North Korea finally opens its mouth...

[xomputer]

Despite all hopes of survival, Shin, Suk-Ja has died of hepatitis, and her two daughters are living in Pyeong Yang.
The mother and daughter were coerced to go to North Korea in 1985. After her husband, doctor Oh, Kil-Nam escaped from North Korea in 1986, the mother and daughter have been sent to prison camps.
If Shin indeed died of hepatitis, shouldn't North Korea should reveal related informations and send Shin's body to South Korea, and let the daughters be reunited with their father, doctor Oh?

 

[waltky]

Granny says Kim got it too easy, don't see the sufferin' of his people, don't care either...

Forget ‘Foolish and Silly’ Hopes of Reform, Says North Korean Regime
July 30, 2012 – North Korea has dashed hopes that the recent removal of a top general and Kim Jong-un’s more relaxed style may signal a softening in the Stalinist regime, dismissing speculation about a break with past policies as “a foolish and silly dream.”

North Korea-watchers closely observe the isolated country for any clues to whether the new young leader will continue his late father’s repressive policies at home and defiance of the international community over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile programs. The recent official announcement confirming that a woman frequently seen at Kim’s side is his wife, and the dramatic fall earlier this month of the military chief were seen by some, in South Korea especially, as signs of a possible shift.

But on Sunday, the official mouthpiece KCNA cited comments from the head of an official body known as the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea denying that any changes were underway, and accusing the reviled “puppet” government of conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak of ignorance and wishful thinking. The official said the “puppet group” had “tried to give [the] impression that the present leadership of the DPRK broke with the past. This is the height of ignorance.”

DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name. “To expect policy change and reform and opening from the DPRK is nothing but a foolish and silly dream, just like wanting the sun to rise in the west,” the official was quoted as saying. Kim Jong-un would continue to pursue the “military-first” policies of his father, building a “civilized and comfortable life for the people under socialism.”

Formally introduced by Kim Jong-il in 1995, the “military-first” ideology prioritizes the North Korean armed forces in resource allocation, a policy that among other things benefits the nuclear weapons program – and, experts say, has helped to impoverish the North Korean people. The U.S.-based North Korea Freedom Coalition estimates that three million North Koreans have died as a result of abuses and policies blamed on the regime since the mid-1990s, when Kim Jong-il took the helm after the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.

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[waltky]

Granny says Kim's new wife pro'bly opened her mouth so her daddy could grow some vegetables...

Is North Korea experimenting with change?
Sep 12,`12 -- Deep in the North Korean countryside, in remote villages that outsiders seldom reach, farmers are now said to be given nearly one-third of their harvests to sell at market prices. Collective farms are reportedly being reorganized into something closer to family farms. State propagandists are expounding the glories of change under the country's new young leader.

In the rigidly planned economy of this Stalinist state, could this be the first flicker of reform? A string of long-doubtful observers have become increasingly convinced that economic change is afoot, akin to China's first flirtations with market reforms 30 years ago. But, they also warn, exactly what is happening remains a mystery. No outsiders are known to have been to the villages, in Ryanggang province, since the new policies reportedly went into effect. No outsiders have seen the details of the June 28 government order - "On the Establishing of a New Economic Management System in Our Own Style" - that supposedly launched the program. Other reported reforms, from shifts in investment laws to new industrial profit-sharing regulations, are even more opaque.

Still, there are undeniable signs that the world's most closed-off society may be toying with change, from a carefully scripted campaign to soften the image of the country's young leader, Kim Jong Un, to the apparent purging of a hardline general and a series of often-cryptic official statements hinting that Pyongyang is serious about liberalizing its economy. "My gut sense is that something is changing," said Marcus Noland of the Washington, D.C.-based Peterson Institute for International Economics and a leading scholar on the North Korean economy. Kim Jong Un "is trying to do something new." "Whether that succeeds or not is a completely different issue," he added. Like many other analysts, Noland remains pessimistic. The economic reforms appear to be very limited, he noted, and could quickly be abandoned if Kim changes his mind or faces opposition from his core supporters.

North Korea has flirted with radical economic shifts before. The 17-year rule of Kim Jong Il - whose December death paved the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to take power - included market experiments in 2002 and a devastating currency devaluation in 2009 that stripped millions of people of their savings. Nearly all the changes were rolled back amid internal disputes, and fears among the ruling elite that they could lead to demands for change that could spiral beyond the state's control.

Some change did quietly occur. Faced with an economy on the verge of collapse, the elder Kim's regime eventually allowed small-time markets to take root. After reportedly suffering a stroke in 2009 and picking his youngest son as his heir, Kim Jong Il announced a renewed focus on the economy and made a push to draw foreign investment and trade, particularly from China, North Korea's closest ally. If the latest reform reports are true, they would almost certainly be driven in part by China. Beijing has long pressed Pyongyang to enact reforms similar to its own first steps toward a market economy.

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[waltky]

Dey openin' dey's mouth an' sayin' dey gonna delay dat rocket launch...

NKorea extending rocket launch period to Dec. 29
10 Dec.`12 — North Korea on Monday extended the launch period for a controversial long-range rocket by another week until Dec. 29, citing technical problems.

An unidentified spokesman for the North's Korean Committee of Space Technology told state media that scientists found a "technical deficiency in the first-stage control engine module of the rocket." The statement didn't elaborate but said technicians were "pushing forward" with final preparations for the launch. North Korea is making its second attempt of the year to launch a rocket that the United Nations, Washington, Seoul and others call a cover meant to test technology for missiles that could be used to strike the United States. They have warned North Korea to cancel the launch or face a new wave of sanctions.

The North Koreans call the launch a peaceful bid to advance their space program, and a last wish of late leader Kim Jong Il, who died a year ago, on Dec. 17. North Korea is also celebrating the centennial this year of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, current leader Kim Jong Un's grandfather. An April launch broke apart seconds after liftoff. The announcement of the planned rocket launch has sparked worry because of the timing: South Korea and Japan hold key elections this month, President Barack Obama begins his second term in January, and China has just formed a new leadership. The North had originally set up a 13-day launch window, starting Monday, but it announced early Sunday that it may delay the liftoff because of unspecified reasons.

Experts in Seoul and Tokyo had speculated that technical glitches may have forced scientists to postpone the launch of the finicky three-stage rocket, its fifth attempt since 1998. Temperatures in the border city of Sinuiju, near the launch site, dropped to minus-13 C (8.6 F) on Monday morning, and the Korean Peninsula has been seized by early winter storms and unusually cold weather, the Korea Meteorological Administration said in Seoul. Engineers can launch a rocket when it's snowing, but lightning, strong wind and freezing temperatures have the potential to stall liftoff, said Lee Chang-jin, an aerospace professor at Seoul's Konkuk University.

Snow covered the North's launch site last week, according to commercial satellite imagery taken by GeoEye on Dec. 4 and shared with The Associated Press by the 38 North and North Korea Tech websites. The road from the main assembly building to the launch pad showed no fresh tracks, indicating that the snowfall may have stalled the preparations. Still, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Monday that his government would maintain vigilance. Tokyo has mobilized its military to intercept any debris from the rocket. "At this moment, we are keeping our guard up," Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto told reporters Monday. "We have not seen any objective indication that would cause us to make any change to our preparedness."

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[ScienceRocks]

I think the bastards launched.

 

[whitehall]

With all the B.S. about WMD's or the lack of them in Iraq and Bush's war people have to understand what a gigantic blunder Harry Truman pulled in Korea. Make a long story short, the UN (American) forces cut off NK supply lines with the Inchon landing and the NK were cut off and beaten. The remaining NK fled back over the 38'th parallel pursued by UN forces and the NK capital of Peyong Yang was captured. The logical next move would be to draw a line across Korea from Peyong Yang to Wonson harbor and declare a victory which it was. Y'all should know what happened next if the media was honest and not slobbering fawning democrat sycophants even in the early 50's. An old WW1 Vet. (possibly mentally impaired) decided to march exhausted Troops to the Chinese Yalu river border with winter coming in an area known for the worst winters on the planet and despite warnings from China that they would protect their borders. Truman and MacArthur single handedly turned a victory in a couple of months into a three year debacle that cost the lives of anywhere from 35,000 to 50,000 depending on the political sources. We are still dealing with the blunder today.

 

[waltky]

Lil' Kim gettin' sassy again...

North Korea issues ominous statement
January 14, 2013 - North Korea’s foreign ministry vowed Monday to “continue to strengthen its deterrence against all forms of war,” a worrying statement by a country with active nuclear weapons and rocket programs.

The statement, carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, comes a month after the provocative communist country successfully launched a long-range rocket believed to be a test of ballistic missile technology that could someday allow Pyongyang to strike the continental U.S. with a nuclear warhead.

Many analysts believe North Korea could soon conduct a third nuclear test despite U.N. resolutions prohibiting additional development of Pyongyang’s nuclear program. The North conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. The statement also called for the dissolution of the United Nations Command, calling it a harmful “legacy of the Cold War” that has helped prevent the adoption of a peace treaty that would officially end the Korean War,

The multinational U.N. Command is tasked with overseeing the 1953 armistice that ended active combat of the Korean War and is headed by U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. James Thurman. The statement accused the U.S. of using the U.N. Command as a mechanism to “encircle” other Asian countries and keep them from becoming powerful enough to challenge the U.S.

South Korea’s president-elect Park Geun-hye has called for more engagement with the North but has also vowed to respond sternly to future provocations from the North. She is also expected to maintain a strong friendship with the U.S., which is focusing attention on the Asia-Pacific region and particularly on an increasingly wealthy and assertive China.

North Korea issues ominous statement - Korea - Stripes

 

[whitehall]

Despite all hopes of survival, Shin, Suk-Ja has died of hepatitis, and her two daughters are living in Pyeong Yang.
The mother and daughter were coerced to go to North Korea in 1985. After her husband, doctor Oh, Kil-Nam escaped from North Korea in 1986, the mother and daughter have been sent to prison camps.
If Shin indeed died of hepatitis, shouldn't North Korea should reveal related informations and send Shin's body to South Korea, and let the daughters be reunited with their father, doctor Oh?

Dr. Oh escaped and left his wife and daughters to die a certain horrible death in a communist gulag. Nice guy.

 

[waltky]

Granny says dat's just lil' Kim rattlin' the lil' saber his daddy give him...

North Korea Prepares Public for Potential Conflict With South
March 06, 2013 - North Korea appears to be preparing its people for a potential conflict with the U.S.-backed South, by taking steps to camouflage public transport and broadcasting messages from citizens in favor of war.

South Korean and Japanese media reported Wednesday that authorities in Pyongyang have begun to cover up buses and trains with camouflage netting, a precautionary measure that has not been seen in the North Korean capital for years. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the situation in Pyongyang was similar to 1993 when it declared a quasi state of war shortly before withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

North Korean state television also broadcast footage of Pyongyang residents, such as this man, expressing support for the government's threat to scrap a 1953 armistice with the United States in the coming days. "North Korea cannot stand it any more," he said. "As long as the U.S. and South Korean puppets want war, I think we should form a strong army to take hold of this opportunity to reunify the Korean peninsula." South Korean media said Pyongyang also has started submarine training as part of a program of military exercises.

South Korean General Kim Yong-hyun reacted to the latest North Korean moves by vowing a "strong and decisive" response if Pyongyang follows through on Tuesday's threat to break the truce. "If North Korea dares to undertake provocation and to threaten the lives and safety of our people, we make it clear that we have all preparations in place for a strong and decisive punishment, not only against the source of the aggression and its support forces, but also the commanding element," said General Yong-hyun. North Korea said it plans to void the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War because of a U.S.-led drive for sanctions against it and ongoing military exercises between Seoul and Washington.

It is not unusual for Pyongyang to issue such statements during times of heightened tension on the Korean peninsula. But, analysts said the latest threats may be more serious, because they were made by a high-ranking official, and came with a deadline. In a Tuesday appearance on state television, North Korean General Kim Yong Chol said Pyongyang will "completely nullify" the armistice beginning March 11, and cut off communications to U.S. and South Korean forces at the border village of Panmunjom. The deadline coincides with the start of a second round of U.S.-South Korea military exercises. A first round began earlier this month. The U.S. has said the annual drills are defensive in nature, but North Korea views them as preparation to invade.

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