The future will be interesting...

It was not the most promising sign of change in North Korea that the death of Kim Jong-il was marked by the test-firing of a short-range missile off the troubled peninsula’s east coast. After the despot’s demise at the weekend, apparently from a heart attack while travelling on a train, the country’s military rulers were evidently intent on demonstrating that the bellicose isolationism of the “dear leader” had not died with him. Even though Pyongyang’s chosen dynastic successor, his third son Kim Jong-un, was educated in the West, the prospect of an immediate transformation in this bizarre country is remote.

The initial reports I heard had the missile launch as preceding his death (or at least the announcement of his death) --its likely the launch was already planned.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports that the “short-range” missile was fired into “into the sea off [North Korea's] east coast” just hours after the announcement of Kim’s death. No one appears to be hurt, and it seems that the test was planned in advance. But the message is clear enough: North Korea wants the 28,000 U.S. troops on its southern frontier to know that now is not the time to mess with it.

The missile was tied to a device monitoring his heart. When he died, the dead man switch went off, launching the missile. Unfortunately it was a dud, so they're claiming it was a test launch to avoid losing face. /conspiracy

The missile was tied to a device monitoring his heart. When he died, the dead man switch went off, launching the missile. Unfortunately it was a dud, so they're claiming it was a test launch to avoid losing face. /conspiracy

North Korea’s pint-sized dictator is a master of propaganda and social manipulation, but he also apparently suffers from insecurity, delusion, and severe OCD. Here are 10 “facts” about Kim Jong Il, as reported by the media. The word “facts” is in quotes because the first 5 on the list are examples of propaganda that Kim Jong Il uses to brainwash his citizens into maintaining his almost god-like image. The last 5 are actual facts.

The missile was tied to a device monitoring his heart. When he died, the dead man switch went off, launching the missile. Unfortunately it was a dud, so they're claiming it was a test launch to avoid losing face. /conspiracy

Many people think we are in South Korea to protect them from the North Koreans. According to many soldiers I've talked to over the years, it is the exact opposite. we are there to prevent the civil war from flaring up and having the South Koreans take out North Korea. Even an impoverished country with nuclear weapons still has a good chance of using them before being shut down.