Saturday, July 21, 2012

A Not-So-Peaceful Transition in North Korea

Apparently, not everything is perfect in that worker's paradise called North Korea. From yesterday's Daily Mail:
Dozens of North Korean soldiers are reported to have been killed in a fierce internal gun battle following the removal from office of army chief Ri Yong-Ho.

Bullets smashed into nearby buildings as government soldiers and personal guards of the popular military chief turned on each other in an unprecedented affray in the secretive Stalinist country.

Reports of the gun battle emerged in South Korea today as the North’s state television showed hundreds of uniformed soldiers literally dancing in the streets as they celebrated the elevation of Kim Jong-Un to the role of Supreme Leader and head of the nation’s military.

It has not been established whether Mr Ri was injured or killed in the gun battle, which has been totally ignored by state television.

Celebrations for Kim’s appointment as head of the military are the main focus of news from the capital, Pyongyang.

But one source was quoted as saying that ‘we cannot rule out the possibility that Ri was badly injured or even died during the firefight when his guards possibly tried to protect him.’

Exactly why Mr Ri was removed from the high office remains unclear, even though the North Korean regime insisted that he had been allowed to step down due to illness.

In South Korea, analysts said they had no doubt that Mr Ri had been sacked and might even have had to be physically removed from office.

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