All Things North Korea Thread

[visionary]

6 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Plans on how to deal with NK will be extremely high on my list of grading criteria to determine who gets my vote in 2020.  Like easily top 3.

It’s getting harder to figure what we can do at this point though, that won’t either appease them more or get a lot of people killed.  It will also depend on South Korea’s willingness to go along with whatever we decide.

Edited November 12, 2018 by visionary

[TheGreatBuzz]

1 minute ago, visionary said:

It’s getting harder to figure what we can do at this point though, that won’t either appease them more or get a lot of people killed.

I would like to see us get tougher on them.  It was one thing I liked /trumps position on before the election.  Of course I don't like what he ended up doing.  I think the best way is to start leaning hard on China.  Tell them something like if they don't want us to start recognizing Taiwan as it's own country, they need to get their dog on a leash.

[visionary]

 

[FanboyOf91]

sure

[TradeTheBeal!]

“Hey, let’s try the NK pony show again.  People loved that the first time!”

[StillUnknown]

They dont even realize how dumb they sound

Edited January 2, 2019 by StillUnknown

[visionary]

 

[Renegade7]

On 12/4/2018 at 9:49 AM, TryTheBeal! said:

“Hey, let’s try the NK pony show again.  People loved that the first time!”

"60% of the time it works everytime."

 

Edited December 6, 2018 by Renegade7

[FanboyOf91]

Er, why would the left-wingers in power pay more for defense if they're negotiating a peace treaty to end the Korean War?

[PeterMP]

On 11/12/2018 at 1:51 PM, TheGreatBuzz said:

I would like to see us get tougher on them.  It was one thing I liked /trumps position on before the election.  Of course I don't like what he ended up doing.  I think the best way is to start leaning hard on China.  Tell them something like if they don't want us to start recognizing Taiwan as it's own country, they need to get their dog on a leash.

 

It isn't at all clear that Taiwan wants to be formally recognized by us as a country.  They have significant economic ties to China, and there would almost certainly a penalty to pay by them if we did.

 

And us doing it unilaterally without Taiwan's approval would just end up angering both China and Taiwan.

[TheGreatBuzz]

1 hour ago, PeterMP said:

 

It isn't at all clear that Taiwan wants to be formally recognized by us as a country.  They have significant economic ties to China, and there would almost certainly a penalty to pay by them if we did.

 

And us doing it unilaterally without Taiwan's approval would just end up angering both China and Taiwan.

I think it could be done.  There are other bargaining chips we could use also.  Whatever is used, I think the path to dealing with NK is by motivating China to intervene.  Figuring out what exactly to use is the job of SoS.  And currently, that's not me.

[China]

Top secret report: North Korea keeps busting sanctions, evading U.S.-led sea patrols

 

A top secret U.S. military assessment found that North Korea is still evading U.N. sanctions by transferring oil at sea, and that a coalition of U.S.-led forces deployed to disrupt the movements has failed to dent the overall number of illegal transfers, three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence told NBC News.

 

The finding underscores the Trump administration's struggle to maintain economic pressure on North Korea amid a diplomatic bid to persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and missile arsenal. The smuggled fuel provides a crucial lifeline for the regime's economy and armed forces.

 

The U.S. Pacific Command assessment, labeled "Top Secret," found that the presence of warships and surveillance aircraft deployed by an eight-nation coalition since September has forced North Korea to adjust its tactics at sea, including transferring oil farther away from the Korean Peninsula and often in other countries' territorial waters.

 

The White House and the State Department declined requests for comment. After this story was published, President Trump tweeted, "Many people have asked how we are doing in our negotiations with North Korea — I always reply by saying we are in no hurry, there is wonderful potential for great economic success for that country ...Kim Jong Un sees it better than anyone and will fully take advantage of it for his people. We are doing just fine!"

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TheGreatBuzz]

Why is a Top Secret report being in the media?

[China]

World's tallest empty hotel lit up with N. Korean propaganda

 

The 105-story Ryugyong Hotel has long been a blot on the Pyongyang skyline. The world's tallest unoccupied building has towered over North Korea's capital since 1987, a grand but empty pyramid entirely dark except for the lone aircraft warning light at its top.

 

Outsiders saw the unfinished building as the epitome of failure, while people inside the country took care to rarely mention it at all.

 

That is, until light designer Kim Yong Il made the building once again the talk of the town.

 

In a brilliant flip of the script, the Ryugyong has been reborn as a symbol of pride and North Korean ingenuity.

 

For several hours each night, the building that doesn't have electricity inside becomes the backdrop of a massive light show in which more than 100,000 LEDs flash images of famous statues and monuments, bursts of fireworks, party symbols and political slogans.

 

 

The Ryugyong is still unfinished. There's no public date when, or if, it will host its elusive first guest. Questions remain over whether the glass-and-concrete hotel is structurally sound. And North Korea's electricity supply is limited as-is.

 

But never mind all that.

 

"I feel really proud," Kim, the vice department director of the Korean Light Decoration Center, told The Associated Press in a recent interview at the foot of the hotel. "I made this magnificent design for this gigantic building and when people see it, it makes them feel good. It makes me proud to work as a designer."

 

Click on the link for the full article

[visionary]

 

 

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

I'm pretty sure the Trump administration would have handed dude right back to the North Koreans.

[visionary]

 

[China]

Huge North Korean beach resort to open late 2019

 

(CNN) — Ambitious plans for an enormous new beach resort on North Korea's southeast coast are nearing completion, according to satellite images obtained by the US-based monitoring group 38 North.

The Wonsan-Kalma tourist zone, slated to open October 2019, will be a huge complex with hotels, a marina, a sports complex, water slides and more.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un highlighted the project in his New Year address and is reported to have visited the site at least three times in the past year, according to state media.

Development has been proceeding at a rapid pace, with a cinema and water slide already built. What was a handful of buildings just two years ago is now a huge beachfront sprawl.

In November 2018, Korean Central News Agency reported Kim had been critical of progress on the project while on a site visit in October and instructed officials to build more games arcades and cinemas and to plan a large water park and funfair.

The Wonsan region, where Kim is said to have spent childhood vacations, has long been a summer destination for North Koreans and has been the focus of North Korea's tourism push for at least half a decade.

With the country facing international economic sanctions over its nuclear weapons programs, tourism remains one of a diminishing range of viable revenue sources.
The tourist zone is intended to be the tourism industry's crown jewel.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[visionary]

Wonder if Pompeo and Trump have some investment in that place.

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