Kim Jong-il is sick, isolated and in the midst of one of the most risky ventures of his life – handing over power to his untested, 27-year-old son. He has few cards in his hand, but this week he played two of them. And, in the twisted logic of Pyongyang poker, they were both aces.
The first was to reveal to the world what Siegfried Hecker, a visiting US nuclear scientist, described as “an astonishingly modern” uranium enrichment facility with at least 1,000 centrifuges. Washington had long suspected Mr Kim had such a facility, but no proof. Imagine its surprise to discover that it was right under its nose. The sparkling centrifuges were close to a disabled plutonium reactor at Yongbyon, a site intensely monitored by US satellites. Victor Cha, a former US national security adviser, described the failure of US intelligence as one’s “worst nightmare”.
The second ace – hardly subtle, but no less effective for that – was played on Tuesday afternoon. North Korea’s military launched an artillery barrage against a South Korean island, killing two troops, and injuring several civilians and troops.