Ill-Health in Far Eastern Politics

Rumor has it that Kim Jong-Il, the North Korean dictator, is seriously ill. It might be a stroke. Of course nobody is certain as North Korea is as secretive as ever. Kim has not been seen for weeks now and it was especially his absence at the national parade for the recent 60th Anniversary of the Communist Regime that got the powers-that-be suspicious.

It is not sure how exactly Kim's possible death will influence South Korea, but it is clearly a concern. South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, convened an emergency staff meeting. Hopefully Kim's illness will loosen the iron grip of the dictatorial regime. The atrocities against the North Korean people are awful. But it is also possible for the North to react even stronger in a desperate attempt to retain control. There is no doubt that sudden changes in South Korea's militant neighbor will have seriously effects on the whole of the peninsula.

But it is not only North Korea's government with ill-health. The Japanese prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, has announced his resignation on Monday, hardly a year into his tenure. The previous prime minister, Shinzo Abe, prematurely resigned last year as well.

And I've got a sore throat.