Collection of photos from Pyongyang in winter.  Note the state of the art trolleys and snowplows.

Hangŭl: 성분 (成分)
Romanization: Sŏngbun
English: An element; social status/class
Notes: The descendants of the anti-Japanese guerrillas have the best sŏngbun, while those of former land-owners and collaborators are at the opposite end of social class. There are – or perhaps were – 47 distinct groups or levels of sŏngbun.
Hangŭl: 사대주의 (事大主義)
Romanization: Sadae juŭi
English: Flunkeyism; toadyism; worship […]

Update: Russia is pleading ignorance to any knowledge of North Korea’s bribe:
“We were surprised to read the information in a Japanese newspaper. We don’t know where this information has come from and therefore will not comment on the rumors at this moment,” Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov told RIA news agency.
Original post: In mid-November the […]

Asia Times: Why N Korea’s neighbors soft-pedal sanctions (Andrei Lankov)
Dong-a Ilbo: Citizen Protests Flaring in N. Korea
Korea Times: USFK Chief Urges Plan for Command Transfer
Chosun Ilbo: Bush ‘Offered to Sign End to Korean War With Kim Jong-il’
Chosun Ilbo: Reprobate Activist Held for Espionage
AP: North Korea, U.S. end talks without agreement
Reuters: North Korea sets […]

As part of the continuing effort to hit the KFR where it hurts - right in their pampered lifestyles - USA Today reports that the US Government has placed an export ban on the Apple iPod and other items:
…the list of proposed luxury sanctions, obtained by The Associated Press, aims to make Kim’s swanky […]

For a visual of where you’ve been in the world, check out the World66 site (via Expat Jane). It will also calculate the percentage of the world’s nations you’ve visited. My stats are 37 countries (not counting stepping across the line at Panmunjom, and probably a dozen airports in transit), which is 16 percent […]

From CNN: “North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is a candidate for Time’s `Person of the Year’ award.” Other candidates include; George W. Bush, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Nancy Pelosi, Condoleezza Rice, Al Gore, Hugo Chavez, and The YouTube Guys.

American Defector. Mark D. Treston. Victoria: Trafford Publishing, 2003.
The title of this book, as well as the brief description on the back cover, makes one wonder if it’s about Charles Jenkins or one of the other soldiers that defected to North Korea in the 1960s. But it is not; the author presents the book […]

Hangŭl: 로동 (노동 in South Korea)
Romanization: Rodong / Nodong
English: Work, labor
Notes: This word is strongly assosicated with the communit party in Korea, for example, the Korean Workers Party (조선로동당), The Rodong Shinmun (Workers Newspaper, 로동신문), and even the North Korean version of the scud missile, the Rodong-1.
Hangŭl: 동지 / 동무
Romanization: Dongji / Dongmu
English: Comrade, […]

In late October there was speculation that China had suspended oil shipments to North Korea for the month of September due to displeasure over the July missiles tests and to send a warning concerning a nuclear test. In mid-November, Chinese officials told visiting American scholars that China had not cut-off oil (or food aid) […]