Tag: North Korea

What I find most interesting about this, is how much more Kim Jong-un’s sister is taking on a leadership role within the regime to include responding to a letter from the U.S. President:

Donald Trump has sent a letter to Kim Jong Un detailing a plan to develop ties, state media reported citing the North Korean leader’s powerful sister, but she warned their good personal relationship is not enough, as a hiatus in disarmament talks drags on.

The statement by Kim Yo Jong came a day after the nuclear-armed North fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Saturday, the latest such action it has taken this year.

“In the letter, he (Trump)… explained his plan to propel the relations between the two countries of the DPRK and the US and expressed his intent to render cooperation in the anti-epidemic work,” an apparent reference to the coronavirus pandemic, Kim Yo Jong said in the statement carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday.

A senior administration official confirmed Trump sent a letter to Kim Jong Un, “consistent with his efforts to engage global leaders during the ongoing pandemic”.

“The President looks forward to continued communications with Chairman Kim”, the official said.

While the letter reflects “excellent” ties between the two leaders, Kim Yo Jong warned that broader relations between their two nations are different.

“We try to hope for the day when the relations between the two countries would be as good as the ones between the two top leaders, but it has to be left to time and be watched whether it can actually happen,” the sister said.

AFP

You can read more at the link.

Not even a global health crisis can stop North Korea from trying to catch a few headlines by launching missiles:

 North Korea on Saturday fired two projectiles presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, the latest in a series of such launches this month.

They were fired northeastward from areas near its western county of Sonchon in North Pyongan Province at 6:45 a.m. and 6:50 a.m., respectively, the JCS said, adding that they flew around 410 kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude of around 50 km.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

As unhealthy as Kim Jong-un is it would be wise for him to not become infected with the coronavirus, but I doubt he is avoid Pyongyang. Every year North Korea’s military goes through its winter training cycle:

Speculation is growing that North Korean leader Kim Jong-is staying away from Pyongyang out of concern over the coronavirus in the country’s crowded capital, following reports that he has been observing military exercises across the country for weeks.

According to North Korea’s state media reports, Kim has apparently been out of Pyongyang since Feb. 26 when he presided over a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party.

Media reports said Kim inspected joint exercises in Wonsan in the country’s eastern province of Kangwon, Feb. 28. It is speculated he moved from Pyongyang to Wonsan the previous day.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Who knows what is true in this report, but I think everyone finds it hard to believe that North Korea has no coronavirus cases:

Hundreds of North Korean soldiers have reportedly died from the coronavirus — and thousands of others are being quarantined.

But the secretive nation’s leaders are sticking to the official narrative that the global epidemic has not reached them.

According to Daily NK, a South Korean news organization, the COVID-19 virus killed 180 North Korean soldiers in January and February and has sent another 3,700 into quarantine. And according to South Korea’s government-backed Yonhap News Agency, almost 10,000 people have been quarantined over coronavirus fears, but nearly 4,000 have been released since they didn’t present symptoms.

But the North Korean government line hasn’t changed. The cloistered nation has remained stubbornly resistant to providing transparent information about the reported outbreak in the country.

Business Insider

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Obviously coronavirus fears are not stopping the North Koreans from doing their annual wintertime military training:

North Korea fired three short-range projectiles into the East Sea on Monday for the second time in a week in what was believed to be part of a joint strike exercise, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

The projectiles were fired northeastward from areas near its eastern town of Sondok in South Hamgyong Province at around 7:36 a.m, the JCS said, adding that they flew around 200 kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude of around 50 km.

The launches came a week after the North conducted similar firings on March 2.

“Today’s launches appear to be part of its artillery strike drill involving multiple types of multiple rocket launchers for a wintertime exercise, following the previous ones staged on Feb. 28 and March 2,” the JCS said in a release.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but of significance is that North Korea continues to not fire their longer range missiles which is keeping them in compliance with the informal agreement Kim Jong-un made with President Trump.

Here is something interesting, it appears that Kim Jong-un is now allowing his sister to take shots at South Korea:

On Tuesday night, Kim issued her first official statement, strongly slamming South Korea’s presidential office for complaining about the North’s recent short-range projectile launches, claiming that they were just an act of self-defense.

She stopped short of directly criticizing President Moon Jae-in but heaped vitriolic criticism and scorn over Cheong Wa Dae’s “senseless” and “foolish” act, saying that the South is demanding a stop to the North’s customary training while pushing for its own military drills with the United States. 

North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, the first such launch in about three months. North Korean media later said it was a long-range artillery firing drill overseen by leader Kim.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

In non-coronavirus news, North Korea wants everyone to know they are still there:

North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Monday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, the first such launches since it warned of “a new strategic weapon” early this year.

The projectiles were fired from areas near its eastern coastal city of Wonsan towards the northeast at 12:37 p.m. within a 20-second interval, the JCS said, adding that both flew around 240 kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude of around 35 km.

“South Korean and the U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing their type. We found some similarities in features between what it fired today and those launched last year,” a JCS officer told reporters. 

The latest ones appear to have been fired from transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicles, he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If the virus does spread in North Korea it will be interesting to see if the Kim regime even admits to its spread or not:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned top party officials of the “serious consequences” of failing to prevent an outbreak of the new coronavirus in the country, state media reported Saturday.

The impoverished nation, with a weak and ill-equipped healthcare system, has closed its borders to prevent the spread of the disease into its territory.

Kim told a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea that the fight against the virus was a “crucial state affair for the defence of the people” that required maximum discipline, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“In case the infectious disease spreading beyond control finds its way into our country, it will entail serious consequences,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

Two senior officials — party vice-chairmen Ri Man Gon and Pak Thae Dok — were sacked, and a party unit disbanded for corruption, the report said, indicating that they may have been involved in graft linked with the anti-epidemic measures.

“No special cases must be allowed,” he added, and ordered officials to “seal off all the channels and space through which the infectious disease may find its way”.

AFP

You can read more at the link.