New photo of @SpaceX #Falcon9 in advance of tonight's ORBCOMM #OG2 launch. She's a beauty. #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/cUhCgGieiP

— ORBCOMM (@ORBCOMM_Inc) December 20, 2015

The gap in life expectancy between North and South Koreans continues to widen.  I wonder if this includes all the forced abortions in North Korea?:

South Koreans live 12 years more than their compatriots in the North on average, mainly due to fewer newborn deaths, government data showed Sunday.

According to Statistics Korea, the life expectancy of a South Korean stood at 78.2 years for men and 85 for women. Corresponding numbers for North Korea were 66 for men and 72.7 for women.

This translates into an average South Korean man living 12.2 years longer than one in the North, while a South Korean woman could expect to live 12.3 years longer.

The latest estimate showed that if current trends continue, the gap could widen to 14.5 years for men and shrink to 11.9 years for women by 2055.

In that year, a South Korean man’s life expectancy could hit 85.9 years and that for a woman could reach 89.8 years.

The statistical agency said the major reason for the difference can be found in the high infant mortality rate in North Korea.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link.

Head of South Korea’s ruling Saenuri Party Rep. Kim Moo-sung (third from R) poses for a picture with party members and supporters before the start of a mountain climbing event in the southern port city of Busan on Dec. 19, 2015 to mark the party’s victory in the presidential election three years earlier. (Yonhap)

The domestic Korean movie “The Himalayas” must be pretty good considering it took on the new Star Wars movie this weekend and beat it in ticket sales:

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opened atop the box office all over the world, but it proved no match for “The Himalayas” in South Korea, where the homegrown survival tale snagged the No. 1 spot on Friday.

Based on a true story, “The Himalayas” made $1.6 million on Friday, while “The Force Awakens” came in second with $1.3 million. Friday was the opening day for both films.

Of course, the newest “Star Wars” installment is not hurting for box office returns. The J.J. Abrams-directed space epic has taken in $129 million from abroad since it began rolling out Wednesday, distributor Disney reported on Saturday.  [The Wrap via Reddit]

You can read the rest at the link, but I saw the new Star Wars movie this weekend and found it to be better than any of the prequels.  However, the plot played it safe and was pretty predictable. Also Kylo-Ren and the Golem on steroids has to be one of the worst movie villain duos ever.  However, the incredible special effects, likable lead characters and some unexpected humor made for an overall really good movie.

Kim Jong Un Visits Ku’msusan to Mark KJI Death Anniversary https://t.co/FRTVAAjEXm pic.twitter.com/EHa0pQAggE

— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) December 17, 2015

Park Jong-wang (R), director of veterans policy at South Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, poses with Thomas J. Hudner (C) at the latter’s home in Massachusetts on Dec. 14, 2015 (local time), after conferring South Korea’s Taegeuk medal of honor, the top military decoration. Hudner, who fought in the Korean War (1950-53) as a pilot, went to North Korea in 2013 to look for the remains of Jesse Brown, his wingman. (Photo provided by South Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs) (Yonhap)

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

North Korean Olympic weightlifting champion fails doping test https://t.co/Pc3OJJzH7M pic.twitter.com/JJX7Eh1gcl

— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) December 17, 2015

A group of soldiers practice ballet exercises during a class taught by Kang Sue-jin, chief of the Korean National Ballet, at the Seoul Arts Center on Dec. 17, 2015, as the ballet group opens voluntary ballet lessons to soldiers, who are serving at general outposts in heavily fortified front-line regions facing North Korea. Since July this year, the group has provided those soldiers with the service, so that they could relieve stress arising from their duty and gain psychological stability. (Yonhap)

The cancellation of the concert by Kim Jong-un’s girl band in China for some reason has become so controversial the Chinese Internet censors are deleting whatever posts they can find about the topic:

Fueling speculation about the cause of the sudden cancellation of a much-anticipated performance by the Moranbong Band in Beijing, Chinese authorities started censoring posts on portal sites and social networking services related to the North Korean girl band.

North Korea’s Moranbong Band was scheduled to perform at Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday evening as a part of a goodwill tour that was to last for three days. The band withdrew hours before the invitation-only concert began, returning to Pyongyang via Air Koryo. They had traveled to Beijing by train.

When the cancellation of the concert was first being reported Saturday, the news was on the front page of Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, and categorized as “Today’s hot issue.”

There were tens of thousands of posts about the band on Weibo. Some praised the beauty of the band members from photos snapped at their hotel in Beijing, including remarks such as, “They’re much prettier than South Korean girl groups.”

But starting from late Saturday, the messages started disappearing. By Sunday, they were gone, indicating that Chinese authorities were censoring any posts related to the Moranbong Band. Articles on the band disappeared from websites, as well. A photo caption from Chinese newspaper Huanqiu Shibao on Monday saying that “the effect of the cancellation of the North Korean performance is limited” suddenly disappeared from its mobile application.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.