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“Reuters: South Korea govt says Kim Jong Un is not seriously ill - Yonhap”

https://twitter.com/rover829/status/1252428970760388610?s=21

The title "CNN says Kim Jong Un in Critical Condition" would be better. Best to hedge the statement before more info comes to light.
I’m certain I’ll get downvoted to oblivion for this, but... https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1250694035984969732?s=20
They were reporting what they were told, and didn't that turn out to be true that no "ventilators" were delivered? I believe I read a follow-up article on that.
The last I saw on it was this:

"Elon Musk says he sent ventilators to California hospitals, they say they got something else instead"

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/tech/elon-musk-ventilators-ca...

Musk's response to that article was to double-down on semantics, arguing that CPAP machines still count as ventilators: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1251663844860063746
Am I the stupid one or is his twitter filled with his brain-dead supporters? Do they seriously think hospitals can't buy CPAP machines now?

They can but are not doing it because CPAP machines don't have the accuracy, mission criticalness, gas control and patient monitoring needed.

They surely can buy, but getting them for free is better?
He delivered cpaps that were modified. Not real ventilators.
These machines are used for people needing breathing assistance too. Not everybody needs invasive ventilators. Quote from the very same CNN:

"They have been distributed to hospitals in our system and are being used as intended," said Kathleen Piché, Director of Public Information for L.A. County Department of Health Services. "These units are used for breathing and airway support, reducing the need for certain patients to be placed on mechanical ventilation."

https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic...

So CNN's claim reduces to "he delivered machines which are being used by hospitals for exactly the same purpose the hospitals needed them but since it's not the kind of machines we thought of and we can't use more than one word to describe them he's still somehow bad. Oh and also these machines are cheaper so he is bad for donating cheaper stuff too, because donating million dollars worth of medical equipment is just bullshit. We never did something like that but surely it's super easy." If CNN had any decency left, they'd apologize for trying to turn somebody donating a million dollars of equipment to hospitals needing it to a bad guy. But it's CNN we are talking about.

Implications?
If it’s true, instability in a rogue state with nuclear weapons and a loaded gun pointing at Seoul. The possibility of a flood of refugees entering China when it’s struggling to contain a new deadly virus.

So, hard to say, but unlikely to be good implications.

If you’re a North Korean barely not starving to death, it’ll likely be an improvement.

Hell, enough turmoil that you don’t get shot when fleeing across the border would be an improvement.

You are assuming most people want to quit their country, with of no proof or argument. If anything, a bunch of defectors into the South are disappointed by what they found there.

Also it’s not the NK government starving its citizens to death (that strategy doesn’t make sense to keep the power), it’s the US by imposing economic sanctions. The live of the people in this country would improve if they were allow to do business with the rest of the world.

Finally, the divide exists uniquely because of US intervention, and the state would probably have normalized its relationships to the world by now, like China and Vietnam did, if there wasn’t the forced antagonism caused by an enemy state existing just South.

You very clearly no little about the political and economic philosophy of the country(Juche).

From Wikipedia:

> The Juche theory is the belief that through self-reliance and a strong independent state, true socialism can be achieved.

This isn't really started strongly enough about their views (or at least what they tell their citizens) as regards self-reliance. Most of the famines there have been caused by incompetence. But they are called the Hermit Kingdom for a reason. They want to do it themselves.

They have the resources to create nuclear weapons, but not feed their population? I honestly don't understand how people can make excuses for a regime that had literally provided no value to their people or the world except for war, murder, and suffering.

Note: Was a Korean linguist in a branch of the US military. Might make some people think I was brainwashed, but actually just gave me actual context on the country and it's people.

> The Juche theory is the belief that...

Those are just words. The actual philosophy is that the Kim dynasty wants to play god with their own little world, without consequences. They've had 80 years to establish the Socialist Dream and instead continue to be nasty, petty tyrants. They've no more interest in socialism than does a schoolyard bully.

> They want to do it themselves.

They as in the average NK working in a field? He'd happily eat US-provided wheat, if the regime let him do so without punishment.

Or they as in the dynasty who go abroad for education instead of 'doing it themselves' and who relied on Pakistan nuclear scientists instead of 'doing it themselves' and who rely on Chinese and Russian armaments to maintain their regime of fear? I mean to get to Pyongyang you have to fly on a Russian-built airliner...

> Finally, the divide exists uniquely because of US intervention

The division exists as a result of WW2, and all the antagonism came from the north: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_Korea

> Also it’s not the NK government starving its citizens to death (that strategy doesn’t make sense to keep the power), it’s the US by imposing economic sanctions.

Not that I agree economic sanctions are good policy, but the sanctions exist largely because NK is developing nuclear weapons which they view as more important than feeding their people. NK is in the driving seat here and could drop their nuclear program at any time.

> You are assuming most people want to quit their country

We can only assume, we can't exist run a poll in the worlds most totalitarian regime. The desire to be well nourished is a fairly safe assumption though.

Enough turmoil and you can get dragged into a field and get shot for being part of a wrong town. There are many ways lives of North Koreans can get worse - history of both Koreas during mid-20th century is a testament to that.
Xi Jinping has another big problem. Perfect timing.
Translation: CIA source says Kim Jong Un in Critical Condition, despite being wrong dozens of times before.
this 'article' is practically a tweet. And it cited CNN as the source which should be taken with a grain of salt
I forget which of the pizza chains he owns (Papa Jong’s or Pizzeria Un).
(comment deleted)
CNN reports that Kim is in serious condition citing 2 individual US officials. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/20/politics/kim-jong-un-nort...

According to a reporter for NBC citing 2 individual US officials, US officials believe Kim to be brain dead after undergoing surgery for a cardiac event. The reporter has since deleted the tweet to wait upon further confirmation. https://twitter.com/KatyTurNBC/status/1252419884023087106

According to a reporter for Bloomberg citing White House officials, US officials believe Kim is in poor condition if alive, or dead. The White House is looking into who would succeed Kim if he dies. https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/12524264588630261...

Here's hope for unification
There must be other people in the line of succession willing to continue the status quo.