From Jennifer Zeng: Vice director of HKSTV Hong Kong Satellite Television says North Korea leader kim jong un is dead

Jaybird

Jaybird is Birdmojo on Xbox Live and Jaybirdmojo on Playstation's network. He's been playing consoles since the Atari 2600 and it was Zork that taught him how to touch-type. If you've got a song for Wednesday, a commercial for Saturday, a recommendation for Tuesday, an essay for Monday, or, heck, just a handful a questions, fire off an email to AskJaybird-at-gmail.com

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37 Responses

  1. Jaybird says:

    If this is true (and I have no idea that it is… but it’s a source with more skin in the game than the anonymous randos who started talking about this a couple of days ago), then there is additional uncertainty in the region.

    Kim Yo-jong seems to be the presumptive successor.

    She’s the one who got favorable headlines during the Olympics… an example:

    I wonder if we’re going to get somewhat glowing headlines about her again.

    Hey, maybe she’ll turn stuff around.Report

  2. Chip Daniels says:

    Aaand just like that, North Korea loses its spot as Nation With Most Bizarre Cult Leader.Report

  3. greginak says:

    The only thing scarier then a nuke armed dictatorship run by a cult like madman is a very unplanned transition of power. Gah. If Kim hasn’t provided proof of life really fast after this announcement then he a truly dead parrot. The pucker factor on the peninsula, China and the Pentagon is high. There are a lot bad possibilities ranging from Bad to Really Forkin Bad. Even the best outcome (NK dictatorship ends moving towards liberalization and openness) is fraught and in the short term very difficult.Report

  4. Jaybird says:

    This one is arguing that he is, instead, brain dead. One heck of a distinction.

    Report

  5. Brandon Berg says:

    Interestingly, nowhere in those screenshots does it say Kim is dead. I don’t even see his name. It’s just implied by the candles. The longer message is her responding to “fake news” allegations.

    Furthermore, those Weibo posts seem to be deleted, and there’s a post saying she didn’t delete it and people must have complained to the authorities too much.

    Despite the name, HKSTV seems to be a de facto mainland outlet, at least according to Wikipedia. The screenshots are also simplified Chinese.Report

  6. George Turner says:

    It’s somewhat unlikely that Kim would have undergone elective surgery with North Korean doctors instead of kidnapped Japanese or Western surgeons, so a sudden health crisis is the most likely cause. But was the crisis mere chance or the result of some plot? Who might have cleverly taken him out? Who had a motive? Most folks would immediately assume that Trump is responsible, but I wouldn’t rule out Sony Pictures or other nefarious Hollywood studios or actors. Yet if the rumors about a coma are true, then it’s even more likely the work of the Otto Warmbier family: An eye-for-an-eye, a-coma-for-a-coma.Report

  7. Jaybird says:

    #KIMJONGUNDEAD is the unfortunate hashtag that Twitter is using to discuss these events.Report

    • George Turner in reply to Jaybird says:

      *snort*

      I might have to start a #NKgirlpower hashtag in support of Kim Yo-Jong, arguing that it’s time for a woman to lead to a psychotic totalitarian dictatorship.

      If Kim’s problems were indeed arterial blockages, then it highlights the wisdom of limiting the national diet to grass and pine bark. Obviously their experiment at to producing a fat guy ended in failure.
      #FightNorthKoreanObesityReport

    • Brandon Berg in reply to Jaybird says:

      Unfortunate?Report

  8. Jaybird says:

    Looking forward to six months of this:

    Report

  9. Jaybird says:

    Proof:

    Report

  10. North says:

    On the one hand, damn, he’s not very old and has presumably a lot of medical care. On the other hand, damn, he did not take good care of himself.
    But this kind of eventuality is one of the huge weaknesses of autocracies. Succession is a real problem.Report

  11. Jaybird says:

    New info coming in constantly:

    Report

  12. Jaybird says:

    Another theory with a surprising amount of persuasive power:

    Report

  13. Jaybird says:

    HOLY CRAP!

    Report

  14. Jaybird says:

    Oh.

    I guess this explains it.

    Report