North Korea Leader Dead Since 2003 - So WHO is running the country? (warning-offensive language)

[Mrs. Sharon B. Hodge]

Kim Jong Il was last seen on 14 August, when he inspected a military unit



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Where is Korea's Kim Jong Il?
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Independent UK
By Jae-Soon Chang in Seoul
Sunday, 7 September 2008

http://www. independent. co. uk/news/world/asia/where-is-koreas-kim...

Speculation was mounting last night over the health of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il.
He has not been seen in public for more than three weeks, and, according to a source who has seen intelligence reports, five Chinese physicians entered North Korea about a week ago and are still there

The 66-year-old leader was last seen on 14 August, when he inspected a military unit. State media carry reports every time Mr Kim attends a public event, but never comment on his health.
An official with South Korea's main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, has said Mr Kim has chronic heart disease and diabetes but that his illnesses have not affected his public duties

North Korea next week marks 60 years since its foundation. An annual military parade is usually staged on the anniversary.
If Mr Kim doesn't attend, this may indicate his health has worsened, South Korean officials believe



Kim Jong-Il - dead man walking?

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Kim Jong-Il 'died in 2003'
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ABC Australia
Sept 8, 2008

http://www. abc. net. au/news/stories/2008/09/08/2358528. htm

He doesn't appear in public very often so it's difficult to verify but there are allegations today that North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Il has in fact been dead for five years

A Japanese expert on North Korea is claiming that the role of the "Dear Leader" has instead been played by a group of doubles since 2003, when he says the President died of diabetes

The word "reclusive" hardly does Kim Jong-Il justice.
The 66-year-old was last seen in public on August 14, when he inspected a military unit

He is known for dipping out of the international spotlight for months on end, especially when relations with other countries such as the US are strained

The leader has been thought to be ill for some time but Japanese-North Korean expert Professor Toshimitsu Shigemura is proposing a far worse state

"Already he has died.
A lot of information came from Pyongyang," he told The World Today

The proof of the North Korean leader's passing is varied and rests on the main claim that Kim Jong-Il is being played by a number of convincing imposters

The fake Kims are said to be the wrong height and are always shadowed by one of four senior military figures

"A Japanese TV station checked his voice print four years ago and the result was the voice was different, the former Kim Jong-Il and now Kim Jong-Il, so there are questions," Professor Shigemura said

Kim Jong-Il's secret death is impossible to verify and other North Korean experts have called the claim silly

Professor Shigemura is not completely certain himself but has been in contact with unnamed close friends of Kim Jong-Il

"But they are pretty high, maybe 60 per cent or 70 per cent [sure] it's possible," he said

"We can trust those persons so we trust, we are trusting this person with the information"

This would mean that the world, including Vladimir Putin and Hu Jintao, have been negotiating with an impostor

Kim Jong-Il has ruled the secretive Communist state since the death of his father Kim Il-Sung in 1994 but his father remains the state's eternal President beyond death

So who pulls the strings now if Professor Shigemura's claims are correct?

"Some of the military leaders, also the party leaders, and government leaders," he said

"Several people are conducting North Korea's government. Actually the North Korean government is guided by those people, those leaders, not only one person.
Now they are collective leaderships"

The best chance to test the theory could come tomorrow when Kim Jong-Il is due to appear at a military parade celebrating 60 years since the founding of North Korea

"He will be the double Kim Jong-Il, it will be positive," Professor Shigemura said

Based on a report by Karen Barlow for The World Today.