Kim Jong Il Will Not Rest in Peace

Foreign Policy has an article (subscribers only) about Kim Jong Il, North Korea's dictator. It is written by Kim Hyun Sik, a North Korean defector who has known Jong Il since the fledgling despot was 17. He taught him Russian and remained close to the family until Hyun Sik failed to return to the country after illegally meeting with his estranged sister in Russia. (Hyun Sik's immediate and extended family was promptly taken and executed -- all of them.)

In the article, Hyun Sik recounts this and other horrible stories about the reign of Kim Jong Il. He portrays him as a megalomaniac with a constant need to fuel his own pride. It's clear that he will never step down from his post because it is the nation that forms and perpetuates his distorted self-image. In a telling story, a young Jong Il asks his father, Kim Il Sung, "what good is this earth without North Korea?" In other words, Kim Jong Il would rather destroy everything than let North Korea cease to exist.

Hyun Sik also speaks of an otherwise ethical people driven to horrible acts for self-survival, like when a doctor assisted in the systematic removal of short people from the capital city, Pyongyang, prior to a national event orchestrated to rival the successful 1988 Olympics in Seoul. This was in an effort for North Koreans to appear to be greater physical specimens than their South Korean counterparts. At Jong Il's instruction, he divided them into men and women (so they could not procreate) and left them on an uninhabited island to die. They were never heard from again.

This past week, news broke that Kim Jong Il might have suffered a severe stroke and maybe nearing death. I wonder if such frailty is frightening to such a prideful man, or does his gross delusion continue even in the face of death. One thing is for sure -- the brief moment his physical life ends he will face an eternity experiencing the full weight of the Supreme Lordship of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. No more delusions.

"Let Justice roll like a river. Like a river, let it roll."