If this has been discussed before, then I apologize. I wasn't able to find anything on it using ATS' incredible search tools!!

Anyway, I often wonder about this myself and was interested in what others thought. Is Kim Jong Il, the dictator of North Korea, mentally insane? Or do you think he's a rational human being? This has been discussed in the media before. Honestly, I just hope for the sake of mankind that he is sane and is just a bad person.

North Korea is by far the most repressive and evil regime in the past century, with maybe the exception of the Khmer Rouge which killed 1/4 to 1/3 of the citizens of Cambodia during a short 3 year reign of terror under Pal Pot. Satellite imagery has shown concentration camps in North Korea where hundreds of thousands of citizens are being held in horrible conditions. The people, who have been able to survive the frequent famens there, have resorted to digging up bodies from grave yards to eat.

There's also no such thing as "politics." They don't know what that means. All there is to them is the Great Leader Kim Jong Il whom they owe everything to and is their God. They're not allowed to have radios, tv's, or anything like that. The punishment for pocessing such devices could mean death. I truly don't think that the majority of American's even know or realize how evil this country's government truly is. Any food aid that is sent to the country for their citizens is instead given to the nation's 1 million+ troops. No one is allowed to leave the country, unless they're a foreign diplomat. No one is allowed to visit the country except when accompanied by North Korean officials and are only allowed in a very, very limited area.

Rumors are also abound that Kim Jong Il has one of the largest and most extensive PORNOGRAPHY (this isn't a joke) collections around. He's already named one of his sons as heir to his thrown, so the chances of anything improving there anytime soon are remote without outside intervention.

Sorry for rambling on and on, I just want people to be aware of the evils of this country. It makes places like Saudi Arabia and Iran look like Utopia. So what do you think... Is Kim Jong Il certifiably insane from what you've seen and heard? Or is he a rational leader who just has a deadly thirst for power?

Before I end this, I just want to ask all the liberals and self-hating Americans not to even post in this thread if you're going to turn it into an America-bashing contest. I'm sick of reading on here how evil the United States is and what a war monger George W. Bush is. So please keep that stuff out of this thread, and lets discuss the issue at hand: the sanity of Kim Jong Il.


My answer:
I hope and pray, and thus believe, that the man is sane. They could have anywhere from 2 to 8 nuclear weapons. They are developing ballistic missiles capable of hitting the western US and Alaska. Over 30,000 American troops as well as millions of innocent South Koreans are within shelling distance of Pyongyang. Let's just hope for the sake of humanity that this is a rational human being!

I believe power has gotten to Kim Jong's head and that he is not rational at times, but I wouldn't put him in the insane category yet. He'll be insane when he uses nukes. In the meantime, ego, napoleon syndrome, corruption and wierd laws are enough, let's hope he's being medicated.

Kim is quite sane albeit precariously positioned both internally and internationally. It's a very dangerous game that he is playing but if you consider things from his vantage point his moves actually seem rational.

As worldwatcher noted, he crosses the sanity threshold when he uses the nukes, and if cornered I believe he would go nuke.

No, he is not insane.

People in power don't react well when that power is threatened. This is clearly the case for Kim, he is running scared.

It's a case showing the depravity of mankind rather then the insanity of one man. Who is to say that if we were in power and were threatened, we wouldn't react to preserve our power?

[edit on 4-3-2005 by rapier28]

If unification ever happens, I doubt they would be able to adapt to live normally with their southern neighbors. At least not in a short period. They have been brainwashed since childhood about evils of everything outside of NK...

It would definitely take some time for the North to adapt. But I believe once they get wind of the world that has been hidden from them and the horrible things their "leaders" have put them through, they will be anxious to make a better life for themselves through democracy.

I think it'd be somewhat similar to East and West Germany's unification. The East has still not caught up to the former West, but things are certainly FAR better than before.

I think he's sane, just a little dictator that feels he's protecting his legacy.

On the other hand, if the unconfirmed reports are true that he is the sole owner of the largest Daffy Duck collection of shows and assorted memorabillia, then yeah, he may be a little out there.

I could make a very bad joke or pun off of "quackers" or some such, but I won't.

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