In July 2006, I wrote about the potential for an East Asian arms race. One possibility mentioned at that time was of Japan also going nuclear if a reunified Korea chose that option. A recent Congressional Research Service report, “Japan’s Nuclear Future: Policy Debate, Prospects, and U.S. Interests,” (PDF) 19 February 2009, has [...]
In an attempt to quell speculation about a possible ICBM (a missile that typically delivers a nuclear warhead) test launch, North Korea recently signed related international treaties and announced it plans to launch a satellite in early April:
An international maritime agency official said Thursday that the [International Maritime Organization] has received a letter from [...]
Kim Jong Il Announces Plan To Bring Moon To North Korea
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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