Where is Kim Jong-Il?

North Korea's Kim unseen at anniversary parade

This is curious.

Yesterday I was going to post on this item but it seemed too absurd to mention. If Jong-Il is dead as the article supposes, who is running the state? His dopplegangers? Not. Very. Likely. The KPA? Too vague. I have about zero doubt he uses doubles. They've been used by Saddam, Montgomery and many others since forever. It creates confusion in your enemies and makes them suspect their sources.

What, though, are the odds that he would miss the 60th anniversary of the communist monarch country? Approximately zero. Jong-il loves few things more than military parades and mass spectacles. Also given that he has a penchant for saber rattling close to US elections makes this really, really unlikely.

Two different articles indicate that his health is very bad and perhaps even failing. US officials suspect a stroke but won't say why.

A rundown of possible successors to the throne is here. The information is surely dated so the question of who is in and out of favor is even more opaque than usual. Readers are invited to speculate on anything about this one.

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