Tag: North Korea

Apparently when Chinese authorities saw a rehearsal of Kim Jong-un’s girl band they immediately decided to cancel the concert due to the propaganda they saw.  What did they expect with inviting Kim Jong-un’s girl band to China?:

 

The mysterious cancellation of a Beijing concert by North Korea’s Moranbong Band on Saturday appears to be linked with the girl group’s program, which included adulations of leader Kim Jong-un and possibly boasts about the country’s nuclear tests, which China’s government was against.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers that it believes Chinese authorities, after watching a rehearsal on Friday, balked at the propaganda-filled program.  [Joong Ang llbo]

You can read the rest at the link.

Like I have said for all of these detainment cases, I feel for the families effected by this, but if you willing travel into North Korea this is the risk you are taking.  No one else should be expected to get you out of trouble when things go wrong.  This is why I have advocated for no one to travel to North Korea because not only are you supporting the Kim regime with hard currency, but you are also giving the regime bargaining chips they can use for future use if they feel they need them:

North Korea sentenced a detained Canadian pastor to life imprisonment with hard labor 10 months after taking him into custody.

Pyongyang’s state-controlled KCNA reported, “The trial of Canadian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim, who undertook a special plot to overthrow the state, took place before the Supreme Court on Dec. 16.”

North Korea said the defendant received a life sentence with hard labor and was found guilty of violating Pyongyang’s Criminal Law Article 60, or conspiring to overthrow the Kim Jong Un regime. Pyongyang added there were “witnesses” who had evidence of Lim’s wrongdoing.

Speaking on behalf of the defendant, 60, North Korea said Lim had admitted to his wrongdoing: adopting South Korea’s anti-Pyongyang hostile actions by “insulting [North Korea’s] highest dignity and its system with vicious slander” and “harboring ill will and attempting to take down [North Korea].”  [UPI]

You can read the rest at the link.

First of all why is a North Korean agent allowed in the US in the first place?  Secondly this just shows how complicit the Chinese government is in allowing these front companies to exist that give the Kim regime the capability to smuggle in not only military equipment, but luxury goods as well:

A man from North Korea accused of trying to buy military grade night vision goggles from a Utah-based undercover agent and illegally export them to China has pleaded guilty to a federal charge in an agreement with prosecutors.

Kim Song-il was arrested in Hawaii after agreeing to pay $22,000 for the equipment and packing it into boxes that he claimed were filled with used toys and towels so he could ship them to his Chinese business, charges state.

Prosecutors say they believe the six pairs of goggles would have gotten to North Korea from there, though defense attorney Scott Williams disputes that allegation.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.

We now know why Kim Jong-un’s girl band had to cancel their Beijing performance:

China had decided to send officials of lower rank to a concert by the all-female North Korean propaganda band in response to the North’s leader Kim Jong-un hinting earlier last week that Pyongyang had developed a hydrogen bomb, a source in Beijing close to the situation said Sunday.

The decision might have been related to the sudden cancellation of the concert by the North Korean side, said the source, who got the information from a Chinese government official with knowledge of the situation.

The Moranbong Band, formed in 2012 following an order from leader Kim, had been scheduled to perform for three days in Beijing starting Saturday, in what was seen as a fresh sign of warming relations between the two allies.

However, the band abruptly headed home hours before the invitation-only concert began Saturday.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link.

Members of North Korea’s all-women “Moranbong Band” shake hands with officials before heading out to China for a friendship visit in this photo published by the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Dec. 9, 2015. The three-year-old band, formed by the country’s current top leader Kim Jong-un, stands out with the members’ stylish stage clothes. (Yonhap)

Supposedly their were Internet rumors in China that Kim Jong-un had a relationship with one of the girl band members.  These rumors may be why the performance was cancelled so suddenly:

An all-female band formed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un canceled its concerts in Beijing and abruptly left the Chinese capital on Saturday for unknown reasons, possibly further cooling relations between the traditional allies.

The Moranbong Band had been scheduled to hold three concerts in Beijing beginning Saturday night in what was viewed as a visit to cultivate ties between the countries.

However, band members arrived at Beijing’s airport in North Korean Embassy vehicles on Saturday afternoon, and departed aboard a North Korean Air Koryo jet shortly after 4 p.m. following a lengthy delay, Chinese news website sina.com reported.

A staff member at the National Theater, where the band was to give the invitation-only performances, said the concerts had been canceled, but did not give a reason. An accompanying North Korean musical troupe, the State Merited Chorus, also canceled its performances.  [Associated Press]

You can read the rest at the link.

It looks like Kim Jong-un really wants to get the Kumgang Resort cash cow reopened considering the North Koreans are holding talks again with the ROK in regards to another possible round of family reunions.  ROK Heads may remember the Kumgang Resort was closed to South Korean tourists when a 53 year old grandma was shot dead on the beach by a North Korean soldier:

North and South Korea held high-level talks at a North Korean border town on Friday, a small step meant to improve ties battered by a military standoff in August and decades of acrimony and bloodshed.

No major breakthrough was reached in the meeting of vice-ministerial officials in Kaesong, and the two sides decided to extend the talks for another day.

Analysts see the talks as meaningful because they seek to carry out previously agreed reconciliation efforts — something the rivals have often failed to do in the past.

South Korean officials want to discuss more reunions between aging family members separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. Analysts have said cash-strapped North Korea might seek the South’s commitment to restart joint tours to its scenic Diamond Mountain resort, which were suspended by Seoul in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist there by a North Korean soldier.   [Associated Press]

You can read more at the link.

#DPRK anyone got any idea's what this site could be? 39°54'23.51"N 124°25'1.84"E #Geoint #osint #googleearth pic.twitter.com/M6TYINAoDh

— Nathan J Hunt (@ISNJH) December 7, 2015

It looks like the North Koreans are again exaggerating their capabilities.  His comments though are probably more for domestic consumption than something that people internationally are supposed to take seriously:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared on Thursday to claim his country has developed a hydrogen bomb, a step up from the less powerful atomic bomb, but outside experts were skeptical.

Kim made the comments as he toured the Phyongchon Revolutionary Site, which marks the feats of his father who died in 2011 and his grandfather, state founder and eternal president, Kim Il Sung, the official KCNA news agency said.

The work of Kim Il Sung “turned the DPRK into a powerful nuclear weapons state ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb to reliably defend its sovereignty and the dignity of the nation,” KCNA quoted Kim Jong Un as saying.

DPRK are the initials of the isolated North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. A hydrogen bomb, also known as a thermonuclear bomb, uses more advanced technology to produce a significantly more powerful blast than an atomic bomb.

North Korea conducted underground tests to set off nuclear devices in 2006, 2009 and 2013, for which it has been subject to U.N. Security Council sanctions banning trade and financing activities that aid its weapons program.

An official at South Korea’s intelligence agency told Yonhap news agency there was no evidence that the North had hydrogen bomb capacity, and believed Kim was speaking rhetorically.  [Reuters]

You can read the rest at the link.

Inside the Hermit Kingdom: A Virtual Reality Journey Through North Korea – ABC News – https://t.co/eUZSpYzZZk via @ABC

— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) December 9, 2015