I wonder what China would be saying if another country threatened to nuke Beijing?
BEIJING, March 4 (Yonhap) — China called for calm and restraint on Friday after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered his military to be ready to use its atomic weapons at any time.
The order by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un marked a further escalation of tensions, a day after the North fired short-range projectiles into the East Sea in an apparent show of defiance following the U.N. Security Council’s adoption of new sanctions against Pyongyang over its fourth nuclear test and rocket launch.
“We hope that relevant countries can exercise restraint, speak and act prudently,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. [Yonhap]
This would be a great memorial to see built one day to commemorate this mostly forgotten but important event from Korean War:
The American freighter SS Meredith Victory brings about 14,000 refugees into Jangseungpo Port in South Gyeongsang during the Hungnam evacuation in December 1950.
Lee Gyeong-pil was born aboard the last escape vessel out of Hungnam Port in North Korea during the mass evacuation known as the “Miracle on Christmas” in 1950, in the midst of the Korean War. He is a living embodiment of Deok-soo, the protagonist in the popular movie “Ode to My Father” (2014), which depicts the evacuation.
Lee was born on the SS Meredith Victory, the last ship out of Hungnam, as it reached Jangseungpo Port in Geoje, South Gyeongsang. During the evacuation, the ship carried about 14,000 refugees in a space originally built for 60 people.
Born last among five babies on the ship, Lee is nicknamed “the last Deok-soo.”
But at the time of his birth, Lee had another nickname; he was called “Kimchi-5” by the crew members, who named newborn babies aboard the ship “Kimchi-1,” “Kimchi-2” and so on, by order of birth.
The 66-year-old director of the Peace Livestock Hospital in Geoje is also director of the “1090 Unification Movement,” which raises awareness on and supports peaceful unification process.
He is currently raising support for the establishment of a monument for the Hungnam evacuation at Jangseungpo Port.
[Joong Ang Ilbo]
North Korea always seems to find a way to bash churches even when a dumb ass college student decides to travel to North Korea and steal a propaganda poster. I would be very surprised if this confession is actually true:
A detained American student tearfully apologised for attempting to steal a political banner in North Korea from his hotel after being paraded in front of the media in Pyongyang.
Otto Warmbier, 21, an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, was arrested in January for committing what North Korea called “an anti-state crime” with “the tacit connivance of the US government and under its manipulation”.
Warmbier said on Monday that he wanted the banner with a political slogan on it as a trophy for a church back home. He said that he was offered a second-hand car worth $10,000 and was told if he was arrested and did not return, $200,000 would be paid to his mother. [Al Jazeera]
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (R) talks with Daniel Russel, U.S. assistant secretary of state, during their meeting in Seoul on Feb. 26, 2016. The U.S. diplomat arrived earlier in the day as the U.N. Security Council is getting closer to adopting a resolution that will slap tough sanctions on North Korea for its recent nuclear test and rocket launch. Russel heads to China on Feb. 27, whose cooperation is critical to making the sanctions effective. (Yonhap)
That is what this North Korean defector who once worked as a body guard for Kim Jong-un’s dad, Kim Jong-il thinks:
A former bodyguard to the late Kim Jong Ilsaid the current North Korean leader leads a life of luxury while ordinary North Koreans die of hunger.
After speaking at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, defector Lee Young-guk told Voice of America Tuesday Kim Jong Un should be referred to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
According to Lee, Kim has built 14 luxury villas for his enjoyment and makes seasonal visits to each retreat to go hunting or swimming.
The defector said that as the leader of North Korea Kim should be taking care of his people, but is instead pursuing his own interests.
Lee added Kim should take responsibility for the countless North Koreans languishing in political prison camps, where they are dying from hunger, malnutrition and beatings.
Information control in North Korea is tight, and the Pyongyang regime “closes the eyes and ears” of the people – preventing most, even senior officials, from ever knowing anything about Kim’s lavish lifestyle and the abject conditions in the prison camps.
Lee said Kim needs to be referred to the ICC, if it means North Koreans can now know the truth about the leadership. [UPI]
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]
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]
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]
