We’re in deep doo-doo.Dick Cheney, in a closed-door meeting with congressional Republicans, on the situation in North Korea. Cheney may be right, but his credibility is undermined both by his own record of assessing foreign threats and, perhaps more significantly, the fact that he used the word “doo-doo” to describe the prospect of nuclear war. He gets points, however, for reportedly wearing a cowboy hat to the meeting. source
“A representative of the North Korean foreign ministry suggested that the Russian side examine the question of evacuating the employees of the Russian embassy,” embassy spokesman Denis Samsonov said.
…
A spokesman from the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) confirmed embassies other than Russia had received the same warning. ”We can confirm that the British Embassy in Pyongyang received a communication from the North Korean government this morning.”
“[The warning] said that the North Korean government would be unable to guarantee the safety of embassies and international organisations in the country in the event of conflict from April 10.”
All bark and no bite? While conventional wisdom is that this is just more toothless blustering by the DPRK, Pyongyang has certainly gone farther this time with its rhetoric than in the past, causing us to—at the very least—question the conventional wisdom. That being said, we still don’t think anything major will come of this. By the way, if you’re still confused as to why North Korea is doing this, NKNews.org has a great round up of expert opinions on the matter.
I think the individuals in North Korea understand that Austin, Texas, is now a very important city in America, as do corporate CEOs and other people who are moving here in record numbers.Texas Governor Rick Perry, explaining his theory on why Kim Jong-un listed Austin, TX as a possible target for a nuclear strike. source
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has urged frontline troops to be on “maximum alert” for a potential war, state media reported, in its latest rhetorical volley following new UN sanctions. Analysts believe the sabre-rattling is aimed at shoring up domestic support as much as reaching the international community, possibly in part because Kim is a young and relatively new leader.
He told troops stationed near disputed waters where previous clashes with the South have occurred that “war can break out right now”, state media reported. The North has also said it has cancelled the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean war and threatened the US with a pre-emptive nuclear strike.
While it’s widely believed that Kim Jong Un’s recent actions have been the result of a concerted effort to bolster his own image in the region, as opposed to actually scaring South Korea or the United States; however, it’s hard to simply write-off a man who controls a nation’s nuclear arsenal. Despite the North Korean government’s recent antics„ the United States has imposed new sanctions against the country following a UN vote on the matter last week.
I don’t condone what he does, but he’s my friend.Former NBA superstar Dennis Rodman • Discussing his plans to visit North Korea again in August to vacation with Kim Jong-un. Rodman made the comments to what clearly is the most prominent media outlet in the country, Fargo, North Dakota’s KXJB. Rodman was reportedly giddy throughout the interview. Remember when the weirdest thing this guy did was color his hair purple?
He said, ‘If you can Dennis, I don’t want to do war, I don’t want to do war.’ He said that to me.Dennis Rodman, playing diplomat between North Korea and the United States on ABC’s “This Week.” The Worm suggested that common ground could be met on the basketball court. ”He loves basketball,” Rodman said, referring to Kim Jong-un. “I said, ‘Obama loves basketball.’ Lets start there.”
It’s still hard to believe this happened: But Dennis Rodman visited North Korea this week, vowing his eternal friendship with the country’s dictator Kim Jong-Un.
In case you missed it, Rodman was brought along as party of a VICE documentary on basketball diplomacy, and spoke at length with Jong-Un, who is reportedly a massive basketball fan.
Follow the entire bizarre series of events here.
Photos: AFP / KCNA, Associated Press /Kyodo News
One wonders to what extent Rodman is aware of the state of affairs for non-basketball celebrities in North Korea, which have by all accounts persisted since the transition to the rule of Kim Jong-un — North Korea, of course, boasts what is thought to be the world’s largest network of active concentration camps, to say nothing of the myriad opressions the general populace labors under. This is not to say Rodman is assuredly ignorant of the nature of the North Korean government, nor that expressions of gratitude and respect couldn’t be valuable from a diplomatic perspective. But if you’re claiming a “friend for life,” in earnest, who’s propping up his economy with forced labor? Kind of a hard sell.
A first for Disney: Classic Disney characters performed on North Korean stages for the first time ever this weekend. The country’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, has a “grandiose plan to bring about a dramatic turn in the field of literature and arts this year,” according to the KCNA. The performance featured performers dancing around while dressed as Minnie Mouse, Tigger and other characters as footage from Disney movies were projected onto the backdrop.
No free rides: North Korean president Kim Jong-un issued a rare public condemnation today of—wait for it—a North Korean amusement park. According to a South Korean report, Lil’ Kim visited the Mangyongdae Funfair recently, and was none too pleased with its upkeep. He called a path in front of a Viking ride “pathetic” and, upon spotting errant weeds growing in between pavement blocks, bent down and plucked them out himself (with “an irritated look” on his face, no less). He also showed his philosophical side, citing a proverb (“The darkest place is under the candlestick”) to illustrate the park’s poor condition. Analysts suspect it’s an attempt to portray Kim as a strong leader who cares for the good of his people, and we are 100% positive that this will work. (Photo: AP) source
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Superiority in military technology is no longer the monopoly of imperialists and the era of our enemies using atom bombs to threaten and blackmail us is over for ever. … We must strengthen our military in every possible way and accomplish the goal of building a powerful and prosperous socialist state.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un • Speaking in his first televised speech since becoming the country’s leader. Kim spoke on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, speaking reverently of his grandfather, along with his recently-deceased father father Kim Jong-il. During the televised speech, TV presenters compared Kim Jong-un to Kim Il-sung (the two have similar physical appearances) and more interestingly, the country used the occasion to show off a new missile. That’s despite the fact that just a few days ago, a North Korean missile launch went totally awry. source (via • follow)
In another sign of warming relations between two wartime foes, a senior North Korean nuclear negotiator will attend a security conference in the United States, a person with knowledge of the negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Word of Ri Yong Ho’s visit to the forum at Syracuse University, where he may also meet on the sidelines with U.S. officials, comes on the heels of a breakthrough agreement that will provide much-needed U.S. food aid to North Korea in exchange for a rollback of its nuclear programs.
The agreement announced Wednesday sets in motion a plan laid out by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il before his death in December: to improve relations with the U.S. and to get back to six-nation disarmament-for-aid negotiations. Significant challenges remain, however, in achieving the long-term goal of the U.S. and other nations: to persuade Pyongyang to end its nuclear ambitions altogether.
Next thing you know, we’re gonna invite these guys to a slumber party or something and watch episodes of “Beavis & Butthead” or “Team America: World Police.” OK, maybe not that second movie …
» Significant, if “limited”: This result came after a set of talks last week that initially did not seem to go well, but later proved be palatable for the North Koreans. The two countries previously were close to some sort of deal before Kim Jong-il’s death, but the latest development seems to have gone over. “The United States still has profound concerns regarding North Korean behavior across a wide range of areas,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, ”but today’s announcement reflects important, if limited, progress in addressing some of these.”
Regarding this week’s Time cover, I almost feel like, given what they did in Asia, they made the wrong move. Linsanity is the thing right now, and it seemed like a great opportunity to catch it while the story was still hot. I defer to the experts, though. — Ernie @ SFB
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