From the AP: “Three North Koreans defectors left Thailand for the United States early Monday, becoming the latest refugees accepted by Washington under a 2004 law. . . A South Korean activist said the three were among 29 North Korean refugees who launched a hunger strike in a Bangkok detention center last week to […]
The magazine that “feature[s] reports on North Korea only using accounts from people based in the country,” has started a Japanese version (the Korean-language version came out last year).
Defectors who agree to go back into North Korea are given cameras to document life there, which means that those who are discovered stand a […]
Liberty in North Korea, or LiNK, is excited to announce a new initiative inviting North Korean defectors from all over the world. The Chollima Leadership Program is a three-week leadership development program to be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from June 1–21, 2008. Note: application deadline is 31 March.
MISSION
Co-sponsored by the […]
Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) is coming out with new initiatives now that South Korea has leadership with some human rights awareness:
2008 marks an unprecedented time for renewed hope and change with the new administration and its pledge towards human rights in North Korea. This year’s Project: Real Sunshine is seeking skilled and […]
Now over three months past the deadline, still no nuclear declaration from North Korea:
Rice urged China to press North Korea to disclose its nuclear programs so that the stalled accord can move forward…
And dark, probably true allegations:
North Korea earlier this week publicly executed 15 of its citizens for trying to flee the country by […]
A few days ago Joshua discussed the report of 22 North Koreans executed after having drifted into South Korean waters in two rubber dinghies and being returned to the DPRK. Thirteen of those rumored to have been executed were family members.
According to ROK National Intelligence Service (NIS) official, the group was fishing and, “strongly […]
The power of rumors should not be underestimated. Recently two rumors should be of great concern to the elites of the Kim regime. Last month there were reports that Kim Jong-il had ordered, “all of the regime’s institutions [to] reduce their bureaucracies and the number of senior officials by 30 percent.” Now we hear […]
A North Korean defector to South Korea had to go to court to get a passport to travel to the U.S. Why?
The [foreign] ministry had said Kim, 69, could be a target of North Korean assassination attempts during planned trips to the U.S., and the trips could cause diplomatic friction. [. . .] […]
The book by Charles Jenkins detailing his time as a U.S. defector in North Korea, “Kokuhaku” (To Tell the Truth, in Japanese), will be released in English, 3 March 2008 under the title, “The Reluctant Communist: My Desertion, Court-Martial, and Forty-Year Imprisonment in North Korea.” (h/t Sam) The 238 page book is going for […]
If this is true – and I have my doubts, though anything is possible with Kim Jong-il – then the pool of disaffected elites from the DPRK regime is about to grow dramatically, which could result is a cohort of several thousand with the motivation and funds to leave North Korea:
North Korean leader Kim […]
Via the Times: "The exhibition features 400 hand-painted posters dating from the peak of the Dear Leader Kim Sung Il's power in the 1950s to the present regime led by his son, Kim Jong Il." The article has only one image, but has several interesting propaganda quotes.
- #Young Korean Herrenvolk engaging in their version of Agoge, at least according to the New York Times. The two Korean schools mentioned in the article are similar to Exeter or Andover in the United States in someways (they are private academies that serve children of affluent parents). But my guess is that the studious atmosphere and intense regimen compare more to the likes of Stuyvesant (my alma mater) in NYC or T.J. in Virginia (both highly selective, but publicly-funded high schools).
- #North Korea claims that on 25 April 1932 the Korean People’s Army (KPA, 조선인민군/ Chosŏn inmin'gun) was formed. However, the more likely accurate date is 08 February 1948. It is celebrated as “Military Foundation Day” in Kimland.
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