Author Topic: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates  (Read 47177 times)

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Offline TomSea

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #250 on: August 08, 2018, 02:12:38 pm »
Quote
Kim Jong Un visits fish pickling plant in short sleeves
By Wooyoung Lee


Kim Jong Un visits a fish pickling factory in Kumsanpo, South Hwanghae Province, North Korea, the North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said on Wednesday. Photo by KCNA

SEOUL, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- As a record heat wave swept across the Korean peninsula, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been seen in white short sleeves and a fedora hat during his visit to a local fish pickling plant.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Wednesday Kim inspected the factory and was briefed about the production of pickled fish products.

Read more at: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/08/08/Kim-Jong-Un-visits-fish-pickling-plant-in-short-sleeves/1791533700076/

Not coke I don't think, but coca-cola like bottles are behind him on the shelf. Though, NK is not totally in tune with denuking, we all may be on a long gradual point to doing such.  Kim appearing a bit more like a common man here.

Offline TomSea

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Harry Kazianis: Is North Korea breaking its word to Trump?
« Reply #251 on: August 14, 2018, 08:38:08 am »
Quote
Harry Kazianis: Is North Korea breaking its word to Trump?
Harry J. Kazianis

Recent comments by North Korea’s foreign minister could signal that dictator Kim Jong Un may break his vague pledge to President Trump to dismantle the North’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Since Kim, his father and grandfather who ruled before him all have a well-documented history of lying about North Korea’s military aims when it suits their interests, it should not come as a shock that Kim is continuing the proud family tradition.

If so, Northeast Asia could very well be headed right back to the brink of war, with few options left to avoid what could be a dangerous nuclear showdown.

Read more at: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/08/13/harry-kazianis-is-north-korea-breaking-its-word-to-trump.html

Offline TomSea

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Women on Trial for Murder of Kim Jong Nam May Be Acquitted
« Reply #252 on: August 15, 2018, 03:30:07 am »
Quote
Women on Trial for Murder of Kim Jong Nam May Be Acquitted
Eileen Ng / AP

(KUALA LUMPUR) — Two Southeast Asian women on trial in Malaysia for the brazen assassination of the North Korean leader’s half-brother could be acquitted Thursday or called to enter their defense in a case that has gripped the world.

Indonesia’s Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnam’s Doan Thi Huong, 29, are accused of smearing VX nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam’s face in a crowded airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13, 2017. The women have said they thought they were taking part in a prank for a hidden-camera show.

They are the only two suspects in custody and face the death penalty if convicted. If the defense is called, the trial could take several more months.

Read more at: http://time.com/5367684/north-korea-kim-jong-nam-trial/?ref=hvper.com

Offline TomSea

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Quote
China's Xi to make first official visit to Pyongyang for North Korea's 70th anniversary
Amy Lieu

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit North Korea next month, accepting Kim Jong Un's invitation to attend the country's 70th anniversary of its founding, a report said Friday.

Xi's visit to Pyongyang would be his first to the North Korean capital since 2012 when he took power, Reuters reported, citing Singapore's Straits Times.

The trip would also be 13 years after the last visit by a Chinese president, the report said. Hu Jintao, Xi's predecessor, visited in 2005.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/08/19/chinas-xi-to-make-first-official-visit-to-pyongyang-for-north-koreas-70th-anniversary.html

Satellite picture of North Korea at night, so Pyongyang does get a blip on the map. I saw one picture where the country was totally black.


A bit closer:




Offline Timothy Dennis

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #254 on: August 22, 2018, 08:59:39 pm »
The real reason Kim Jong Un met with Trump is that Kim wanted to be seen on the same stage as America, a "now look at me" moment that would mean he is a player on the world stage. Also, there is no doubt that China is directing North Korea. Again, the meeting with Trump was an ego massage for Kim and in his mind elevated him on Trump's (and America's) level.

Offline truth_seeker

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #255 on: August 22, 2018, 09:25:27 pm »
The real reason Kim Jong Un met with Trump is that Kim wanted to be seen on the same stage as America, a "now look at me" moment that would mean he is a player on the world stage. Also, there is no doubt that China is directing North Korea. Again, the meeting with Trump was an ego massage for Kim and in his mind elevated him on Trump's (and America's) level.

So what? If we make the world more safe, what difference does it matter HOW?
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Offline TomSea

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Antiwar article takes from WaPo article with paywall, so will go with the AW article in this subforum:

Quote
Trump Canceled Pompeo’s North Korea Trip After ‘Belligerent’ Letter
Officials say Bolton pushing Trump to take tougher stance
Jason Ditz Posted on August 27, 2018Categories NewsTags Bolton, North Korea, Trump   

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a visit to North Korea last week, and just a few hours later, President Trump cancelled it. According to officials familiar with the situation, this happened because of a “belligerent” letter from North Korea received in between the announcements.

Specifics on the letter are unclear, but the letter was said to be from Kim Yong Chol, a top official, and were delivered through the New York Channel, which is to say North Korean diplomats at the UN.mission.

https://news.antiwar.com/2018/08/27/trump-cancelled-pompeos-north-korea-trip-after-belligerent-letter/

Offline Smokin Joe

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #257 on: August 30, 2018, 11:29:12 pm »
The real reason Kim Jong Un met with Trump is that Kim wanted to be seen on the same stage as America, a "now look at me" moment that would mean he is a player on the world stage. Also, there is no doubt that China is directing North Korea. Again, the meeting with Trump was an ego massage for Kim and in his mind elevated him on Trump's (and America's) level.
In an older parlance (still valid), Kim gained "Face" by being seen as important enough to be there.
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Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

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Offline TomSea

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So Much For Sanctions! Kim Jong Un's New Ride Is A Rolls Royce Phantom
« Reply #258 on: October 09, 2018, 11:26:57 am »
Quote
So Much For Sanctions! Kim Jong Un's New Ride Is A Rolls Royce Phantom
Tyler Rogoway



Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited North Korea on the 7th of October, 2018 to try and jump-start denuclearization talks with North Korean officials. After being snubbed by Kim on his last visit, Pompeo met with the increasingly visible North Korean leader this time around and Kim's arrival at the engagement was quite grand indeed. Video from the meeting shows Pompeo waiting in a foyer when two big ornate doors swing open to the outside and Kim saunters over a red carpet and across the foyer to embrace Pompeo. But it's not what happened in the foreground of this video that's most interesting, it's what was sitting in the background—a big, gleaming Rolls Royce Phantom.

Kim's Pullman Guard Mercedes limousines, based on the 2012 S600, have been fixtures in the 'Dear Leader's' travels around Pyongyang, Panmunjom and most recently, abroad. Kim is known transportation aficionado, having a special interest in aircraft and cars since he was a young boy. This made international headlines when Kim took a peek at Trump's limousine, popularly known as The Beast, during the summit in Singapore last June. Now it appears that despite extreme sanctions—especially on luxury goods—and a rickety economy that is supposedly slowly starving due to lack of energy stocks, Kim was able to get his hands on the most luxurious of luxury cars.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/so-much-for-sanctions-kim-jong-uns-new-ride-is-a-rolls-royce-phantom/ar-BBO7tpb?OCID=ansmsnnews11#image=1

Pompeo meets Kim Jong Un:

! No longer available

Kim's new ride:

! No longer available

Offline TomSea

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #259 on: October 09, 2018, 04:36:11 pm »
Kim Jong Un invited Pope to visit North Korea
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/10/09/Kim-Jong-Un-invites-Pope-Francis-to-Pyongyang/7551539085591/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-pope/north-korea-wants-to-ardently-welcome-pope-francis-south-says-idUSKCN1MJ0HJ
Quote
    SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has invited Pope Francis to visit Pyongyang in a gesture designed to highlight peace efforts on the Korean peninsula, South Korea’s presidential office said on Tuesday.

    North Korea and the Vatican have no formal diplomatic relations. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will deliver Kim’s invitation when he meets Francis next week during a trip to Europe, Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said.
« Last Edit: October 09, 2018, 04:38:38 pm by TomSea »

Offline TomSea

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China's Yao Ming visits North Korea during basketball exchange
« Reply #260 on: October 10, 2018, 03:40:15 pm »
Quote
China's Yao Ming visits North Korea during basketball exchange
By Elizabeth Shim

Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Two Chinese basketball teams visited North Korea this week with a delegation that included former NBA All-Star Yao Ming.

Korean Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported Tuesday Yao and Chinese athletes visited Pyongyang on Monday, a sign China and North Korea are drawing closer ahead of a possible fourth summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un.

Kim is an ardent basketball fan, and previously invited NBA Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman to Pyongyang.

Read more at: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/10/10/Chinas-Yao-Ming-visits-North-Korea-during-basketball-exchange/2541539180751/

Offline TomSea

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #261 on: October 15, 2018, 08:43:57 am »
The Pope may well be going to visit North Korea, he indeed was invited last week.... time for the NK crisis thread to be unstickied.

Quote
https://www.voanews.com/a/head-of-s-korea-s-ruling-party-says-pope-wishes-to-visit-n-korea-yonhap/4613578.html
Head of S.Korea’s Ruling Party Says Pope Wishes to Visit N.Korea: Yonhap

Thanks to all participants.
« Last Edit: October 15, 2018, 08:47:19 am by TomSea »

Offline DB

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #262 on: October 16, 2018, 09:38:05 am »
Funny how this "crises" just disappeared off the radar... And how much has it really changed?

Offline TomSea

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #263 on: October 16, 2018, 02:16:14 pm »
The clearest sign that things are changing is that we are not hearing about missiles being fired off in North Korea frequently.

Anyway, thanks for the comments, I can always "sticky" this again if anyone thinks it still should be.

Offline edpc

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #264 on: October 16, 2018, 02:35:10 pm »
The clearest sign that things are changing is that we are not hearing about missiles being fired off in North Korea frequently.


The clearest sign things are changing will be when North Korea gives an account of their warhead inventory and allows inspection of at least one.  Until that happens, the rest of it is just feelgoodism.
I disagree.  Circle gets the square.

Offline truth_seeker

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #265 on: October 16, 2018, 03:07:45 pm »

The clearest sign things are changing will be when North Korea gives an account of their warhead inventory and allows inspection of at least one.  Until that happens, the rest of it is just feelgoodism.

Accordingly, another example of "feelgoodism?"

The Reykjavík Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in Höfði in Reykjavík, on 11–12 October 1986. The talks collapsed at the last minute, but the progress that had been achieved eventually resulted in the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union.
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Offline TomSea

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #266 on: October 16, 2018, 03:14:12 pm »
I didn't mean to make a political statement. I was just thinking, the situation is not as urgent now. I can still post updates here, I suppose. I was just talking about the ease of using the forum; limited use of "stickies" instead of about 20 as in one of the other forums. And that is no criticism. Some of those stories are of importance. Any advice is welcomed.  We've also had largely, a glut of articles on China as well. Those could easily be made a sticky too. All articles are welcomed.

Quote
U.S. nonprofit to deliver tuberculosis medicine to North Korea
By Elizabeth Shim

Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. nonprofit that has supplied humanitarian aid to North Korea says it has received permission to travel to the North to deliver tuberculosis medicine.

The Eugene Bell Foundation is to travel to the North for three weeks, starting Tuesday, to deliver treatments for multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis, or MDR-TB, Yonhap reported.

The foundation has previously distributed medicine and educated North Korean tuberculosis patients to prevent the spread of the disease.

Read more at: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/10/16/US-nonprofit-to-deliver-tuberculosis-medicine-to-North-Korea/7051539700208/
« Last Edit: October 16, 2018, 03:14:52 pm by TomSea »

Offline TomSea

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #267 on: October 16, 2018, 03:24:12 pm »
Quote
Don’t be fooled by any hint of humanitarian reform in North Korea
By Donald Kirk

Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018 | 2 a.m.

How about Pope Francis inspiring millions of the faithful in North Korea as he did in South Korea four years ago? Can we picture highly organized throngs cheering him on the way from Pyongyang’s sparkling new international airport, blessing one and all while host Kim Jong Un smiles happily beside him in the limo?

In a year full of surprises about confrontation on the Korean Peninsula, it’s still hard to imagine seriously that Kim is inviting Pope Francis to Pyongyang. Nor is it easy to see Francis accepting such an invitation knowing, as aides at the Vatican have to be telling him, that the ladies you see in the lone Catholic church in Pyongyang are basically actresses for whom the demure white veils they all wear are part of the act.

Still, President Moon Jae-in did well to urge Kim to put on a show for the pope in Pyongyang. The suggestion is a challenge, a chance for Kim to prove to the skeptics he’s really reforming.

Read more at: https://lasvegassun.com/news/2018/oct/16/dont-be-fooled-by-any-hint-of-humanitarian-reform/

Patheos, so this is opinionated:

Quote
Trump’s Dishonest Tactics on North Korea
October 16, 2018 by Ed Brayton

Still going through the transcript of Trump’s interview with 60 Minutes and noting all the various types of deflection and dishonesty he used. This post will look at the questions about North Korea. And note how he tries to argue that his actions there were necessary because, without them, we would have gone to war.

Lesley Stahl: What about North Korea? Talking about accom–

President Donald Trump: Well, I consider it a, so far, great achievement. Look, we–

Lesley Stahl: You say “so far”?

Read more at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2018/10/16/trumps-dishonest-tactics-on-north-korea/

Trust him like we trusted bin Salman?

Offline edpc

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #268 on: October 16, 2018, 03:25:44 pm »
Accordingly, another example of "feelgoodism?"

The Reykjavík Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in Höfði in Reykjavík, on 11–12 October 1986. The talks collapsed at the last minute, but the progress that had been achieved eventually resulted in the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union.


Yes, because there was never a treaty the Soviets or Russians didn’t violate. Perhaps you should look at the Iskander-K and RK-55 missiles as examples.
I disagree.  Circle gets the square.

Offline TomSea

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #269 on: October 16, 2018, 03:28:40 pm »
Quote
North, South Korea to restore railway, road connections severed during Korean War
ABC News

North and South Korea have agreed to rebuild connections between railways and roads that were severed during the Korean War more than 60 years ago.

Read more at: https://abcnews.go.com/International/north-south-korea-restore-railway-road-connections-severed/story?id=58501715

Quote
France says it could help North Korea denuclearize if it sees real commitment
John Irish, Marine Pennetier

PARIS (Reuters) - France is ready to help in North Korea’s denuclearization efforts, but Pyongyang must first show some detailed commitments and real desire to dismantle its nuclear and ballistic arsenal, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron greets South Korean President Moon Jae-in before talks at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, October 15, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

France, a nuclear power and permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, is not directly involved in talks between North Korea, South Korea and the United States to work toward the region’s denuclearization.

However, diplomats have said that given Paris’ nuclear know-how it could play a role in the dismantling of nuclear warheads or receiving nuclear materials.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-southkorea/france-says-it-could-help-north-korea-denuclearize-if-it-sees-real-commitment-idUSKCN1MP23Q

Also, this thread seemed to sort of just sit up there, going for weeks without a post.  There are other interests here. One doesn't keep a hurricane update thread up for months after the initial storm though the story does indeed, continue.

I'll stress that last point again, if a thread that has a sticky does not get a post in say, 3 or 4 weeks, there is no reason to keep it up there really, after all, it does say "live updates". Yes, we were having North Korean stories but they were not placed in this thread.  It's something that this would become a point of contention when all this is, is forum etiquette I'd say.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2018, 03:35:57 pm by TomSea »

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #270 on: October 16, 2018, 03:53:54 pm »
Also, this thread seemed to sort of just sit up there, going for weeks without a post.  There are other interests here. One doesn't keep a hurricane update thread up for months after the initial storm though the story does indeed, continue.

I'll stress that last point again, if a thread that has a sticky does not get a post in say, 3 or 4 weeks, there is no reason to keep it up there really, after all, it does say "live updates". Yes, we were having North Korean stories but they were not placed in this thread.  It's something that this would become a point of contention when all this is, is forum etiquette I'd say.

I agree.  this Original Topic was about a crisis that was occurring at the time, and it appears that has passed.  It would probably be best to just post new developments as new Topics and let this one go.  You can unsticky it, as Mod of the Category, right? 

N/M...I see you already did it.... 888mouth
« Last Edit: October 16, 2018, 03:55:14 pm by Cyber Liberty »
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Offline TomSea

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Re: North Korea Crisis Live Thread - Latest NK Updates
« Reply #271 on: October 16, 2018, 05:57:26 pm »
Yes, we have unstickied it.  We will play this by ear. Thank you for your comment @Cyber Liberty

You are right, the initial panicky, hysterical part is over. Should more serious problems arise, we can have an NK II crisis thread.