Kim Ill Sung Institute for General Discussion on the DPRK.

[Beet]

This is scary. Jang was supposed to be the voice of reason within the regime. Northeast Asia seems to have gone off the deep end, in general.

[Beet]

The announcement refers to a lease North Korea signed with China over the Rason economic zone in June 2011 as "an act of treachery".

[Beet]

The announcement accuses Jang of being a "reformist" ideologically aligned with the West. If only he had succeeded!

[Beet]

A list of those attending the funeral of a high ranking apparatchik. We can assume the below have NOT been purged (as of yet):



Among those are Jang Song thaek's ex wife, Kim Kyong Hui. She is reported to be in ill health, however.

Pak Pong Ju was in tears while denouncing Jang Song thaek.

Choe Ryong Hae is practically the only high ranking military general left. But even he was too afraid to arrest Jang Song thaek.

Jang Jong Nam is reported to have played a role in a 2010 North Korean attack on a South Korean ship.

[Beet]

North Korea has recalled all economic workers from China, announced a new nuclear test (one of the final steps towards warhead miniaturization), announced a new long range rocket test, and dropped leaflets on a South Korean Island saying that North Korea would attack this island first. This is not good.

[Beet]

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/20/21980066-north-korea-sends-fax-threatening-to-strike-south-korea-without-notice-report

[Beet]

It's pretty creepy how no one here actually gives a sh**t about North Korea but everyone wants to use it for "crazy" porn.

[Beet]

More "crazy porn" - the Vice documentary on visiting North Korea...

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24R8JObNNQ4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw46Ll-Zy4s
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HJj85K_7MQ

The problem with always and only laughing at North Korea is that it's dehumanizing. It fails to see that if you're living it, it isn't just a joke or farce or a place to laugh at on YouTube for a few hours. It's your life. I mean, it was funny the first time - but when I notice on these threads that no one ever posts any real discussion except for Chairman Sanchez - 90% of the time it's me talking to myself - the only time anyone ever comes into here is to post some over the top ridiculous triviality - it's gets tiring. The fact that Americans pretty much can only see North Korea in such farcial terms - it's even made it into cinema - is just another example of how we fetishize and one-dimensionalize other cultures. And that might have even been harmless if you think North Korea is fundamentally harmless to people outside that country, but after last Spring's Crisis I no longer think it is.

[Beet]

I'm curious from whom, if anybody, Kim is thought to be taking significant advice post-Jang.

Choe Ryong Hae is the most senior military general now and was Kim's envoy to China last May. It's noteworthy that China has issued a statement asking Kim to visit Beijing as soon as possible, but Kim has so far refused. Kim has never visited China since taking power. There were rumors he was willing to do so in late 2012, but he was brushed off because it was in the middle of the 18th Party Congress.

Pak Pong Ju is the premier - similar to the role Li KeQiang has in the PRC.

[Beet]

Of course we all know that North Korea is ridiculous and yes, of course they invite this sort of thing. To an extent. But it's also a real country with some real f--ked up sh**t that is going on. When you focus exclusively on the purposes of your own merriment and seem completely apathetic to any other aspect of the country, then you are using their misery for your amusement. I mean, it's a free country; Im not going to stop you, but that's what it is. And it's frustrating to those of us who do care about North Korea. For the American media at large- for whom North Korea stories get a lot of clicks precisely for that reason - it's not a surprise that its considered just another dorm if entertainment. But it is out of character for a forum such as this which has pretensions of international sophistication. Maybe we need one thread for laughing at North Korea and shocking ourselves with how they're all living in caves and whatnot- and another thread for objectively discussing it as the security threat that it is and how we should deal with it.

[Beet]

I have a hard time taking Kim Jong Un as a threat to anyone but his own dissenters.  He obviously likes the lifestyle, so why would he do anything to screw that up.

For the most part that's more likely than not, but given North Korea's steadily expanding conventional weapons capability (pretty much all that is left is for them to master warhead re-entry technology for them to have ICBMs and they could have that by 2015) even a small chance that he could miscalculate and get himself into a military situation where he can't back down is a problem. Compared to Iran it certainly is a threat.