Food Shortage in North Korea?

Yes there is a food shortage in North Korea. The information comes from two United Nations agencies. They did put out the information that 84% of the household don’t have enough food to eat. North Korea is considered one of the poorest countries and has lately been unable to feed the major of his population. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) does projected that North Korea needs to import 340 000 tons of cereals during the 2013 and 2014 year. While the government targets 300 000 tons. The 40 000 tons of food shortage is considered to be a lot. The situation is a little encouraging due to the fact that there is an increase of 5% in the agricultural production but there is still too many families and individuals that don’t have enough to eat each day. Better price on the market could be a solution. There is definitely international aid needed to help North Korea food shortage problem.  

"Enable our people...to live without tightening their belts any longer." Kim Jong Un

                Over the course of the past 2 years the world has began to see North Korea develop as an economic country.  This change started occurring shortly after Kim Jong Un's rise to power when some money began to go into developing a tourist industry as opposed to solely a military one.  Many of the construction projects that are currently ongoing in North Korea are happening "below the radar" so to speak however there have been some that have attracted a lot of international attention.  The ski resort is one of the most widely known projects, and Kim Jong Un received a lot of criticism over his decision to "waste money" on it.  What many people aren't aware of is that the purpose of the ski resort is to bring in $43.75 million in profits annually according to documents obtained by Reuters.  This is just one of the projects that Kim Jong Un is currently working on, however he is also constructing roads and railroads to other countries in order to allow products and people to flow into and out of the country with more ease.
                This brings into play the cost of construction however China has been a major contributor for North Korea and the cost of labor is already relatively low.  This is because of the massive army that Kim Jong Un already has at his disposal, and he is using many of the soldiers to build the highways, railroads, and tourist attractions, coining the term "Soldier-Builders".
                 While this shows that Kim Jong Un truly understands the importance of a thriving economy, he is still continuing with his nuclear funding and plans to continue tests.  He may not be embracing his father's strict "Military First" policy however he still plans on staying very militarized.  This should still be seen as a big step in the right direction because he is slowly enabling North Korea to work its way out of the poverty that his predecessors plunged the country into.

Six Party Talks Already in Jeopardy?!

Talks concerning nuclear demilitarization have been under strain lately as North Korea reacts poorly to America's suggested restrictions to the North Korean nuclear programs before talks may even progress. The increased sanctions have recently pushed the Hermit Kingdom into rejoining the talks since their halt in 2008. This comes as no surprise as the North Korean economy has not exactly been booming as of late. The sanctions and continued pressure that they provide have proved effective in the past as seen with Iran, a country that was infamous for refusing inspections but has recently agreed to quasi-limited UN inspections as the cost of reduced sanctions. The US diplomat in charge of these negotiations, Glyn Davies, is hopeful towards the prospect of sanctions pushing the North Koreans into accepting the United States' terms. I personally find that the North Koreans have never reacted favorably with such antics and this will likely be no different. North Korea is not Iran and to draw similarities between the two is a slippery slope at best. It would be such a disappointment if the North Koreans were to once again drop out of the six party talks due to what they believe are "draconian measures" coming from the US. This is a real opportunity for positive change but the US's uncompromising stance is seriously jeopardizing positive results. On the other hand, sometimes a misbehaving child requires a stern hand.

We want him home for the holidays

Will Lee Newman see her husband for Christmas? I will put you into context. It is the story about the wife of an 85-year-old veteran who has been capture and detained in North Korea. The last time she did see her husband was on October 26 when he token off a plane by the North Korean military.

"One day is as hard as another’’.

“He just needs to be home, and we want him home for the holidays".

“It’s hard for his grandchildren’’.

As you can imagine, it’s very hard for the family. The Swedish authorities are in charge to know more about the situation of the detained man. Maybe the United States should do something about it even though we know the relationship between North Korea and the United States is very hard. This is definitely a story to follow.

 

You may also follow this link; there is an interesting video about the situation.

Setbacks: Kidnapping an old man

Nearly a month ago on October 26, 2013 Merrill Newman, an american citizen, was arrested by North Korean officials just before leaving North Korea upon the completion a 10 day, government approved tour.  North Korean officials have refused to release any information regarding the health of the 85 year old Korean war veteran.  Due to the lack of an American presence in North Korea, the Swedish Embassy has been negotiating on his behalf.  This is the second American citizen that North Korea has detained (the first one still being imprisoned after a year) however what is puzzling about this citizen's arrest is that no one even knows why he has been arrested.  He was pulled off of his plane just before it took off, with the only reports of a possible cause for arrest being that he got into an argument with the tour guide about certain aspects of the Korean war.

            This happening just before North Korea's statement that they will consider re-entering the Six-Party talks presents a unique problem.  They claim that they will only consider re-entering if there are no conditions  that must be met before they enter, however they then arrest American citizens.  This makes it next to impossible to comply with their demands.  Another reason that this complicated peace talks is because North Korea has been accused of using prisoners as bargaining chips in the past in order to slant the arguments in their favor.  So one could argue that it would not only be a bad idea to allow North Korea to enter the Six-Party talks without releasing their foreign prisoners, it could prove to be catastrophic.  This causes a stalemate, as North Korea has announced that they won't comply with any conditions before they enter the Six-Party talks, and it would be foolish to allow them to enter with such crucial bargaining chips. 

             It will be interesting to see who's iron will is going to break first, because one of the parties is going to have to stand down before any progress is made, and neither side is known for responding well to coercion.  This situation will most likely develop at a rapid pace throughout the next few weeks and will without a doubt be worthy of a few headlines.

Korean Plastic Sugery

I was suffering the net last weekend and I did end up on this blog. Therefore, I decided to post the linkhttp://blog.asiantown.net/-/22313/korean-twin-sisters-turn-into-another-totally-different-twin-sisters-after-plastic-surgery-pics in order that you can see the transformation that I find quit amazing!

Dc rappers in North Korea?

It is the story about two unsigned artits. Their artist names are Pacman and Peso. A little background on them is that they never had travelled before. They do live in the poor suburbs of Washington DC. Both of them had spent time in jail for minor offences.
Their story begins with the two artist raising money to jumpstart their career. They did manage to raise $10,400 from their campaign. Now you’re wondering why I am talking about this? The fact is that they want to use their money to kick-start their career in China and North Korea!!! They do plan to film songs like ``God Bless America`` on a party bus. They know they have a chance of dying. They did add on that if they survive, this would change their lives.
Mike Bassett did play a big role in their future journey
Bassett is a former Iraq war veteran. He did live seven years in South Korea. Therefore, he is aware of the situation going on over there. He is the one who has arranged the two rappers flights and visas. He does want people to understand that North Korea is misunderstood. He believes that the tow artist will be treated with politeness. But he did provide them with some cultural advices and did also tell them to modify some lyrics in their songs. I believe it might not be a great idea if they sing ``God Bless America``` because of all the controversy with the West.
Can they be compared to Dennis Rodman? Who knows? Only the future will tell us. This is for sure a story to follow up. http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/08/washington-rappers-peso-pacman-north-korea