A fair summation...

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I found this Time online article to be a fair summation of North Korea's relationship with the outside. I agree with the unspecified diplomats, that Kim Jong-il is not crazy enough to start a war, regardless of the fact that North Korea has, according to hearsay, somewhere between one and two million men in its military. (On a tangent, I had heard once that, according to an offhanded remark of a military official, if North Korea attempted an invasion of South Korea, it would be a "two day battle": one day for the North to push southwards, and the following day for the U.S. to reintroduce the North to the Stone Age--it is true that we Americans can occasionally be a little heavy on the bravado , but I do not think the comment is far off.) Anyway, a U.S. senior diplomat was quoted saying, "Kim wants to be a porcupine, someone you don't touch, and he has basically succeeded,"--this statement supports what I and others on the blog thought: that Kim Jong-il is simply making sure he is not forgotten by being frustratingly inflexible diplomatically.

On a side note, after seeing the picture of Kim Jong-il out for a walk with his security atop the article, I had to ask the question: What is up with his hair? Is he out of sync with style, or is it too Western/American to tame that bad bed-head with a comb? I suppose, though, that if I were one of his aides, I would be sure to tell the "Dear Leader" he looks stunning--I'm sure there are those who have died for less than suggesting a haircut...