For the benefit of everyone reading this, the situation in North Korea has not led to widespread panic in South Korea. As a matter of fact, it really hasn't led to much of anything. The shopaholics are still out in force, although as I noted before, they seem to be dressed better for fall. No, the widespread panic in South Korea will be reserved for a situation that threatens large numbers of ISPs. That would result in all-out war. I also witnessed the curious, and to this point un-noted practice of the newlywed couple riding in the open trunk of the wedding car, waving at passers-by. I toldja this place wasn't quite right. But don't worry about war, the South Koreans aren't......Never mind the following; read below and tell me how much support YOU think Kim Jong-Il has.


THE FOLLOWING WAS EXCERPTED FROM THE TELEGRAPH.CO.UK
From imported lobsters to cognac and Mercedes-Benz cars, the expensive tastes of North Korea's secretive leader, Kim Jong-il, have never failed to stagger those who have witnessed his conspicuous consumption.
However, his love of the finer things in life, in a country where his people have been allowed to starve, is now being challenged by the United Nations sanctions imposed at the weekend.
They include a clause banning the export of luxury goods to North Korea and aim to cut off or at least greatly diminish the dictator's supplies, which he is believed to use to reward senior officials for their loyalty.
Little reliable detail emerges from behind Kim's secluded palaces in his capital, Pyongyang.
But reports from defectors, previous employees and, in some extraordinary cases, people whom he has kidnapped but who have returned to the West, have described a lifestyle that would be unimaginable to North Koreans, who survived a major famine that killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, a decade ago.
One source was Konstantin Pulikovskiy, a Russian official, who described a train journey on which he accompanied Kim to Moscow in 2001. Kim's chefs, he said, had cooked lobster that had been flown in specially to points along the way.
Another was Kenji Fujimoto, Kim's Japanese chef, who on returning to Tokyo told newspapers of his partiality for shark's fin soup, a delicacy which he would eat three times a week.
At one stage, Kim was reported to be the world's biggest single customer for Hennessy's Paradis cognac, although he was later forced to cut down his intake, acting on medical advice, and took up fine French red wine.
Jung Sung-san, a North Korean musician who defected to the south, said his father worked for the state firm responsible for importing Mercedes-Benz, bought legally abroad, to be used by the country's leaders. The exact import route changes, though, and will be hard to monitor.
North Korea operates a variety of front companies around the world through its embassies, many of which are involved in both making money and sourcing goods for Pyongyang.