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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Kimmie Gets 20% of Nork Budget for His Own Use |
| 2010-04-13 |
| Well sure. Cognac ain't cheap ... North Korean leader Kim Jong-il can freely dispose of 20 percent of his country's budget, a former secretary of North Korean Workers' Party has said that. Hwang Jang-yop told the Asahi Shimbun, "Only 30 percent of the budget is spent on public services, while 50 percent is earmarked for military spending." Hwang defected to South Korea in 1997. Hwang was interviewed by the daily during his visit to Japan on April 4-8. "Kim Jong-il's dictatorship is 10 times worse than his father's. People have a painful life," he said. Asked if the North is likely to abandon its nuclear weapons program, he said, "There is no such possibility. But the North won't use the weapons. They're a means to maintain the regime." To the question why Kim's eldest son Jong-nam was passed over for the succession, he said, "At first, Kim Jong-il thought of choosing his eldest son as his successor. But he seems to have changed his mind as he fell in love with Ko Young-hee, the mother of Jong-un, his third son, after Jong-nam's mother Song Hye-rim died." I seriously doubt Kimmie is the romantic type ... |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 Change that to "maintain influence in the Gulf region", and it'd be accurate. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-04-13 21:04 |
| #6 Asked if the North is likely to abandon its nuclear weapons program, he said, "There is no such possibility. But the North won't use the weapons. They're a means to maintain the regime." I bet the Iranian Govt are thinking the same thing! |
| Posted by: Paul2 2010-04-13 11:38 |
| #5 I'm willing to bet that the 20% represents Party spending, not just Kim family dosh. Since the other two items were "public services" and the military. The Party isn't technically part of the public, and really, even for a shithole like North Korea, you can't waste 20% of a national budget on beer and hookers, not even if you count the palatial bunkers and private guards. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2010-04-13 11:17 |
| #4 Whoa, "20%" = MUST, NAY GOTTA, BE NICE! Year 2010 "Year of Left Field" strikes again. * ION WORLD NEWS > [Philippines]DEATH STARS, SITH LORDS, AND BLACK HATS LURK... MILF DON'T SEE PEACE PACT IN GMA'S TIME [PHilPrez Gloria M. Arroyo] |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-04-13 02:49 |
| #3 With pork, kickbacks, special considerations, bribes, and under the table deals, he'd do way better over here. Oh, and he'd also get a salary. Besides, 20% of the Nork economy isn't anything to crow about. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-04-13 01:28 |
| #2 Our "dear leader" has MORE> |
| Posted by: newc 2010-04-13 00:29 |
| #1 Now THAT is a discretionary budget! 20% off the top. (At the expense of desperate people who have been suffering for 60 years. Great guy.) *spit* |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul in Langly, BC 2010-04-13 00:11 |