Out of Sight

Obama makes visit to....McCain fights to overcome Obama....Obama calls McCain a.....McCain disputes polls......

No matter which news channel you watch, or which paper you pick up, these two political figures have dominated the headlines for the last few days, weeks and months. Politics is by definition, about current events. So, of course this would include the U.S. presidential election race, which continues to suck the nation of anxious voters into a whirlwind of political scandals, lively debates and endless campaign promises. Unfortunately, by monopolizing most airwaves, tv networks, blogs and newspapers, other interesting political developments (outside the U.S.) have gone unnoticed.

For instance, in North Korea, the head of state, Kim Jong-il , has mysteriously disappeared from the public eye. Making his last public appearance in August, several media sources have reported the leader is gravely ill. According to South Korea`s intelligence service, Kim recently suffered a stroke. However, Becky Branford from BBC news reports that the leader also suffers from diabetes and heart disease. Due to this inconclusive “grave illness” Kim Jong-il has skipped several national events including the 60th anniversary of NK’s regime foundation. On October 10, the leader also failed to show up at festivities celebrating the anniversary of the North’s Ruling Workers party.

Kim Jong-il, has governed North Korea, since the mid 90s. Known as the Dear Leader, Kim Jong-il has assumed various roles in government including - Chairman of the National Defence Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army and General Secretary of the Worker’s Party of Korea. To top it all off, Kim Jong-il also commands the 5th largest standing army in the world. Given his extensive list of authoritative positions, it is somewhat worrisome that the leader has vanished from the public radar.

In all fairness, his sudden disappearance could just be a sweet and simple game of hide and seek. However, given his flawed political record, it’s easy to understand why one could, or would be suspicious about his sudden vanishing act. Throughout his political career, the dictator has raised eyebrows over his involvement in several political crises. According to BBC news, during the early 80s, before he came into office, he was suspected of plotting a bomb attack in Rangoon that killed several South Korean cabinet members. A few years later, he was also connected to the bombing of a South Korean airliner.

More recently, his government has come under fire for pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Just two years ago, the government was firing ballistic missiles and conducting a nuclear test. Earlier this year, North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear program, but in August it reversed this decision. According to the New York Times, NK has stopped disabling its main nuclear program because Washington has not removed it from a terrorism list.

With this in mind, can we really believe that Kim Jong-il is lying sick in bed? For all we know (and we really don’t know much, since the media is more obsessed about Joe the Plumber and bashing Sarah Palin) he could be venturing over to his nuclear facilities in Pyongyang (getting ready for the next big nuclear test). On the other hand, if the leader is truly sick, North Korea needs to find someone soon to take the reins (along with Kim Jong-il's well known platform shoes and khaki pants).

Among the possible contenders are Kim Jong-il's three sons and son in law. Unfortunately, Kim Jong –nam, one of the leader’s sons, may have already written off his chances. In 2001, Jong-nam was arrested at an airport near Tokyo while travelling on a forged passport. Alternatively, O Kuk-ryol, an army general could also be a plausible successor. Although Kim Jong-Il has a daughter known as Kim Sul-Song (from his first marriage) there is no mention whether she would be considered an option.

Ultimately, in light of Kim Jong-Il’s "grave illness," it will be interesting to see whether North Korea will try to find their own version of Obama or McCain to succeed their mysteriously hidden leader.