Joshua at OneFreeKorea writes: “The most consistently astonishing thing about genocide in our time is how little those who write and speak movingly about the genocides of the past often seem to say and do about genocides that can still be stopped.” Again a must read.
North Korean cult mythology tells us that Kim Il-sung carved at least hundreds of anti-imperialist or anti-Japanese slogans into trees throughout Korea during his time as a freedom fighter before World War II. These trees – “slogan trees” – are now national treasures in North Korea and many are protected with glass enclosures (see pic [...]
I don’t normally follow New Zealand politics, but this cartoon portraying Winston Peters, NZ FM and head of the New Zealand First Party who was recently invited to visit North Korea by DPRK counterpart Pak Ui-Chun (date TBD), indicates he’s a bit unpopular, at least with some:
Not sure if he’s an egomaniac or not, as [...]
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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