| A few days old but worth reporting. |
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday (August 12th) that recent provocations by North Korea against the south were probably tied to ailing leader Kim Jong-il's youngest son seeking to earn his military "stripes."
| This makes a lot of sense, especially if a few of the NorK generals decide to throw in with Sonny-Boy, figuring that they could then end up on top and re-slice the boodle to suit themselves. |
Gates said one of his biggest worries about the North was that with the succession of the ailing leader's son now apparently underway, there would be more provocations against its neighbor.
| Such as Cheonan, which may have been the first shot in this plan. |
"I have a sneaking suspicion that Kim Jong-il's son, who wants to take over, has to earn his stripes with the North Korean military," Gates said at the U.S. Marines' Memorial Club in San Francisco.
"My worry is that that is behind the provocation like the sinking of the Cheonan, and so I think we are very concerned that this might not be the only provocation from the North Koreans," he added in response to a question over the threat posed by Pyongyang. |