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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNobody's Seen Kim Jong Un Publicly for Two Weeks
ADAM CLARK ESTES 1:00 PM ET
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.
It's not entirely out of the question for Kim Jong Un to lay low. He's called a "strange hermit king" for a reason. However, it's kind of an important moment for North Korea. In recent weeks, the country's repeatedly threatened a nuclear attack on the Untied States and most recently aimed its guns at Japan. Kim Jong Un's been checked out, though, and some say it's all a part of the intimidation strategy. Kim hasn't been seen in public since April 1, when he led a session of parliament. Pyongyang's been busy in the meantime, shutting down factories, prepping for a fourth nuclear test and moving missiles towards the U.S. South Korea's Yonhap news agency says that the leader's absence amounts to "psychological warfare that could grab attention from South Korea and the United States."
Quite frankly, the fact that Kim Jong Un is scarce lately is a lot less frightening than the fact that North Korea is threatening to launch a nuclear bomb at the United States. Again, he's known for being hermitic, and with so many foreign intelligence agencies breathing down his neck, now's probably not the best time for the young dictator to go on long walks alone. It's pretty likely that Kim will come out of hiding soon, as the anniversary for his grandfather Kim Il-Sung is right around the corner. In the meantime, as secretary of state John Kerry tours the region, experts suggest that he's backed himself into a corner. "His father and his grandfather always figured into their provocation cycle an off-ramp of how to get out of it," Adm. Samuel Locklear III, the commander of U.S. troops in the Pacific, told Congress last week. "It's not clear to me that he has thought through how to get out of it."
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http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2013/04/nobodys-seen-kim-jong-un-publically-two-weeks/64206/
olddots
(10,237 posts)they drag him out for slow news days or diversions from real news .
premium
(3,731 posts)and the adults in the room are now in charge.
cthulu2016
(10,960 posts)RKP5637
(67,108 posts)The Blue Flower
(5,442 posts)nt
one_voice
(20,043 posts)angry birds.
edbermac
(15,939 posts)BumRushDaShow
(128,946 posts)practicing his Gangnam style moves.
davidn3600
(6,342 posts)BumRushDaShow
(128,946 posts)Heard the audio earlier today and was waiting for the video. Thanks for posting!
jambo101
(797 posts)took care of business and offed the idiot.
Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)He wants to take Dennis Rodman one-on-one.
TexasTowelie
(112,167 posts)because he wanted Michael Jordan instead.
Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)maybe he's in the underground bunker to sit out nuclear war
freshwest
(53,661 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)Maybe Kim Jong Il did the same type of thing.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)Shankapotomus
(4,840 posts)TeamPooka
(24,225 posts)Xipe Totec
(43,890 posts)Nervous?
treestar
(82,383 posts)I wonder if the DPRK would collapse without Supreme Dear Leader.
They are cult-like, so maybe it would work.
Phlem
(6,323 posts)in a hole filling up the hard drive on his computer with pron!
-p
in an office setting we say pron.
-p
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)on real food? They were looking very thin in recent pictures...not a good sign imo.
DavidDvorkin
(19,475 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)Javaman
(62,530 posts)DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)- K&R
octothorpe
(962 posts)up in Asia.
teeeheee... Come on, I can't be the only one who thought maybe he's working with the US. I don't actually think it's true, but you never know.
Rex
(65,616 posts)They were bosom buddies in the 80s. So yeah it is funny...but stranger things have actually happened.
asjr
(10,479 posts)in his entire North Korean country.
TexasTowelie
(112,167 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)Posteritatis
(18,807 posts)I know the few foreign trips he had weren't reported until well afterwards, except for one to China a few years ago during which a coup attempt happened.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)He'll be back on Monday unless he's staying for the Boston Marathon.
John2
(2,730 posts)this story amusing considering. I did not know Kim needed to report his where abouts to the Western media, much less the South Korean government? In fact, I thought he was in the media just a week or so ago, in a conference with his Generals, or was this a fake? Maybe they should call him on the phone and ask for a meeting? At least Rodman told Obama that he had permission to phone.
greytdemocrat
(3,299 posts)RZM
(8,556 posts)lpbk2713
(42,757 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)We have quite a bit of comic taient on board here.
Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)After his latest buffoonery, I would not be surprised to hear he is detoxing in a rehab somewhere.
Apophis
(1,407 posts)markiv
(1,489 posts)flamingdem
(39,313 posts)that was a good bit