The Moment

摘要

Because its regime is one of the most loathsome inrnthe world, there is a temptation to see every political development in North Korea as a precursor to the sortrnof instability that might one day lead to real change. So it has been with the announcement that Kim Jong Un, thought to be 27, a son of North Korean leader Kim Jong II, had been promoted to general-a sign that he is likely to inherit his father's, and grandfather's, mantle. But the younger Kim is untested, the army has its own agenda, and China would like its ally to at least make some moves toward economic reform. So might the ice be about to crack? Don't bet on it.