North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his relatives must be one of the most closely watched families in the world. South Korean media outlets in particular are currently reporting everything about Kim, including the color of his complexion and tousled hair, along with movements of his wife, his aunt and even his nephew in minute detail.
This may be understandable given the state of affairs in the North since the purge and execution of Kim's uncle by marriage and mentor, Jang Song-thaek. Many of these stories are attempts to read what's going on in the opaque, reclusive regime, but not a few of them often reflect little more than cheap curiosity.
The problem is that even responsible officials here, such as Cabinet ministers and lawmakers, seem to be indulging in a wild guessing game, creating an unnecessary sense of unrest while doing little to help think about proper responses.
None illustrated this better than Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, who said the communist regime is highly likely to make military provocations against South Korea between next January and March, either because of competition among North Korean officials to show loyalty to their leader or out of a need to solidify inner unity.
The top defense official may, of course, need to put the military on alert against any unusual movement in the North during sensitive times such as now. But it is doubtful whether he should have gone as far as to provoke ― or induce ― the already agitated regime into taking action, even by stipulating the period in which this could occur.
Unlike Minister Kim, most analysts are predicting that the young North Korean leader will feel the need to become flexible toward the outside world in order to show some economic results and cement his "monolithic leadership."
Defense ministry officials could not even provide plausible grounds for their minister's "prophecy," meaning it was little more than speculation. The defense minister should think why even some officials within the Park Geun-hye administration regard his comments as improper and unnecessary.
Equally problematic were some forecasts by ruling party lawmakers on whether there will be another nuclear test or missile launch by the isolationist regime, also presenting little convincing evidence.
We consider these guesses as attempts to make perfect preparations for any unexpected developments in the North and on the Korean Peninsula, but can hardly shake off the feeling some of these officials might be exaggerating to divert public attention away from the government's problems, or water down calls to reform the state spy agency.
This is no time for these politicians to exploit issues of national security for gains in domestic politics. What they should be doing instead is help stabilize the political and military situations on this peninsula and persuade Pyongyang to return to the dialogue table, with cooperation from major partners like the United States and China, which are probably even more disillusioned with the North Korean leadership and less inclined to deal with the brutal regime.
"This is the time for major countries to refrain from making reckless actions, unnecessarily aggravating tension," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. The Park administration and her party should listen.
This may be understandable given the state of affairs in the North since the purge and execution of Kim's uncle by marriage and mentor, Jang Song-thaek. Many of these stories are attempts to read what's going on in the opaque, reclusive regime, but not a few of them often reflect little more than cheap curiosity.
The problem is that even responsible officials here, such as Cabinet ministers and lawmakers, seem to be indulging in a wild guessing game, creating an unnecessary sense of unrest while doing little to help think about proper responses.
None illustrated this better than Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, who said the communist regime is highly likely to make military provocations against South Korea between next January and March, either because of competition among North Korean officials to show loyalty to their leader or out of a need to solidify inner unity.
The top defense official may, of course, need to put the military on alert against any unusual movement in the North during sensitive times such as now. But it is doubtful whether he should have gone as far as to provoke ― or induce ― the already agitated regime into taking action, even by stipulating the period in which this could occur.
Unlike Minister Kim, most analysts are predicting that the young North Korean leader will feel the need to become flexible toward the outside world in order to show some economic results and cement his "monolithic leadership."
Defense ministry officials could not even provide plausible grounds for their minister's "prophecy," meaning it was little more than speculation. The defense minister should think why even some officials within the Park Geun-hye administration regard his comments as improper and unnecessary.
Equally problematic were some forecasts by ruling party lawmakers on whether there will be another nuclear test or missile launch by the isolationist regime, also presenting little convincing evidence.
We consider these guesses as attempts to make perfect preparations for any unexpected developments in the North and on the Korean Peninsula, but can hardly shake off the feeling some of these officials might be exaggerating to divert public attention away from the government's problems, or water down calls to reform the state spy agency.
This is no time for these politicians to exploit issues of national security for gains in domestic politics. What they should be doing instead is help stabilize the political and military situations on this peninsula and persuade Pyongyang to return to the dialogue table, with cooperation from major partners like the United States and China, which are probably even more disillusioned with the North Korean leadership and less inclined to deal with the brutal regime.
"This is the time for major countries to refrain from making reckless actions, unnecessarily aggravating tension," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. The Park administration and her party should listen.
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