China's ambassador to South Korea says THAAD could destroy their ties "in an instant." What is THAAD? https://t.co/s6vjvDSwla
— The Diplomat (@Diplomat_APAC) February 26, 2016
Graphic depiction and recreations of Jesus Christ have always portrayed the son of God as a thin but shredded deity.
In this depiction of God on Earth, Jesus is swole as HELL. Art is up for interpretation but it’s easy to interpret that this statue’s creator imaged that Jesus spent his time pumping iron as preaching.
As one IMGUR commentor put it — “And verily did Jesus lift on every day; and lo, he skippeth not leg day. And there was much rejoicing and yelling of ‘bro!’.” [Brobible via reader tip]
I have always said that Kim Jong-un is not an absolute dictator and instead rules with the consensus of an inner regime circle. The below article tends to confirm this hypothesis. Jang Song-taek may have been trying overly grow his power base above what other inner regime circle types were comfortable with:
The motives behind the highly publicized execution of Jang Sung Taek, the uncle of current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, have been open to question, but a South Korean analyst said Jang’s ambition to restore an old power structure could have played a role in his death sentence.
Ko Soo-suk, a senior researcher at the Unification Research Institute of JoongAng Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, wrote Jang was seeking the role of prime minister in the North Korean Cabinet. (………………)
Jang, who was a prominent figure under former leader Kim Jong Il, often traveled to China and even to South Korea to learn about economic policy and planning. Jang has often been associated with economic reform, but in December 2013 was executed on charges of treason and of being a “counterrevolutionary.”
The prime minister position Jang could have had in mind was the more influential version in place under North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. Prime ministers under the late Kim were in charge of economic policy and Jang would have been well-suited for a bigger role involving growth and development.
Ko also stated in his analysis that members of North Korea’s core leadership, rather than Kim Jong Un, could have thwarted Jang’s ambition. Core leadership officials foiled attempts by Jang to procure a meeting with Kim, who was away on a field guidance trip at a critical time. While Kim was away, Ko wrote, core members could have been able to enforce an order of execution for Jang. [UPI]
You can read more at the link.
It looks like that Korean kids will be seeing less English teaching in their early elementary school years:
The Constitutional Court has ruled that the government’s order to ban English immersion programs for first and second graders in private elementary schools is constitutional.
The court ruled unanimously on Thursday that the ban could be seen as the proper means of preventing the negative impact of excessive private tutoring.
Parents of students at Younghoon Elementary School, a high-profile private school, filed a petition in December 2013 asking the court to review the constitutionality of the ban.
Under the English immersion curriculum, the school taught most subjects, such as mathematics and science, in English.
“The government’s instruction was designed to prevent parents’ excessive zeal over private education for English so that young children could grow as well-rounded people,” the court said. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link.
Call me skeptical that the Chinese will actually inspect all cargo cross their border into North Korea and enforce these sanctions:
The United States presented a draft resolution on North Korea to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday. The resolution, which would tighten sanctions on Pyongyang, represents the culmination of nearly two months of negotiations between the United States and China, beginning just after North Korea’s nuclear test on January 6. As The Diplomat reported previously, final agreement on the resolution came during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s trip to Washington, D.C. this week, where he met with Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and President Barack Obama.
Reuters has details on the new draft, which is expected to go to a vote this weekend. Notably, the new draft would require mandatory inspections of all cargo en route to or from North Korea; ban all military sales to Pyongyang (including both weapons and items with dual-use potential); and ban the sale of aviation or rocket fuel to North Korea.
However, David Feith, writing in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, points out that Beijing’s agreeing to the sanctions doesn’t necessarily mean much. After all, China doesn’t have a good track record of actually enforcing UN sanctions. [The Diplomat]
You can read more at the link.
How Kim Jong Un bankrolls his nuclear ambitions https://t.co/v8nQUhYe9I
— Victor Cha (@VictorDCha) February 26, 2016
An angler poses for a photo with a giant fat bass measuring 175 centimeters in length on Yeoseo Island off South Korea’s southwestern coast, in this undated photo released by the Wan Island municipality on Feb. 24, 2016. The legendary deep sea fish weighing 120 kilograms was caught in waters off the island two days ago. (Yonhap)
I would think that anyone that is part of the ruling regime would appear to have a lavish lifestyle compared to ordinary North Koreans:
North Korea‘s first lady Ri Sol Ju is rarely seen in public, but according to a recent report, the wife of leader Kim Jong Un is not well liked.
Ri is best known for her love of luxury goods that suggest she leads a lavish lifestyle, Asia Press reported Wednesday.
North Korean reporters who went undercover to gather opinions about life in the secluded country said Ri gets bad ratings for her choices at a time when many North Koreans say their standard of living has worsened since Kim came to power.
North Koreans who were interviewed anonymously called Kim a “rookie” and “fearsome.”
But they reserved their most negative remarks for Ri, who, according to the report is 26 years old and traveled to South Korea in 2005 with a North Korean cheerleading squad during the Asian Athletics Championship in Incheon.
Some North Koreans complained that they were irritated with her debut on state media, where she was touted as “Respectable Comrade Ri Sol Ju.”
One male worker in the North Korean province of Yanggangdo said the title was undeserved, adding, “What did she do to earn such praise? And why does she carry a moneybag everywhere she goes? Is she giving out money?”
Ri is often seen with an expensive French purse on her arm. [UPI]
You can read more at the link.
Welcome to Korea Finder. The way this contest works is that each week a new image is posted and the first reader to accurately describe or locate the image gets a point. At the end of the year the reader with the highest amount of points will win a Korea related book of their choice.
Who knows what is housed in the building in the center of the below image?
The below article has a number of charts showing the unclassified military capabilities that the North Korean military has. Out of all the military equipment and personnel they have their biggest threats I believe is their artillery due to its proximity to Seoul and then their ballistic missiles that can strike all of South Korea as well as targets off of the peninsula with chemical and in the future nuclear weapons:
The US Office of the Secretary of the Defense has released its annual report to Congress on North Korea’s military, and the findings are chilling. Included in the report are the following three maps, which outline North Korea’s military might.
North Korea’s ground forces make up the primary thrust of the rogue nation’s military. Nearly 70% of its ground forces are forward deployed to within 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the South Korean border.
The ground forces are a mix of infantry corps, which are predominantly comprised of regular and light-infantry units. In general, these forces are housed in fortified underground facilities facing toward South Korea.
In addition to infantry, the ground corps also has large armor and artillery corps. Although corps make use of old technology, their forward-deployed nature remains a threat to South Korea. North Korea’s artillery, in particular, is worrisome as the long-range cannons and rockets are capable of hitting South Korea’s capital, Seoul, from over the border in the event of a war.
But aside from North Korea’s special forces, its ground forces are generally underfed, ill-equipped, and poorly trained. [Business Insider]
You can read the rest at the link.
