Kim Jong-un faked death to see who in his inner circle would 'take power' - expert

[TheBlackAdder]

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Sky News Australia has said that Kim, 36, may have deliberately pretended to be dead so that he could figure out if there were leaks in his inner circle in North Korea. Over the past week stories circulated that Kim had died following heart surgery or that he was gravely unwell. Those rumours were squashed after the leader was seen at an event last weekend, as he attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the inauguration of a fertiliser plant.

Sky Outsiders host James Morrow told Australian viewers that Kim Jong may have been pulling a “classic Stalinist manoeuvre” to see what the public’s response was.

It is now possible that the leader will use the responses from his long period of absence to begin “purging” those he believes colluded to take over.

Mr Morrow said: “What has probably gone on here that the rumours of his demise were greatly exaggerated.

"He decided to do this, lay low, and see how things broke power-wise, and see who tried to take power in the event of his actual demise.

"I suspect we will see some purges in North Korea pretty soon."

The leader’s reappearance into the spotlight has ruined the credibility of high profile defectors who had suggested Kim Jong was suffering from a life-threatening illness or had died.

North Korea’s deputy ambassador to Britain, Thae Yong-ho, was one of the defectors who had escaped North Korea in 2016.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1277845/kim-jong-un-death-faked-north-korean-leader-inner-circle-traitor-sister-south-korea-latest

Let's see if Trump will copy him.

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[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Whew. I'm glad I waited. NT

[Coventina]

3. .

[jberryhill]

2. If you have Netflix - The Death of Stalin is a real gem

[LastDemocratInSC]

5. It's a fine movie. I watched it last night. Good cast.

[DonaldsRump]

9. I saw it on a plane about 2 years ago

(that's a phrase I won't be saying much in the future!)

I laughed out loud several times that I think the flight attendants were a little concerned about me. The one other show that would do that to me on planes was the early years of "Modern Family", where tears were literally streaming down my face as I was convulsed in laughter.

Which brings me to watching "Borat" in the theater....the scene at the rodeo where Borat sings the Kazakh national anthem made me start gasping for air because I was laughing so loud.

Can you tell I have free time on my hands as I went from the OP to "Modern Family" to "Borat" in just 3 sentences!?!

[marybourg]

4. Well, I guess the word "quashed", which used to apply to

non corporeal things like rumors, rulings, and the like has been replaced by the similar-sounding, but somewhat humorous “squashed”, which used to apply only to things like vegetables, insects 🐜, and the contents of suitcases. The living language!

[jberryhill]

6. I've seen people request motions to "squash" subpoenas

Like, there's some big dang hydraulic press out there and we're going to flatten it some more.

[Celerity]

10. I would have used 'put paid to' , but it is The Express, hardly a bastion of superlative British

writing. It is a step up from the Daily Hail. Well half a step.

[11 Bravo]

7. .50 cal rounds for everyone! On the house!

[California_Republic]

8. Sodam Hussein use to do that