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Article: Desperate tyrant, global menace.(Kim Jong II of North Korea)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- July 10, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MEET the face that is threatening to give Asia its very own Cuban-style missile crisis. Kim Jong Il's plans to test another long-range missile over the Pacific have caused such alarm in South Korea, Japan and the United States that the North Korean leader may yet blink. But then again, he may not. The reclusive Mr Kim is one of the last survivors of unreconstructed communism. His country is on its uppers. His people are hungry. He is without friends, save perhaps a reluctant China. And he has just one aim: to stay in power. He may think that infuriating his neighbours is the best way of doing so.
For everyone's sake, Mr Kim needs to be persuaded that ...