Must memorials be grandiose?

Posted on 22nd March 2012 in The monuments of world

When they decided to honor Dwight Eisenhower with a memorial in Washington, they did it up right. They hired perhaps our most famous architect, Frank Gehry, to design it. They picked out a place in the middle of the National Mall to put it. They bankrolled it at a cool $112 million. Top shelf all the way. The project has only one flaw: Nobody likes it.

The Eisenhower family in particular takes offense at the fact that its only statue of Ike portrays him as a young boy in Abilene, Kansas.

I can see their point. Eisenhower wasn’t merely a two-term president, he was the military commander who led the Allied forces to victory over Nazi Germany — and he was the president of Columbia University, for crying out loud. And the best you can come with for his memorial is a statue of him as a kid?

My main objection to the project, however, is its size. It’s big. It’s hard to tell from the drawings, but it looks as though it’s going to straddle the Mall down at the Capitol end, right around the Air and Space Museum.

The design calls for transparent woven metal tapestries that portray the Kansas plains to be hung between 80-foot columns, sheltering young Ike as he dreams of future accomplishments.

It sounds like schlock to me, but it might be better than it sounds. Gehry really is a great architect.

But if you’re going to do something that big, don’t put it on the Mall, which is in danger of falling victim to grandiosity. As a matter of fact, it’s already fallen.

When I came to Washington in the 1970s, there were three major monuments on or near the Mall — the Washington, the Lincoln and the Jefferson. They were all big, yes, but not that big.

There were many smaller memorials scattered around the area — statues as well as a World War I monument that was no bigger than a backyard gazebo — but the big three were dominant.

Then we remembered that we hadn’t paid much attention to Vietnam vets when they came home, so they built the gorgeous Vietnam memorial in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial: a long, black marble tombstone with the name of each American who died in the war. It remains the most moving memorial on the Mall or anywhere else.

But many felt it short-changed the contribution of women to the war, so they added a Vietnam women’s memorial nearby — again a very good piece of work, resembling Michelangelo’s Pietà. But that didn’t satisfy the men, who demanded and got a handsome statue of soldiers in combat, also nearby.

Well, you can’t honor Vietnam veterans and forget about Korea, can you? No. The Korean War Memorial was next, featuring a black marble wall, statues of a patrol of wary troops and a reflecting pool. Each well done, but the effect is a little busy.

“What about us?” World War II veterans said. “World War II wasn’t chopped liver, you know.” So a huge Albert Speer-like plaza was plopped down at the end of the Lincoln reflecting pool, breaking the sight line between the Lincoln and Washington memorials.

Soon gigantic memorials you can land an airplane in were built down the block from the Jefferson to honor President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Stop already. Does the Mall really need yet another monument the size of Pittsburgh?

Eisenhower was a great man, no question. But couldn’t we make do with a nice, tasteful statue in a nice, quiet glade?

I shudder to think what they’ll come up with when they get around to honoring Ronald Reagan.

Donald Kaul is a columnist for OtherWords, part of the Institute for Policy Studies, 1112 16th St., NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036.

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Commentary: I don't like Ike's memorial

Posted on 22nd March 2012 in The monuments of world

By Donald Kaul
OtherWords

Published: Thursday, March 22, 2012 4:09 AM MST
When they decided to honor Dwight Eisenhower with a memorial in Washington, they did it up right. They hired perhaps our most famous architect, Frank Gehry, to design it. They picked out a place in the middle of the National Mall to put it. They bankrolled it at a cool $112 million. Top shelf all the way.

The project only has one flaw: Nobody likes it.

The Eisenhower family in particular takes offense at the fact that its only statue of Ike portrays him as a young boy in Abilene, Kansas.

I can see their point. Eisenhower wasn’t merely a two-term president, he was the military commander who led the Allied forces to victory over Nazi Germany — and he was the president of Columbia University, for crying out loud. And the best you can come with for his memorial is a statue of him as a kid?

My main objection to the project, however, is its size. It’s big. It’s hard to tell from the drawings, but it looks as though it’s going to straddle the Mall down at the Capitol end, right around the Air and Space Museum.

The design calls for transparent woven metal tapestries that portray the Kansas plains to be hung between 80-foot columns, sheltering young Ike as he dreams of future accomplishments.

It sounds like schlock to me, but it might be better than it sounds. Gehry really is a great architect, famous for his designs for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, among other works.

But if you’re going to do something that big, don’t put it on the Mall, which is in danger of falling victim to grandiosity. As a matter of fact, it’s already fallen.

When I came to Washington in the 1970s, there were three major monuments on or near the Mall — the Washington, the Lincoln, and the Jefferson. They were all big, yes, but not that big.

There were many smaller memorials scattered around the area — statues of Ulysses S. Grant, James Garfield, George Mason, John Paul Jones, as well as a World War I monument that was no bigger than a backyard gazebo — but the big three were dominant.

Then we remembered that we hadn’t paid much attention to Vietnam vets when they came home, so they built the gorgeous Vietnam memorial in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial: a long, black marble tombstone with the name of each American who died in the war. It remains the most moving memorial on the Mall or anywhere else.

But many felt it short-changed the contribution of women to the war, so they added a Vietnam Women’s memorial nearby — again a very good piece of work, resembling Michelangelo’s Pietà. But that didn’t satisfy the men, who demanded and got a handsome statue of soldiers in combat, also nearby.

Well, you can’t honor Vietnam veterans and forget about Korea, can you? No. The Korean War Memorial was next, featuring a black marble wall, statues of a patrol of wary troops, and a reflecting pool. Each well done, but the effect is a little busy.

“What about us?” World War II veterans said. “World War II wasn’t chopped liver, you know.” So a huge Albert Speer-like plaza was plopped down at the end of the Lincoln reflecting pool, breaking the sight line between the Lincoln and Washington memorials.

Soon gigantic memorials you can land an airplane in were built down the block from the Jefferson to honor President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Stop already. Does the Mall really need yet another monument the size of Pittsburgh?

Eisenhower was a great man, no question. But couldn’t we make do with a nice, tasteful statue in a nice, quiet glade?

I shudder to think what they’ll come up with when they get around to honoring Ronald Reagan.

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Inside the time warp that is North Korea

Posted on 25th February 2012 in The monuments of world

The Irish Times – Saturday, February 25, 2012

TOM FARRELL in Pyongyang

Though in power for just over two months, the personality cult around Kim Jong-un is already thriving, reports the first Irish journalist inside the country since his accession

THE NATION he ruled may still be an international pariah, but to judge by the International Friendship Exhibition, the late Kim Jong-il was a popular man indeed.

The building housing the exhibition rises from the pine-forested hills of North Pyongan province, close to North Korea’s border with China. It appears as a huge box of burnished concrete, topped by a multi-coloured “hip saddle” roof. Like most buildings erected by the North Korean state, it seems like a cross-breeding of Soviet modernism and Korean tradition, a melding of the communist and the Confucian. Flanking the immense patterned doors are soldiers in fur hats, each carrying a silver-plated Kalashnikov rifle.

When Kim Jong-il, the “Dear Leader”, died on December 17th last, State television broadcast images from the snowy capital of Pyongyang. In the streets, in public squares and at various monuments, crowds of North Koreans wailed. The purpose of the exhibition parallels that footage, purporting to demonstrate that the love of foreigners for North Korea’s rulers almost matches that of its subjects.

The world’s youngest head of state led the Dear Leader’s funeral procession. At 29, Kim Jong-un has already been named Great Successor. An editorial in the Pyongyang Times on December 24th stated: “The journey through our revolution is arduous and the present situation is grave, but no force in the world can check the revolutionary advance our party, army and people are making under the wise leadership of Kim Jong-un.”

The exhibition indicates the nature of that advance so far. It was opened in 1978 at the behest of Kim Jong-un’s grandfather, Kim Il-sung, who took power in September 1948 with Soviet backing, and ruled the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as Suryong (Great Leader) for the next 46 years.

Visitors must divest themselves of cameras and bags and place cloth “slippers” on their feet so as not to dirty the marble floors. In a cavernous room dominated by a statue of the Dear Leader, there are gifts from 170 nations. These include a flower vase from fellow “Axis of Evil” designate, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sent in February 2004. A bejewelled sword and scabbard was sent by Muammar Gadafy in January 1995. (The fate of Gadafy last year clearly caused consternation in North Korea; in April about 200 North Koreans living in Libya were ordered not to come home lest they bring news of revolts in the Arab world.)

On other floors, rooms contain cabinets of gifts from the world’s nations. In the one marked Ireland, there is crystal sent in October 1990 by the chairman of Sinn Féin, and some Royal Tara China from The Workers’ Party sent in January 1997. Large sections of the exhibition are closed due to “renovations”.

On February 16th, what would have been Kim Jong-il’s 70th birthday was marked with parades, gymnastic displays and the unveiling of statues. Worship of the Dear Leader plays an important part in buttressing the authority of the latest incarnation of North Korea’s personality cult.

THERE IS plenty of evidence of this phenomenon in Pyongyang. At first glance, the city gives the impression, accentuated by the fierce cold, that the clocks stopped ticking 30 years ago. China next door may have embraced all the trappings of consumer culture, but its flashing neon signs and billboards for cosmetics or soft drinks are almost non-existent here.

Yet cranes are visible on the skyline. In some parts of the city construction sites are alive with the splutter of jackhammers and helmeted construction workers. These could be sites in the South Korean capital of Seoul were it not for the bundles of red flags fluttering nearby.

Much of this building is going on in the central sectors of the capital and close to the banks of the river Taedong. Further out fresh apartments are going up: the government recently pledged to house an extra 100,000 people in the city of three million in 2012.

Visitors to Pyongyang have noticed an upsurge in the amount of Japanese and European vehicles on the capital’s once somnolent traffic lanes. “Far more than even 12 months ago,” says a British businessman who travels regularly to Pyongyang.

It is even possible to see some residents with mobile phones, even if these only function within North Korea. In December 2008, the Egyptian telecoms group Orascom agreed to set up a mobile network, Koryolink, in which it now holds a 75 per cent stake. More than three years on it is estimated that more than one million North Koreans have mobile phones.

As part of the $400 million deal, Orascom also agreed to finance the completion of the massive Ryugyong Hotel 20 years after it ground to a halt. During that time, the Ryugyong, more than any other building in Pyongyang, came to symbolise the regime’s self-defeating hubris.

The 105-storey pyramid had been conceived by Kim Il-sung as a magnet for foreign investment and tourism, but when Soviet funds and cheap raw materials dried up after 1991 the site fell silent. When the Ryugyong finally opens later this year it will offer visitors such niceties as revolving restaurants and business facilities.

WATCHING ALL this, it could be tempting to surmise that perhaps the first stirrings of a Soviet-style glasnost or perestroika are under way. But such speculation would be premature. The surge in construction work around Pyongyang was authorised some years ago by Kim Jong-il.

Scaffolding and sheeting now cover the most hallowed of the estimated 34,000 separate statues of the dynasty’s founder. At Mansu hill, a 65-foot high statue of Kim Il-sung stands in burnished bronze, one arm held aloft. North Korea will mark the centenary of his birth in April. Far from indicating a new engagement with the outside world, the building work anticipates a further burst of cultic worship.

“What I’ve been struck by since January is how much Kim Jong-un has been paraded by the regime,” says Aidan Foster Carter, an expert on North Korea at Leeds University. “After Kim Il-sung died in 1994, the country effectively shut down for three years and Kim Jong-il was little seen. It’s the opposite now: the regime’s rhetoric has been very strong since 17th December.”

This dynastic regime is notorious for its belligerent nature, having conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 and with international talks to resolve the nuclear issue having stalled. North Korea also possesses intermediate-range ballistic missiles including the Taepodong-2, which could theoretically hit targets in Alaska.

The neophyte Kim Jong-un is surrounded by ageing and highly conservative generals and ministers, most notably his uncle, Jang Song-taek (66), the vice-chairman of the powerful National Defence Commission. His grandfather formulated a national ideology called Juche (self-reliance) and his father augmented this with a policy of Songun, roughly translating as “military first politics”. It is rumoured that Jang Song-taek was the de facto North Korean premier during Kim Jong-il’s final years, when he was debilitated by a stroke.

“Jang Song-taek is a purely political figure, very conservative and ostensibly anti-market,” says Leonid Petrov, a Korea expert at the University of Sydney. “In this, Jang Song-taek ensures Kim Jong-un’s accession and stability in North Korea. Any reform in North Korea will destabilise the situation.”

UNLIKE HIS father, who was formally inaugurated as heir apparent in 1980 and had 14 years to prepare for power, Kim Jong-un only became prominent two years ago. In September 2010 he was appointed to the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and made a general in the Korean People’s Army. On November 23rd of that year, artillery shells and rockets bombarded Yeonpyeong, an island near the maritime border between the Koreas, killing two South Korean marines, two civilians and wounding 18 others.

South Korea responded with a barrage of its own. Relations with Seoul were already at their lowest ebb following the sinking of a South Korean naval corvette, the Cheonan, in March of that year, which South Korea blamed on a North Korean torpedo. Pyongyang furiously denied involvement, but there has been speculation the island bombardment evidenced Kim Jong-un’s efforts to prove himself as a force within the army.

“Based on my own experience of life in North Korea, there are no such things as errors or accidents. It must have been ordered by the people at the top,” says Kim Joo-il, a former captain who escaped to China in 2005 and now lives in London.

But Kim Jong-un’s rise to power was unexpected; the obvious heir was his oldest brother Kim Jong-nam, now 40. Nam fell out of favour with his father after his arrest in 2001 in Tokyo’s Narita Airport while travelling on a forged Dominican Republic passport. He was apparently en route to Tokyo Disneyland with his son. More recently, in a series of exchanges with the Japanese journalist Yoji-Gomi, the Macau-based Nam has spoken in disparaging terms of his younger brother’s prospects, predicting he will be a figurehead, while real power rests with the army hierarchy.

Once outside the capital, the North Korean countryside in winter is spectacularly bleak. The main highways usually do not see much traffic, but when they ice over groups of a dozen or more people materialise, hacking and pounding the roads with shovels. Bundles of red flags rise at intervals from the countryside. In fields and on the crests of hills, stone slabs rise decorated with Korean characters. These translate into such slogans as “Long Live Kim Il-sung” or “We will do as the party tells us”.

North Korea was ravaged by floods and famine in the late 1990s, killing between two and three million people. The situation is not as precarious today, but United Nations food agencies estimate three million people in North Korea will need food aid this year.

For the Great Successor, his authority will depend on more than monuments and gifts from abroad.

Tom Farrell is a freelance journalist

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Creative stone works draw huge crowds at trade fair

Posted on 2nd February 2012 in The monuments of world
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Calcutta News.Net
Thursday 2nd February, 2012 (IANS)

Rich stone varieties across India, latest techniques for chipping stones in different hues, and about 300 artisans carving stunning shapes under one roof are attracting hundreds of visitors to this biennial international trade expo being held on the city’s outskirts since Wednesday.

Among the creative works of art in stone on display are idols of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, celluloid heroine Deepika Padukone and Karnataka’s thespian Raj Kumar.

The 20-foot monolithic black granite statue of Hindu god Anjaneya, popularly known as Hanuman, is, however, the centre of attraction and cynosure of all eyes, as it is billed to travel to the US for adorning the San Marga Iravan temple being built at Kauai’s Hindu monastery at Hawaii in Honolulu.

Organised by the All India Granites and Stone Association (AIGSA), the 10th edition of STONA 2012 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) showcases a range of colourful, eye-catching natural stones to demonstrate modern techniques in the craft of stone working.

Representatives of stone industry from Italy, China, Turkey, Egypt, Japan, Korea and several European countries are also attending the four-day conference-cum-exhibition.

On display are natural stones, machinery related to the natural stone industry, safety and environment protection methods, packaging and transportation.

The exhibition has a ‘Shilpagram’ where 110 artisans from Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa and West Bengal are displaying their skills.

‘Over the years, STONA has established itself on the international map as promoting global trade, business opportunities, innovative technologies, new manufacturing and processing facilities. It provides a platform for over 350 exhibitors from the world over, with over 10,000 visitors making a beeline to the venue,’ association president J.B. Surana told IANS.

As a treasure-trove of stone, possessing a wide spectrum of dimensional products in granite, marble, sandstone, slate and quartzite, India is one of the largest producers of the aesthetic raw material.

The industry is evolving into production and manufacturing of blocks, flooring slabs, structural slabs, ready-to-fix tiles, monuments, tomb stones, sculptures, artifacts, cobbles, cubes, curbs, pebbles and landscape garden stones.

‘Though India leads in production of natural stones with 35,342 million tonnes, accounting for 28 percent of world’s share, we are far behind in exports with only Rs.7,000-crore revenue (Rs.70-billion/$1.4 billion) as against China, which earned $3.04 billion in 2010-11,’ added Surana.

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Siting of WWI monument in dispute

Posted on 28th January 2012 in The monuments of world

CLINTON —  An American Legion committee working on erecting a World War I monument in front of Town Hall has responded to concerns raised at Wednesday’s selectmen’s meeting about its placement.

John F. Gannon, a member of the James R. Kirby American Legion Post 50, in a prepared statement yesterday said the committee got unanimous approval from the selectmen nearly a year ago, “with no strings attached.”

But at the meeting, Selectman William F. Connolly Jr. said he did not agree with the Legion’s plan to remove a large tree in front of Town Hall to make room for the granite structure.

Mr. Gannon explained that chlorophyll from the tree’s leaves would cause mold — a black film — to form on the granite. The committee would go along with trimming the tree, he said, but would prefer it be replaced with a spruce tree because they only grow to a certain height and do not damage granite.

The Legion would be willing to pay for the trimming, or a spruce, he said.

Also objecting to where the monument would be situated was Public Works Superintendent Christopher J. McGown, who said it would block the view from the downstairs public works office.

“The monument is 6 feet wide and will not be placed too close to the building, so town employees will look out and see the back of it, but their view of the sky will not be totally obstructed,” Mr. Gannon said. “This is a project that should have been done 92 years ago, but bickering and complaints back then caused it to be abandoned. We don’t want that to happen again.”

The World War I monument, which was paid for by the Legion, will have about 250 names of Clintonians who fought inscribed on it. There are monuments to veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War on the other side of Town Hall.

Mr. McGown and a few board members wondered if the monument could be erected in Central Park, across the street from Town Hall, where there are Civil War and Spanish-American War memorials, without names, and statues in each corner.

Mr. Gannon said when the old Town Hall burned down in 1907, the Civil War Memorial was moved from there to the park, and later selectmen decided there was no more room in Central Park and opted to put the World War II, Korea and Vietnam war monuments in front of Town Hall, on the other side from the proposed new spot.

Selectmen Wednesday directed board member Michael J. Dziokonski, a Vietnam War veteran and its liaison to the Legion committee, to air their concerns to the Legion.

Mr. Gannon said the Legion plans to have the new monument in place in the spring and have it dedicated a few weeks before Memorial Day, to avoid the hubbub of the holiday parade and parties.

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AP Exclusive: Top North Korean official not worried about Kim Jong Un's ability to lead

Posted on 18th January 2012 in The monuments of world

PYONGYANG, North Korea – A senior North Korean official dismissed concerns about Kim Jong Un’s readiness to lead, saying he spent years working closely with his late father and helping him make key policy decisions on economic and military affairs.

In the first interview with foreign journalists by a high-level North Korean official since Kim Jong Il’s Dec. 17 death, Politburo member and Kim family confidante Yang Hyong Sop told The Associated Press that North Koreans were in good hands with their young new leader. He emphasized an unbroken continuity from father to son that suggests a continuation of Kim Jong Il’s key policies.

“We suffered the greatest loss in the history of our nation as a result of the sudden, unexpected and tragic loss of the great leader Kim Jong Il,” he said in the interview Monday at Mansudae Assembly Hall, seat of the North Korean legislative body.

“But still, we are not worried a bit,” he added, “because we know that we are being led by comrade Kim Jong Un, who is fully prepared to carry on the heritage created by the great Gen. Kim Jong Il.”

Despite Yang’s assertion of a lengthy behind-the-scenes role for Kim Jong Un, the world was introduced to the heir only in September 2010, prior to which he had been kept out of the public eye for most of his life. Though still in his 20s, he was quickly promoted to four-star general and named a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

The new ruler’s youth and quick ascension to power have raised questions in foreign capitals about how ready he is to rule over this nation of 24 million with a nuclear program as well as chronic trouble feeding all its people.

Yang said he had no concerns about Kim’s ability to lead.

“The respected comrade Kim Jong Un had long assisted the great Gen. Kim Jong Il,” he told AP. “It’s not a secret that he has helped the great general in many different aspects — not only in military affairs but also the economy and other areas as well.”

Daily life in this cold, sombre capital has begun to return to normal one month after Kim’s death, reportedly from a heart attack while riding on his private train.

The white mourning bouquets and massive portraits of the departed leader have been cleared from Pyongyang’s main buildings and monuments. People are busy getting back to daily life, with children whizzing down icy slopes on wooden sleds and workers running to catch morning buses and trams as the Kim Jong Un ode “Footsteps” blares over loudspeakers.

Vast Kim Il Sung Square, where a sea of mourners converged after Kim’s death, was ghostly quiet except for a few people who scurried quickly across the frigid plaza.

In recent weeks, as North Koreans filled the capital’s streets with their emotive mourning and the government staged elaborate funeral proceedings, party and military officials moved quickly to install Kim’s son as “supreme leader” of the people, party and military.

A soft-spoken octogenarian who is vice-president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and a standing member of the powerful Political Bureau of the Communist party’s Central Committee, Yang has long-standing ties with the Kim family that stretch back to his close alliance with the nation’s founder, Kim Il Sung.

During a 2010 interview with Associated Press Television News in Pyongyang, he provided the first confirmation by a government official that Kim Jong Un would eventually become the nation’s next leader.

“He knows what the exact intention of the great Gen. Kim Jong Il was,” he said Monday.

His comments this week indicated there would be little change to major policies laid out by Kim Jong Un’s father in the three years before his death. Yang said the new leader was focused on a “knowledge-based” economy and looking at economic reforms enacted by other nations, including China.

The North has increasingly looked to China for guidance on how to revitalize its moribund economy, particularly as South Korea, Japan and other nations have frozen trade and aid to the North amid concerns about its nuclear ambitions.

Little is known about Kim Jong Un’s background and experience, though North Koreans have been told he studied at Kim Il Sung Military University and was involved in military operations such as the November 2010 artillery attack on a South Korean island that killed four South Koreans.

Earlier this month, North Korea’s state-run broadcaster aired a documentary about the new leader that began filling in some blanks from before his public debut.

The footage shows him observing the April 2009 launch of a long-range rocket and quotes him threatening to wage war against any nation attempting to intercept the rocket, which North Korea claimed was carrying a communications satellite but the United States, South Korea and Japan say was really a test of its long-range missile technology.

It was the first indication of his involvement in that controversial launch.

Yet if Kim Jong Un was playing a prominent behind-the-scenes role prior to 2010, his training period would have been much shorter than that of his Kim Jong Il, who spent 20 years working under his own father, Kim Il Sung. Even after his father’s death, Kim Jong Il observed a three-year mourning period before formally assuming leadership.

___

Follow AP’s Korea Bureau Chief Jean H. Lee at twitter.com/newsjean and Chief Asia Photographer David Guttenfelder at twitter.com/dguttenfelder.

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Kim Jong Un 'won't last long' says older brother (but he's not jealous)

Posted on 17th January 2012 in The monuments of world

  • Kim Jong Nam claims his half brother is a ‘joke to the outside world’
  • 40-something says real power will be held by military elite and top party officials
  • Kim Jong Il’s eldest son fell out of favour after being caught trying to sneak into Japan on fake passport
  • ‘Playboy’ son known for his love of casinos

By
Wil Longbottom

Last updated at 3:55 PM on 17th January 2012

Former North Korean leader’s eldest son has said the new regime will ‘not last long’ under the rule of his half brother, it has been reported.

South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper said that in an email Kim Jong Nam described the succession of power to Kim Jong Un as ‘a joke to the outside world’.

And he said his half brother would be ‘just a nominal figure’, adding: ‘The members of the power elite will be the ones in actual power.’

'A joke': Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Il's eldest son, claims his half brother will not last long in power in North Korea

‘A joke’: Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Il’s eldest son, claims his half brother will not last long in power in North Korea

Kim Jong Un was only announced as Kim Jong Il’s successor in September 2010 and he was thrust into leadership with the ‘great leader’ died last month.

The 27-year-old has little experience of leadership or dealing with alliance-making necessary to holding on to power in the notoriously reclusive state.

‘Without reforms, North Korea will collapse, and when such changes take place, the regime will collapse,’ the newspaper quoted Kim Jong Nam as saying.

‘The Kim Jong Un regime will not last long.’

Sibling rivalry: Kim Jong Nam is said to have fallen out of favour with his father after he was caught trying to sneak into Japan with a fake passport in 2001

Sibling rivalry: Kim Jong Nam is said to have fallen out of favour with his father after he was caught trying to sneak into Japan with a fake passport in 2001

Power struggle: New leader Kim Jong Un will be a 'peripheral' figure in North Korea, according to his half brother

Power struggle: New leader Kim Jong Un will be a ‘peripheral’ figure in North Korea, according to his half brother

North Koreans have been told their new leader studied at Kim Il Sung Military University and was involved in military operations including the November 2010 artillery attack on a South Korean island that saw four people killed.

He is seen as most like his father in manner and personality – crucial for the personality cult which is used to suppress opposition.

Kim Jong Nam, aged around 40, is known for his playboy lifestyle and love of casinos.

He is believed to have fallen out of favour with his father after he was caught trying to enter Japan on a fake passport in 2001, claiming he wanted to visit Disney’s Tokyo resort.

He told the newspaper: ‘Because I was educated in the West, I was able to enjoy freedom from early age, and I still love being free.

Dictator in training: Kim Jong Il inspects Huichon power station in May last year, along with generals and his son

Dictator in training: Kim Jong Il inspects Huichon power station in May last year, along with generals and his son

Rise to prominence: Despite being relatively unknown 15 months ago, Kim Jong Un was appointed a four-star general and an vice chairman in the North Korean communist party

Rise to prominence: Despite being relatively unknown 15 months ago, Kim Jong Un was appointed a four-star general and an vice chairman in the North Korean communist party

Cult of personality: Since he took over as leader of North Korea, the country's military has been keen to play down his lack of experience with bombastic displays like this one in Pyongyang

Cult of personality: Since he took over as leader of North Korea, the country’s military has been keen to play down his lack of experience with bombastic displays like this one in Pyongyang

AP OPENS NEW BUREAU IN NORTH KOREA – INSIDE ‘STATE-RUN’ AGENCY

The Associated Press has become the first international news organisation to establish a full-time presence in North Korea.

In a ceremony a month after the death of long-time ruler Kim Jong Il, AP president and chief executive Tom Curley inaugurated a new office inside the headquarters of the state-run Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang.

The bureau expands the agency’s presence in North Korea, following a breakthrough in 2006 when it opened a video office in the capital.

Exclusive video from AP was used by media outlets around the world following Kim Jong Il’s death.

It marks an important gesture after decades of being off-limits to international journalists.

AP, an independent 165-year-old news cooperative founded in New York, has operations in more than 100 countries and employs nearly 2,500 journalists.

Mr Curley said: ‘Beyond this door lies a path to vastly larger understanding and cultural enrichment for millions around the world.

‘Regardless of whether you were born in Pyonyang or Pennsylvania, you are aware of the bridge being created today.’

‘The reason I visit Macau so often is because it’s the most free and liberal place near China, where my family lives.’

The South Korean newspaper said a Japanese journalist, Yoji Komi, exchanged almost 100 emails with Kim Jong Nam between 2004 and December last year.

It comes as a senior North Korean party official dismissed concerns about Kim Jong Un’s readiness to lead.

Politburo member and family confidante Yang Hyong Sop said the country’s people were in good hands with their new leader.

He said: ‘We suffered the greatest loss in the history of our nation as a result of the sudden, unexpected and tragic loss of the great leader Kim Jong Il.

‘But still, we are not worried a bit,
because we know that we are being led by comrade Kim Jong Un, who is
fully prepared to carry on the heritage created by the great General Kim
Jong Il.’

White mourning
bouquets and massive portraits of the deceased leader have been cleared
from capital Pyongyang’s main buildings and monuments.

After
Kim Jong Il’s death, streets and squares in Pyongyang were filled with
hysterical people weeping and crying out in apparent anguish.

His son’s rapid ascension to power has
raised questions about how ready he is to inherit rule over the
24million population with a nuclear programme as well as chronic trouble
feeding all its people.

Mr
Yang added: ‘It’s not a secret that he has helped the great general in
many different aspects – not only in military affairs but also the
economy and other areas as well.’

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For tyrants considering embalming, some advice

Posted on 16th January 2012 in The monuments of world
NORTH Korea’s decision to embalm ”dear” departed dictator Kim Jong-il’s body and put it on permanent public display revives a practice as old as the pharaohs, which can still serve nefarious political ends.

The rich are not for embalming – they tend to live in the present, enjoying their wealth. Yet the bodies of some of the world’s most maniacal killers – usually the ones driven by demented ideologies – refuse death.

It’s largely communist leaders, whose avowed aim was the empowerment of the lowly, whose embalmed remains have been installed in grand monuments. In this, they followed the practice of some popes. Out with the opiate of religion, in with the cult of the political cadaver.

Lenin, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh and Kim Il-sung all got the formaldehyde treatment and the starving citizenry were duly herded before them in a form of compulsory worship. Affluent foreign tourists keen to see what a dead person looks like provide a revenue stream that maintains these gloomy icons.

To the embalmer, death is not a nemesis but a powerful rival for control over the body. Chemistry is the equaliser, allowing the embalmer to preserve the corpse long after death has stolen the soul.

In cultures like ancient Egypt’s, the practice was entwined with society’s religious beliefs about the afterlife. The king was mummified and equipped with provisions for what was expected to be a long journey through the netherworld. And when crusader knights were slain, their bodies were preserved for the long journey home to a good Christian burial.

During the American Civil War, thanks to the sheer volume of carnage and involvement of soldiers from far-flung states, embalming was practised for the first time on an industrial scale. Less tragically, in Australia, we put the separate science of taxidermy to work preserving our greatest racehorse, Phar Lap, who died in the 1930s but still stands proud and tall in a glass display case in a Melbourne museum.

Top-heavy dictatorial regimes are the ones most in need of the embalmer’s trade, mainly because their power is based on force and fear. The preserved cadaver symbolises an enduring political order. It stands – or more precisely, lies – as a warning to anyone who might challenge a power that defies even death.

China may no longer chant from Mao’s ”little red book” but his Communist Party still rules and the departed leader’s body is still on show. The cult of personality, essential to maintaining Mao’s power in his lifetime, has been bequeathed to his successors, who use it to legitimise the order that provides them with privileges.

Even in Moscow, where communism is dead and buried, Lenin’s corpse still lies in state, glowing under a gloomy, greenish light, reminding Russians of their country’s tumultuous history and the sacrifices and suffering their forebears endured.

However, for many, the embalming of the worst demagogues keeps the pain alive and represents an insult to their many victims. In 1961, Stalin’s corpse was quietly removed from the Red Square mausoleum, where he lay alongside Lenin, and was interred near the Kremlin’s wall.

Right-wing dictators are rarely embalmed and displayed, former Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos being a rare exception. But had the Third Reich survived, the right’s greatest monster, Hitler, probably would have been embalmed upon his death for the same reasons that motivated the communists.

Today, fortunately, absolute despotism is rarer and has a relatively short shelf life. As democracy replaces tyranny, so embalming has entered the services of the common citizenry. These days, it’s more about presentation than preservation. The vogue for open-casket funerals requires a final, formaldehyde makeover. In death, as in life, we want to look our best and nobody wants foul odours marring a beautiful funeral, as they did when the botched embalming of Pope Pius XII caused the Swiss Guards stationed around the body to faint.

Hopefully, future generations will regard the display of dead politicians as a quaint reminder of how unevolved human beings can be. Either that or they’ll analyse the preserved remains to isolate and eliminate the gene that produces political psychopaths.

Christopher Kremmer is the author of five books and a former Herald foreign correspondent. See christopherkremmer.com.

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30 countries that face most or least VISA restrictions

Posted on 23rd December 2011 in The monuments of world

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Planning to travel abroad on business or pleasure purpose? Well, the bad news is that you would most probably need to go through all the visa hassles.

While Indians need visa to enter almost all countries, there are some nations whose citizens can travel to almost anywhere without any restriction.

Let us have a look at 30 countries, including India, and see how many countries their citizens can visit without a visa, according to Henley and Partners’ Henley Visa Restrictions Index – Global Ranking 2011.

Note: The score means the number of countries citizens of that country can travel to without a visa.

India

Rank: 78

Score: 53

India has formal diplomatic relations with most nations, as the world’s second most populous country and the world’s most-populous democracy and recently as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Click NEXT to see restrictions on Pakistanis…


Image: Qutub Minar in New Delhi.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Pakistan

Rank: 99

Score: 31

Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India in the east; Afghanistan and Iran in the west; and China in the far northeast.

In the north, Tajikistan lies adjacent to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. In addition, Oman is also located in maritime vicinity and shares a marine border with Pakistan.

Click NEXT to see rest of the countries…


Image: A man walks on a road after heavy rain and a hailstorm hit Islamabad.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Denmark

Rank: 1

Score: 173

Denmark, with a mixed market economy and a large welfare state, ranks as having the world’s highest level of income equality.

It has frequently ranked as the happiest and least corrupt country in the world.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: Boats are seen anchored at the 17th century Nyhavn district, home to many shops and restaurants in Copenhagen.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Sweden

Rank: 1

Score: 173

In 2010, the World Economic Forum ranked Sweden as the second most competitive country in the world, after Switzerland.

Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: Lightning strikes the Turning Torso building in Malmo.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Finland

Rank: 1

Score: 173

It is the eighth-largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A child slides on snow in front of the Santa Claus’ Office in Santa Claus’ Village on the Arctic Circle near Rovaniemi, northern Finland.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Germany

Rank: 2

Score: 172

With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A Christmas market in front of the Charlottenburg castle in Berlin.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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The United Kingdom

Rank: 3

Score: 171

The United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world’s sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and seventh-largest economy by purchasing power parity.

It was the world’s first industrialised country and the world’s foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: Tower Bridge in London.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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The Netherlands

Rank: 3

Score: 171

In May 2011, the Netherlands was ranked as the “happiest” country according to results published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: Dutch woman Tirza Mol rows her gondola, the Netherlands’ only one, through the canals of central Amsterdam.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Luxembourg

Rank: 3

Score: 171

Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, NATO, OECD, the United Nations, and Benelux, reflecting the political consensus in favour of economic, political, and military integration.

The city of Luxembourg, the largest and capital city, is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the EU.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: View of the city of Luxembourg.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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France

Rank: 3

Score: 171

France is a founding member of the United Nations, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, Nato, OECD, WTO and the Latin Union.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A general view shows the Champs Elysees Avenue and the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Belgium

Rank: 3

Score: 171

Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A dog stands on Brussels’ Grand Place.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Italy

Rank: 3

Score: 171

Italy plays a prominent role in European and global military, cultural and diplomatic affairs. The country’s European political, social and economic influence make it a major regional power.

The country has a high public education level and is a highly globalised nation.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: People walk past Duomo Cathedral after a snowfall in Milan.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Spain

Rank: 4

Score: 170

It is a developed country with the twelfth largest economy in the world by nominal GDP, and high living standards, including the tenth-highest quality of life index rating in the world.

It is a member of the United Nations, European Union, Nato, OECD, and WTO.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: Motorcyclists ride down the central avenue in Madrid.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Japan

Rank: 4

Score: 170

A major economic power, Japan has the world’s third-largest economy by nominal GDP and third-largest economy by purchasing power parity.

It is also the world’s fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: The world’s steepest roller coaster ‘Takabisha’ with a free falling angle of 121 degrees is seen at Fuji-Q Highland amusement park in Fujiyoshida, west of Tokyo.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Norway

Rank: 4

Score: 170

Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower.

On a per-capita basis, it is the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East, and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: Grand Hotel in Oslo.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Portugal

Rank: 4

Score: 170

Portugal is a developed country with an advanced and high-income economy, with a very high Human Development Index.

It has the world’s 19th-highest quality-of-life, one of the top health care systems, and it’s also one of the world’s most globalised and peaceful nations.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: Passengers wait for their trains at Lisbon’s subway station. All subway stations in Lisbon have been decorated and designed by painters, sculptors, architects and designers from all over the world.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Ireland

Rank: 5

Score: 169

In 2005 the Republic of Ireland was ranked the best place to live in the world according to a “quality of life” assessment by The Economist magazine.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A woman walks past graffiti on the side of a building in Dublin.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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The United States

Rank: 5

Score: 169

The country accounts for 41 per cent of global military spending, and is a leading economic, political, and cultural force in the world.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: Morning commuters make their way through the Times Square in New York City.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Austria

Rank: 6

Score: 168

Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $48,350 (2011 estimate).

The country has developed a high standard of living and in 2011 was ranked 19th in the world for its Human Development Index.

Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, and is a founder of the OECD.

Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the European currency, the Euro, in 1999.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A boat decorated with a traditional carnival figure is seen during a parade in the village of Grundlsee.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Switzerland

Rank: 7

Score: 167

In nominal terms, Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world by per capita gross domestic product, with a nominal per capita GDP of $75,835.

In 2010, Switzerland had the highest wealth per adult of any country in the world (with $372,692 for each person).

Switzerland also has one of the world’s largest account balances as a percentage of GDP.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A man surfs during sunny summer weather on a wave along the Reuss river in the town of Bremgarten.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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New Zealand

Rank: 8

Score: 166

New Zealand is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Commonwealth of Nations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum and the United Nations.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: Skyjumper Brad Smith performs a skyjump atop the Sky Tower in Auckland.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Australia

Rank: 8

Score: 166

Australia is the world’s thirteenth-largest economy and has the world’s sixth-highest per capita income. Australia’s military expenditure is the world’s twelfth largest.

With the second-highest human development index globally, Australia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: An outdoor shopping mall in Melbourne.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Greece

Rank: 8

Score: 166

A developed country with an advanced, high-income economy and very high standards of living, Greece has been a member of what is now the European Union since 1981 and the eurozone since 2001, NATO since 1952, and the European Space Agency since 2005.

It is also a founding member of the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A man photographs cars on display at the Hellenic Motor museum in Athens.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Canada

Rank: 9

Score: 164

One of the world’s most highly-developed countries, Canada has a diversified economy that is reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade – particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: People play a game of pickup soccer in downtown Toronto.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Iceland

Rank: 9

Score: 164

Iceland has a free market economy with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD countries, while maintaining a Nordic welfare system providing universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: People look at a geyser in Geysir.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Singapore

Rank: 9

Score: 164

Singapore is a world leader in several areas: It is the world’s fourth-leading financial centre, the world’s second-biggest casino gambling market, and the world’s third-largest oil refining centre.

The port of Singapore is one of the five busiest ports in the world, most notable for being the busiest transshipment port in the world.

The country is home to more US dollar millionaire households per capita than any other country.

The World Bank notes Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: An aerial view of Marina Bay and Singapore’s central business district.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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South Korea

Rank: 10

Score: 163

It is Asia’s fourth-largest economy and the world’s 15th (nominal) or 12th (purchasing power parity) largest economy.

The economy is export-driven, with production focusing on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics.

South Korea is a member of the United Nations, WTO, OECD and G-20 major economies. It is also a founding member of APEC and the East Asia Summit.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A woman reads a book beside a bronze statue in front of Sejong Centre for the Performing Arts in central Seoul.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Malta

Rank: 11

Score: 160

Malta is internationally renowned as a tourist resort, with numerous recreational areas and historical monuments, including nine Unesco World Heritage Sites, most prominently the Megalithic Temples which are some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A man performs a jump while windsurfing off Bahar ic-Caghaq.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Malaysia

Rank: 12

Score: 158

Malaysia is a relatively open state-oriented and newly industrialised market economy. The state plays a significant but declining role in guiding economic activity through macroeconomic plans.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: KLCC Park in central Kuala Lumpur.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Liechtenstein

Rank: 12

Score: 158

Liechtenstein is the smallest yet the richest (by measure of GDP per capita) German-speaking country in the world and the only country to lie entirely within the Alps.

It is known as a principality as it is a constitutional monarchy headed by a prince.


Image: Vaduz Castle in Liechtenstein’s capital Vaduz.
Photographs: Reuters

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Kim Jong Un to rule North Korea with help of his uncle in plan agreed by the military

Posted on 21st December 2011 in The monuments of world

  • First time since end of WW2 a sole dictator will not be in charge
  • Backing of military calms fears of coup
  • Smooth transition will mean ‘little change’ for impoverished citizens
  • South Korean activists send propaganda balloons over border

By
Lee Moran

Last updated at 3:49 PM on 21st December 2011

North Korea’s new young leader Kim Jong Un will rule the country alongside his uncle and the military, sources revealed today.

Jang Song Thaek will work alongside his inexperienced and untested 28-year-old nephew – the first time since the end of World War Two a collective rather than a dictator from the family dynasty will be in charge.

The army’s backing of Kim Jong Il’s third son, his proclaimed successor, has also calmed fears there could be a military coup.

And it has prompted speculation there
will now be a smooth transition of power – meaning little change for the
millions of impoverished and poverty-stricken citizens.

New leaders: Jang Song Thaek (left) will rule with his nephew Kim Jong Un (right) with help from the military

Collective: North Korean military, who will run the country alongside Kim Jong Il's brother and son, cry as they visit the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay their respects to their leader

Collective: North Korean military, who will run the country alongside Kim Jong Il’s brother and son, cry as they visit the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay their respects to their leader

A source also revealed that the test-firing of a North Korean missile on Monday, following the announcement of Kim Jong Il’s death on Saturday, was a warning shot against the U.S.

The source said: ‘With the missile test, North Korea wanted to deliver the message that they have the ability to protect themselves.

‘But North Korea is unlikely to conduct a nuclear test in the near future unless provoked by the United States and South Korea.’

Jang Song Thaek’s appointment was widely
expected after his addition to the National Defence Commission, the
supreme leadership council led by his brother Kim Jong Il as head of the
military state, in 2009.

Lying in state: The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is on display at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang

Lying in state: The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is on display at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang

Family affair: Kim Jong Il is pictured on the escalator of a Pyongyang supermarket, with his sister Kim Kyong Hui, his son Kim Jong Un, and his sister's husband Jang Song Thaek behind him

Family affair: Kim Jong Il is pictured on the escalator of a Pyongyang supermarket, with his sister Kim Kyong Hui, his son Kim Jong Un, and his sister’s husband Jang Song Thaek behind him

Procession: People bring floral arrangements to the bier of leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongang following his death

Procession: People bring floral arrangements to the bier of leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongang following his death

‘NORTH KOREANS ARE LIVING OFF GRASS AND ONE POTATO PER DAY

UN food experts urged immediate food aid for the isolated nation just months before Kim Jong Il’s (pictured) death.

Three groups described the urgent need for food, reporting ‘acute malnutrition’ among North Korean children, ‘widespread consumption of grass’ and elderly people on a ‘knife edge’.

There was ‘substantial evidence’ of a growing food crisis for millions who live in the countryside – beyond the relative comfort of Pyongyang.

‘What we saw was extensive chronic malnutrition and cases of acute malnutrition, which is where the person is basically dying,’ said David Austin, director of North Korea’s Mercy Corps.

He added: ‘More than 50 per cent of people who are reliant on (state-provided grain) were out seeking out alternative food – things like bark, wild grass, and leaves – and mixing it in with food. We found there was no protein or fat in people’s diets.’

And when he returned in September, government grain rations had been cut by more than half to about 150 grams per day – the equivalent of one potato.

Alongside Kim Jong Il’s younger sister Kim Kyong Hui, he is expected to guide the ‘young general’ during his formative days in power.

As part of the consolidation of power, security was stepped up in cities and troops put on high alert as South Korean activists launched giant balloons containing tens of thousands of propaganda leaflets across the border.

Some showed graphic pictures of former Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi’s battered corpse and described his gruesome death.

They oppose a hereditary transfer of power in North Korea – where Kim Jong Il ruled for 17 years after inheriting power from his father, national founder and eternal North Korean President Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994.

And in another sign of border tension, Chinese boatmen along a river separating North Korea and China said North Korean police ordered them to stop giving rides to tourists, saying they will fire on the boats if they see anyone with cameras.

Meanwhile, the young Kim yesterday led a procession of senior officials in a viewing of Kim Jong Il’s body, which is being displayed in a glass coffin near that of Kim Il Sung.

Publicly presiding over the funeral proceedings was an important milestone for his successor, strengthening his image as the country’s political face at home and abroad.

State media showed video of Kim Jong Un receiving mourners, including foreign envoys, as he stood near his father’s body with an honour guard.

He was sombre during the greetings, although footage at one point showed him teary-eyed.  A report in the North’s official Korean Central News Agency did not specify which foreign countries the envoys represented.

According to official media, more than five million North Koreans have gathered at monuments and memorials in the capital since the death of Kim Jong Il.

Protest: South Korean activists have been sending propaganda balloons over the border

Protest: South Korean activists have been sending propaganda balloons over the border

Up and away: Some of the balloons showed graphic pictures of former Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi’s battered corpse and described his gruesome death

Hundreds of thousands visited monuments around the city within hours of the official announcement that Kim had died.

The North has declared an 11 day period of mourning that will culminate in his state funeral and a national memorial service on December 28 to 29.

Half-way across the world, flags flew at half-staff yesterday in Cuba as the country began three days of official mourning in a show of solidarity with its fellow communist state.         

The Council of State decreed the mourning period without comment and said flags would be lowered at all government buildings and military installations.         

High alert: South Korean army soldiers pictured patrolling along the barbed-wire fence in the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea in Yeoncheon

High alert: South Korean army soldiers pictured patrolling along the barbed-wire fence in the demilitarized zone between the South and North

Bleak: Armed North Korean soldiers collect twigs on the banks of Yalu River (left) near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong, while others talk amongst themselves (right)

A book of condolences was opened at the North Korean embassy in Havana, with a big photo of the dead leader and flowers in the entrance.               

Cuba and North Korea are two of the world’s last communist nations and have maintained good relations since establishing diplomatic ties in 1960, the year after Fidel Castro took power in a 1959 revolution on the Caribbean island.          

They were both on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism until North Korea was removed in 2008.

Cuba is facing its own succession issues as it approaches a generational leadership change without much new blood waiting in the wings.     

Half mast: A Cuban flag was flying low at a government building in Havana in solidarity to Kim Jong Il

Half mast: A Cuban flag was flying low at a government building in Havana in solidarity to Kim Jong Il

Tribute: A group of women march towards the North Korean Embassy to mourn the death of Kim Jong Il in Beijing, China, where the flag is being held at half mast

Cuba was ruled for 49 years by Fidel Castro, 85, who was succeeded by brother and then first vice president Raul Castro in 2008.     

Under the constitution, if Raul Castro were to leave office tomorrow, 81-year-old Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, current first vice president of the ruling Council of State, would succeed him until 2013, although he could be replaced sooner.  

Government opponents said they feared Cuban leaders could circumvent the constitution and follow North Korea’s lead by quickly replacing Machado Ventura with a Castro family member.      

But other Cubans discounted the possibility that the government would put another Castro in power, saying the Cuban system would not permit it.       

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