I’ve always thought in North Korea human beings ceased to be the chief reason of things, especially after the famine https://t.co/G7fzzMbZc8
— Elizabeth Shim (@GlobalAsianista) September 23, 2016
This does seem pretty weird that the North Koreans would be flying a model F-16 during one of their airshows unless it was being used as part of dogfight demonstration of some kind?:
Now here’s something you don’t see every day: an F-16 fighter jet buzzing through the skies of North Korea and launching — fireworks.
The plane roaring over people’s heads at the country’s first air show Sunday was actually a remote-controlled mock-up of the fabled U.S Air Force fighter.
The scale models of the F-16 and a Chinese J-10 fighter were featured on the second day of the Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival.
The choice of flying a one-sixth scale F-16 at the show was an odd one considering the outrage North Korea regularly expresses over the presence of U.S. troops and Air Force bases in South Korea. [Associated Press]
You can read more at the link.
She is probably one of many Chinese companies aiding the North Korean regime. However, she for whatever reason may be the one being used by Beijing to show the US that the Chinese are “doing something” to rein in North Korea:
A Chinese businesswoman under U.S. scrutiny for her alleged role in aiding North Korea’s nuclear program is also a suspect in a Chinese criminal investigation into her trading business, a corporate filing shows.
Friday’s disclosure about Ma Xiaohong is the first to tie her to a criminal investigation. Police in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning said earlier this month that they were investigating the trading firm that Ms. Ma founded, Hongxiang Industrial Development Co., for alleged “serious economic crimes,” without naming her. (………………)
The investigation into Ms. Ma and her company appears to mark a new effort by U.S. and Chinese authorities to pursue Chinese businesses that are suspected of supporting North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program. The U.S. and China have often sparred over how best to rein in North Korea.
Earlier this month, Pyongyang conducted its fifth atomic test in a decade.
Liaoning police announced their investigation after prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice made two trips to Beijing last month to alert Chinese officials about alleged activities by Ms. Ma and Hongxiang Industrial, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.
The Justice Department cited alleged evidence that the businesswoman and her company had aided Pyongyang’s nuclear program and its efforts to evade United Nations and Western sanctions, according to U.S. officials.
It isn’t known if the Liaoning police probe is related to the U.S. allegations. [Wall Street Journal]
You can read more at the link.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C, front) poses for a group photo with the officials who contributed to the North’s fifth nuclear test in front of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, in this photo released by the North’s Rodong Sinmun on Sept. 22, 2016. (For Use in S. Korea Only & No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
It just makes you wonder why action wasn’t taken against companies doing business with North Korea a long time ago?:
The option to impose a secondary boycott, which penalizes foreign companies trading with a target country, will be a very effective tool if it is imposed on North Korea for its latest nuclear test, a senior foreign ministry official said Friday.
“There’s a so-called secondary boycott which has not been mobilized yet,” Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said during his televised interview with Yonhap News TV, the broadcasting affiliate of Yonhap News Agency.
He was discussing what punitive actions remain available to use against North Korea, as the international community is working toward adopting another round of sanctions in response to the country’s fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9.
The secondary boycott, if adopted, would target any foreign companies that transact with North Korea, pushing the communist country further into isolation from the international economy.
If used, the approach would have the biggest influence on companies in China, by far Pyongyang’s No. 1 trading partner.
“If this is applied, it would have very significant impact … the U.S. may consider applying a secondary boycott if they judge North Korea’s nuclear program cannot be stopped without using it,” Cho noted. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link.
I wonder how many people in the Kim regime even use this limited Internet service? I also wonder what memes they post on their social network service?
Someone in North Korea is in a lot of trouble.
The secretive state somehow accidentally opened access to all the websites hosted on its servers, revealing that it only has 28 registered domains.
On Monday at around 10 p.m. Pacific time, North Korea’s nameserver – that contains information about all of the “.kp” websites – was misconfigured, allowing it to be accessed. This meant Matthew Bryant, a researcher, was able to access the domain names and some of the file data about the site.
Bryant dumped all of this on Github – a site that hosts computer code. It’s the first real look into the secret online world of the hermit state North Korea.
Some of the websites take a long time to load and some are inaccessible. Among the 28 sites listed is one called Air Koryo, a flight booking site, and one named Friend, presumably some sort of social network.
One website that has always been accessible outside of North Korea is the Korean Central News Agency – the state-run propaganda site.
A Reddit page lists all of the websites discovered and below are some examples of the sites. [CNBC]
https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/776249653352214528
This photo, released by North Korea’s ruling party organ Rodong Sinmun on Sept. 20, 2016, shows a ground test of a new high-power rocket engine being carried out at the country’s Sohae satellite launch site. The (North) Korean Central News Agency reported leader Kim Jong-un supervised the successful test, which provides sufficient carrier capability to launch various kinds of satellites. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
This photo, released by North Korea’s state-run Internet propaganda site Meari on Sept. 19, 2016, shows a poster bearing an image of a mother holding a baby with the phrase “For the future, let’s stop smoking flat.” (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
North Korea bans sarcasm. Really. https://t.co/pAv2bhx55T
— Jieun Baek (@JieunBaek1) September 16, 2016
