I’ve been very busy with work, family, and reserves the past few weeks. The pace is not expected to let up any time soon, but as there are lulls I’ll post updates.
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.
- #
June 20th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Richardson,
I feel your pain. Literally. We are in the same boat.
June 20th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
MAJ K,
Maybe even more for you!
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Hi,
I wrote a short letter to Kim Jong Il asking him to free Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Please let me know what you think.
http://www.kimplicity.com/fkim/blog/2009/06/20/letter-to-kim-jong-il-please-free-euna-lee-and-laura-ling/
Thanks,
Frank
June 26th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Please reprioritize your life, as I need good info on DPRK & this “light posting” is inconvenient for me. Thanks.