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Stf / EPA
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, left, and his son Kim Jong Un watch from a podium during a parade celebrating the 65th anniversary of the ruling Korean Workers Party in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 2010. The elder Kim died on Dec. 17, handing power over to his son.
Think tanks in Seoul have obtained documents that they say are excerpts from the last will and testament of North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong Il, reports said on Thursday.
The documents, which were made public by the Sejong Institute, a South Korean think tank, urge heir-to-power Kim Jong Un to renounce war with South Korea, according to a report Thursday in Japan's Manaichi Daily News.
In the purported will, the Great Leader, who died on Dec. 17, notes that war on the Korean Peninsula would be devastating, and leave both North and South far behind other nations.
At the same time, the former dictator urged his son to pursue a military advantage by developing weapons of mass destruction, according to Manaichi.
"Keep in mind that constantly developing and keeping nuclear (weapons), long-range missiles and biochemical weapons is the way to keep peace on the Korean peninsula, and never drop your guard," Kim said in the will, according to the report, which cited a Japanese translation.
That portion of the document was obtained and released by a high-level defector from North Korea, Lee Yun-keol, who heads another Seoul think tank, the North Korea Strategic Information Service Center, the report said.
The pursuit of peace, and eventual reunification with South Korea would have to wait until Seoul replaced its current President Lee Myung-bak, Kim said in the documents, according to a report in the Telegraph, a UK news site.
Lee has advocated tougher policies toward the North and a stronger relationship with the United States, which has more than 28,000 troops bolstering South Korea's military.
North Korea and South Korea have been faced off across a demilitarized zone at the 38th parallel since 1953. Combat ended the three-year Korean War at that point, but the two sides are technically still at war.
Since the death of Kim Jong Il on Dec. 17, his son Jong Un has been consolidating power and positions in the government, military and party. Other nations continue to study the young leader for signs of policy changes in the isolated totalitarian state. But so far, most Korea experts have not registered any change from past policies.
North Korea attempted a rocket launch on April 13 that provoked worldwide criticism. It ended in failure. Pyongyang said the launch was to place a civilian satellite in orbit, but many believed it was part of ballistic missile development.
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Leave a Comment:
What a coincidence! THAT'S what's in my Will! ;-)
Can't will peace.
You have to earn it.
"Can't will peace.
You have to earn it."
Nonsense! Earn it from whom? The United States? If this document is genuine, it makes one thing clear. The North Korean elites probably want peace and reunification but don't want to do so on American terms and meddling. And for as long as the U.S. keeps troops in the South, China is probably going to back the North, even if at times grudgingly. Yet, Americans are not asking serious questions about the needless foreign meddling of their military. In fact, the new strategy for containing China's rise appears to be to ring China with U.S. military bases and alliances in the Pacific, obviously attempting to provoke a confrontation and stall China's economic progress. But unlike the warmongering American elites, who have to demonstrate their leadership qualities by going to beat a foreign country, the Chinese leaders have been very clever focusing on peaceful relations and what counts for the economic development of their nation. Still, one wonders what Americans would think were China to build a military presence next door in Mexico? Man became civilised the very moment he learned to ask: why should I do this to the other person if I don't want it done to myself? We live in a world in which the barbarians call the civilised barbarians!
Talk softly and carry a big stick. Watch your friends but keep your enemies close. And remember, send your mother flowers on mother's day.
As I recall, George Washington said that "peace can be best assured through ceaseless preparation for war".
Sundiata-2, so you believe that if North and South Korea were unified that it would be all peachy as long as the American presence was gone? Wow! How would that work, North Korea would adopt South Korea's way of life or the other way? You may want to check your history books, but we ended up there out of necessity due to the Chinese otherwise it would be one communist Korea. If you ever get the chance, ask the closest North Korean how that is working out for them.
Hey bill do you think people will think your insightful because you quoted president roosevelt?
How about giving your people food, water and living wages? peace, prosperity and hope for a better tomorrow etc!
Always thinking about his intimidated and oppressed citizens. What a "dear leader" he was.
How does building weapons keep the peace? Something wrong (Jong) there.
The same way dropping a bomb on Hiroshima caused the Japanese to stop fighting. It's a show of force, of power, where people seeking power won't try to rise up and take power themselves, since the reigning leader would be incredibly powerful, as well as a threat to other nations. This could come in the form of forcing the South to surrender, should they be able to gain nuclear weapons.
It's the same way the Chinese government puts down/arrests anyone that talks badly about China, or of authority figures, and stifles the freedoms and information it's people has. Peace can be brought through either happiness, or through treachery, if your definition of peace is open enough.
Hmm, that sounds more like forceful intimidation than peace. Peace usually involves NOT killing people.
Ideally, it doesn't involve killing people. But we don't live in a world of ideals.
If we did, then Kim Ill's will probably would have been something like "You can have the car, but don't you DARE get those stupid spinning rims like all the kids are doing nowadays!"
Live in peace or die in pieces.
"How does building weapons keep the peace? Something wrong (Jong) there."
How does the U.S. claim to keep world peace by outspending the rest of the world on weapons systems and keeping its nuclear warheads? Any time Americans wish to speak about other nations, they must first ask questions of their own. It will make it easy to find the answers.
It's the same logic as "more guns = a safer environment".
And we all know how well that works!
Seems to work well enough at my house.
It has been proven by actual violent crimes statistics in states that allow concealed carry that the rate of victimization, crimes of physical violence against individuals goes down dramatically. It is easy to victimize smaller, older, weaker individuals.....unless of course, you have no way of knowing if they are prepared to defend themselves. Suddenly the grandma with the walker is not an automatic target....On a larger scale, having capability that is state of the art to respond to threats of violence from other nations means that most nations (people having and instinctual need to live and survive) will think twice before trying to bully or intimidate. Yes, it is a giant pissing contest, but human nature is what makes it necessary.
We come in peace; shoot to kill.
"Star Trekkin' accross the Universe!"
Stun.....phasers on STUN......not kill.
Geez
I'm glad he's dead, he must have terribly suffered from confusion.
His last words were MORE COGNAC !!
Makes sense. North Korea can't make any weapons on their own so the only way they will be able to is by making peace with the world and actually trading with countries. Go figure.
No, it appears they actually want, and would have made, peace with the South but for continuing American meddling. Just get the hell out of there and keep to your space in the Western Hemisphere. Even there, I'm not sure your southern neighbours would tolerate your nonsense any more than they already have!
Our nonsense? How about their nonsense?
The last time I checked it was the U.S. trying to expand southward through annexation. Not the other way round. Or, are you not aware that many Mexicans feel they have a legitimate right to enter the southern part of the U.S.? And yet, Americans are quick to champion the cultural and human rights of Tibetans. What about the cultural and human rights of the native Americans you have wiped out? At least the Chinese have chosen the path of integration instead of genocide. Organised hypocrisy is what your own scholars call it! The United States has never been about creating a fair and just international society. As progressive as was Woodrow Wilson, he opposed Japan's proposal for language acknowledging the equality of all the cultures of the human race in the text of the League of Nations Charter. Why? Because it feels it has the right to impose its cultural vision on the rest of the world, calling those who resist as barbarians, as did the Romans two millennia ago. What has changed?
Ha. What an oxymoron...or just leave off the 'oxy' part. North Korea just needs their entire government to be changed, like a baby's diaper, and for the same reason.
Some advice.
"Be paranoid, but don't fly off the handle or anything."
Still, knowing that those psychos at least realize that they'd get bombed into the stone age if they started anything makes me feel better.
Nobody makes weapons to prepare for peace better than the US!
"Nobody makes weapons to prepare for peace better than the US!"
That's an admission the U.S. has got one foot in the 21st century and another in the stone age!
"If you desire Peace, you must prepare for War". Some timeless, sage advice from some old Latin-speaking, peace-loving war-mongers.
At this point I would say,"The nut didn't fall far from the tree".
This puffy little guy needs a NY woman with a 5 inch heel to stick in his eye.
Any questions?
You wouldn't even have to use your own heel, just take one of his!
Bud Bundy want's peace! We are saved!
If you enjoy history get into the Korean War. Hundreds of books out there to choose from. I am reading "The Darkest Summer" at the moment-unbelievable conditions. 110+ in the summer and in the winter the men often fought at temperatures of -20 below, human waves attacking and brutal hand to hand. I know five KWV's not one went hunting or would even pick up a gun after returning nor talk about what happened over there. Hats off to all Vets, let's make Memorial Day, every day!
I have no problem if you want to praise the bravery of your soldiers. But who asked you to go and meddle anyway! There is no reason, for example, to go and kill innocents in Iraq and be praised for bravery, even if you're doing your duty to country! Of course, I'm not blaming the soldiers who put themselves in harm's way, but the politicians who send them to war without just cause. I wouldn't like to think American soldiers are zombies fighting any war chosen by the politicians.
We have North Korea where everyone is a prisoner. We have South Korea, where people are free. We have North Korea ruled by the same family for 90 years. We have South Korea where people have to run for office to get elected. We have North Korea where no one is ever allowed to come in or leave. We have South Korea where people from all over the world come and go and people from South Korea come and go. We have North Korea which has the largest standing army in the world yet its people starve. We have South Korea which has a strong military but its people live fairly good lives. We have North Korea protected by China and Russia. We have South Korea protected by the United States. We have North Korea, who no one else likes or trusts, excpet China or Russia, and South Korea who is well respected by the rest of the world, including its very successful neighbor and democratic Japan. HOW CAN ANY ONE equate anything North Korea says or does on an equal footing the United States, South Korea, or the rest of the world. It is nothing more thaa a prison camp run by a psycho family. It is Joseph Stalin's version of utopia. No freedom, No justice, No food, No hope. Just fear, hate, opression, poverty, ignorance, and war.
Bill - you hit the nail on the head here. America acts how it does today based on the past actions of insane dictators. What would this world be like if the United States did not step up in WWII? We have a long standing tradition of fighting for those who covet freedom and cannot protect themselves. I agree that not every action the Unites States has taken has been justified or correct but in terms of North Korea - we should be standing on the border ready to protect the South Koreans from falling into the pitfalls of the North.
In time of peace prepare for war.
Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus
Read more a#twtmsKTPvAVEwQvI.99
looks like some 1 was reading famous quote's before his death , hopefully his son does a better job .feed your people then worrie about weapons of mass destruction,in a sense a well fed army of millions could be better then 1 nuke
I'm pretty sure i will never see a unified Korea in my lifetime? At 53, it doesn't look very likely. What a shame! Korea is a beautiful country! I was stationed there twice, and have gone to visit three times as a civilian. That country has just about identical weather as Iowa. Except Korea has a monsoon season, where Iowa has not.
I dont know if Jong Il wanted peace or not? His son's latest actions with the rocket, doesn't bode well for peace talks. I wish they would reunite, keeping the country divided does no good for either end.
Did his will have anything about "build me a nice rocket"?
First off the last thing China wants is instability on the Korean peninsula because there are several million ethic Korean's living in the northeast of China.
Second: The collapse of the North Korean government would cause great economic hardship to China as they would be forced to accept hundreds of thousands refugees which China is loath to do.
Third: Would South Korea be able to except and integrate the North's economy and its people without assistance? No.
South Korea knows that their needs to an orderly transition which plays out over time.
Mishima FYI
ethic should be ethnic
except should be accept
@mishima
Fourth: China would never accept the collapse of NK and a united Korea at the charge of SK. Without NK as a buffer, China will dread to have SK and US troops stationed at her border.
A reading from the Last Will and Testament of Kim Jong-Il:
"And to my youngest son: I want you to make peace with whomever you can, build more weapons to threaten those you cannot, and do not die a ronrey old man like me."
Awww, he spelled war: P.E.A.C.E. What he really meant was make war, build weapons. Not feed the people, stop threatening everyone. What a POS. If there's a hell, he's in the lowest circle of it.
His insanity extends beyond the grave: Make peace, build more weapos... add to that- starve the people so they will do they bidding
LOL look at those two pansies in that picture. All we need is the Iran leader and we have the three douchiest guys on the planet all in one picture!
Things to consider: So far, there is no corroborating evidence that these excerpts are real. Note that they are excerpts, so some context may have been lost, possibly on purpose. If they are real, dad just wants his heir to stay the course hoping that the world will eventually
cooperatecapitulate. For those who think the U.S. is to blame for the status quo, remember that the Korean War is not over (just a truce at the moment), the North was the aggressor in that war, the North has over 10,000 artillery pieces pointed at the South, the North has probably the largest set of military purpose tunnels in the world (some reportedly can handls three tanks abreast) all for invading the South and the North keeps on trying to build nuclear weapons (two tests do not mean they have a weapon yet) and ICBMs as bargaining chips so that we will feed their people when the North cannot. The North has lied repeatedly and broken just about every promise they have ever made. Is it any wonder that the U.S. keeps troops in the South?Gee, nothing in there about feeding your inherited starving population? No "they need cheeseburgers" clause? Real thoughtful, "dear."