Well, the big news yesterday was the announcement of the death of Kim Jon Il, who always made life in this part of Asia a little uneasy. It is a mysterious place, North Korea, and every so often when they feel lonesome they fire off a missile over Japan or detonate a nuclear explosion.
So now that he’s gone, everyone is wondering what’s next. My students all seemed to have a different idea of what to expect in the future. Some think that there will be a power vacuum attracting some of Kim Jon Il’s older sons to the top of the heap. Others felt that the youngest son will be able to keep control, but will have to do something spectacular to show he is a strong leader. Still others felt like the military would control things from behind the scenes.
It’s like a soap opera with nuclear weapons.
I think we’ll just go about our business around here and keep one eye on the TV for the next few months. Hopefully nothing dramatic will happen.
