In light of the presidential campaign, some international events have been sidelined. Recently, North Korea’s Kim Jong Il suffered a stroke, causing rumors to circulate about his bad health. He even missed the 60th anniversary celebration, which he is not accustomed to do. This has further spread the word that the North Korean leader may be close to his death.
Although the North Korean diplomat and several other high ranking officials have denied it, many of the neighboring nations and the United States have become increasingly concerned at the prospect of a leaderless North Korea. With the tensions rising and the nuclear reactor program beginning again, the fear of the countries is the instability of North Korea.
This has caused some last minute planning by China and the United States. I wonder if it should have been done before, an action plan in the event that countries with dangerous nuclear power should become instable.
Perhaps this bodes well for the country, that the people finally have a chance to become free of the dictatorship and democratically elect someone who would restore peace and productivity to the ailing nation.
Or it may become total political upheaval. Since Kim did not appoint a successor, who knows whether or not the 3 sons will fight it out for the role of leadership.
The United States and the world are at the crossroads when it comes to North Korea and its future. Only time will tell whether or not the decisions we make now have good or bad consequences. Although this may be hidden when compared to the race for presidency, it will play a big factor once the race is over.
Josh’s Comments: I hate to be hard on Sam, especially since he was so nice about my post… but analysis is analysis.
Chiefly, I would take issue with his statement that “perhaps this bodes well for the country…” I would very much disagree. The death of a dictator doesn’t necessarily lead to democracy -it can lead to anarchy, or military junta, or some other even worse form of government.
Add that to the fact that Korea may have nuclear material and we have quite a big problem on our hands. To be fair, Sam does mention this possibility in his next paragraph. Still, I think that Il’s sickness/death/ill health is most definitely bad. Our hope should be for a stable transition -not the death of a dictator.