All Things North Korea Thread

[China]

North Korea asks China to stop Kim Jong-un fat jokes

Slim Jong-un he is not.

North Korean officials have asked China to censor the phrase "Kim Fatty the Third" online in reference to their large leader, according to the Guardian.

The nickname for Kim Jong-un is reportedly popular among younger Chinese internet users at a time of ongoing frustration with their perpetually erratic, nuclear neighbor. As of this week, the insult has been wiped off search engine Baidu and the social media network Weibo.

"Kim Fatty the Third" is a play both on the rotundness of the seemingly pre-diabetic dictator as well as his placement in his family, his rule following the deaths of his father, Kim Jong-il, and grandfather, Kim Il-sung.

Other popular insults include "Kim Fat Fatty" and "Kim Abundant III."

The isolated country has had a history marked by famine while its leaders have had no problems packing on the pounds.

Click on the link for the full article

[visionary]

 

[757SeanTaylor21]

You know if you lived in North Korea I guess the best place to get fed is being right there with him. SucKS for the people of the country though.

[China]

Meet Dylan Harris, the Promoter Trying to Throw Parties in North Korea

 

He's the brain behind Lupine Travel, a specialist travel agency that put on tours to some of the world's most fascinating, far flung, "difficult" places in the world at actually affordable prices. He's got a considerable pedigree at putting on events, parties, club nights and gigs, everywhere from West Africa to North Korea. 

 

Where has proven the most difficult country in terms of access or sheer cultural difference?
 

It's definitely North Korea. Evenings there for tourists are generally made up of visits to the hotel bars. There are karaoke venues as well but it's all tightly controlled. It's only tourists taking part, strictly no locals other than the hostesses. On private trips there I've had a lot more access to places away from the tourist path and after seeing more than most I'm pretty certain there is nothing even like a scene that is hidden away from view. There are dingy backstreet boozers that tourists aren't allowed in—they're packed full of locals but there's never any music played in them. The only thing you can hear is the clinking of glasses and loud drunken voices, which promptly stop as soon as they spot a foreign face walking in. The guys I work with over there that I have a close relationship with—I've spoken before about the nightlife in the UK and they find it hard to comprehend. It's a completely foreign concept to them and the fact they have no cultural reference points to relate it to, they just find it impossible to comprehend. Even explaining to them about my work DJing, they can't grasp why people would pay to stand in a club listening to someone playing pre-recorded music. Clearly ecstasy hasn't hit Pyongyang yet.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[visionary]

 

[China]

North Korea soldiers get diarrhea after Kim Jong Un orders new diet

 

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- An outbreak of diarrhea that soldiers are cynically describing as a "gift from Kim Jong Un" is affecting a North Korean unit of border guards, sources in the country say.

 

Multiple soldiers have fallen ill after consuming new food that was expressly supplied for border guards by the general rear services bureau of North Korea's ministry of people's armed forces, Radio Free Asia reported Wednesday.

 

A source in North Hamgyong Province told RFA, "Under the direction of Kim Jong Un, North Korea's people's armed forces increased the supply of materials to improve the diet of border guard soldiers."

 

"However, diarrhea has spread among soldiers who consumed the new food supply and is causing an uproar," the source added.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[visionary]

 

[China]

I didn't know Kim Jong Un had an older brother...

 

Wonderful Tonight: Taking Kim Jong Un's brother to a Clapton concert

 

Two years ago, Thae Yong Ho, North Korea's former deputy ambassador in London, received an unexpected phone call from the ruling Workers' Party Central Committee in Pyongyang telling him to get ready to receive a very important e-mail.

 

"Please go to the Albert Hall and buy four tickets," said the cryptic message from a disposable e-mail address designed to throw off Western intelligence agencies.

 

But the message wasn't code - Thae found out later he was being asked to take leader Kim Jong Un's brother to an Eric Clapton concert.

 

After receiving the e-mail, Thae said he searched online for upcoming gigs at London's Royal Albert Hall. One caught his eye: "Eric Clapton's 70th Birthday Celebration Tour".

 

"I realized, 'Ah! It must be Kim Jong Chol! In North Korea who else would be interested but Kim Jong Chol?'".

 

Not much is known about Kim Jong Chol, the elder brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, except his love for the music of British guitarist Eric Clapton.

Thae, who defected from North Korea to the South last year, said he was charged with escorting Kim around London when he arrived for the concert. In an interview in Seoul on Friday, he described the then 35-year-old as a polite young man who said little about his life back in Pyongyang or the politics of his brother.

"He's very free," said Thae. "But he's only interested in guitars and music".

 

Video of Kim at the May, 2015 concert showed him clad in a leather jacket and wearing aviator sunglasses with an unknown woman by his side, believed at the time to have been his girlfriend.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

I guess he no longer has a half brother...

 

North Korea suspected behind murder of leader's half-brother: U.S. sources

 

The U.S. government strongly believes that North Korean agents murdered the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Malaysia, U.S. government sources said on Tuesday.

 

American authorities have not yet determined exactly how Kim Jong Nam was killed, according to two sources, who did not provide specific evidence to support the U.S. government's view.

 

A South Korean government source also had said that Kim Jong Nam had been murdered in Malaysia. He did not provide further details.

 

South Korea's foreign ministry said it could not confirm the reports, and the country's intelligence agency could not immediately be reached for comment.

 

In Washington, there was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Trump administration, which faces a stiff challenge from a defiant North Korea over its nuclear arms program and the test of a ballistic missile last weekend.

 

Kim Jong Nam was known to spend a significant amount of his time outside North Korea and had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated state.

 

If confirmed as an assassination, it would the latest in a string of killings over the decades at home and abroad meant to silence those perceived by North Korea's leaders as threats to their authority, one of the U.S. sources said on condition of anonymity.

 

...

 

Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Un are both sons of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who died in late 2011, but they had different mothers.

 

Click on the link for the full article

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[zoony]

So the theory is that china had this guy in their back pocket as a potential replacement for the out of control boy wonder

 

Not anymore  seriously this is some spy novel **** right here

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Edited February 22, 2017 by visionary

[visionary]

 

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[Destino]

On 2/20/2017 at 8:41 AM, zoony said:

So the theory is that china had this guy in their back pocket as a potential replacement for the out of control boy wonder

 

Not anymore  seriously this is some spy novel **** right here

 

The connection to cloak and dagger fiction has grown with the revelation that VX nerve agent was the murder weapon.  That choice has to be to make a statement right?  It certainly isn't the easiest way to take out a fat guy that likes to travel.  VX scream "state sponsored" almost as loudly as a hellfire drone strike.   

[TheGoodBits]

14 minutes ago, Destino said:

 

The connection to cloak and dagger fiction has grown with the revelation that VX nerve agent was the murder weapon.  That choice has to be to make a statement right?  It certainly isn't the easiest way to take out a fat guy that likes to travel.  VX scream "state sponsored" almost as loudly as a hellfire drone strike.   

 

I think the statement is "hey, we own some VX nerve agent." That's possibly not news for CIA folks but definitely not something that was widely known. 

[visionary]

 

[visionary]

 

[Why am I Mr. Pink?]

When I went onto fox news about a week ago, the top 6 articles were about North Korea. 

 

Pretty sure Bannon/Trump/Boening/Northrop/Ratheon/Lockheed et al will be bombing North Korea within the next 6 months. 

 

Only question I have is whether Bannon will seek congressional approval for military intervention or if he will claim he has the powers under the 9/11 or some mix of "imminent threat and national security" talk.  

 

[China]

Failed North Korean missile exploded 'within seconds,' US says

 

(CNN)A North Korean missile fired Wednesday exploded "within seconds of launch," according to US Pacific Command.

 

US officials confirmed North Korea had attempted to launch a missile near Kalma, on the country's east coast, but early reports suggest it failed.

"South Korea and the US are aware of the missile launch and to their knowledge North Korea's missile was not successfully launched," South Korea's Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Neither the US nor South Korea have released information on what type of missile was fired, or why it failed. The US Pacific Command said it was working with partners to assess it further.

 

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