Maybe you missed the point. You said:

Quote :

"But I think this is an example of how a weak president--combined with North Korea's internal issues--creates a dangerous atmosphere. "

This shot at Obama is pretty meaningless if you consider that North Korea has been acting this way for decades now. If anything, the North Korean threat grew exponentially - by becoming a nuclear threat - under Bush, who I don't you think you would call "weak" in his projection of US power.

[Edited on July 24, 2010 at 8:35 AM. Reason : 'm]

7/24/2010 8:35:20 AM

Quote :

"The man is an Obama nominee with many years of intelligence experience who will head the United States Intelligence Community--he knows when things are escalating."

It looks like he knows when they may be escalating, based on what you cited.

I'm not apathetic -- I just see a very short list of options here. Anything that ends with military conflict ends badly for us, even the victory of which I have no doubt. Diplomacy hasn't done too well, for a variety of reasons. There's hardly anything left for us to sanction.

So I say we do what we've been doing, more or less -- keep up steady pressure and wait for the regime to wither and die, while always being extremely vigilant. If the North Korean internal situation deteriorates to a certain point they may lash out in a last-ditch effort to keep power, and when that happens all we can do is smash them flat as quickly as possible, minimizing the damage that our ally takes in the process.

7/24/2010 2:03:03 PM

^^ and ^ I understand your points.

For page 7:

Quote :

"US spy chief nominee warns of N Korea 'direct attacks' July 20, 2010 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10707396"

US Aircraft Carrier Ups Pressure On NKorea
July 24, 2010

Quote :

"The North routinely threatens attacks whenever South Korea and the U.S. hold joint military drills, which Pyongyang sees as a rehearsal for an invasion. The U.S. keeps 28,500 troops in South Korea and another 50,000 in Japan, but says it has no intention of invading the North. Still, the North's latest rhetoric threatening 'nuclear deterrence' and 'sacred war' carries extra weight following the sinking of a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors. Seoul and Washington say a North Korean torpedo was responsible for the March sinking of the Cheonan, considered the worst military attack on the South since the 1950-53 Korean War. The American and South Korean defense chiefs announced earlier in the week they would stage the military drills to send a clear message to North Korea to stop its 'aggressive' behavior."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128734165

7/24/2010 3:06:59 PM

I think North Korea's most recent reactions have less to do with the characteristics and leadership of the US government and more to do with their own domestic issues. If you strip away all the communist and socialist trappings, North Korea is in a classic succession struggle right now with the Dear Leader working to secure his son's position to be the next ruler of the nation; there are a lot of clean parallels with monarchies of old with power struggles between the King (Kim Jong Il), a young Prince (Kim Jong-un) who doesn't yet have a strong political base and has weak legitimacy as the youngest son, a Regent (in this case, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law) from the queen's family, nobles (the military and political elite) that are ready to turn on the throne, etc.

North Korea is becoming increasingly unstable as their leadership convulses from these internal struggles, and I predict that we can expect more erratic and seemingly irrational behavior from them for the foreseeable future. Honestly, I don't think we can cut any realistic bargain until things settle down internally for them.

7/26/2010 10:43:34 AM

Good for a laugh:

Quote :

"NKorea wants to use ginseng to pay Czech debt North Korea has offered a unique way to repay nearly $10 million in Cold War-era debt — with ginseng, according to Czech officials. The Czech Finance Ministry said it has been negotiating ways for the impoverished Asian nation to pay back $9.8 million (euro7.66 million) from the late 1980s, when Czechoslovakia was part of the communist bloc. Then, Czechoslovakia delivered to its North Korean ally trams, trucks and various machines. North Korea proposed during talks in July that the Czechs forgive 95 percent of the debt, but Czech officials said that was unacceptable. The Czechs then suggested the North Koreans pay in goods, and North Korea proposed sending medical products made of ginseng. The ginseng root is touted as a cure-all for everything from headaches to sexual dysfunction. The ministry said it has not received an official offer yet. Communist North Korea has relied on outside food handouts since the mid-1990s, when the economy collapsed due to natural disasters and mismanagement, and aid from the former Soviet Union dried up after the bloc’s collapse. But it still have means to test nuclear weapons and has test-fired a long-range missile built to strike the western U.S."

http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/world/story/8125696/

8/12/2010 10:57:43 AM

Two of my favorite asian topics: crybaby North Korean foreign policy and Japanese denial of anything bad happening during the Showa era.

Quote :

"North Korea demands apology, reparations from Japan over colonization North Korea is demanding reparations from Japan for colonizing the Korean peninsula for more than three decades in the early 1900s, after Tokyo once again apologized to South Korea earlier this month. "The Japanese imperialists enforced the harshest colonial rule in history over Korea, bringing unspeakably horrible misfortune and sufferings and disasters to the Korean nation," said a spokesman for the Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea, according to the the state-run Korean Central News Agency. "Japan should make a sincere apology and make full reparation to the Korean nation for its aggression and crimes against humanity," KCNA quoted the spokesman as saying. There was no immediate reaction from the Japanese government. Japan's August 10 apology to South Korea wasn't its first to Seoul, but it coincided with the 100th anniversary this month of the annexation of the Korean peninsula. In his statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan expressed "deep regret over the suffering inflicted" during Japan's rule. Cabinet members endorsed the statement, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. Kan also said Japan will hand over precious cultural artifacts that South Korea has been demanding. Among them are records of an ancient Korean royal dynasty. Japan controlled Korea from 1910 to 1945. During that time, Japan's military is accused of forcing about 200,000 women, mainly from Korea and China, to serve as sex slaves. They were known as "comfort women" for soldiers in Japan's Imperial Army. In the past, there have been street protests and lawsuits in South Korea over the sufferings of the comfort women. South Korea's ruling Grand National Party said earlier this month the statement was "a step forward" from past statements, but "not enough to allay" Korean anger, the country's Yonhap news agency said. The statement "has no mention of illegitimacy of the forced annexation and Koreans forced to work as sex slaves or manual laborers by the Japanese army," Ahn Hyoung-hwan, a spokesman of the party, said, according to Yonhap."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/22/nkorea.japan.apology/index.html?iref=NS1

8/22/2010 7:42:34 PM

This could be interesting. Kim Jong Un might be stepping up.

Quote :

"Rare North Korean meeting set for September 28 North Korea's ruling party will host its largest meeting in decades on September 28 to pick new leadership, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday. State media previously said the Korean Workers' Party would assemble in early September, but had not reported a date. The party has not convened its delegates in decades, and speculation that North Korea's political leaders are working to set the stage for a possible handover of power from Kim Jong Il to his youngest son is widespread. "The conference of the WPK for electing its supreme leadership body will take place in Pyongyang on Sept. 28," KCNA reported the Worker's Party of Korea said. Kim Jong Il served a 20-year apprenticeship at his father's side before he took power. With him now 68, and in poor health after suffering a stroke, analysts think succession plans have accelerated. Little is known about prospective heir Kim Jong Un. It's not clear whether he holds an official position, yet he's widely expected to succeed his father."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/20/north.korea.leadership.meeting/index.html?hpt=T2

9/20/2010 10:21:30 PM

10/1 odds young man offs his pops, and immediately unifies with the southern peninsula

9/20/2010 10:33:37 PM

I'm a bit more nervous about the transition than I was about any of the shenanigans in recent months. I figure the young'un will be near enough to a clone of his father but the chance that he isn't could go poorly for all involved.

9/20/2010 10:51:09 PM

I heard he studied in Sweden or something. Maybe the West rubbed off on him??

9/20/2010 10:52:20 PM

If I understand correctly he's spent a couple of decades as his dad's apprentice, which bodes poorly. But we can hope.

9/20/2010 11:24:02 PM

Conversely, he could immediately try to do what his father never could and immediately step up hostility towards the south.

9/20/2010 11:33:54 PM

Rumor mill has it that the Chinese prefer the Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of Tokyo Disneyland fame. That could throw a monkey wrench into the entire succession process.

I think the rule of the younger will probably be more dangerous than his father. This isn't because he will be crueler or more violent but because he may not be able to reign in the various factions within the government such as the military, and therefore, the North Korean government may become more unpredictable and irrational.

9/21/2010 10:30:34 AM

Quote :

"North Korean leader's son apparently promoted to general North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's youngest son apparently was among more than 30 military promotions announced Monday by his father during celebrations of the Workers' Party of Korea's 65th anniversary, North Korea's state news agency reported. Kim Jong Un has been widely rumored to be his ailing father's anointed successor. Kim Jong Il's sister, Kim Kyong Hui, was apparently also promoted to general, according to the state-run KCNA news agency. While it has been speculated that Kim Jong Un will succeed his father, details about him are scarce in North Korea and out. "This appears to be the first public mention of Kim Jong Il's son by the North Korean media," said Mike Chinoy, the author of "Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis." Kurt Campbell, the top State Department official on Asia, told CNN that "the United States is watching developments in North Korea carefully." He said the United States will be talking to all its partners in the six-party talks about what transpired but it is "too early to tell" what was unfolding or how the United States should respond. Two senior administration officials said this was expected and will likely pave the way for eventual transition of the son to replace his father. Chinoy said the announcement was a step in laying down the foundation for a transition. "It's significant that there was an explicit reference to him, and the position of general is a very senior one, obviously," he said."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/27/north.korea.promotion/index.html?hpt=T2

How does anyone justify that level of nepotism in a self-proclaimed socialist paradise? Not that I'm surprised at all by it.

Yahoo has a longer Reuters article about it:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100927/wl_nm/us_korea_north

9/27/2010 9:31:20 PM

Quote :

"North Korean leader's youngest son rising in leadership circles The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was named vice chairman of the Workers Party of Korea's central military commission, North Korea's state news agency reported Tuesday. Kim Jong Un, who is widely expected to be the successor to North Korea's "Dear Leader," was also named to the Central Committee of the party. Earlier, during the party conference, the younger Kim became a four-star general, according to the Korean Central News Agency. ...... One key question if Kim Jong Un does inherit leadership: Can he sustain his grandfather's and father's legacy, even as North Koreans go hungry while the country pours money into its nuclear program and military? Kim Jong Il prioritized the military and bypassed the party. He might now be preparing a more dovish course, given the catastrophic economic conditions his country faces after a decade and a half of military confrontation, said Suh Jae-jean, president of Seoul's Korea Institute of National Unification. Kim Jong Il introduced his "Red Banner" policy in 1996, a more militant tack than his father's blend of Stalinism and Korean self-reliance."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/28/north.korea.kims.son/index.html?iref=NS1

Damn. Second promotion in two days. This kid must be putting in some major overtime.

9/28/2010 6:03:29 PM

At this rate he'll be president by Friday.

Actually, if that were to happen, I'd estimate that Kim Jong Il is near-death or dead.

9/28/2010 9:23:28 PM

Quote :

"US often weighed NKorea `nuke option' NEW YORK – From the 1950s' Pentagon to today's Obama administration, the United States has repeatedly pondered, planned and threatened use of nuclear weapons against North Korea, according to declassified and other U.S. government documents released in this 60th-anniversary year of the Korean War. Air Force bombers flew nuclear rehearsal runs over North Korea's capital during the war. The U.S. military services later vied for the lead role in any "atomic delivery" over North Korea. In the late 1960s, nuclear-armed U.S. warplanes stood by in South Korea on 15-minute alert to strike the north. Just this past April, issuing a U.S. Nuclear Posture Review, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said "all options are on the table" for dealing with Pyongyang — meaning U.S. nuclear strikes were not ruled out. The stream of new revelations about U.S. nuclear planning further fills in a picture of what North Korea calls "the increasing nuclear threat of the U.S.," which it cites as the reason it developed its own atom-bomb program — as a deterrent. ..... Regional U.S. commander Gen. Douglas MacArthur, in interviews published posthumously, said he had a plan at the time to drop 30 to 50 atom bombs across the northern neck of the Korean peninsula, to block further Chinese intervention. Based on previously declassified documents, however, historians believe the U.S. came closest to unleashing its atomic arsenal against North Korea in April 1951, on the eve of an expected Chinese offensive. With Truman's signoff, the Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered A-bomb retaliation if large numbers of fresh Chinese troops entered the fight. In the end, the U.S. military repelled the Chinese push and the weapons were never used. But Pentagon planners retained the option. In September and October 1951, Air Force B-29 bombers conducted simulated atomic-bombing runs against Pyongyang, dropping dummy weapons on the North Korean capital, according to a newly obtained Army planning document corroborating earlier disclosures. .... The post-armistice respite, meanwhile, stirred up inter-service rivalries. Air Force commanders asked for more nuclear-capable F-84G warplanes in the Korea theater "to offset the Navy's greater and more immediate atomic delivery capability," the declassified documents show. But one colonel warned against arousing "the Army-Navy suspicion that the Air Force is trying to steal the atomic bomb act" in Korea planning. By the late 1950s, all the services shared in an "era of relative atomic plenty," as an Air Force memo called it. The number of nuclear warheads in South Korea and nearby Okinawa — in artillery shells, short-range missiles, gravity bombs and other weapons — peaked at about 2,600 in 1967, civilian researchers would later determine. In 1969, after the North Koreans shot down a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Japan, then-President Richard Nixon's lieutenants had these nuclear tools at hand for laying out retaliatory options. "USAF tactical fighters armed with nuclear weapons are on 15-minute alert in ROK (Republic of Korea) to strike airfields in North Korea," said the contingency plan Defense Secretary Melvin Laird sent to White House national security chief Henry Kissinger, according to a document obtained by the National Security Archive. ...."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_korea_the_nuclear_option

The precedent that such use would have set could have lead to some terrifying consequence. Regardless, this disclosure doesn't make the US look any better.

10/9/2010 4:25:56 PM

Quote :

"arby Okinawa — in artillery shells, short-range missiles, gravity bombs and other weapons — peaked at about 2,600 in 1967, civilian researchers would later determine"

10/9/2010 5:55:50 PM

Gravity bomb is nothing more than an unguided bomb.

10/13/2010 8:51:39 AM

This is weird, they've got an underground air base: http://wikimapia.org/#lat=39.0927151&lon=127.4111724&z=14&l=0&m=b

10/13/2010 9:14:05 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/19/south.korea.sunshine.policy/index.html?hpt=T2
Sunshine Policy is now being called a failure

11/19/2010 12:30:14 PM

^ Sunshine's supporters will say that the policy never had a real chance because Bush killed it. Critics will say that it was stupid from the get-go, and North Korea never took it seriously. However, the policy was dealt a mortal blow in 2008 with the election of President Lee, and it pretty much sank with the Cheonan.

11/19/2010 3:44:24 PM

bttt, courtesy of the most recent attacks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11818005
(thanks to chit chat for the link)

11/23/2010 2:34:35 AM

Yeah this was a stupid thing to have happen.

A bit of a step above the usual, lately. Sinking ships, firing artillery...

11/23/2010 11:12:16 PM

Pretty interesting:

Quote :

"WikiLeaks: China weary of North Korea behaving like 'spoiled child' New documents posted on the websites of the Guardian and The New York Times suggest Chinese officials are losing patience with long-time ally North Korea. Senior figures in Beijing have even described the regime in the North as behaving like a "spoiled child." According to cables obtained by WikiLeaks, South Korea's then vice foreign minister, Chun Yung-woo, said earlier this year that senior Chinese officials (whose names are redacted in the cables) had told him they believed Korea should be reunified under Seoul's control, and that this view was gaining ground with the leadership in Beijing. Chun was quoted at length in a cable sent by the U.S. ambassador in Seoul, Kathleen Stephens, earlier this year. He is reported as saying that "the North had already collapsed economically and would collapse politically two to three years after the death of (leader) Kim Jong-il." CNN has viewed the cables posted on the newspapers' websites and on the WikiLeaks website. Chun, who has since become South Korea's National Security Adviser, dismissed the prospect of China's military intervention in the event of a North Korean collapse, noting that "China's strategic economic interests now lie with the United States, Japan, and South Korea -- not North Korea." He said that younger generation Chinese Communist party leaders no longer regarded North Korea as a useful or reliable ally and would not risk renewed armed conflict on the peninsula, according to a secret cable to Washington. In a separate cable from January this year, then-South Korean Foreign Mnister Yu Myung-Hwan is quoted as telling U.S. diplomats that "the North Korean leader [Kim Jong Il] needed both Chinese economic aid and political support to stabilize an 'increasingly chaotic' situation at home." The cables suggest China is frustrated in its relationship with Pyongyang. One from April 2009 quoted Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei as saying that "North Korea wanted to engage directly with the United States and was therefore acting like a "spoiled child" in order to get the attention of the "adult." The cable continued: "China therefore encouraged the United States, 'after some time,' to start to re-engage the DPRK." In October 2009, a cable sent from Beijing recounted a meeting between U.S. diplomats and Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo, who had recently met Kim Jong Il. According to the leaked cable, Dai noted that Kim had lost weight when compared to when he last saw him three years earlier, but that Kim appeared to be in reasonably good health and still had a "sharp mind." Dai also spoke about Kim's liking for alcohol. The cable continued: "Kim Jong-il had a reputation among the Chinese for being 'quite a good drinker,' and, Dai said, he had asked Kim if he still drank alcohol. Kim said yes." The North Koreans told Dai that they wanted to have dialogue with the United States first and that they would consider next steps, including possible multilateral talks, depending on their conversation with the United States. North Korea held "great expectations for the United States," said Dai. Further evidence of China's unease at Pyongyang's behavior came in a cable in June 2009 from the U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan, Richard Hoagland. He reported that the Chinese envoy there was "genuinely concerned by North Korea's recent nuclear missile tests," and saw its nuclear activity a 'threat to the whole world's security.'" Hoagland reported that China's objectives were "to ensure they [North Korean leaders] honor their commitments on non-proliferation, maintain stability, and 'don't drive [Kim Jong-il] mad.'" It seems the Russians were similarly frustrated by North Korean obduracy. In April 2009, a U.S. diplomatic cable quoted a senior Russian official as saying that "Foreign Minister Lavrov had a difficult trip to North Korea that did not reveal any flexibility in DPRK's position." The Russian official assessed that Pyongyang was "hunkering down for a succession crisis.""

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/29/wikileaks.new.documents/index.html?hpt=T2

This paragraph caught my eye when I looked over a few pages:

Quote :

"7. (C)XXXXXXXXXXX noted that although Washington had a keen interest in both denuclearization and human rights, the U.S. stake in North Korea was minimal compared to that of China by virtue of its proximity to the North. China did not share American perspectives on these two key issues, considering them somewhat abstract. Rather, Beijing was concerned about what it considered to be more concrete issues, such as a potential flood of "economic migrants" and broader social unrest on its immediate border."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/249291

11/29/2010 10:05:53 PM

I think the latter cable is hardly a surprise. More interesting to see it written out.

11/30/2010 10:35:30 AM

If anyone has a reason to get involved, it's China. South Korea and China do stand to face some difficulties from immigrants, but that's better than having a madman at the helm with control over nukes.

11/30/2010 1:18:30 PM

^ Another cable said that China was prepared to deal with up to 300,000 refugees coming across from North Korea in the event of collapse and that any more than that would have them using their military to seal the border.

^^ Agreed, the wording of it just caught my eye; specifically the "somewhat abstract" bit.

11/30/2010 3:14:04 PM

Quote :

"North Korea campaigned for Eric Clapton performance, cable reveals One of the diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks reveals that North Korean officials suggested the U.S. government make arrangements for rock icon Eric Clapton to perform in Pyongyang as a way of building "good will" between the countries. The suggestion was relayed to the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, through an intermediary whose name has been redacted from the document. "Arranging an Eric Clapton concert in Pyongyang could also be useful, [the intermediary] said, given Kim Jong-Il's second son's devotion to the rock legend," the cable begins. "As Kim Jong-Il's second son, Kim Jong-chol, is reported to be a great fan, the performance could be an opportunity to build good will." ...."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/12/12/north.korea.wikileaks.clapton/index.html?hpt=T2

12/12/2010 3:08:53 PM

North Korean diplomat: "Dear Leader, my American counterpart has suggested the US may be interested in opening back channel talks with us. I recommend we use our nuclear program as leverage to secure more food aid and push for diplomatic normalization between our countries. What do you think?"

Kim Jong-Il: "Nigga, get me some Eric Clapton."

12/13/2010 9:52:06 AM

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40713808/ns/world_news-asiapacific

Quote :

"Seoul says live-fire drill to go on despite N. Korea threat "

Quote :

"SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said Saturday it will go ahead with artillery drills on a border island shelled by North Korea last month despite Pyongyang's threat to retaliate again, as Russia and China expressed concerns over tension on the volatile peninsula. The North warned on Friday it will strike even harder than before if the South went ahead with its planned drill. Four people died last month in the North's attack on Yeonpyeong Island near the tense sea border. The U.S. supports South Korea, saying the country has a right to conduct such a military exercise. However, Russia's Foreign Ministry expressed its "extreme concern" Friday over the drills and urged South Korea to cancel them to prevent a further escalation of tension. China, the North's key ally, also said it is firmly opposed to any acts that could worsen already-high tension on the Korean peninsula. "In regard to what could lead to worsening the situation or any escalation of acts of sabotage of regional peace and stability, China is firmly and unambiguously opposed," Chines Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement Saturday. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Saturday marines on the drills would push ahead with the drills as scheduled and the military is ready to respond to any possible provocation. "We have a right to conduct our own military drills," a Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said. He declined to comment on the Russian and Chinese concerns. "

12/18/2010 3:54:38 AM

Quote :

"The North warned on Friday it will strike even harder than before if the South went ahead with its planned drill. Four people died last month in the North's attack on Yeonpyeong Island near the tense sea border. "

So does this mean we'll have nuclear war in time for Christmas?

12/19/2010 6:51:43 PM

Yea, shit is about to get real, real. Villagers are evacuating...not a great sign.

12/19/2010 10:52:47 PM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12039477

North Korea blinked...?

Quote :

"North Korea says it will not retaliate despite "reckless provocations" from the South, which held live-fire drills on the flashpoint island of Yeonpyeong. The North shelled the island last month after similar drills and had threatened more retaliation this time. But state media quoted the army as saying it was "not worth reacting"... "The revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK [North Korea] did not feel any need to retaliate against every despicable military provocation," KCNA quoted the the army's Supreme Command as saying."

12/20/2010 10:06:52 AM

Hmm. I wonder if they're surprised that the exercises went through (as in, SK called their bluff) or if some deal was made.

12/20/2010 12:27:36 PM

I'd like to think that the South called their bluff and then the North Koreans found a way to weasel out (the ROK Army aimed their cannons in a different direction and thus we won't retaliate nevermind that NK still claimed that part of the ocean as well).

12/20/2010 1:10:24 PM

A result of pressure from China maybe?

Quote :

"Analyst view: North Korea reportedly makes fresh nuclear offer North Korea has told U.S. diplomatic troubleshooter Bill Richardson it is willing to allow nuclear inspectors to return to the country, CNN reported on Monday. The news came as the North backed off from a threat to strike back if South Korea went ahead with live-fire artillery exercises staged earlier in the day. CNN, which was accompanying New Mexico governor Richardson on an unofficial trip to Pyongyang, said the North had "agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) personnel to return to a nuclear facility in the country and agreed to negotiate the sale of 12,000 ... fuel rods and ship them to an outside country, presumably to South Korea." ...."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BJ2OU20101220

I'm surprised that this happened so close to NK standing down in the face of pressure from the South.

Also, I finished reading Nothing to Envy over the weekend. It's a fascinating look at the lives of 6 North Korean defectors that offers some great insight into the innerworkings of North Korean society during the Cold War and the tumultuous period afterwards when the famine killed off a large portion of the population. It's an amazing read.
http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Envy-Ordinary-Lives-North/dp/0385523904

12/20/2010 4:09:53 PM

Nothing to Envy is a great but heartbreaking book. As for the North's promises, I'll believe it when I see it. Their MO has always been to act belligerent, blow up a few things, kill a few people, then return to "negotiations" where they make promises, get aid, lay low, then start the cycle all over again.

12/20/2010 5:05:27 PM

Our worst fears have been realized. It has now been escalated to faxes and christmas trees.

Quote :

"Official: North Korea targets South Korea in propaganda drive North Korea is retaliating for a November artillery attack -- with an onslaught of faxes to South Korea, an official said Wednesday. Earlier this month, faxes started arriving at South Korean companies, South Korean Unification Ministry deputy spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said Wednesday. The faxes blame South Korea for the November 23 artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island. "Responsibility for the attack lies with the South," states the fax, according to Lee. "Groups in the South should rise up against the South Korean government." ... South Korea lit up a major Christmas tree in an area bordering North Korea despite concerns that it may become the target of a military attack from Pyongyang. Pyongyang dismantled the tree in 2004 after the countries agreed to halt cross-border propaganda. The tree is clearly visible from North Korea."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/12/22/koreas.propaganda.war/index.html

12/22/2010 4:05:01 PM

So much for Jong-un being a moderate:

Quote :

"Party elite executed to clear path for Kim Jong-un A reign of terror has descended on the Communist Party in Pyongyang. There have been reports of purges and executions to secure the succession of Kim Jong-un as North Korea's new dictator. South Korean newspapers say more than 200 officials have been executed or detained by the state security bureau and one official jumped to his death. North Korean guards are reported to have shot dead five would-be escapees along the frozen river on the border with China, and notices have appeared threatening the death penalty for anyone caught using a Chinese mobile phone or trading in US dollars. The younger Kim - promoted by his ailing father Kim Jong-il late last year - is said to have called for "gunshots across the country". ... Reports indicate some of China's friends are falling victim to the purges during the transition in the dictatorship. Jong-un is reported to be targeting middle-aged officials linked to the two old-guard figures closest to his father. They are Jang Song-taek, brother-in-law to the elder Kim and entrusted with key appointments, and Okuk-ryol, a veteran of the National Defence Commission, North Korea's most important body. Analysts say the aim is to weaken the two men and enhance Jong-un's ability to inculcate fear and obedience."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/party-elite-executed-to-clear-path-for-kim-jong-un/story-e6frg6so-1225988948869

and theys getting skurred:
Kim and Jong-un get beefed up security
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931188

1/20/2011 8:22:44 PM

Pretty standard regime change practice for old school monarchies. His father did the same thing, and I'm pretty sure history is littered with purges. If anything, it would have been telling had there not been any significant purges...

1/21/2011 1:23:37 PM

Flexing of nuts during the transition of power continues. Looks like another nuclear test is going to happen.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/21/north-korea-nuclear-test-_n_825867.html

2/21/2011 8:18:17 PM

Quote :

"TreeTwista10 GatorDontPlayNoShit 100448 Posts user info edit post its a delicate situation...i wish he would just have a heart attack and die 5/28/2009 5:33:02 PM"

12/23/2011 1:55:52 PM

Arirang Mass Games to end after this year. I'm really surprised.
http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/North+Korea+close+curtain+huge+festival/6768565/story.html

Strained ties with China:
http://www.npr.org/2012/06/12/154774626/hijacking-reveals-strains-in-china-north-korea-ties

6/12/2012 1:53:29 PM

Things are heating up.

It looks like North Korea and Disney are going to war.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/kim-jong-uns-disneyification-of-north-korea-is-more-creepy-than-cuddly/259646/

7/13/2012 2:38:38 PM

Lol, I wonder how much tolerance these people will have for a child to run their nation

7/14/2012 1:05:26 PM

i'm not sure if "tolerance" comes into play, but i don't think it will be much different than the last 20 years.

7/14/2012 1:11:45 PM

I don't see how you can say it's "not much different". The country today hardly resembles the country of his father's legacy.

7/14/2012 1:14:21 PM

you really think the country today hardly resembles the country just a few years ago? how do you figure? what's changed? how is he that different from kim jong il's country? how do you know?

7/14/2012 2:17:22 PM

Do you follow along with North Korean news? If not, I don't want to battle your preconceived notions. I already know what you're going to say and, frankly, I'm not in the mood to prove my prediction correctly for the 40th+ time.

[Edited on July 15, 2012 at 2:07 PM. Reason : .]

7/15/2012 2:07:10 PM