The Bush/Jintao Quiet Understanding?

There's so much more going on beneath the NK surface. Suddenly, and in contrast to two generations of direct propaganda, Kim Il Sung is no longer being officially deified.

An Update on the North Korean Situation from a Reader in Japan

Friday morning (9:00 A.M. Japan time)a news/current events dicussion program on the Asahi network (affiliated with the Asahi Shimbun) is talking about a North Korean flyer they say they have acquired that is titled The Ten Great Lies of Kim Father and Son. So, it's no longer just the Sankei Shimbun.

TOKYO, Nov. 16 - Portraits of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, have been quietly taken down this fall in important institutions in the country's capital, Pyongyang, several diplomats there say.

Analysts are debating the reasons, with explanations that range from a demotion of North Korea's "Dear Leader" to a simple desire to place the portraits in more ornate frames.

I wouldn't expect any of this to take place without China's blessing, as NK is a border state to them and their interest is in accordance with reality. So we have a situation where:

• A quiet coup is already underway
• It began immediately after Bush's re-election
• China likely approved and/or implemented it

Too many coincidences. The entire story will not come out for years, and in dribs and drabs, but it appears that one day our grandchildren'll be looking back on the famous Bush/Jintao Quiet Understanding of 2004.

UPDATE: Also of note, Colin Powell's last major act as Secretary Of State: effectively disavowing US support for Taiwan for now. In return for ... what? Cuz a statement like that sure didn't come for free.