Here is the National Review paragraph on kimjongilia from our 8/11/03
issue (which was not digitized):
Axis of Eveil watch: On North Korea’s Day of the Sun — which is to say,
the anniversary of the birth of the late Great Leader Kim Il Sung — a large
floral tribute from Yasser Arafat was delivered. Reported the Korean
Central News Agency: “Shaher Mohammed Abdlah, Palestinian ambassador to the
DPRK, placed the floral basket before [Kim’s] statue and made a bow today.
Written on the ribbon of the floral basket were letters: ‘The Great Leader
Kim Il Sung Will Be Immortal.’” The current Dear Leader Kim Jong Il has
also been the recipient of flowers from Arafat, who must be running up quite
a tab with the Ramallah branch of Interflora. Credit the PLO chairman with
knowing the way to the hearts of his fellow dictators, at any rate. The
North Korean regime has always had a strong horticultural theme, with the
Kims, pere et fil, both having had flowers named after them: the
kimilsungia (a hybrid orchid) and the kimjongilia (a variety of
begonia), respectively. Botanical databases currently yield no references
to yasserarafatia.