# Kim Jong-il is a fucking loser **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 28, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530 "2004-04-28T18:00:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/41 "2004-04-30T17:21:00Z")
> [@Mojo](#): > > [Here’s a before and after pic of Ryongchon](http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/ryongchon-imagery_comp01.htm). > > That’s a hell of a lot of portraits of “glorious leader” that needed to be saved. ☹ Holy shit, that must have been one _hell_ of an explosion. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/42 "2004-04-30T17:54:39Z")
For people who don`t know how these things work; If one person died holding a picture of Kim then hundreds did. Not one single person on this planet would save a picture over their family members. An unverified report coming out of a third world country is probably going to be politically slanted to favor the leader of that country, to make him look like a swell guy. I doubt that there was even one case of someone holding a picture of Kim in their dead hands (where the picture wasn`t planted). Political embellishment is all, made to make the leader appear more powerful. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/43 "2004-04-30T18:32:03Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > Holy shit, that must have been one _hell_ of an explosion. Yep, gasoline and dynamite my ass. Look at the rail cars at the bottom of the pic for scale. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/44 "2004-04-30T18:36:05Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > For people who don`t know how these things work; > > If one person died holding a picture of Kim then hundreds did. > > Not one single person on this planet would save a picture over their family members. > > An unverified report coming out of a third world country is probably going to be politically slanted to favor the leader of that country, to make him look like a swell guy. > > I doubt that there was even one case of someone holding a picture of Kim in their dead hands (where the picture wasn`t planted). > Political embellishment is all, made to make the leader appear more powerful. I think the only person that doesn’t get it is Kim Jong-il ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/45 "2004-04-30T20:52:34Z")
Years back Kim Jong Crazy Fuck would not allow aid shipments to his people until American troops were removed from South Korea. Time magazine called it something akin to “negotiating from a position of starvation”. This [article](http://www.msf.org/countries/page.cfm?articleid=CF67DE21-B430-4EBC-A491978869C8B9EA) shows that some people with the right intentions don’t have a clue about political reality. They want the US to continue aid shipments to North Korea while admitting that it’s going to the military and party members. Their fantastic suggestion is that the US demand unrestricted access to the areas that aid is distributed really is out to lunch. Do they really think that North Korea is going to allow anyone unrestricted access to anything in their nation? ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/46 "2004-04-30T23:24:37Z")
> [@Capt B. Phart](#): > > Are you suggesting they did have WMDs? Not at all, you’re just the first I’ve heard to suggest they didn’t. Perhaps you’re right and we’re all too busy watching the spin on Iraq to pay attention any spin regarding Libya. :shrug: Thanks for the reply; something to think about. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/47 "2004-05-01T04:50:02Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > For people who don`t know how these things work; > > If one person died holding a picture of Kim then hundreds did. > > Not one single person on this planet would save a picture over their family members. > > An unverified report coming out of a third world country is probably going to be politically slanted to favor the leader of that country, to make him look like a swell guy. > > I doubt that there was even one case of someone holding a picture of Kim in their dead hands (where the picture wasn`t planted). > Political embellishment is all, made to make the leader appear more powerful. They probably counted all those Kim Jong-Il pins that everyone in North Korea has to wear over their heart. Everyone who got blown up was technically holding a portrait of the Dear Leader. What a freaking buttweasel this guy is. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/48 "2004-05-01T12:58:20Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > I read the link below awhile back, it’s a very fascinating, highly detailed account of a guy who went to NK. > > [http://www.1stopkorea.com/index.htm?nk-trip1.htm~mainframe](http://www.1stopkorea.com/index.htm?nk-trip1.htm~mainframe) Thanks, **World Eater** , for this link. It was fascinating! Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/49 "2004-05-01T18:16:43Z")
I’m not quite done with the North Korea link, but fascinating is right. > [@](#): > > Yep, gasoline and dynamite my ass. Look at the rail cars at the bottom of the pic for scale. I think the word was that there was gasoline on one train and a large amount of compressed petroleum or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/50 "2004-05-02T05:07:18Z")
> [@htns](#): > > A note that registration is required to view that site would have been in order. I would have, but it didn’t require registration from me when I found it. It does now, though. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/51 "2004-05-02T07:53:35Z")
> [@Mojo](#): > > Don’t let the fact that it’s a DoD policy that predates Dubya’s presidency get in the way of your Kim Jong-Il/Bush comparison. :rolleyes: It predates Dubya’s war back to… oh, hm… this is interesting… when his dad was prez. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/52 "2004-05-02T10:11:33Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think the word was that there was gasoline on one train and a large amount of compressed petroleum or something like that. Around here, this story got a lot of play in the media. Of course, there wasn’t much to show; a few pictures, some very brief video footage. So, tv programs did what they do in those cases and had a bunch of experts speculate about what happened. One favourite was the explosives expert. Anyway, the official line from NK changed a few times but eventually settled on electrical causes. The tanker was filled with ammonium nitrate. NK claims the ammonium nitrate was to be used as fertiliser. However, it’s also used to manufacture explosives. According to these experts, you would need at least 20 tons of ammonium nitrate to get a blast area that size. However, NH4NO3 doesn’t easily blow up and the electrical explanation is dubious. [Here’s a fairly good page](http://www.uneptie.org/pc/apell/disasters/korea.htm) that deals with probable causes. Another thing we need to consider when looking at the pictures is that the buildings were pretty flimsy. They were mostly brick constructions and the wind from the blast was surely enough to level a few buildings. The damage in a more modern setting would have been less impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530/53 "2004-05-02T14:39:59Z")
> [@clayton\_e](#): > > It predates Dubya’s war back to… oh, hm… this is interesting… when his dad was prez. Don’t forget the “not really enforced during the Clinton Administration bit”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jong-il-is-a-fucking-loser/242530.md?page=2)