Tag: Kim Jong-un

Wearing a t-shirt with the face of a political leader is not what I would consider normal in most countries. How many people did anyone see wearing t-shirts with Joe Biden’s or Donald Trump’s face on it during the last election cycle? The t-shirts I see with a political leader on them is from the commie wannabes wearing t-shirts with Che Guevara’s face on them:

A T-shirt with a printed portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was spotted during a public event in Pyongyang for the first time, state media showed, amid the reclusive regime’s push to rev up an image of being a “normal state.” 

According to footage released by the North’s official Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station on Tuesday, an orchestra conductor was clad in the white T-shirt with Kim’s face printed in black and white on the front at a defense expo the previous day. 

North Koreans are hardly seen wearing such clothes, which could get dirty, as the Kim family is deified as sacred figures in the North with their portraits treated as a subject of worship.

In 2019, the North’s main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, ran a story praising a ship engineer for his “heroic act” of saving the portraits of Kim and the country’s two late leaders from a sinking vessel.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest from Kim Jong-un; just more of the same:

North Korea has doubled down on its ambition to be declared a nuclear state, while urging the United States to change its “hostile” policy toward the country, and offer sanctions relief. 

The country’s leader Kim Jong-un made the remarks in a speech at a defense development exhibition to mark the 76th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, Sunday. 

In the speech, Kim accused Seoul of being “hypocritical” and having “double standards” for continuing to boost its military capabilities while talking ostensibly of “peace, cooperation and prosperity.”

Expressing “strong regrets,” Kim said the North will respond with “strong actions” if South Korea continues to “infringe upon our rights to self-defense.”

His remarks come as the North has recently been ramping up accusations that the South and the United States have been employing “double standards” in reference to the allies’ criticism of the North’s missile launches as provocations while justifying their own as “deterrence.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but Kim Jong-un is using this speech to legitimize upcoming weapons test provocations that will be used to pressure the Biden administration into cutting a deal. The only deal the Kim Regime is interested in is one that lifts sanctions for little to nothing in return.

This is all part of North Korea’s strategy to pressure the U.S. to drop sanctions:

North Korea said Monday leader Kim Jong Un urged officials to overcome a “grim situation” facing the country and make stronger efforts to improve the food and living conditions of his people. 

But state media didn’t mention any specific comments toward Washington and Seoul while reporting on Kim’s speech marking the 76th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party’s founding.

Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled for more than two years over disagreements in exchanging the release of crippling U.S.-led sanctions against North Korea and the North’s denuclearization steps.

The country has ramped up its missile testing activity in recent weeks while making conditional peace offers to Seoul, reviving a pattern of pressuring South Korea to get what it wants from the United States.

Associated Press

You can read more at the link, but Kim Jong-un is inferring that the U.S. is responsible for the poor living conditions of his people. He is trying to make the case that dropping sanctions is a humanitarian issue. However all of us who follow North Korea issues know when sanctions were dropped in the past it was used to further develop their ballistic missile and nuclear programs. Why would this time be any different?

Even though the Blue House is saying this summit negotiations are not true, I still believe there is something back channel going on to explain the good behavior of the Kim regime in recent months:

The office of President Moon Jae-in dismissed a news report Wednesday that the two Koreas are in talks to arrange another summit.

Quoting unnamed government sources, Reuters reported that the two sides are seeking to hold summit talks between Moon and the North’s leader Kim Jong-un. One of the sources was quoted as adding that a virtual summit could be an option due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The foreign news report is not true,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a brief statement. “There has been no (relevant) discussion.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This could be the Kim regime preparing their people for an upcoming provocation cycle and whatever repercussions come from it:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for waging another “arduous march” to fight severe economic difficulties, for the first time comparing them to a 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands.

Kim had previously said his country faces the “worst-ever” situation due to several factors, including the coronavirus pandemic, U.S.-led sanctions and natural disasters last summer. But it’s the first time he publicly drew parallel with the deadly famine.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.