The first known visual evidence of dissent within the world's most secretive state emerged yesterday when video footage taken in a North Korean factory showed a portrait of the dictator, Kim Jong-il, defaced with graffiti demanding freedom and democracy.
The 35-minute video clip, said to have been taken in November, was posted on the website of an opposition group based in South Korea. It shows a poster of Kim scrawled over with the words: "Down with Kim Jong-il. Let's all rise to drive out the dictatorial regime.''
In the world of the Pillsbury Nuke Boy, even minor infractions were punishable by draconian measures. Entire families would disappear into the gulags as punishment for the smallest defiance.
But a factory, with plenty of people present to witness the deed, was the site of a defacement of a poster of the Dear Leader. And it was filmed.
When your regime is based on fear, the end of fear means the end of the regime. The only question is how fast it falls. I'm glad 2nd ID is off the firing line at the DMZ. Pyongyang might not collapse quietly. But collapse they will.
This is a big deal.
