China Not N.Korea's Savior, Ex-General Says

A retired Chinese general says Beijing will not step in to save ally North Korea if the regime collapses or incites a war.

"China is not a savior," wrote Wang Hongguang, a former general at a military base in Nanjing in the official Global Times. "Should North Korea really collapse, not even China can save it."

It is rare for such a senior Chinese figure to publicly distance the country from the North.

"China cannot influence the situation on the Korean Peninsula," Wang said. It "has no need to light a fire and get burnt. Whoever provokes a conflagration bears responsibility."

Wang explained that a North Korean regime collapse now would impact only Northeast Asia. The North is no longer in the care of China, and there can be no fear of Pyongyang aligning itself with another superpower should Beijing abandon it, he added.

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N.Korea's Nasty Young Rulers

Kim Yeo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, had been appointed a vice director in the Workers Party Central Committee. Until now, she was referred to only as a "senior official." The position is equivalent to a vice minister in the South.

But Kim Yeo-jong is only 27 years old. Her father, former leader Kim Jong-il, was appointed vice director in the party when he was 32, and her aunt, Kim Kyong-hui when she was 30.

The North Korean press did not say which department Yeo-jong is in charge of, but officials here believe the post must be fairly important.

Speculation about her role started when she was spotted accompanying Kim Jong-un at a Supreme People's Assembly event in March. Key aides Choe Ryong-hae, a secretary of the Workers Party, and Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so were also Kim's side. Since then, she has accompanied her brother on 12 official functions.

Some North Korea watchers believe Kim Yeo-jong is well on the way to becoming the No. 2 in the reclusive state. When Kim disappeared from public view for around 40 days in September and October, some press reports suggested she was effectively at the helm.

The fate of North Korea's 25 million people and the weapons of mass destruction lie in the hands of a pair of spoiled brats who have known nothing but privilege in a country of dire poverty and repression.?

There is no way that they can empathize with the suffering of the North Korean people. Indeed they appear to have inherited the depravity and viciousness of their father and grandfather, as shown in their brutal treatment of their uncle, former eminence grise Jang Song-taek, who was tortured and executed by firing squad.

The fate of his wife, their aunt Kim Kyong-hui, is a mystery.

Judging by the nasty tempers of Kim and his sister, the North is highly likely to resort to more insane, belligerent behavior in response to the mounting pressure from the international community to improve its human rights record. Kim has already forced North Koreans to rally "spontaneously" in protests lambasting the UN recommendation to haul him before the International Criminal Court. These two need watching very closely.

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N.Korea's Young Entrepreneurs Embrace Capitalism

North Korea is seeing the emergence of a class of young entrepreneurs who make hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars from private businesses and spend them on bling much like their counterparts elsewhere.

A source says North Koreans who were born in the 1980s and 90s are becoming more active making money as they were able to embrace a wave of changes caused by a nascent market-based economy there. They use smartphones and other gadgets to gather the information they need for their business and have formed nationwide sales networks.

The source said in major cities like Pyongyang, Hamheung, Chongjin and Wonsan, these up-and-coming sell smartphones and real estate, run gas stations, lend money, and run coffee shops and retail stores -- a significant change from the pursuits of the older generation.

Young property developers buy new apartments, kit them out with materials imported from China, and sell them for a hefty profit. They also set up gas filling stations in major cities or open rest-stops along highways.

One recent North Korean defector said mobile phone sales are particularly popular among young North Koreans. A trader buys up to several hundred mobile phones to sell them at retail prices.

Others lend money for interest, which has also proven to be a lucrative business.

But another source said there are as yet few places where the nouveau riche can spend their money and the risk of getting stung by state security agents is always present.

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Is N.Korea's Air Force One in Trouble?

A plane carrying North Korea's second most powerful man Choe Ryong-hae had to return to Pyongyang due to mechanical problems en route to Moscow on Tuesday, raising concerns that the incident will throw a spanner in the works of leader Kim Jong-un's plan to visit Russia soon.

According to government sources on Tuesday, the aircraft was a Russian-made Ilyushin IL-62, which North Korea purchased in the 1970s or '80s. A military source here said, "The aircraft is old and most of its instruments are analogue-based."

The plane is believed to have returned to the airport after takeoff and there is a chance that it suffered serious problems, including possible engine malfunction. The source said Choe then boarded another IL-62 to head to Moscow.

A plane waits for North Korean Workers Party Secretary Choe Ryong-hae at Sunan Airport in Pyongyang on Monday.

The question is how leader Kim Jong-il will travel to Moscow for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putting. The North has three IL-62 aircraft, one of which Kim used to visit South Pyongan Province in May. It was also used by senior officials when they made a surprise visit to Incheon for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games last month.

Kim's personal plane is a Ukrainian-built Antonov AN-148 that was only introduced in 2009, but that is not capable of flying all the way to Moscow without refueling.

A government official said, "Even the IL-62, which can reach Moscow, may have to refuel along the way in order to ensure safety."

The other options are to use a newer TU-24 aircraft operated by North Korea's flag carrier Air Koryo or to hold the summit in Vladivostok, which is closer.

Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had a morbid fear of flying and traveled for nine days by train to Moscow for a summit with Putin in 2001. He met Dmitry Medvedev in Siberia in 2011.

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