ARTICLE: "The Sopranos State: As the U.S. pushes for a nuclear deal with North Korea, a TIME investigation reveals the criminal enterprises that keep Kim Jong Il in power," by Bill Powell and Adam Zagorin, Time, 23 July 2007, p. 45.

Hardly a new story. The WSJ did a column 1 on Kim's Bureau 39 far enough back for me to cite it in PNM.

But still, a good summary and up to date.

The good news? Kim is such a greedy pig, as are his fellow kleptocrats, that China whispering in his ear, "You can become your country's 'Deng' and still hold all power" could actually work, given enough pressure and time.

And, if Kim croaks near term and the criminal elite have little interest in propping up one of his sons like they once did Kim for years following his old man's death, then maybe that becomes the time when the buy-out deal can be explicitly negotiated.

The key for us? Keep up the pressure and the squeeze. China's advice only holds Kim's attention so long as we make life as difficult as possible for Bureau 39.