What can Kim Jong-Un learn from Coca-Cola?

As the late North Korean premier Kim Jong-il was still threatening to turn Seoul into a "sea of fire"​, propagandists in China were becoming admiring students of Coca-Cola brand management strategy, Osnos writes.

According to the journalist - whose article you can read here​ - one apparatchik wrote in a Communist Party textbook, a propos​ of Coke, "if you have a good image, any problem can be solved".​

Other masters apparently admired by the party, Osnos says, include George Bush Jr. and his administration (for handling of the US media post 9/11) and former UK prime minister Tony Blair's response to mad cow disease.

I must admit that one glance at the latest Kim Jong is enough to make me feel Il, Un - perhaps its the combination of that short back 'n' sides with superadded Castrol GTX, coupled with his threat to unleash nuclear armageddon - or at least queasy.

Certainly, in respect of image management, Jong-Un could learn a lot from Coke - even to the extent that cultivating a sharper image and a little marketing savvy, attributes Coke clearly possesses, could rein-in he and his lackey's shared sense of acute paranoia, and, hey!, help them win friends and influence people worldwide.

Hey, it could even make them feel better about themselves. Jong-Un could soon be striking poses that are more Brad Pitt than pit of stomach, or Chairman Mao. (Here are some more pictures of Kim Jong-Un​, looking at things. Hmm...)

That said, I'm sure Coke would not be keen to press parallels. Anyway, I'm certainly not suggesting that the 'dear leader' dress up as a polar bear, though would that drive the darkly amusing (at times, though one can't cut out the serious angles) aspects of North Korean surreality to new levels.