Tag: North Korea

Defectors attack North Korea with helium balloons http://t.co/QYs6gea9sz pic.twitter.com/EzG74N5o8o

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) December 16, 2014

There is just so much wrong with this whole incident:

Police said on Sunday a teenager has been arrested on charges of detonating a homemade acid bomb at a recent public talk, whose two co-hosts face questioning for apparently making pro-North Korean comments.

Authorities here in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, about 250 kilometers south of Seoul, said they’ve arrested an 18-year-old high school senior named Oh for possession and detonation of an illegal explosive device and property damage, among other counts.

Iksan police said Oh attended a talk hosted last Wednesday by Shin Eun-mi, a Korean-American who’s written books on North Korea, and Hwang Sun, the former deputy spokeswoman of the now-defunct Democratic Labor Party. They alleged that the teenager snuck in his sulfuric acid bomb with the intent to disrupt the talk, which was held at Shindong Cathedral in Iksan, and also destroyed windows and flooring of the venue.

According to police, Oh has been a member of a popular, right-leaning online community called “Ilbe” since last summer, and purchased his chemicals for the homemade bomb online in July.

Separately, Shin and Hwang are under investigation for allegedly making pro-North Korean remarks during their talks. Local conservative civic groups filed a complaint against the two with the police. Seoul’s National Security Law prohibits any “anti-state” activities attempting to praise, encourage or propagandize North Korean political ideals.  [Yonhap]

First of all this teenager should be prosecuted for whatever crimes can be linked to this homemade explosive device.  Shin may be a North Korean apologist, but that doesn’t mean she deserves to have an explosive device detonated by her.  Secondly why is an American in South Korea taking part in political activity, especially sensitive political activity that involves North Korea?  The Korean government does not allow foreign visa holders to conduct political activity in South Korea:

Scope of activities and employment for foreigners staying in Korea

• Foreigners are granted rights to any activities granted by their visa, and may stay as long as their given period of stay. They are not, however, allowed to participate in any political activities except when specifically allowed by law.

So did Shin have approval from the Korean government to conduct political activity with her visa?  I doubt it.  Instead of bringing up the controversial National Security Law, the Korean authorities should instead prosecute her for violating her visa status.

Does everyone remember the American idiot who tried to swim to North Korea a few months ago? Well he’s back and this time he made into North Korea via China:

SEOUL (Reuters) – A U.S. citizen who said he illegally entered North Korea held a press conference in Pyongyang on Sunday to deliver a 4,000-word statement denouncing U.S. domestic and foreign policy, CNN said.

CNN said the man identified himself as Arutro Pierre Martinez, 29, from the U.S. border town of El Paso. His mother told CNN her son was bipolar, and had previously tried to enter North Korea from the South Korean side.

“He is very smart and he got the court to let him out and instead of coming home to us he bought a ticket and left for China,” the television news channel quoted Patricia Eugenia Martinez as saying. (Reuters via reader tip)

You can read more at the link, but this guy went to North Korea two days after the other two Americans were released. This just shows that the U.S. government negotiating for the release of these individuals is just encouraging others idiots and the mentally ill to go to North Korea as well.

These people need to be treated like the past military defectors that were allowed to rot in North Korea. The U.S. Government needs to let Martinez rot there as well.

This hack of Sony by likely North Korean hackers is actually turning out to be a very effective way for the North Koreans to influence how Hollywood tries to depict their country in future films.  The Kim regime has clearly had enough of being the stereotypical bad guys for various Hollywood films and the leak of these internal Sony emails is proving to be highly embarrassing and could lead to legal action against the company for many years to come:

The hits on Sony keep coming.

As journalists pore over hundreds of thousands of internal Sony emails the hacker group calling itself Guardians of Peace starting releasing on Nov. 24, more sensitive information continues to be uncovered, including revelations published on Friday by The Daily Beast, Re/code, Gawker, and The Verge.

To date, the hackers have released Sony executives’ salaries, top-secret profitability data, employees’ Social Security numbers, embarrassing emails and at least five films and opened up legal risks for years to come. The most revealing information leaked so far has come from the email exchanges between studio execs and Hollywood’s elite. Here are 10 of the latest developments. [Yahoo Movies]

You can read more at the link, but surely any Hollywood film company is going to think twice about making North Korea the stereotypical bad guys for their films after this cyberattack against Sony.

I wonder if the North Koreans will demand that the other American detainees will need to pay bills as well?

North Korea has sent a U.S. citizen who was detained in Pyongyang last year a 3.6million won ($3,241) bill, according to a recently published book which reveals the story of the detainee.

Merrill Newman, 86, visited Pyongyang for a tour last year, but was held in the Yanggakdo Hotel for 42 days on charges of espionage from Oct. 26, 2013.

The book, “last P.O.W.,” written by a former CNN correspondent Mike Chinoy, reveals that Pyongyang sent the U.S. Department of State a bill for Newman’s stay via the Swedish ambassador in Pyongyang. The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang plays a role in protecting U.S. people there.

The bill includes $2,610 for the room, $591 for meals, $14 for dessert, and even $3 for “lost plates.” The tourist season rate of $75 a day was charged for six days and the ordinary season rate of $60 was applied for the other 36 days. The bill also includes $23 for international phone calls he made to his wife in the U.S.

The 86-year-old detainee, however, left the bill unpaid after he confirmed with the State Department that paying would not help then detainees, Kenneth Bae and Mathew Miller, the book reads.  [Korea Times]

An inflammable material explodes during a talk show hosted by Korean-American activist Shin Eun-mi and opposition politician Hwang Sun at a cathedral in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, on Dec. 10, 2014. A high school senior was detained for hurling the material accusing the two women of making pro-North Korean remarks. (Yonhap)

North Korean students carry a $1 US dollar as a "lucky charm" http://t.co/4Rp4DUcFUo #NorthKorea #DPRK

— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) December 9, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observes the North Korean military’s winter training in a photo released by the North’s media on Dec. 5, 2014. (No sale outside of South Korea) (KCNA-Yonhap)

It will be interesting to see if the US State Department gets involved in this since this pro-North Korean stooge is a US citizen:

A Korean-American woman has been temporarily banned from leaving the country amid an investigation into her alleged pro-North Korean remarks during a series of talk shows, police said Thursday.

The move comes after local conservative civic groups filed a complaint against Shin Eun-mi, 53, and Hwang Sun, the former deputy spokeswoman of the now-defunct Democratic Labor Party, with the police.

During the talk shows where guests and the audience exchange views on a specific subject, the two women, as guests, allegedly made remarks sympathetic toward the communist regime and painted the North Korean regime in a positive light.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency probing the case said it banned Shin from leaving the country for 10 days as she had disobeyed an order to appear for questioning.

Shin, who has published a book on her trip to North Korea, had reportedly planned to leave South Korea on Friday.

Earlier in the day, police also raided Hwang’s home and the office of a talk show organizer as part of their investigation.

Hwang is known for having given birth to a baby girl during a sightseeing trip to North Korea in 2005.

Police have reportedly been investigating the duo on suspicion of violating South Korea’s draconian National Security Law that bans any “anti-state” activities that attempt to praise, encourage or propagandize North Korean political ideals.  [Yonhap]

For those that don’t know the Democratic Labor Party was the political party in South Korea that was filled with a number of people who ended up being convicted for spying for North Korea.

It looks like Kim Jong-un may still be having problems with his feet:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is experiencing a relapse of his recent health problems, South Korean government officials said Monday.

According to the Ministry of Unification, Kim was limping severely in a video clip recently aired by the state-run Korean Central TV. He was limping particularly painfully at an event with female pilots that took place at the end of last month. The Rodong Shinmun, the Workers’ Party’s newspaper, reported Kim’s visit to the air base on Nov. 28 with photos, but no video was aired until Sunday afternoon.

The 30-year-old ruler of the North developed problems with his leg last spring. After his condition deteriorated, he withdrew from public activities for 40 days.

South Korean intelligence authorities have confirmed that Kim received ankle surgery by visiting French, Chinese and Russian doctors. The sources said there was a high possibility of a relapse after Kim quickly resumed his public activities.

Meanwhile, intelligence officials said Kim Yo-jong, the 25-year-old younger sister of the North’s ruler, has quickly risen in Pyongyang’s inner circle, possibly being groomed to succeed her brother in case of an emergency.

At the end of last month, Pyongyang revealed that she is a deputy director of the Workers’ Party’s Central Committee. It was the first time the North revealed her official title in a media report, although it did not say which department of the party she belongs to.

She is the youngest deputy director of the Workers’ Party in the history of North Korea. Her father Kim Jong-il became the deputy director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department in 1970 when he was 28. Her once-powerful aunt Kim Kyong-hui became the deputy director of the International Department when she was 30.

North Korea observers note that it took only three years for the youngest daughter of Kim Jong-il, who shed tears at her father’s funeral, to rise to a powerful position in Pyongyang’s leadership.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but it would probably be tough for all the long term leadership and military generals to accept such a young female leader even if she is part of the Kim family.  It would be interesting to see how this would play out if something did happen to Kim Jong-un.