General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums'China's Worst Nightmare': Why Kim Jong Un's Health is a New Headache
Rumors and varied reports on the supposed deteriorating health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent observers into a frenzy Tuesday as analysts and watchers of Pyongyang tried to ascertain the whereabouts and condition of the 36-year-old dictator.
Intelligence agencies, journalists, and researchers are all trying to work out the state of play. The unexpected newsand subsequent speculationfrom across the border with North Korea will have been an unwelcome surprise in Beijing, where officials are already grappling with the COVID-19 coronavirus fallout and economic collapse.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Tuesday that the government was aware of the reports but did not know their source, declining to comment further on the matter and providing no clarity on a situation that could destabilize Asia.
North Korea has long been a volatile but useful foreign policy tool for the Chinese. The secretive state provides a handy buffer zone to keep democratic South Korea and tens of thousands of American troops away from its border, an important enough objective for China to commit more than 1 million troops to the Korean War.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/chinas-worst-nightmare-why-kim-jong-uns-health-is-a-new-headache/ar-BB132Fa1?li=BBnb7Kz
safeinOhio
(32,727 posts)He had been dead for a week.
jimfields33
(15,978 posts)But wouldnt next in line person be running to the cameras getting their name out there to the world?
Doreen
(11,686 posts)I am just curious who would more than likely take his place.
jimfields33
(15,978 posts)Transition and knowledge of whose next in line. Its apparently messy.
2naSalit
(86,802 posts)We'll find out when someone else steps up to the microphone.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Talitha
(6,618 posts)Wuhan Don and Putin next.. PLEASE???
hunter
(38,328 posts)Nobody wants that. Not China, not South Korea, not Russia.
Saudi Arabia, population 34 million, is another potential hot spot of dazed, confused, and starving refugees. Nobody will welcome them.
Here at home, how are you going to deal with your own extremist Fox News Nation relatives and acquaintances when everything falls apart? Will you invite them to live with you? I will, but Spot will probably eat those who bring guns.