All day I have wanted to login so I could get folks looking out for some strange goings-on in DPRK (North Korea.) There are rumors going around that pictures of Kim Jong Il have been removed from their normal place next to Kim Il Sung’s pix. I googled this and it seems to be true. Speculation abounds as to the reason, ranging from death of Kim, to a coup, to simply his request to remove the pictures. Now, this seems strange to us, but it is required that pictures of both Kims be displayed in every room of every home, every office, school, hotel, etc. The literally worship KIS and KJI as gods, calling KIS “Great Leader”, and KJI “Dear Leader.”

Another thing noticed lately is that the TV and Radio ministries (State owned, of course, ) are now just calling KJI, “president,” instead of “dear Leader”.

If you have a chance to watch Discovery Times channel, there are two very worthwhile programs that they air about N.K. One is “Children of the Secret State,” very heart-rending, and the other is “Access to Evil,” which is pretty eye-opening as well.

Ever since I stood at PanMunJom in 1962 and looked out over that mysterious land, I’ve wanted to go there and see for myself just what it is like, and if their current state were to crumble, I might get that chance. Maybe I should get my language texts out, and bone up on my vocabulary, just in case. The most use I get out of Korean lately is an occasional visit to our favorite Korean restaurant where Nurse Jen and I have been going for years, where we get to practice our language skills in conversation with the staff.

Tonight’s “War Stories” is about the Korean War. It wasn’t too long after that when I first went there, and the country was still in pretty much disarray. A whole different story today, though!

We’ll keep an eye on this one.