That someone in the administration recognizes the absurdity of engaging in Ground Hog Day deals with North Korea (and is publicly commenting about it) is somewhat encouraging. Robert Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense, recently had this to say about North Korea:
“We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to [...]

ROK Drop: US Says It Can Intercept North Korean Missile
NK Econ Watch: North Korea’s social change, and; DPRK not about to collapse
DPRK Forum: Countdown to the Showtrial in the DPRK
EagleSpeak: North Korea Threatens
War is Boring: Kyle’s Far East Roundup 5/29/09 [see leadership chart]
Notions Capital: North Korea - Alternative Theory
Ogle Earth: North Korea’s 2009 nuclear test: [...]

Curtis Melvin, of the North Korean Economy Watch blog and North Korea Uncovered (Google Earth), recently did an interview on the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC, and is featured in a Times Online article, both focusing on his mapping of North Korea. If you use Google Earth and have an interest in North Korea, his [...]

Missed it on the 30th as I was working late, but it’s now been four years since DPRK Studies has been in blog format.

The importance of the three short-range missiles launched by North Korea on Monday and the two follow-on launches Tuesday is being overstated in the press and by some politicians; this week is not about short-range missiles but about an apparently functional nuclear device design.
North Korea generally conducts several short-range ground-to-ship or ship-to-ship missile flight [...]

From the Japan Times: “Yasushi Chimura and his wife, Fukie, abducted by North Korea in 1978 but repatriated in 2002, expressed relief Friday that their children [now ages 27, 25, and 21] are adapting smoothly to Japanese life as they marked the fifth anniversary of their arrival in Japan.”

The title assumes North Korea did test a nuclear device, which I think likely, and not an equivalent amount of TNT, initially thought a possibility in 2006 until radioactive isotopes of krypton and xenon were detected.
There are several reasons for a North Korea to conduct a nuclear test and it’s difficult if not impossible [...]

Update, North Korea’s announcement: Full text of the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announcement of the nuclear test, presumably a TV broadcast (via the Independent):
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test on May 25 as part of the measures to bolster up its nuclear deterrent for self-defence in [...]

Via the NYT: “Former President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, who had been under criminal investigation for corruption, died on Saturday from a fall while hiking on a hill near his retirement home… it was unclear whether the fall was accidental or whether Mr. Roh had committed suicide … Roh left a will, indicating that [...]

Hillary Clinton, speaking at a graduation ceremony at Barnard College in New York City, displayed an amazing degree of naiveté:
“We have two young women journalists right now imprisoned in North Korea and you can get busy on the Internet and let the North Koreans know that we find that absolutely unacceptable,” Clinton told the [...]