Battle of the Airwaves!

NK Zone posted an interesting article about foreign radio broadcasts coming into North Korea. So I though why not post the link so you can read it for yourself and I'll make my comment on it.

http://http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HF28Dg04.html

Now in the article it says there are three radio stations that broadcast into North Korea. Radio Free Asia, Free North Korea Radio, and Voice of America. All political stations. Why does North Korea need to hear about our politics? They'll dismiss that stuff as propaganda. So I was thinking. Why not start a Korean music station? I've heard some pretty shitty Korean music, but the punk scene is pretty good. A North Korean Punk rock station. Not 0nly will it broadcast punk from Korea, but maybe from the US and the UK and stuff. And maybe sprinkle in some politics.

But one song being played in North Korea must be,"Acid Police" by the Boredoms. The anthem of rioting for the sake of the Acid Police. Why not? Go look for that song on iTunes or something.

When Will We See Economic Reform?

When will North Korea see economic reform? Well, who the hell knows. We're a seeing reform at a snail's pace. Obviously North Korea isn't going to go the China route. Kim Jong-il is afraid of losing his grip on power. He has a cult following and doesn't want to see it go. Deng Xiopeng didn't have a cult personality and wanted rule centered around the Communist Party. KJI on the other hand doesn't want to see the Korean Workers Party have the central authority, he wants the power all to himself (Obviously he didn't go to a good pre-school).

But another factor that comes into this is hereditary succession. If the KWP is in power, they won't go through with KJI's plan. The North Korean people seeing the Kim family economic plan will begin questioning of the central authority and can lead to rebellion.

The obvious part is having the outside world come in. When a bunch of North Koreans had to come back from working in Russia they ouright refused to do so after seeing how great it was outside of North Korea. They even hired mercenaries to guard the complex.

So what can we wait for? Well, his successor. His son can bring about economic reforms and lead North Korea out of its cave. KJI would be dead by then, and North Korea will become a modern country again. If not that, we could see a political coup. The KWP getting rid of North Korea and introducing reforms.

North Korea and Terrorism

Many people say North Korea doesn't support terrorism anymore. That after the bombing of a South Korean airliner that killed 115 people. But I'm about to prove those people wrong. North Korea has sold weapons to the notorious Tamil Tigers, a seperatist group that wants an independent Hindu nation in Sri Lanka, and the United Wa State Army, a Burmese seperatist group. Now a country that uses the drug trade to help out its economy MUST support terrorists. The United Wa State Army is a huge contributor to the growing drug trade in Burma. North Korea even harbors terrorists. There are several Japanese Red Army members who, after hijacking an aircraft, fled to North Korea. There have also been numerous assassination attempts of South Korean politicians and many failed commando raids.

Yankees have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Red Sox! RED SOX SUCK!!!!!!!!

The Ryongchon Conspiracy

It all makes sense:

Mr. Kim said, “There are about 210 counties in North Korea and I was
reported that flyers describing the details of Ryongchon accident have been
distributed all across the nation,” adding “The purpose of staging this accident
was probably to create a subterfuge for sweeping purge by appealing there was a
force trying to assassinate (Kim Jong Il). I also heard that missile(s) being
exported to Syria was onboard the train and exploded. They blew up the
missile(s) because the production was faulty and they wanted to get rid of it.
Moreover, Ryongchon is near Shinuiju and there is a plan to build a Special
Economic Zone. But ever since Japanese colonial days, this area is traditionally
known for its rebellious tendency. By blowing up the old buildings and
rebuilding new streets, they seemed to have been able to relocate the residents
with problems to other areas with ease.”

http://http://www.backtopyongyang.org/multiple_subversive_groups_in_North_Korea.html

Well, relocation of a rebellious bunch and a huge propaganda wave. It makes perfect sense.

North Korea Captures USN UUV

I beliece this is my 25th post! Hooray! Now let's get down to buisness. AP has reported that North Korea has claimed to have captured a US spy UUV (Unmanned Underwater Vehicle). Here's the article:

North Korea claimed it has captured an unmanned U.S. submersible and put it
on display in Pyongyang, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan said Monday. The
U.S. dismissed the report. The small vessel was captured during a reconnaissance
mission in waters off North Korea's eastern city of Hamhung, said the Choson
Sinbo newspaper, which is published by a pro-North Korean association linked to
the Pyongyang government. The newspaper report on its Web site, which is
monitored in Seoul, was accompanied by a picture purported to be of the black
torpedo-shaped U.S. vessel. There were no further details as to when or how
North Korea obtained it. A spokesman for the U.S. military in South Korea, David
Oten, dismissed the report. "We have nothing unaccounted for and there is no way
for us to verify that this is a U.S. vessel," Oten said. Last September, North
Korean leader Kim Jong-Il instructed officials to put the captured vessel on
public display next to the spy ship USS Pueblo, which the communist regime
seized along with its crew of 82 in 1968, the newspaper said. The crew was
released after 11 months. The Pueblo, moored to the bank of the Taedong River in
Pyongyang, is now the site of tours to inspire anti-U.S. sentiment among the
country's 23 million people. Some 1,500 North Koreans made daily visits to the
Pueblo during a recent month-long, anti-U.S. rally period, said the newspaper.
Despite repeated U.S. assurances that it has no intention of attacking the
North, the communist country frequently claims that Washington seeks to invade
it and that the U.S. is driving tensions on the Korean Peninsula to the brink of
war. The North recently raised regional tensions by test-launching seven
missiles, including a new long-range model believed capable of reaching the U.S.
that failed shortly after takeoff.

http://http://www.forbes.com/business/businesstech/feeds/ap/2006/08/07/ap2930859.html

Now this whole block quote thing is screwed up. Here's apicture of the thing:

Now this thing looks like a big-ass torpedo. One guy left a comment on NK Zone saying that when he visited P'yongyang, he went to see the USS Pueblo which is now a propaganda museum. The tour guide showed them the UUV and said it was a spy torpedo. But what the f**k is a spy torpedo? But here's the thing. There was a torpedo that big. It's the Type 93. It was used by the Imperial japanese Navy in WWII. There's a very informative wikipedia entry on this.

http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Lance

So there we have it. Case Closed. Whoever goes to see this when they visit North Korea. Tell the tour guide that it's an old Type 93 torpedo.

Have You Seen This Man?

By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer 27 minutes ago
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il hasn't appeared in public since his country test-fired missiles that drew international condemnation, leading to speculation of a possible sense of crisis inside the reclusive nation.

Kim attended a Russian art performance and visited a tire factory July 4, a day before the missile launches, and he hasn't appeared publicly since, according to South Korea's spy agency.
The North's propaganda machine hasn't reported on Kim's activities since the missile launches, but last week the country's official news agency said Kim sent a consolation message to ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Kim usually visits military units a few times a month to bolster his "songun," or "military-first," policy that rewards the 1.1 million-member military with the country's scarce resources despite chronic food shortages.

Of Kim's 131 public activities last year, 70 events were military-related, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry. So far this year, 52 of 69 public activities were connected to the military, the backbone of Kim's totalitarian rule.

Some North Korea watchers have speculated that Kim might be in a bunker, since the country is believed to have imposed a quasi-war footing after the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution condemning the missile tests and calling for nations to stop any missile-related trade with it.
The North test-launched seven missiles July 5, including a new model believed capable of reaching the U.S. that failed shortly after takeoff.

Getting a clear picture of the isolated communist regime is extremely difficult, because it strictly controls media and denies nearly all outside access.

In 2003, Kim disappeared from the public eye for seven weeks when his hard-line regime quit the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the United States invaded Iraq.
Cheong Seong-chang, a North Korea analyst at the independent Sejong Institute, attributed Kim's latest absence to massive floods in North Korea, saying he has shied away from the public in times of crisis in the past.

"Kim is refraining from public activities as he is in a serious internal crisis," Cheong said.
Last month's heavy rains in North Korea killed at least 549 people and left 295 others missing while flooding more than 48,000 acres of farmland and destroying nearly 4,500 homes, according to a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan.

A senior South Korean intelligence official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of his position, didn't attach any significance to Kim's seeming absence, saying he often disappeared from public view.

"Setting up a 'bamboo curtain' is a basic governing ideology of communist North Korea," the official said, referring to the "Iron Curtain" that once separated communist East Europe from the West.

So where's Kim?

DPRI?

Sorry people who visit this blog, I was on vacation. Well more like a camp. I was doing a lot of soccer, or for our foreign readers, football. Anyway, let's see what's going on right now. It seems that there were Iranians at the missile test. This is some old news, but I think it's about time I analyze the relationship between Iran and North Korea and how it can play out militarily. They have a common goal. Defeat the US. What's funny is how opposite the two countries are. Iran is a very conservative theocratic nation who is run by Islamic religous leaders. North Korea is a Stalinist dictatorship that bans every other religion besides the cult one that worships the "Dear Leader" as a God (Obviously he's not). Here's a piece of news that I found at IRNA:

Iran-North Korea-Cooperation North Korean Ambassador to Tehran Kim Chong Ryong conferred here Sunday with the Head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi on expansion of mutual and international relations.
According to the Public Relations Department of Majlis, at the meeting, Boroujerdi expressed satisfaction with the expansion of ties between the two countries and expressed hope to witness further expansion of political and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Highlighting Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, he said it is about two and half years that the country has adopted a very close, transparent cooperation with the three European countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
IAEA director general has officially declared that Iran has not deviated from peaceful nuclear activities, he pointed out.
Iran believes in continued dialogue to resolve nuclear issues and welcomes it, he said adding that but the country will not give up its legitimate right for peaceful purposes.
The North Korean ambassador, for his part, expressed satisfaction with the expansion of ties between the two countries and voiced his country's readiness for further expansion and consolidation of ties at various fields mainly on parliamentarian affairs through activating Iran-North Korean Parliamentary Friendship Groups.
Referring to Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, he said that peaceful application of nuclear energy is among the legitimate rights of all countries.
North Korea fully supports Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, he said.
At the end of the meeting, the North Korean ambassador extended an invitation to Iran-North Korea parliamentary friendship group to pay an official visit to the country.

This f**king blog screws up the whole copy and paste thing. You can view the normal article here: http://http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0603058067201235.htm

Obviously they have some sort of military relationship going. Iran has a surprisingly advanced military industry. They're on their way to producing indigenous fighter jets and tanks. Something that North Korea is in need for. Meanwhile, Iran wants... well Iran already has what they want. They like North Korea because they know the US is a bit afraid of them. Is there a possibility of opening second fronts if one of the countries goes to war? I think so. Iran is already waging war against Israel with Hizballah and HAMAS. So why not open another one? One which is very far away. Korea! And if North Korea is attacked. Well Iran will screw with the shipping lanes and make things very hard for the US in Iraq. Not really opening as much of a second front, but good enough.

I have news not really related to this kind of stuff. I live in New York as it says on the blog thing. Brooklyn to be exact. And I'm a Yankee fan. So I'm proud to announce that the Yankees are 2 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox (Who suck!!!!!!!!!) in the AL East. We've gone through so many injuries and we still can win the AL East. And kudos to Brian Cashman for making some nice moves before the deadline.