Seeming Confirmation of Strange Doings in North Korea

Today the NYT has an article on the N Korea case of the missing tyrannt photos. This site requires login but it is free and despite the horrible bias of the NYT if you are not already registered you should do it anyway. (Thanks to Polipundit for NYT link)

Portraits of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, have been quietly taken down this fall in important institutions in the country's capital, Pyongyang, several diplomats there say.

I noticed a post about this and mentioned it yesterday afternoon.

There are few things in the world involving greater uncertainty than speculating about North Korea but I am going to go ahead and take a chance.

Most of the comments in the original link at Chrenkoff and in the NYT article range from neutral to negative about this news. I wish to differ. My immediate sense is that we are possibly seeing the beginning of the equivalent of the Berlin Wall coming down in NK.

NK is heavily reliant on China. For fuel, for all kinds of other things.

China has now integrated into the global economy and is desperately trying to maintain stability in the face of runaway growth, a very troubled banking system and a mountain of U.S. currency that they need to recycle due to a huge trade imbalance. Further, China is faced with a variety of WTO imposed requirements and rapidly rising expectations from its citizens.

The worst possible thing that could happen to China would be some sort of regional meltdown caused by the psycho that runs NK.

The U.S. has leaned hard on China to 'fix' this problem. In a very solid diplomatic effort the Bush Administration has enlisted the other major regional powers into the dialog and has held all their feet to the fire on NK. They all have a MAJOR stake in avoiding nuclear war or even just some kind of meltdown short of that in NK.

There must be all extensive routine contacts between Chinese military and government officials and those in NK. It would not surprise me if the Chinese have had a "heart to heart' talk with some of the folks in NK other than the Dear Leader and made them an offer they can't refuse.

You guys take this idiot out and we will...... [fill in the blanks]. Money, power, unlimited gambling credit in Hong Kong. Maybe even enough food for the people in your country????

The key comment in my opinion in the article I mentioned yesterday is the following:

"But (US Democratic candidate) John Kerry's loss in the US election was a harder one. These are now very worried men."

These guys were sitting around expecting Kerry to win and to get back to the days of appeasement by Clintonistas. Now they know it isn't going to happen. Clearly the pictures started disappearing before the U.S. election so hard to connect the dots.

But, for the record, my money is on someone in NK blinking and that we will see a peaceful, constructive resolution of the NK thing during the President's second term.

If this happens and we manage to take out the mullahs in Iran the President will have gone THREE FOR THREE on the Axis of Evil.

Don't you just love Texans!!!!! Could it be that I was really on track with my very first post on this blog????