A glimpse
BECAUSE so little is known about North Korea, almost any prejudice can be accommodated. Optimists argue that, with dozens of North Koreans being dispatched abroad to learn about market economics, the country is bent on reform. Pessimists retort that the Stalinist regime is about to demonstrate its contempt for international rehabilitation by launching a new missile. One barely plausible rumour in diplomatic circles even supposes that Kim Jong Il, the North's reclusive despot, died in a car crash several years ago. Apparently, a double is employed to bask in the devotion of patriots parading through the capital, Pyongyang.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “A glimpse”
From the August 7th 1999 edition
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