According to a recent Angus Reid poll, 45 percent of Americans consider NK to be an “enemy,” 28 percent “unfriendly,” while 17 percent say “friendly” and 4 percent say an “ally.” Makes one wonder what percent is addicted to crack (4?). Don Kirk has more on this in the ATimes.
Newsweek: The Strange, Weird World of North Korea
CNN: Venturing into North Korea
Asia Times: Iran trumps N Korea in axis of fear (Don Kirk)
Hankyoreh: Kim Jong-il an ‘easygoing, resolute’ leader: former unification minister
Reuters: FACTBOX: South Korea’s industrial park in the North
Joongang Ilbo: Two Koreas fail to reach agreement in Kaesong
Daily NK: 100 Days after Feb 13 [...]
This report raises some questions, and while I’m no currency expert, I’m not sure they’re valid questions (seems they’ve already been answered):
The Swiss federal criminal police, in a report released Monday, expresses serious doubt that North Korea is capable of manufacturing the fake bills, which it said were superior to real ones.
The Swiss report includes [...]
After missile and nuclear tests and uranium enrichment, the U.S. sanctions North Korean firms while Pyongyang reverses, making overtures. It’s not an accident, it’s a pattern of strategic disengagement.
- #Vanity Fair, of all publications, has a lengthy article on North Korea’s counterfeiting operations, including Office 39. Well worth a read. (h/t NE Asia Matters)
- #The Chosun Ilbo has an article about a new book by Chang Jin-song (formerly affiliated with the North Korean Workers' Party) that details Kim Jong-il private life, including the inside scoop on all his lady friends. According to Chang, one unfortunate young lady to get Kim's attention was, "brutally executed after she spurned Kim's persistent advances and fell in love with another man."
- #Gizmodo has an excellent array of Kim Jong-il photos; In Which We Provoke Kim Jong Il in 77 Offensive and Hilarious Ways. Some are sure to become often used classics.
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