All Things North Korea Thread

[Larry]

The troublemaker part of me keeps having this vision. Where NK launches a missile (without prior notice), in the general direction of Japan or SK.

And the missile gets shot down before it leaves NK.

And then we call them up, and tell them that gee, you didn't phone us in advance, and the missile defense system is on automatic. But if you let us know where and when you're launching, a day in advance, we'll switch it off.

-----------

But then, the smart part of me says it would be idiotic to give people the ability to test our defense systems like that. China would PAY them to fire some scuds, just so China can gather "game film" on our missile defenses

[zoony]

I would prefer strapping Dennis Rodman into an electric chair and giving him a jolt whenever Kim does something dumb

Kim stop hurting your friend

[SKINS@THEGOALLINE]

North Korea: Students required to get Kim Jong-un haircut

 

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery — and in Kim Jong Un’s North Korea, that’s now an order!

All North Korean men are now required to get the same haircut as their nutjob leader — shaved close on the back and sides, with longer hair on top brushed back off the forehead.

The state-ordered guidelines were introduced in the capital, Pyongyang, roughly two weeks ago, according to South Korean media.

http://nypost.com/2014/03/26/north-korean-men-ordered-to-get-kim-jong-uns-haircut/

 

Some say these reports are untrue, but anything is possible with this wing-nut.

[mistertim]

Well the source is solid. NY Post is a bastion of quality, well researched reporting. 

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/27/us-korea-north-un-idUSBREA2Q0HN20140327?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

U.N. Security Council to meet Thursday on North Korea missile launch

 

The U.N. Security Council will hold closed-door consultations on Thursday to discuss a possible condemnation of North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches, U.N. diplomats said.

 

The request for a special session on North Korea came from the United States, council diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity on Wednesday. The meeting of the 15-nation council was scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Thursday.

 

The U.N. mission of Luxembourg, which holds the presidency of the Security Council this month, announced on its Twitter feed that U.N. political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman would brief council members on developments on the Korean peninsula during the session.

 

In what appeared to be a show of defiance, North Korea fired two medium-range Rodong ballistic missiles into the sea at 2:35 a.m. Japan and Korea time, both Tokyo and Seoul said.

 

North Korea's first firing in four years of mid-range Rodong missiles that can hit Japan followed a series of short-range rocket launches over the past two months.

 

In Seoul, South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok called the launches "a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a grave provocation against South Korea and the international community". South Korea is a temporary member of the Security Council.

 

[Toe Jam]

Residents of South Korean border island taken to shelters following exchange of fire between North, South Korea- @AFP

https://twitter.com/BreakingNews

[visionary]

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/31/world/asia/north-korea-live-fire-exchange/index.html

Report: North Korea fires on South during North's military exercises

 

A day after raising the possibility of further nuclear tests, North Korea has engaged in provocative live-fire exercises near the South Korean maritime border, leading to an exchange of fire between the two neighbors.

 

Semi-official South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Monday that the North had begun the drill just after noon (local time). The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed that some North Korean ordnance landed in South Korean waters, and that the South responded with fire.

 

The JCS confirmed that the North Korean offshore military exercise began around 12:15 pm (local time) Monday, and said that "a part of North Korea's shelling reached South Korean side of the NLL (Northern Limit Line) and we (South Korea) responded with K-9 self-propelled guns into the North Korean waters above NLL."

 

The statement is in line with Yonhap's report that the North fired "several" artillery shells, to which South Korean military responded with self-propelled artillery fire. The South Korean K-9 howitzers have a 24-mile (40-kilometer) range.

 

It is not clear how many of the shells fired by North Korea reached the Republic's territorial waters. Although there was a lull, North Korean offshhore firing seems to have resumed, with Yonhap quoting a resident of Baekryong Island, which is in close proximity to the NLL.

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/BreakingNews

North Korea fired more than 500 shots in artillery fire, South Korea returned more than 300 shots, defense ministry says - Reuters 

3:47 AM

 

Edited March 31, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak

South Korean news agency Yonhap says an unidentified aircraft crashed yesterday on an island near the disputed border with North Korea  

12:55 AM

 

 

[China]

North Korea wants our television: Under Kim Jong-un, TV is pretty grim. But now the Supreme Leader is considering sampling the delights of Top Gear, Tinky Winky and Doctor Who

 

It is the world's most isolated country, a place where the weekly television highlight is It's So Funny, a long-running comedy show in which two uniformed soldiers perform slapstick sketches in between lectures about the greatness of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.

 

Now, however, hope – or at least variety – is at hand for the people of North Korea. After months of negotiations with the British government, the totalitarian dictatorship has finally selected three BBC programmes that the state is willing to consider showing its people: Dr Who, Top Gear and Teletubbies.

 

"Extensive enquiries have been made about what these three shows involve and if they would be suitable for the [North] Korean people," a Pyongyang insider explained. "Anything too political was not suitable but these are entertainment shows, and one of them is for young children."

 

Click on the link for the full article

[RVAbrendan]

I feel like that is not in the best interests of the NK dictatorship... why would you show your people television shows that take place in other countries that look 100x better than your homeland? 

[China]

[mistertim]

I feel like that is not in the best interests of the NK dictatorship... why would you show your people television shows that take place in other countries that look 100x better than your homeland? 

Yeah I'm curious how they'll get past that. My guess is they'll tell the people that the cities, etc you see in these Western nations' shows are just fakes meant to mislead the world about how horrible the conditions truly are there.

 

And you know they'll be doing some HEAVY editing and even outright fake translations.

[China]

Pyongyang building collapse leaves many casualties

 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean officials offered a rare public apology for the collapse of an apartment building under construction in Pyongyang, which a South Korean official said was believed to have caused considerable casualties that could mean hundreds might have died.

 

The word of the collapse in the secretive nation's capital was reported Sunday morning by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, which gave no death toll but said that the accident was "serious" and upset North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un.

 

The report said it occurred in the capital's Phyongchon district on Tuesday "as the construction of an apartment house was not done properly and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner."

 

In Seoul, a South Korean government official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information said the 23-story apartment building that collapsed was presumed to have housed 92 families.

 

That could mean the casualties could be in the hundreds because a typical North Korean family has four members. However, it was not clear whether all the residents were inside at the time of the collapse, or that four people lived in each apartment.

 

It is not unusual for people to start living in apartments before the construction is complete.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[CurseReversed]

if kim jong was pissed enough to issue a public apology heads will most certainly roll, sadly, literally. 

Edited May 19, 2014 by CurseReversed

[mikered30]

NK threatens to nuke the white house.

"If the US imperialists threaten our sovereignty and survival... our troops will fire our nuclear-armed rockets at the White House and the Pentagon -- the sources of all evil," Hwang said in his speech broadcast Monday on state television.

http://news.yahoo.com/n-korea-threatens-nuclear-strike-white-house-090550866.html

[mistertim]

NK threatens to nuke the white house.

"If the US imperialists threaten our sovereignty and survival... our troops will fire our nuclear-armed rockets at the White House and the Pentagon -- the sources of all evil," Hwang said in his speech broadcast Monday on state television.

http://news.yahoo.com/n-korea-threatens-nuclear-strike-white-house-090550866.html

lol wut?

[Chew]

[visionary]

http://www.voanews.com/content/american-bae-returned-to-north-korea-labor-camp/2412400.html

Kenneth Bae Transferred to N. Korea Labor Camp

 

Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae has been transferred to a North Korean labor camp from a hospital, despite U.S. concerns that his health is worsening.

 

In an email sent to VOA's Korean Service, a U.S. State Department official said Bae was transferred to a labor camp immediately after being discharged from his hospital on July 30.

 

“We remain gravely concerned about Bae’s health, and we continue to urge [North Korean] authorities to grant Bae special amnesty and immediate release on humanitarian grounds,” the email said.

 

The State Department official also asked for Bae to be moved back to the hospital in the interim.

 

The statement comes after Bae received a visit at the labor camp this week by officials from the Swedish embassy, which represents U.S. interests in North Korea in the absence of diplomatic relations between Washington and Pyongyang.

Edited August 14, 2014 by visionary

[RVAbrendan]

North Korean TV acknowledges leader Kim Jong Un's health problems

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/26/us-northkorea-kim-idUSKCN0HL0S520140926

 

(Reuters) - Young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is suffering from "discomfort", state media has said in the first official acknowledgement of ill health after a prolonged period out of the public eye.

Kim, 31, who is frequently the centrepiece of the isolated country's propaganda, has not been photographed by state media since appearing at a concert alongside his wife on Sept. 3, fuelling speculation he is suffering from bad health.

He had been seen walking with a limp since an event with key officials in July and in a pre-recorded documentary broadcast by state media on Thursday appeared to have difficulty walking.

"The wealth and prosperity of our socialism is thanks to the painstaking efforts of our marshal, who keeps lighting the path for the people, like the flicker of a flame, despite suffering discomfort," a voice over for the hour-long documentary said.

The documentary was followed by a pre-recorded broadcast of a North Korean Supreme People's Assembly meeting from which Kim Jong Un was notably absent.

Kim has rapidly gained weight since coming to power after his father died of a heart attack in 2011, photos released by state media show.

North Korea observers speculate Kim's weight and family background may have contributed to his condition.

"Based on his gait, it appears he has gout - something (due to) diet and genetic predisposition that has affected other members of the Kim family," said Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership and contributor to the 38 North website.

I hear he has been eating a ton of imported cheese from Switzerland that may have contributed to this.

Edited September 26, 2014 by RVAbrendan

[KingGibbs]

Die mother ****er.

[Predicto]

Gout hurts like a mofo.  I wouldn't wish that on anyone.  

 

Well, except that guy.

[zoony]

Can you imagine being Kim jong il's child? No wonder he has a drinking and smoking and eating problem

I think at this point Kim doesn't have much power, I think he is put in front of the people as a face. Which makes you wonder what would happen if something were to happen to him

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

This is reading more and more like Andy Reid's last season in Philadelphia.

[visionary]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-30/north-korea-s-kim-said-hospitalized-after-ankle-surgery.html

North Korea’s Kim Said Hospitalized After Ankle Surgery

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been hospitalized after surgery on both ankles earlier this month, a South Korean newspaper reported.

 

Kim cracked bones in his ankles after neglecting an injury sustained during field supervisions in June, the Chosun Ilbo said, citing a recent visitor to North Korea it didn’t identify. The person said Kim had surgery and is recovering at Bongwha Clinic, an exclusive hospital for high-ranking party members, according to the newspaper.

 

Kim has not been seen in public in almost a month and missed a session of parliament on Sept. 25 for the first time since coming to power almost three years ago. North Korean state television said he was experiencing “discomfort” and South Korea’s Yonhap News reported he is believed to be suffering from gout.

Edited September 30, 2014 by visionary

[RVAbrendan]

It was those damn cuban heels...