Here is why the Kim regime is pushing so hard to have sanctions eased for little to nothing in return:
Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, inspecting Samjiyon County in a photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency in October 2018.
For years, the North Korean state has produced coal, iron ore, seafood and textiles for export, mostly to its ally China. Mr. Kim and top officials have used this export revenue, as well as the earnings of North Korean workers abroad, to finance nuclear weapons, large projects like Samjiyon and their own privileged lifestyles.
Previous international sanctions aimed to prevent North Korea from acquiring weapons parts and technology. But the newer ones, imposed in the past few years, ban those lucrative exports, depriving Mr. Kim’s regime of its main source of income. As a result, party officials, soldiers and police officers who make a living off the state are feeling the effects more sharply than ordinary people who have already learned to fend for themselves through hundreds of unofficial markets, according to defectors and economists. “Hardest hit by sanctions are those 20 to 30 percent of the population who stay on the government’s socialist payroll and rations,” said Jiro Ishimaru, a Japanese journalist who monitors North Korea with the help of correspondents there. “Enterprising North Koreans can make as much in a day selling vegetables in the market as many military officers can make a month in official wages.”
You can read more at the link, but Kim Jong-un has stated that negotiations have until the end of the year to make a deal.
I think the North Koreans believe that with the US Presidential election happening next year that President Trump is not going to want a return to missile and nuclear tests in 2020 before the election. The Kim regime is likely betting that the Trump administration signs up for their “pretend denuclearization” deal that eases sanctions, gives the Trump administration a so called foreign policy “win”, and the North Koreans keep a low profile before the election.
This approach has worked with past US administrations, but clearly this is not a typical US presidential administration. It will be interesting to see if the old North Korean playbook works on this administration as well.
#NorthKorean laborer in Russia jumped to death, couldn't stand exploitation. Had to pay large sums of money to the #KimJongUn regime, the company prez, etc. If can't pay due to lack of work in winter, it becomes debt. Was only able to save $1k in 4 yrs.https://t.co/5HtrkZpQVe
Face of arson-murder suspectAhn In-deuk, who set fire to his apartment and randomly killed five fleeing neighbors with a knife, and injured 13 others, on April 17, 2019, is taken by detectives to a hospital at Jinju Police Station in Jinju, about 430 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on April 19, 2019, with his face made public in accordance with the related law. He reportedly suffers from schizophrenia. (Yonhap)
I have no love for the Kim regime, but I am no fan of raiding their embassies like this either. This is a slippery slope I don’t think the US wants to encourage. How easy would it be for someone like Putin to create militant activist groups to raid other nation’s embassies for intelligence purposes if this type of activity is encouraged?:
North Korean embassy in Spain.
Reuters has reported that U.S. authorities have arrested a former U.S. Marine who is a member of a group that allegedly raided the North Korean embassy in Madrid in February and stole electronics.
Citing sources familiar with the arrest, Reuters said that Christopher Ahn was arrested Thursday and appeared Friday in federal court in Los Angeles.
The group called Free Joseon, formerly known as Cheolima Civil Defense, is blamed for the February 22nd embassy raid.
Reuters did not say whether Ahn played a role in the raid but noted he is a member of the group.
The name Christopher Ahn has not previously been mentioned in media reports related to the embassy raid.
Reuters said the U.S. Justice Department has declined to comment on the arrest.
Just another example that the Israeli do not play around when it comes to bad actors plotting against them:
A missile launched by an Israeli jet flies near Damascus, the Syrian capital, in this Dec. 25 file photo. / Korea Times file
North Korean missile experts who worked on Syrian weapons development were killed and wounded in an Israeli airstrike in Syria, according to an Israeli media report.
Debka File, an Israeli defense media outlet, reported the airstrike, which hit the Scientific Studies and Research Center in the Syrian town of Masyaf on Saturday, killed and wounded weapons experts from North Korea and Belarus as well as Iranian and Syrian military officers. It said the missile technicians were hired to upgrade Syrian missiles, citing Western intelligence sources. It did not state the exact number of casualties.
AFP, meanwhile, wrote the attack was carried out early Saturday and killed several Iranian military personnel and wounded 17 Syrian troops and their allies.
“North Korean engineers were working on the production of solid fuel, while Belarusians were in the pay of Syria’s Organization of Technological Industries,” Debka File reported.
“Especially targeted were the sections working on the upgrade of Syrian and Hezbollah surface missiles, the production of solid fuel for those missiles and the departments focusing on installing new guidance instruments to enhance their precision.”
North Korea earns more revenue from its laborers in Russia than it does from its laborers in any other jurisdiction. Any DPRK workers that remain in Russia after December 22, 2019 would be doing so in violation of UNSCR 2397 (2017). https://t.co/ZrKqYS0qcq
It is pretty surprising that Samsung’s new foldable phone would have this many problems right before its release:
A number of U.S.-based tech reporters reviewing Samsung Electronics’ potentially game-changing mobile device, the Galaxy Fold, reported faults after just a few days of use.
Reporters from CNBC, Bloomberg and The Verge have each tweeted pictures and videos showing faults with the folding screen of the Galaxy Fold devices they were given this week to review ahead of the phone’s U.S. release on April 26.
Steve Kovach, tech editor for CNBC, tweeted in the early hours of Thursday morning, Korea time, a video of his Galaxy Fold that showed the left hand of the screen flickering and flashing white with a bold black line splitting the screen in two, presumably along the point where the screen folds when it is closed. The video was captioned “After one day of use…”
The Galaxy Fold is designed to open like a book to become a 7.3-inch display tablet. The cover of the phone — the front when it is folded — is a 4.6-inch screen that works like a conventional smartphone. In all three reported cases, it is this internal folding screen that was defective.
Notices how the goals of all these plans are always way out in the future when no in power will be held responsible for not meeting them:
South Korea’s industry ministry said Friday it will significantly cut the country’s dependency on conventional energy sources, such as coal, and move toward environment-friendly resources for sustainable growth. During the public hearing for a draft of the country’s energy master plan, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy said it will expand the portion of renewable sources to around 30 to 35 percent in its portfolio by 2040, significantly up from 7.6 percent posted in 2017. The master plan is renewed every five years with a 20-year goal. The ministry is expected to draw up details on the scope of the reduction in its energy supply plan that will be announced later this year. The proposal is in line with the Moon Jae-in government’s push to move toward clean and safe energy sources to meet the country’s demand for electricity. “The new policy goal will focus on reforming the structure of energy demand instead of expanding the supply,” the ministry said, claiming the master plan aims to build a high-efficiency and low-consumption energy market.
The long talked about summit between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un will happen next week likely in Vladivostok:
Vladivostok
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will visit Russia later this month for talks with President Vladimir Putin, Russian news service RIA Novosti reported Thursday, citing the Kremlin. Kim will make the visit at Putin’s invitation, the news service and other Russian news outlets quoted the Kremlin as announcing in a press release. The report did not give further details, including dates and the venue of the summit between Kim and Putin. Speculation has been rising that the two leaders would hold their first summit in Russia’s Far East city of Vladivostok next week when Putin travels to the Far East on his way to China for an international conference. Japan’s Kyodo News, citing unidentified officials sources, reported that Kim plans to make a three-day visit to Russia beginning on Wednesday. Kyodo said that Kim plans to travel by train and hold a summit with Putin on Russky Island off the city of Vladivostok.
