https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/613867812486905857
To much fanfare in North Korea, Kim Jong-un has opened Pyongyang’s new international airport:
North Korea has finished building an international airport terminal, state media reported Thursday, and photos show leader Kim Jong Un inspecting rather swanky amenities that include a jewelry store, a pharmacy and a coffee bar with — is that a chocolate fountain?
It was unclear what international assistance impoverished North Korea received for constructing the two-story terminal, or how much it cost. A 30-photo slide show published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency showed Kim touring the terminal with his wife and a group of about a dozen people. Numerous photos showed the entourage in various states of laughter.
The facility, which also has a new control tower, will open July 1, the agency said. It replaces a terminal that dated to the 1950s and may be part of efforts by Kim to increase the country’s appeal to tourists and earn foreign currency [LA Times]
You can read the rest at the link.
Probably the most interesting thing about this airport is not where the money came from, but the fact he had its architect executed last year as part of one of his purges to consolidate power.
Video of the trial of South Koreans accused of spying in North Korea. (related story: http://t.co/UT75uNDf4H) https://t.co/cIpnO5uqR3
— Alastair Gale (@AlastairGale) June 24, 2015
The North Koreans have been eager to describe their Taepodong-2 rocket as a space launch vehicle in their attempt to justify its launch. However, the US says the rocket is a disguised attempt to get around the UN resolutions that forbid a missile program:
There hasn’t been a launch for more than two years, but a North Korean official told the Associated Press earlier this month that it’s planning to place a further satellite into orbit.
That announcement was met with a frosty reception in Washington.
“Any rocket capable of placing an object in orbit is directly relevant to the development of long-range ballistic missiles, as many ballistic missile and space launch vehicle technologies are virtually identical and interchangeable,” said State Dept. spokeswoman Marie Harf during a briefing on June 4.
“So we’ll be watching this. It could very likely contravene U.N. Security Council resolutions,” she said.
That prompted reporters to ask about a distinction between the satellite and the launch itself. Here’s video of the exchange:
At the time, the question wasn’t answered, but on Monday a State Department spokesperson told North Korea Tech that a North Korean satellite itself isn’t its concern.
Other countries are not prohibited from launching North Korean satellites, as long as the launches are carried out in accordance with international law, including the obligations in U.N. Security Council resolutions, the spokesperson said. [North Korea Tech]
You can read the rest at the link.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects drill of female pilots http://t.co/bB00j5ILX8 pic.twitter.com/Jia4LJCngw
— The Korea Observer (@koreaobserver) June 22, 2015
The Daily NK has an interesting read that compares the 1956 August Faction Incident which was the largest conspiracy to topple Kim Il-sung since he rose to power in 1948 with the 2013 Jang Song-taek purge by current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The bottom line is that the author believes we will continue to see a lot more killing due to the lack of idolization of Kim Jong-un in North Korea compared to his father and grandfather:
Right now, North Korea is still in the process of beginning to idolize Kim Jong Un. In North Korean power politics, is there a more important element than idolization? The relationship with China and Russia, along with the policies related to industry have all been pushed back and delayed. In a totalitarian dictatorship, the leader’s authority is not guaranteed without idolization firmly in place. To accomplish this, the regime must kill many people. To put it another way, as the regime continues to snatch up important people and examine them, they’ll need to kill more and more. As Kim Jong Un continues to secure his place, we will most likely see a revamp of the North Korean totalitarianism that occurred from 1960-1980.
In all likelihood, about 30-40 years remain. In the road ahead, Kim Jong Un will not likely be able to establish power in the way his father and grandfather did. During the time of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the foundation for their absolute dictatorship was already in place. If Kim Jong Un wishes to command the power and respect that his forebears did, he still has many, many people left to kill. [Daily NK]
You can read the rest at the link.
Considering how North Korea has never apologized or compensated any families of the people killed in the 1987 Korean Air bombing like Libya did to get off of this list, the North Koreans should have never been removed from this list in the first place:
The United States left out North Korea from its list of states sponsoring terrorism despite calls for adding Pyongyang to the list in the wake of a massive hacking attack on Sony Pictures late last year.
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is not known to have sponsored any terrorist acts since the bombing of a Korean Airlines flight in 1987,” the State Department said in Country Reports on Terrorism 2014, referring to the North’s official name.
North Korea was put on the U.S. terrorism sponsor list for the 1987 midair bombing of a Korean Air flight that killed all 115 people aboard. But the U.S. administration of former President George W. Bush removed Pyongyang from the list in 2008 in exchange for progress in denuclearization talks.
Calls grew for redesignating Pyongyang as a state terrorism sponsor after the FBI determined the North was responsible for the cyber-attack on Sony Pictures last November, but the State Department was negative about its effectiveness. [Yonhap]
You can read the rest at the link, but notice that they were removed from the list in 2008 by the Bush administration for promises of making progress in denuclearization. History has now shown how well that has worked out.
Pyongyang's trade fair was very well-attended, but dwindling number of foreign companies: http://t.co/Ph3d5keUnd
— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) June 20, 2015
What is likely going on here is that North Korea is using the MERS crisis in South Korea for maximum domestic propaganda purposes. The Kim regime is able to claim that their government has been able to develop a cure for MERS unlike the South Koreans who a dieing from the virus. I would not be surprised if the domestic propaganda had a racist element to it criticizing the South Koreans for contracting these diseases by mixing with dirty foreigners in the first place. For those that are not familiar with North Korea’s race based nationalism I highly recommend reading B.R. Myers great book, “The Cleanest Race“:
North Korea said Friday it has developed an injection that is highly effective in preventing and curing the MERS virus and other contagious diseases.
But doubts have arisen over the credibility of its claim given its poor health care system.
North Korea’s Pugang Pharmaceutic Co. has developed “Kumdang-2,” made of extracts from ginseng with the injection of rare earth elements, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
“As a strong immune-activator, the injection has been recognized to prevent different malignant epidemics,” the KCNA said, citing remarks by Jon Sung-hun, a doctor and director of the pharmaceutical company.
The report came as South Korea has confirmed the 24th death from and 166 infections of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the first case was reported in May.
The reclusive North’s claim couldn’t be verified independently by the outside world. Observers here said chances are slim that the North has developed such an injection, given that many North Koreans are suffering from tuberculosis and other diseases amid a lack of vaccination and the poor health care system. [Yonhap]
You can read the rest at the link.
A new type of anti-ship rocket, which is being deployed at the North’s naval units, is launched from a warship as the communist country conducts a test-firing drill of the rocket, in this photo released on June 15, 2015, by the North’s state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper. The paper, published by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea., did not report when the test was carried out. (Yonhap)
