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

North Korea in Military Cahoots with Syria?

As reported by theguardian.com, North Korea has allegedly provided military help for Syria. To me, this is no surprise. I guess we are now beginning to see North Korea's true polarization in international warfare matters. Unfortunately, it seems that NK has sent helicopters and advisers to further the Assad regime in its opposition against the rebel insurgence. I'm honestly not shocked in the least. To me, it seems predictable that these two would be secret allies.

(photo)

As usual, NK is in complete denial. Furthermore, the military contribution is the perfect addition to their chemical weapons support of the Assad regime. Take a look at the following unfortunate excerpt:

"Under a deal brokered by Russia and the US, Assad agreed to destroy all Syria's chemical weapons after Washington threatened to use force in response to a sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of people on 21 August.

Japanese media reports in August said Turkey had intercepted a shipment of gas masks and small arms from North Korea to Syria."

Yet another SHOCKER, folks.

Nuclear talks set to resume in the Pacific

In a surprising show of diplomacy, North Korea has recently requested the resumption of nuclear demilitarization in the pacific. With this news, United States envoy to North Korea Glyn Davies prepares himself to enter the fray for the first time since the Hermit Kingdom abandoned the talks back in 2009. With North Korea's involvement in the world economy slowly expanding and their increased trade with outside countries, North Korea appears to be reaching out in an effort to join the rest of the world. US analysts have stated that this would be a great opportunity and quite surprisingly, North Korea agrees. These delegations are in conjunction with the US, North Korea, China, South Korea and Japan. These talks are hoped to bring about a mutual peace between the four and will hopefully put the tension in the Pacific to rest. On a more realistic note, I do not believe that these talks will yield much in the way of results simply because South Korea is still quite hostile towards the North (with good reason) and as the US is a longstanding ally of the South Koreans, they will not likely become too friendly with the North. However, should these talks prove to be more than just a show, then the Pacific and Asia as a whole will undoubtedly benefit greatly. Instability in this region of the world has been nearly as consistent at the middle east at this point and I would be very happy to see some form of stabilized peace in my lifetime.

Fun-GI Business

Recent photos have been leaked regarding Kim Jong-Un's visit to a mushroom factory last August (2013). Are these another series of the expertise of Photoshop? Seemingly, it is never truly known what the real deal is with Un and his fancy economy boost in the fungi industry. News agencies have reported that the dictator has mandated that all families donate 6000 won (around 7 US dollars) towards ''economic growth''. What is up with the crack smoking in leadership and politics lately? A source from North Korea says ''Our family will starve. When do we have time to worry about the concerns of mushroom-eaters?’ This kind of strong opposition is embarrassing and awkward for the heads of the People’s Units.” Daily NK

It is all for show.


''A smiling Kim Jong-un is seen being mobbed by a large group of crying women wearing white boiler suits.'' Independent  The women of the ''People's Unit'', apparently an organization to benefit the citizens of North Korea surround Kim Jong Un in ''awe'' and ''satisfaction''. Really? Can we believe that this ''People's Unit'' is really to ''benefit'' citizens when they are in a ''do or die'' situation? These series of images have been said in later news reports to be falsified with the use of Photoshop to create a ''better'' image of the North.

''Many of the women, who are assumed to be workers on the mushroom farm, are seen crying with joy as the dictator is led through the crowd by a stern-looking female soldier.
A number of additional propaganda photos were released from the rotund leader’s visit to the fungi farm, including snaps of him grinning as he is surrounded by a mountain of mushrooms.'' Independent

Inter-Korean diplomat set to visit Seoul

In a stroke of random initiative, UN diplomat to the inter-Korean relations Marzuki Darusman is set to arrive in the capital of South Korea on a fact finding mission in order to discover a way to ease the tensions that exist between the Korean rivals. Darusman has been given a 1-year mandate in order to discover the issues plaguing inter-Korean relations and is showing some great initiative as an envoy of the UN. Now what's most interesting is that although North Korea has stated many times that their primary focus is peace in the region and only engage with force when forced; the hermit kingdom has thus far refused every request from Darusman to enter the Northern regions of the peninsula and as such Darusman will now be left with a strictly Southern viewpoint during his visit to the peninsula. I find it strange that a country that claims to seek peace would refuse access to the diplomat who's job it is to ensure peace in the region. Perhaps Kim Jung-Un is unwilling to share the responsibility with outsiders and he wishes to resolve the issue amongst fellow Koreans? Clearly Kim Jung-Un's desire to have peace achieved solely amongst Koreans has proven unsuccessful so I would definitely implore the North Koreans to allow Darusman into their country so that he might hear about the issue from their point of view. With a little luck we will continue to hear about Darusman and his crusade for peace in the near future and before his mandate is up he will have a few suggestions to at least reduce tensions between the two Korean nations.

North Koreans being used as cheap labour?

              A significant source of funding for North Korea seems to come from countries like Mongolia, who take on groups of North Korean workers to work in sewing factories, road construction, building construction, etc.  It would seem that this is a small step forward for North Korea, until it is examined more closely.  Reportedly the workers get drastically underpaid even though the employers agree that they are hard working, and highly skilled workers.  The workers are forced to stay on the grounds of where they are working and must ask permission from their embassy to even talk to "outsiders", meaning locals or anyone else that isn't directly involved in their work.  The workers aren't even directly paid by their employers, but rather by their embassy, which claims all of the money from their work and then pays them as they deem fit.
 There are always supervisors that are carefully watching the workers to make sure that they have no contact with the outside world and remain focused on their given tasks.
                 When it comes to other countries being responsible for allowing this to happen, they claim that their hands are clean.  The North Korean embassies are paid the same amount per worker as any other workers are, and it is up to them to pay their own employees.  This allows the North Korean officials to gather large amounts of money without having to do anything more than sending over some of their citizens to countries such as Mongolia.  The part where this becomes even more shady is when suspicions start to arise that the workers are actually being threatened to work by the North Korean government, using their families as leverage.  This violates many human rights laws, and it isn't even being concealed.  On the contrary, Mongolia is actually changing its laws so that more North Koreans can come over and work for pennies while their government reaps all of the profits.
                    There are also high numbers of North Korean workers in Russia and China, although the exact numbers in China aren't known because the information isn't made public.  It is amazing that a country as closed off and unconnected as North Korea has managed to stay integrated in the international market, even if the majority of people in the world are unaware of it.

FINALLY! Thank GOD!

Today, I've heard some of the most encouraging news yet about NK and its human right situation. When I saw this title: North Korean leaders may be called to face ICC over 'human rights abuses', 
I heaved a sigh of relief. The neglected situation in North Korea is finally receiving some long needed intervention from the international community. 

(Photo found here)

This photo was entitled "A North Korean defector prays for human rights at a church in Seoul, South Korea." It still breaks my heart, to see what these people are enduring for their religious choices, ethnic backgrounds, or vocations. Nobody should EVER have to live like this, I am 100% behind the UN investigators. 

These are some of the most encouraging words I have read during this Blog project, just let them sink in for a minute after you finish reading this... 

"UN investigators leading an inquiry into human rights abuses in North Korea are consulting international lawyers over the possibility of summoning senior regime figures to appear before the international criminal court."

It means SOMEBODY out there is doing SOMETHING, FINALLY. 

A Korean-American Birthday Basketball Game?

That's right, Rodman and Jong-un are at it again. According to theguardian.com, Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong-un have been hanging out as of late. WOOP DE DOO people. Are you ready for the latest and greatest ridiculously predictable controversial quote from Rodman about Jong-un?  Well, if you aren't, stop reading now, because it only gets richer from here on out. "Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, is a 'good guy', a 'good-hearted kid' who offers the best tequila to his guests on his private island, according to the former basketball player Dennis Rodman." 


(Photo found here) 

If you though that Dennis was ignorant to Kim's deeds, you've thought wrong. apparently he knows something...If I do say so myself, I find this blatant ignorance a little disconcerting. "I don't care what the f*** he does over there, what he does over there, what he does over here – between me and him we're friends. I don't care," -Rodman


So now that we have explored the creepy transnational bro-mance, what's to do about it? What kind of play dates are they planning? Well, apparently they want to set up a birthday basketball game for Jong-un. As previously mentioned in one of my earlier posts. Only.... I'm getting worried because it looks like it is going to happen... "Rodman talked about his friendship with the North Korean leader in London to promote a basketball game between a Rodman-selected team and a North Korean team to coincide with Kim's 31st birthday on 8 January."


My next question is... why do I feel like I want this to happen? "I'm not saying that the marshal of North Korea is in control. It's the system that's been built for years and years and years. And this young kid is trying to do one thing – to open that gap. To do something to make it work." -Rodman

Well Rodman, you're convincing, but I'm not buying it today... That's all for now folks!

80 North Koreans publicly executed

In a display of total intolerance, the North Korean regime has reportedly executed 80 North Koreans this past weekend. The charges for these individuals varies from watching South Korean television shows to prostitution, both serious crimes in the North of the peninsula.The executions were allegedly carried out this past weekend in an effort to stamp out capitalist zeal arising from the country's latest developments into area other than Nuclear testing.  Executions based on trivialities such as this are not unheard of for North Korea, but the sheer size and scale of the executions leads me to believe this was more about sending a message than enforcing the rules of the state. The executions were done by firing squad across varies cities in the country. These executions were apparently made public affairs as the members of the various cities were asked to gather to spectate death by firing squad.  Although a solemn event, perhaps these executions are a sign of resistance amongst the North Korean peoples and that they are looking to escape from the mindless propaganda emitted by the North Korean government. These executions will likely happen the population's spirit but with a little luck, it will not crush them entirely and perhaps a revolution is in their future.

Bibles Falling from the Sky

It is illegal to practice christianity in North Korea. For the past year or so, an American pastor has been  ''sending the word of God'' to North Korean christians. Members of a USA christian group have used massive homemade balloons and GPS technology to drop over 50 000 bibles into rural areas of North Korea. Getting caught with a christian bible in North Korea is a serious crime deemed of incarceration.

News Report

Military Parade

North Korea showing off military:

Crazed dictator running your country? There's an app for that.

In a bizarre twist of events, North Korea manufacturers have produced the "Korean Ipad" or as it is known in the Korea peninsula, the Samjiyon is the epitome of North Korea ignoring copyrighted patents and international law. This introduction into the tablet family has no internet access which would ordinarily be an issue when it comes to tablets, but in the land of forced labour camps and crippling poverty, the preloaded device is a certified marvel of modern technology. Oddly enough, the device comes with a copy of "Gone with the wind" preinstalled. Margarett Mitchell's story is an American classic, but has found a cult following in the Hermit Kingdom, a land well known for its distaste for the west and has even been used to teach North Korea agents rudimentary english. One of the great joys of following the daily events in North Korea are the everyday ironic moments such as this. Is it breaking news that will shape our world today? Perhaps not, but stories like these make following North Korea well worth it.

 

North Korean ships has sunk

The news just came out that one of the North Korean naval vessel has sank last October. This had many consequence killing about 15 to 20 sailors. It’s very rare that North Korea admits his failure in military. They don’t like to talk about their failure but this situation is a real failure. It has been said that Kim Jong-Un took the actions to find all bodies of the crew to hold a solemn funeral. In total, two ships has sunk in the mid-October. The first one is a Hainan-class 375-ton submarine chaser and the second one is a 100 to a 200 tones patrol boat. There are many theories to why the two did sink. One source does explain that the Hainan-class submarine has sink because it was too old. It was built in the 1960s in China before being bought by North Korea. Another report from South Korea explains that the tow boats has sank after colliding together. Something interesting in the end of the article is that North Korea military has more than one million soldiers but the problem is that there equipment’s is getting old. The solution for them might be to invest in two equipment to be more successful and to avoid situations like this to happen again?

A Video I found on the NK Gulags ( In 3 parts)

Some extra bonus "fun" :
A video describing the dehumanization of the prisoners.
It is horrendous to me that a human being can shrug his responsibility off unto his commander and simply go about his career of being a murderer. I have a hard time understanding why one human can automatically consider another human being to be inhuman. I guess this is a coping mechanism, because, if their prisoners were human, then that would make the prison guards out to be bad people, and that would be unacceptable.