General North Korea thread

[Dr. Trainwreck]

North Korea considers new Seth Rogen film an act of agression.

This is on par with the bad hair day incident.

Can't we cut the guys some slack this time? I wouldn't want to be in a Seth Rogen film either.

[Pelranius]

Amusingly enough, Governor Chung (Randall Park) from Veep will also play Kim Jong Un in Interview.

That guy is every where (he's going to be the Dad in Fresh off the Boat).

Going back to topic, considering how Best Korea treats everything as an act of war, Mr. Rogen doesn't have too much to worry about, methinks.

[Borgholio]

I think it was discussed awhile back that if we casually disregard every time they threaten war, then someday they may ACTUALLY do it and we would not be expecting it.

[Iroscato]

Y'know, every time I see this thread getting updated, I always think 'Oh God, what've they done NOW?!'
I am rarely disappointed.

[K. A. Pital]

Just recently after Xi Jingping chose to visit the ROK ahead of DPRK, North Korea proposed to lower the tensions between the two Koreas and create a confederacy that could serve as a mechanism for Korean reunification. Hope they do keep going that way.

[Broomstick]

The only hitch with that is the the DPRK wants reunification on its terms with the ROK becoming like them rather than vice versa. The Kim god-kings dynasty does not want democracy and does not want to relinquish power. If such a confederacy is set up they'll pout, make threats, and try to bully the ROK into becoming their servant/vassal/chewtoy and scapegoat for being "traitors" and having allied with the evil US. We're talking about a country where being the grandchild of someone from the south can leave you a political non-person and second class citizen no matter how loyally you act.

[K. A. Pital]

I don't think such a primitive approach is good. DPRK is an asian despoty very much like Myanmar. But they are still human, and many people in their government actually know how bad things are. They just don't know how to end it without their heads being chopped off, a typical situation for absolute monarchies...

[Isolder74]

Sounds more like a demand for surrender and admitting that the DROK was always the true rulers of the peninsula rather then any kind of consolidation. My question is, how would making the South as poor as the North in any way make the North any better?

[Lagmonster]

Sounds more like a demand for surrender and admitting that the DROK was always the true rulers of the peninsula rather then any kind of consolidation. My question is, how would making the South as poor as the North in any way make the North any better?

I can't imagine that they would try. The ruling caste in the North aren't ignorant of how rich and advanced the outside world is, nor do I buy into the idea that they are in it purely for the ideology of the state. So they probably know that a capitulation of the south and subsequent seizing of assets (and array of profitable international tech/automotive/other companies) would bring them a shit-ton of money.

[Broomstick]

The highest elite in DPRK are already wealthy and have access to luxuries and what the West produces. Would they truly want to exchange that for a little more wealth but have the trade-off of losing personal power and influence? Not everyone is motivated solely by money.

[Isolder74]

5 Ways Growing Up in North Korea Is Crazier Than You Think

Cracked did an article on the insanity of North Korea. It's like an inverse version of Disneyland.

[Thanas]

North Korea did officially protest at the foreign ministry of China against this video. China ignored the protest.

[LaCroix]

North Korea doesn't like the UN Human Rights Report, will make (up) its own, 'correct' version.

First link I found

[Isolder74]

United Nations' Food Aid Program for North Korea Lacks Donors

SEOUL—The United Nations' food assistance agency says it may have to stop operating in North Korea because of a lack of funding, as donors continue to shy away from the rogue state.

The World Food Programme has distributed aid in North Korea since a famine in the mid-1990s, but the amount has steadily dropped over the past decade as Pyongyang defied the international community's calls to stop nuclear tests. In 2001, it distributed 900,000 metric tons of food in North Korea; in 2013, the figure was 46,000 metric tons, the agency says.

The WFP, which is funded by voluntary contributions from private donors and U.N. member states, says North Korea continues to face regular food shortages. Its program for the country has only received about $5.7 million in aid this year, mostly from Switzerland, Australia, Canada, private donors and the U.N.'s Central Emergency Response Fund. The agency says that if it doesn't receive another $50 million by November, it could be forced to stop providing aid as early as January.

"We are deeply concerned about the situation of vulnerable people in DPR Korea and are exploring all possible avenues to avert having to close down our operations," said Kenro Oshidari, the WFP's regional director for Asia.

Giving aid to North Korea is politically sensitive, particularly in light of the widely held view that Pyongyang is able to feed its people but is instead developing its military capabilities. North Korea has launched about 100 missiles and other projectiles this year and satellite imagery suggests it has plans for more.

The WFP works in North Korea through a partnership with the government. Since 1998, the WFP has been producing fortified biscuits enriched with vitamins and minerals in 14 government-operated factories across the country. But now only two of these factories are now operational, Mr. Oshidari said.

A lack of funding has also forced the WFP to scale back a two-year, $200 million operation aimed at feeding 2.4 million of women and children in North Korea. Mr. Oshidari said the program is now targeting 1.8 million women and children because of cutbacks. "Without further donor support, the WFP's nutrition-based programs are at risk."

The U.S. has donated more than 12.5 million metric tons of food aid to North Korea since 1995, according to a U.S. Congressional Research Service report published in April. Almost all of this has gone through the WFP. Washington pulled the plug on a new agreement to send 240,000 metric tons of food aid in April 2012 after Pyongyang attempted to launch a long-range rocket.


A worker at a fruit juice factory on the outskirts of Pyongyang on April 10, 2012. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
The U.S. congressional report said the North Korean government restricts the ability of donors to operate in the country and has resisted reforms that would allow for equitable distribution of food. It also said the government is adept at switching between donors, opportunistically seeking out the least stringent terms, which include access to famine-hit areas and accountability on getting aid to people in need.

The WFP says more than 80% of North Korean households don't eat adequately during the so-called lean season from May to August, with many limiting portions or adding water to food. Around 25 million people live in North Korea. The country receives some aid from China, though it is unclear how much.

Joshua Stanton, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer and blogger, noted that the leadership in Pyongyang has continued to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into building sports facilities, including a new ski resort, even as people have gone unfed.

Mr. Stanton also criticizes the WFP for operating in the country without protesting about political prison camps, where he says people are believed to be starving.

"Hunger in North Korea is not a function of the state's resources, but of the state's policies," he said. "Instead of criticizing those policies and pressuring Pyongyang to change them, the WFP has, despite the best of intentions, become Pyongyang's tacit enabler."

Mr. Oshidari said the agency has to work in difficult circumstances. "The WFP believes that its presence in DPRK—even with imperfect operating conditions—has helped improve the humanitarian situation of people in need."

Link

This does not surprise me at all. It's hard to get people to donate when they feel that their money is being wasted or used inappropriately.

[Thanas]

Yeah, nobody is going to donate money when the leader of the country has gotten a monthly cognac bill of tens of thousands of Euros. And that is just cognac.

[Spekio]

North Korea is indeed best only Korea. World Leader in human rights.

[Pelranius]

Yeah, nobody is going to donate money when the leader of the country has gotten a monthly cognac bill of tens of thousands of Euros. And that is just cognac.

Best Korea also has the habit of stealing Chinese railcars that transported food aid in the 1990s, and I wouldn't be surprised if they kept on doing so.

[Broomstick]

Kim Jong Un hasn't been seen in public since September 4. Wonder what's up with that?

(CNN) -- North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un hasn't been seen at a public event for three weeks, including a prominent state meeting, which he has attended every year since coming to power in late 2011.

On Thursday, Kim was conspicuously absent from the Supreme People's Assembly, which is North Korea's parliament attended by officials of the party, military and various national organizations. A prominent seat remained empty on stage surrounded by North Korea's top brass.

"We expected to see him at the Supreme People's Assembly, because he had attended that session every time," said Yoo Ho-Yeol professor of North Korean Studies at Korea University in Seoul. "So we are speculating that he might have problems in his health."

The 31-year-old leader's absence has fueled speculation that Kim has a health problem, as some observers have pointed to weight gain as well as a limp when he was seen walking in July.

Korea's state-run news agency, KCNA routinely catalogs Kim's activities and public appearances. A count of KCNA announcements about Kim's public appearances went from 24 events in July to 16 in August. It dwindled to just one event in September. His last listed public appearance was a September 4th concert, which he attended with his wife Ri Sol Ju, according to KCNA.

While it's difficult to know what's happening in North Korea, the absence of its leader from public view has given hints in the past.

"We had that kind of occasion when Kim Jong Il was seriously sick in 2008," said Yoo.

That year, the elder Kim's absence from parades and national events raised questions about the leader's health. U.S. and South Korean intelligence believed that Kim Jong Il had suffered severe health problems and possibly a stroke.

Six years later, Kim died at the age of 69, in December 2011, and his son assumed command.

[Iroscato]

Interesting. If it turns out to be the 'worst-case' scenario (interesting phrase to use in this situation) I wonder who will take control. Probably several generals squabbling for power if there's no direct heir.

[Broomstick]

King Jung Un has brothers - if they are not suitable perhaps there is a nephew or two to choose from.

Sure, the generals will be jockeying for position, but the God-Emperor needs to be from the Kim Dynasty. Unless the apple-cart gets more upset than I anticipate.

[Borgholio]

What would be the probability of a civil war as the "heirs" jockey for power?

[Isolder74]

Who knows. We can't even be sure at this point who could even be in the running for the position. A civil war could possibly spell the end of North Korea as we know it.

[Lolpah]

North Korea now officially recognises this:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/ ... S520140926

(Reuters) - Young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is suffering from "discomfort", state media has said in the first official acknowledgement of ill health after a prolonged period out of the public eye.

Kim, 31, who is frequently the centrepiece of the isolated country's propaganda, has not been photographed by state media since appearing at a concert alongside his wife on Sept. 3, fuelling speculation he is suffering from bad health.

He had been seen walking with a limp since an event with key officials in July and in a pre-recorded documentary broadcast by state media on Thursday appeared to have difficulty walking.

"The wealth and prosperity of our socialism is thanks to the painstaking efforts of our marshal, who keeps lighting the path for the people, like the flicker of a flame, despite suffering discomfort," a voice over for the hour-long documentary said.

The documentary was followed by a pre-recorded broadcast of a North Korean Supreme People's Assembly meeting from which Kim Jong Un was notably absent.

Kim has rapidly gained weight since coming to power after his father died of a heart attack in 2011, photos released by state media show.

North Korea observers speculate Kim's weight and family background may have contributed to his condition.

"Based on his gait, it appears he has gout - something (due to) diet and genetic predisposition that has affected other members of the Kim family," said Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership and contributor to the 38 North website.


(Additional reporting by Seungmyung Roh; Editing by Nick Macfie)

[Broomstick]

Gosh, yes, it's hard being rotund in a starving nation!

Am I the only one getting a sort of Henry VIII here? Rich diet, overweight, gout, execution of relatives... only one wife (so far) but hey, I never said they were clones.

[Borgholio]

All he needs now is a case of syphilis and he's all set.