is just their usual posturing or a serious threat.

Concidering that the odds of a coup having happened or happening right now are high, this is rather alarming.