The Glorious Blog of the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea

[Color Me Badd Fan]

This is a really incredible article. Is the Telegraph a tabloid or is this likely all true?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ing-squad.html

Read about the part where he executed someone with a mortar because he was "drinking and carousing" during the mourning period after Kim Jong-il's death.

[YOhio]

Good post, MBN. I watched the whole thing! Lucky girl was rewarded with the opportunity to lay flowers at the feet of a couple of Kim statues. But what did she do to deserve such commendation?

North Korean state media released a statement related to the event, explaining Ri "displayed the heroic self-sacrificing spirit of safeguarding the security of the headquarters of the revolution in an unexpected circumstance," according to an AFP translation.

The brief commentary made many wonder what the "unexpected circumstance" referred to may have been. Park Kun-Ha, a North Korean defector, told AFP it was "very rare" for the medal to be awarded to a traffic cop and added that he suspected "it might have been linked to an assassination attempt disguised as a traffic accident."

Max Fisher, however, wrote on the Washington Post website that Ri's honor may be less sensational. Fisher says that according to North Korean news organization New Focus International's sources, Ri might have been honored for putting out a fire near a propaganda poster. "The poster allegedly bore the name of leader Kim Jong Un," Fisher added.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...m_hp_ref=world

[myboynoah]

Go Traffic Girl!!!!

[Eddie]

This could be huge. North Korea only exists because China allows them to be. Without China's backing they would have ceased to exist long ago.

I wonder how much bluster and sabre rattling they'll be willing to do as they get the sense that big brother standing behind them may not be interested in helping to fight all of their battles.

I don't know that this means China isn't still friendly with NK. I just see it as China also saying "hey - we can't be in a war with the West right now. We're too busy making money from them and don't want to screw that up!"

[BigPiney]

Bank of China cuts off Kim.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ban...5-07?link=sfmw

This could be huge. North Korea only exists because China allows them to be. Without China's backing they would have ceased to exist long ago.

[YOhio]

Bank of China cuts off Kim.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ban...5-07?link=sfmw

[Surfah]

Just saw this.

[BigPiney]

I am currently listening to Escape from Camp 14. No. Korea is a bad, bad place.

[YOhio]

Western pigs get a reprieve and plans for Juche world domination put on hold as NoKo moves the missiles back to storage.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/06/wo...html?hpt=hp_t3

[YOhio]

He probably visited there; he was employed by a company owned by one of his older brothers based in Korea and Provo. I know he had a plane ticket from China to Korea for a meeting before he was to fly back to the states and take classes at BYU. He didn't get on the plane and that's when his parents knew something had happened. It's possible he would have visited Korea - the company was paying for his training in China.

What happend is that he had finished his training in Bejing, I think he was also teaching English lessons as well. Decided to tour a little bit in China before catching his flight to Korea. David Sneddon was traveling with another RM and BYU student. The other guy was doing research on North Koreans either living in China or escaping North Korea - there is an underground railroad mostly run by Christian Chinese to assist North Koreans who escape. Anyway, this guy asks for a visa to visit North Korea to do more research. The Chinese don't grant the visa and notify him that he has like 5 days to leave China. So he flies back to the states. David then goes on as planned to Shangri-la/Yunnan province, but is now alone. Yunnan province is in SW China, far away from Bejing. It also borders Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Vietnam and is one of the routes North Koreans use to flee North Korea (North Korea - cross the river to China - get to Yunnan province-cross over to Laos-immigrate to South Korea). He does some hiking in Shangri-la and is last seen at a Korean restaurant. His family now thinks David was detained and then turned over to North Korean agents. Sounds kind of crazy until one makes the connection that North Korea has admitted to abducting Japanese citizens to edcuate their spies. My understanding is that North Korea is so isolated they are unable to train their agents about Western ways so they abduct others to train them inside North Korea. I guess in order to pass as a South Korean, one needs some English skills and an understanding about how the rest of the world operates.

Anyway, the US state department is not really helping much because there is no proof David is in North Korea and it's a problematic issue to bring up with a country who your negiotating nuclear armament with. Through back channels at the state department (LDS back channels) North Korea has been mentioned as his likely fate. Americans simply do not disapper in China, at least for very long. Some may get detained by China has always adhered to treaty requirments to disclose that information within something like four days. And they've always done so. Unless you happen to be a 23-year old American student with fluent Korean and Mandarian Chinese language skills that has managed to gain the attention of North Korean agents who are always in China to catch escaping North Koreans and those who assist them.

WSJ recently published an article about this guy.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...109009178.html

[All-American]

North Korea threatens to nuke Colorado Springs . . . if they can find it on the map.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...w-where-it-is/

[thesaint258]

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I would be surprised if China directly supported North Korea in what is sure to be a losing effort. Particularly if North Korea launched an offensive (and suicidal) war against two of China's largest trade partners in South Korea and the U.S.

I can't imagine that China really thinks of NK as much an ally. NK is too poor to be of any use. I do think China views NK as a useful pawn however. China won't budge on its support of NK as long as Taiwan is allowed to exist and not be subsumed into China. If China were given the choice of treating Taiwan as another version of Hong Kong but they would have to allow us to take out the North Korean regime in return, they would probably go for it.

Eventually if NK gets a legitimate missile, the issue would come to a head and I would imagine the Chinese would see the need to get rid of this Kim Jong/il clan

[Uncle Ted]

I would be surprised if China directly supported North Korea in what is sure to be a losing effort. Particularly if North Korea launched an offensive (and suicidal) war against two of China's largest trade partners in South Korea and the U.S.

Hmm... maybe "Dad" told them his is cutting them off from the trust fund and they now need to pay their own way.

[YOhio]

If it were NK alone, I agree with you; however, NK has this really big brother named China that would probably supply food and military support in the event of a war.

I would be surprised if China directly supported North Korea in what is sure to be a losing effort. Particularly if North Korea launched an offensive (and suicidal) war against two of China's largest trade partners in South Korea and the U.S.