In written comments to questions from members of the Senate Armed Services Committee concerning his nomination to replace Gen. B.B. Bell, current director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon Gen. Walter Sharp lobbied for improved missile defense in South Korea:
North Korea has 13,000 artillery systems and 800 missiles, and South Korea lacks […]
Last week China expressed concern that the U.S. decision to destroy an errant satellite (which was a success) was actually a thinly veiled missile defense test. The official U.S. explanation was that the satellite contained a potentially toxic fuel that was never used due to a malfunction soon after it was placed in orbit. […]
From the Navy Historical Center:
On 23 January 1968, while off Wonsan, North Korea, Pueblo was attacked by local forces and seized. One crewmember was killed in the assault and the other eighty-two men on board were taken prisoner. The North Koreans contended that the ship had violated their territorial waters, a claim vigorously denied […]
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 […]
The latest edition of the Military Review, a publication of the US Army’s Combined Arms Center located at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, has an excellent paper on, “Finding America’s Role in a Collapsed North Korean State.” (PDF) An excerpt:
American military and political thinkers today are focused on creating policies to govern stability operations, but this […]
Read about it at the Naval Historical Center.
While U.S. assistance to DPRK vessel in distress has nothing to do with a “symbol of cooperation” between the U.S. and North Korea – despite Hill’s comments, the U.S. would likely assist any ship in such circumstances – the sentiments expressed via the KCNA are nonetheless extremely unusual (h/t Steve). I’ll be watching related […]
In the latest on WTF happened in Syria on 06 September, Al-Jazeera claims the American aircraft – armed with (unused) nuclear weapons – bombed the site in Syria (via the Jerusalem Post):
The September 6 raid over Syria was carried out by the US Air Force, the Al-Jazeera Web site reported Friday. The Web site […]
Maj. Fred Ohr flew over 150 missions and had six kills as squadron leader for the famous 2nd Fighter Squadron (flying P-51 Mustangs), the “American Beagles.” He ended up flying in Africa and all over Europe, earning two Silver Stars, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and a Bronze Star among other decorations:
Born in Oregon in […]
Update 2: via NightWatch:
Today, however, Japan Today and the South Korean daily Yonhap reported that Kim Jong-nam still lives in China, but made one of his periodic visits to Pyongyang in June.
Update: “Kim Jong-il’s Eldest Son ‘Back in Pyongyang”
The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-nam (36) has returned to Pyongyang […]
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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