Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Kim Jong-un's Prestige Projects 'Bleeding N.Korea Dry'

We do need to pay close attention now.  Currently in Bob Collins' famous seven phases of north Korean collapse we are in phase 4 – the suppression phrase because the military and security services appear to remain coherent and organization and continue to suppress dissent on behalf of the Kim Family regime.  The problem is not so much that these projects are bleeding the rank and file dry (though of course of these funds could have gone to the people their lives would be improved but the fact is these funds would never have gone to the people anyway).  The real problem is when Kim Jong-un lacks sufficient funds to maintain the loyalty of the elite and once that happens there could very well be  rapid loss of central governing effectiveness combined with the loads of coherency (and support) of the military and security services and then we will see a rapid progression through the last 3 phases of collapse.  And of course during that short period with regime survival threatened we could very well see a decision by Kim Jong-un that could launch the execution of the campaign plan to reunify the peninsula as the only option for him to try to survive and it may very well be a rational decision because whatever happens will not be worse that if he does nothing, thus allowing the Ceausescu ending that the regime fears so much.  Might want to dust off the plan for north Korean instability and collapse. I am not making any predictions as to timing but military planners and strategists should always be worse case planners.
V/R
Dave

Kim Jong-un's Prestige Projects 'Bleeding N.Korea Dry'

Three big prestige projects launched by new leader Kim Jong-un are bleeding North Korea dry, exacerbating hardships and squeezing their pockets, according to a South Korean government official.

They are the construction of a ski resort, an equestrian club in Pyongyang and the attempt to turn empty plots of barren land into lawns.

The official said the regime is forcing North Korean diplomats and workers overseas to remit US$300 each to Pyongyang for the construction of the ski resort. It has also told Chongryon, a large pro-Pyongyang Korean organization in Japan, to raise funds. People are being "encouraged" to send gifts to soldiers working on the ski resort, and they have little choice but to comply.

The regime is also pressing many people into labor at the equestrian club and diverting resources that could be better spent elsewhere. It sent senior party officials overseas to sign a deal to buy racehorses worth hundreds of millions of won.

Last year, Kim began a nationwide greening campaign, causing a vast acreage of sod to be laid over barren lots.
(Continued at the link below)

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