CHINA NOT SO HAPPY with North Korean leadership. “It’s not just the ruling Kim family (who are quite odd, but so are many politicians), but the whole paranoid, dysfunctional, unpredictable atmosphere in the north. China is most upset with the unpredictability, and is demanding more discipline and, to put it bluntly, obedience. Lacking that, there will be consequences.”

Plus this: “The North Korean prison camps are expanding, which can be seen from satellite photos. Relatives of prisoners or those released bring with them horrific details of life in the camps. More people are being arrested for economic crimes (black market) and espionage (using a cell phone or listening to foreign radio news). About one percent of the North Korean population is in these labor camps, and 5-10 percent do not survive their time there.”