‘Unprepared for command’: elder Kim blasts Jong-unIn a new book about what it’s like to be the son of Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-nam, who lives in exile in China, has claimed North Korea’s new leader is unprepared and the country will collapse without reforms, reports Andrew Salmon.
Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong-il and Vaclav Havel: a study in contrasts
They died within hours of each other, but North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il and Czech playwright Vaclav Havel were opposites. The key difference: “Kim stood for power without principle; Havel for principle over power,” writes Joe Schlesinger.
Relief and fear: the mixed emotions of North Korean refugees
Consensus among the more than 20,000 North Korean refugees situated in South Korea appears to be relief that Kim Jong-il is dead, mixed with fear about what the young and inexperienced Kim Jong-un will do, reports B. J. Lee.
film reviews 
Pulgasari — directed by a captive, produced by Kim Jong-il
North Korea’s Dear Leader, the late Kim Jong-il, wasn’t just a ruthless dictator. He was also a film buff and produced a range of features such as Pulgasari, a spectacularly messed-up monster movie, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Media briefs: The Oz’s wedge … bad spelling … Kim Jong-il just No. 2 …
Seems that for The Age online Kim Jong-il’s death was the second most important newsworthy death of the day on Monday … Plus other media news of the day.
Rundle in Nth Korea: Stalinist hermit kingdom meets dystopian science-fiction
Anyone who has been to North Korea will hope to Christ that some process, from the great Kim Jong-un liberalisation to a military coup against the family, will loosen the stays sufficiently so that people might be able to feed themselves.
Post-Kim Jong-il, fear will prevail in the ‘hermit kingdom’
Next year was always going to be big for north-east Asia. The death of Kim Jong-Il has merely ensured that the political manoeuvring will begin a little earlier than expected, writes Dr Danielle Chubb, a Vasey Research Fellow at the Pacific Forum CSIS.
Jong-il to Jong-un: what the South makes of its new North threat
Given Kim Jong-un’s lack of political experience, he may, at least initially, rely on the leadership of Jang Sung Taek and Kim Jyung Hee. However, the true colours of the enigmatic leader of one of the last remaining dictatorships remains to be seen.
Media briefs: Leveson latest … social media in Nth Korea … ABC breaches impartiality
In today’s Media Briefs: is there hope for social media in North Korea? … ACMA warns on networks lifting from Facebook … ABC breaches impartiality and more …
Political snippets: A worry to come for the government.
The sagging public confidence about economic conditions that the pollsters are reporting is unlikely to be improved when workers get their next statement from superannuation funds.
Video of the Day: North Korea weeps for its leader
The citizens of Pyongyang react to the death of Kim Jong-il with some rather bizarre public weeping.
Crikey Says: Kim Jong-il, not so funny
It’s easy to laugh at the dearly departed Dear Leader Kim Jong-il.
What did Kim Jong-il and Vaclav Havel have in common?
Tyrant Kim Jong-il and humanitarian Vaclav Havel died within 24 hours of one another. They are similar in the sense that they had nothing in common, yet a sad truth can be learned by comparing their legacies, writes Lee Zachariah.
Kim Jong-un’s family: alcoholics, psychos and power-mongers
With young Kim Jong-un appointed to fill his father’s shoes, is there anybody else in the family who might make a grab for power? Philip Shenon explores the family tree.
Ding dong North Korea’s Dear Leader is dead
Crikey media wrap: North Korea’s “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il — who has led one of the world’s repressive governments for the last 17 years — died yesterday, leaving his younger son as the dictator-in-waiting.
The best Kim Jong-il impersonations
He was a ruthless dictator, but he was always ripe for parody. Over the years Kim Jong Il has been portrayed in a range of TV and films including Team America and 30 Rock. The HuffPo compiles the best Jon Il impersonations.
Kim Jong-il dies, 69
North Korea’s state media have reported the death of their ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong Il in a special broadcast. According to the broadcast he died of “great mental and physical strain,” reports AAP.
Kim Jong Il’s Siberian holiday
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il isn’t known for handshakes and holidays, but photos have emerged of his ‘fun trip’ in an armoured train across Siberia, reports Joanna Corrigan.
Letter from...: Letter from… the DMZ
For South Koreans, a visit to the DMZ is a visit to a near-mythical place, where relatives may still live out their lives unknown. For tourists like me, it’s a chance to see the last front line between 20th century ideologies, seemingly frozen in time and space, the last physical barrier between capitalism and communism, writes freelance writer Doug Hendrie.
Paul Barry: it’s Kim Jong Il’s birthday, they’ll swim if he makes them
Kim Jong Il, founding member of the Axis of Evil and surely the world’s worst dictator, was 69 yesterday. I feel terrible forgetting his birthday, but luckily the Chinese and Serbians remembered, as did the Syrians.
Video of the Day: Happy birthday, Dear Leader
North Korean synchronised swimmers put on a performance in honour of Kim Jong-il’s 69th birthday.
Pyongyang’s new leader — it’s all looking a bit Kim
He’s Kim Jong-un and, if yesterday’s provocative shelling attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong is any guide, North Korea’s leader-in-waiting may not too far removed from his father, Kim Jong-il.
North Korea attacks: is this war?
Crikey media wrap: In one of the most serious clashes between the bitter enemies in decades, North Korea attacked South Korea yesterday, killing two South Korean soldiers in a shelling spree.
PHOTO GALLERY: Military parades of Pyongpang
No one does choreography like North Korean soldiers and dancers. Check out the colours, lines and quite terrifying spectacle of the 65th anniversary of the Workers’ Party celebrations.
Letter from...: North Korea and a cult of the Kims personality
Things in North Korea are a lot better than they have been in the very recent memories of most of its citizens, writes Colin Jacobs after a recent visit to Pyongyang.
