Grounded.
(AP photo)
Is there anything which that most perfect and noble of all men, Kim Jong-un, cannot do, comrades? Well, there is one thing — he can’t seem to leave the country:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has backed out of next month’s visit to Moscow for World War II anniversary celebrations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
“We were informed of the decision via diplomatic channels,” Peskov said. “The decision is connected with North Korean domestic affairs.”
The visit was highly anticipated because it would have marked Kim’s first official foreign trip since inheriting the leadership of North Korea in late 2011.
My first guess — and it’s only a guess — is that Kim’s reign is not secure enough for him to risk leaving the country. That’s not exactly an uncommon problem for dictators, who in the early days usually owe their power to an unsteady coalition.
My second guess — still only a guess — is that whatever power block is the real power behind the throne doesn’t yet feel like Kim is ready to leave the country, or perhaps that their rule isn’t yet secure enough to risk letting the figurehead leave for a few days.
You have a third guess?
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