NK maths prodigy defector reportedly left Hong Kong for SKorea over the weekend after only a two month stay. https://t.co/aL0E2pE0LW
— Sokeel Park (@Sokeel) September 28, 2016
NK nuclear tests: 'There's always the risk conflict might break out by accident', https://t.co/f4OMbehngh via @talkRADIO
— John Nilsson-Wright (@JNilssonWright) September 26, 2016
This defection is actually pretty unusual since it is only the third defection of a North Korean soldiers in the past four years:
A North Korean soldier defected Thursday across the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula, the South Korean military said.
The soldier crossed the military demarcation line at about 10 a.m. inside the 2.5-mile-wide DMZ, a military official confirmed, speaking on condition of anonymity according to department policy.
The military is investigating how and why the soldier defected, the official said, adding he could not provide more details.
South Korea has reported an increasing number of defectors from the North this year as the isolated country’s ruler Kim Jong Un seeks to tighten his grip on power. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link.
What I am wondering is why were these people allowed to operate in the U.K. in the first place considering North Korea’s long history of using insurance fraud to bring in foreign currency:
Britain has effectively deported two London-based officials of North Korea’s state insurance firm by refusing to renew their visas after the firm was slapped with sanctions in the wake of Pyongyang’s January nuclear test, a diplomatic source said.
In April, Britain blacklisted the North’s Korea National Insurance Corp. and its London office in line with European Union sanctions imposed after the North’s fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch in February.
“It’s part of implementation of sanctions to deny visas for those working for a sanctioned entity,” a source said. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link.
Further reading:
https://www.rokdrop.net/2010/03/north-korea-reportedly-has-4-billion-in-european-banks/
I guess this makes sense considering how many soldiers are reportedly missing and the damage done to border checkpoints:
North Korea has hastily dispatched agents from its State Security Ministry to flood-damaged areas bordering China to block mass defections of residents there, a U.S. broadcaster, monitored in Seoul, reported Monday.
This summer, the North’s northeastern provinces adjacent to China were devastated by heavy rains accompanied by Typhoon Lionrock. The United Nations estimates that 138 North Koreans were killed and 400 others are missing in the country’s worst flooding in its history, with about 20,000 houses destroyed.
The North Korean authorities employed the step as defections have become easier as the heavy rains wrecked lots of border facilities, such as guard posts, and barbed-wire fences, the Radio Free Asia (RFA) said, citing a source in the North. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link.
I’ve always thought in North Korea human beings ceased to be the chief reason of things, especially after the famine https://t.co/G7fzzMbZc8
— Elizabeth Shim (@GlobalAsianista) September 23, 2016
This does seem pretty weird that the North Koreans would be flying a model F-16 during one of their airshows unless it was being used as part of dogfight demonstration of some kind?:
Now here’s something you don’t see every day: an F-16 fighter jet buzzing through the skies of North Korea and launching — fireworks.
The plane roaring over people’s heads at the country’s first air show Sunday was actually a remote-controlled mock-up of the fabled U.S Air Force fighter.
The scale models of the F-16 and a Chinese J-10 fighter were featured on the second day of the Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival.
The choice of flying a one-sixth scale F-16 at the show was an odd one considering the outrage North Korea regularly expresses over the presence of U.S. troops and Air Force bases in South Korea. [Associated Press]
You can read more at the link.
It just makes you wonder why action wasn’t taken against companies doing business with North Korea a long time ago?:
The option to impose a secondary boycott, which penalizes foreign companies trading with a target country, will be a very effective tool if it is imposed on North Korea for its latest nuclear test, a senior foreign ministry official said Friday.
“There’s a so-called secondary boycott which has not been mobilized yet,” Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said during his televised interview with Yonhap News TV, the broadcasting affiliate of Yonhap News Agency.
He was discussing what punitive actions remain available to use against North Korea, as the international community is working toward adopting another round of sanctions in response to the country’s fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9.
The secondary boycott, if adopted, would target any foreign companies that transact with North Korea, pushing the communist country further into isolation from the international economy.
If used, the approach would have the biggest influence on companies in China, by far Pyongyang’s No. 1 trading partner.
“If this is applied, it would have very significant impact … the U.S. may consider applying a secondary boycott if they judge North Korea’s nuclear program cannot be stopped without using it,” Cho noted. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link.
I wonder how many people in the Kim regime even use this limited Internet service? I also wonder what memes they post on their social network service?
Someone in North Korea is in a lot of trouble.
The secretive state somehow accidentally opened access to all the websites hosted on its servers, revealing that it only has 28 registered domains.
On Monday at around 10 p.m. Pacific time, North Korea’s nameserver – that contains information about all of the “.kp” websites – was misconfigured, allowing it to be accessed. This meant Matthew Bryant, a researcher, was able to access the domain names and some of the file data about the site.
Bryant dumped all of this on Github – a site that hosts computer code. It’s the first real look into the secret online world of the hermit state North Korea.
Some of the websites take a long time to load and some are inaccessible. Among the 28 sites listed is one called Air Koryo, a flight booking site, and one named Friend, presumably some sort of social network.
One website that has always been accessible outside of North Korea is the Korean Central News Agency – the state-run propaganda site.
A Reddit page lists all of the websites discovered and below are some examples of the sites. [CNBC]
https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/776249653352214528
