This image taken of the North’s Shinpo Shipyard on April 29, 2016, six days after the North’s latest submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test, shows that a submersible missile test stand barge has been moved from its normal position, in this photo provided by the website 38 North and Airbus Defense and Space. (Yonhap)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has hailed the country’s nuclear test and long-range rocket launch early this year as a success in his opening address at its first party congress in nearly four decades.
Clad in a black western-style suit and tie, Kim called the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) congress, which kicked off on Friday, a “historic landmark” for the country, according to footage aired by the communist country’s state-run TV station.
The seventh party congress, the first in 36 years, was held as the U.N. Security Council slapped tougher sanctions on Pyongyang in March over its January nuclear test and long-range rocket launch in February.
“This year, our military and people successfully carried out the first hydrogen bomb test and launched a satellite (into orbit), boosting the country’s dignity and national power,” Kim said in an opening speech, flanked by his key aides.
The party gathering is the first of its kind since October 1980 and also the first under the current leader, who assumed power in late 2011 following the sudden death of his father, Kim Jong-il. [Yonhap]
According to the discussion in the Flickr comments section the leper village was in Daejon. Eventually the Korean government would round up and move all leprosy patients to Sorokdo Island. What a horrible disease to have, but fortunately today there is treatment for the disease and thus very rare.
In the totally unsurprising news of the day, North Korea has nursery schools that promote the use of rifles, RPGs and hand grenades to its toddlers:
We foreign journalists were supposed to be marveling at the model farm on the outskirts of the North Korean capital – a 1,200-worker-strong vegetable commune with lots of amenities for the fieldhands, including homes equipped with solar power panels and solar water heaters. And I did manage an odd appreciation for the huge mosaic in the parking lot, depicting North Korean founding father Kil Il Sung gazing beatifically across a field of cabbages.
But when our government minders brought us reporters into the Changchon farm community’s nursery school, my brain got a little fixated on the wall art: Just past a painting of children skipping hand-in-hand beneath large letters saying “We Are Happy!” were some fratricidal forest friends.
First to catch my eye was a duck firing a machine gun at a wolf. Then I noticed the squirrel with hand grenades taking out a cowering weasel, with backup provided by a hedgehog with a RPG launcher. I suppose in a country that has long followed a policy of songun, or “military first,” the powers-that-be figure it’s never too early to let the youngsters know what’s what. [LA Times]
Here is what the kids are watching, this sounds better than Pororo!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuXJBJWR36Y
“Squirrel and Hedgehog,” my guides informed me, is as familiar to and beloved by North Korean kids as any Disney toon is to Yankee tots. Produced by state-run SEK Studios, the long-running animated TV show centers on the inhabitants of a make-believe place called Flower Hill, which is populated by squirrels, hedgehogs, and ducks.
The squirrels are the leaders, while the hedgehogs are the soldiers. Ducks are, duh, the navy. As you might guess, this squadron represents North Korea. The Flower Hill gang must contend with evil weasels (Japan) and wolves (the United States), while occasionally dealing with friendly but drunk bears (Russia).
“It’s a classic,” my guide, Ms. Hwang, informed me. “Everyone knows Squirrel and Hedgehog.”
A U.S. soldier places a flower on a memorial altar for 10 brave fallen soldiers in the South Korean border city of Paju, north of Seoul, on May 4, 2016. The government marked the 67th anniversary of their deaths the same day. On May 4, 1949, the 10 commandoes from the Army’s 1st Division rushed forward carrying bombs in their arms toward North Korean trenches in the area around Mount Songak in the city of Gaesong, destroying the trenches and themselves and playing a decisive role in the South retaking the area. (Yonhap)
Kim Jong-un’s big political convention in North Korea has begun, hopefully for the attendees no one gets dragged off and executed before it is over:
North Koreans with umbrellas walk near the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang on May 6, 2016, where the congress by the Workers’ Party of Korea is being held, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (For Use in S. Korea Only & No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
North Korea kicked off its rare party congress at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang, the first in 36 years, according to foreign media reports. The North’s state media has yet to publish any reports on the gathering.
The event is the first party congress since October 1980 and also the first under the current leader, who assumed power in late 2011 following the sudden death of his father, Kim Jong-il.
“North Korea appears to seek to establish the socialist party-centered system and further consolidate the Kim Jong-un regime through the party congress,” Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman at Seoul’s unification ministry, said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.
The party congress, which may last for three to four days, starts with an opening speech by the North’s young leader, which will serve as a gauge for his policy directions. North Korea’s state media has not yet made public its leader’s keynote address.
Later in the day, the WPK’s central committee will hold a session to review accomplishments and discuss future plans. On the final day of the event, it is expected to elect new members to the party central committee. [Yonhap]
I am not sure why Trump continues to go after South Korea on this issue, when it comes to freeloading US allies South Korea is not the best example to use in my opinion:
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday that South Korea should pay for all costs related to U.S. troop presence in the country. Trump made the remark in an interview with CNN, reiterating his long-running argument that the U.S. should be prepared to let allies defend themselves unless they pay more for American defense support. “Why not a 100 percent?” Trump said as the interviewer pointed out that Seoul already shoulders about 50 percent of the cost.
Asked if he meant that countries like South Korea, Japan and Germany should pick up all the expenses, Trump said, “Of course they should pick up all the expense. Why are we paying for this?” Trump also said the U.S. should be “prepared to walk” unless allies pay more, referring apparently to the potential troop withdrawal. In that case, the countries should defend themselves “against North Korea (where) we have a maniac.” “If they don’t take care of us properly, if they don’t respect us enough to take care of us properly, then you know what will have to happen? Very simple, they’re going to have to defend themselves,” he said. [Yonhap]
