North Korea

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North Korea Begs West for Food

But US, others, not so sure that's a great idea

(Newser) - North Korea is so hungry that it has, for the moment at least, abandoned its trademark bluster and started begging foreign governments for food, the Washington Post reports. But the US, which was the largest provider of food aid to North Korea until it shut off shipments two years ago,...

N. Korea on Kim's Birthday: Let People Eat, Um, Nothing

Dear Leader parties; no 'gifts' for Koreans

(Newser) - North Korea held its usual lavish celebration to mark Kim Jong Il’s 69th birthday today—even though the desperately poor country couldn’t afford to hand out its usual “birthday gift” of food rations to the people. In one northeastern province, even ruling party officials haven’t gotten...

North Korea: No More Talks. Ever.

Pyongyang cites South's 'sinister intentions,' probably bluffing

(Newser) - South Korea probably thought it reasonable to expect Pyongyang to say it was sorry for shelling its island and sinking its warship, but the North just stomped out of low-level military talks yesterday in response, and today says it won't be back. By making "unreasonable" demands, the North says...

North Walks Out on Korea Talks

Refuses to apologize for shelling South, sinking ship

(Newser) - North Korea packed up its toys and went home today, abruptly ending low-level military talks between the two Koreas in Panmunjom, reports the New York Times. Pressed by Seoul military officials to apologize for shelling Yeonpyeong in November and sinking a warship last March, the North “unilaterally walked away...

Koreas Hold First Talks Since Island Attack

Look to set stage for higher-level talks later

(Newser) - Colonels from North and South Korea held talks inside the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone today in the rivals' first official dialogue since the North's deadly artillery barrage of a South Korean island in November. In the border village of Panmunjom, the two sides worked to set a date and logistics...

After 43 Days in N. Korea Prison, a Ruined Man

One year later, Robert Park still struggles

(Newser) - On Christmas Day 2009, Robert Park crossed into North Korea, shouting "South Korea and America love you." After spending 43 days in detention, he was released . That was one year ago, but his ordeal is far from over, reports the Washington Post . The Christian missionary says he lost...

Koreas Announce Low-Level Talks

South says summit is a possibility

(Newser) - North Korea hasn't kicked its southern brother in the shins for a few weeks now, so the South is finally responding to Pyongyang's calls for talks. The South announced today that the two will hold "low-level and preliminary" military-level talks next week, and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak won't...

South Korea Agrees to Talks With North

Meetings intended to lower military tensions

(Newser) - South Korea has accepted a Northern Korean proposal for talks between the two nations' defense ministers, in an effort to ease tensions following the Yeonpyeong shelling. The North has offered to sit down several times this month, but until now Seoul has rejected its overtures, demanding an apology for the...

North Korean Missiles Could Hit US: Robert Gates

China, meanwhile, thumbs nose at US with stealth fighter test

(Newser) - North Korea could be a direct threat to the US within five years, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead across the ocean, Robert Gates said today. “I don’t think it’s an immediate threat,” Gates said, according to the New York Times , “...

North Korea: War Would Bring 'Nuclear Holocaust'

New Year's address urges better ties with South Korea

(Newser) - North Korea welcomed the new year today with a call for better ties with rival South Korea, warning that war "will bring nothing but a nuclear holocaust." Despite calls in its annual New Year's message for a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons, the communist North, which has...

N. Korea Airs First Western Flick—Starring Keira Knightley

'Bend It Like Beckham' marks anniversary of British ties

(Newser) - North Koreans got treated to the country’s first-ever televised Western film this week: Bend It Like Beckham. News, soaps, and documentaries usually dominate the airwaves, and Western movies are restricted, the AP reports. The broadcast seemed to be an edited version of the Keira Knightley- and Jonathan Rhys Myers-led...

Isolated and Destitute, North Korea Limps On
Isolated and Destitute,
North Korea Limps On
VIEW FROM PYONGYANG
Dec 27, 2010 3:40 PM CST

Isolated and Destitute, North Korea Limps On

Reporters granted rare visit with Richardson

(Newser) - North Korea has a deadline: For years, it's promised that an age of prosperity will begin in 2012, the 100th anniversary of Kim Il-Sung's birth. With 18 months to go, two journalists accompanying Bill Richardson on an unprecedented trip to North Korea found that the government will be hard-pressed to...

Sabotage? Derailed Train Carried Gifts for Kim Jong Un

Seoul radio cites suspicion of foul play

(Newser) - A train full of birthday presents en route to North Korea’s heir derailed this month—but was it a simple accident, or sabotage? A South Korean radio station that often cites Northern sources reports that a train departing from Sinuiju and headed for Pyongyang derailed on Dec. 11, creating...

South Korea's President: We're Not Afraid of War

He promises 'relentless' retaliation in radio address

(Newser) - Lee Myung-bak has a message for Kim Jong Il: Bring it on. In a radio address today, the South Korean president said he wasn’t afraid of war with the North, and vowed that his military would “respond relentlessly when they come under attack.” He told the people...

North Korea: We're Ready to Use Nukes in 'Holy War'

Armed forces minister issues new threat

(Newser) - North Korea is ready to use nuclear weapons in its "holy war" against South Korea, warned Pyongyang's minister of armed forces today. Minister Kim Yong-chun repeated North Korea's earlier charges that military drills in the South were the beginnings of a planned assault on his nation, reports Reuters . He...

Vowing to Punish Enemy, S. Korea Launches Vast Drills

Will 'punish the enemy if it provokes us again'

(Newser) - South Korea is continuing to thumb its nose at the North, today launching three days military drills close to the DMZ, as hundreds of troops, tanks, jets, and helicopters gather, the AP reports. It’s the 48th such training this year—only 47 had been planned—and the largest joint...

South Korea Pokes at North With Christmas Tree

Also, Bill Richardson: North has agreed to nuclear inspections

(Newser) - The Korean peninsula was calmer today after the promised North Korean response to South Korean military exercises never materialized—though the South is braced for surprise attacks. It's also getting ready for the holidays: In a move expected to annoy North Korea, the South today lit a 100-foot tall steel...

South Korea Launches In-Your-Face Military Exercise

Unofficial envoy fears 'crisis'

(Newser) - Despite global fears of a violent confrontation, South Korea launched fighter jets and fired live artillery in a military exercise close to the North Korea border. But the two-hour operation ended without incident, and Pyongyang officials promised not to retaliate, reversing earlier threats of a "deadly" response. Residents of...

UN Holds Emergency Meeting Over Korean Tensions

Russia pushing a resolution for 'maximum restraint'

(Newser) - The UN Security Council met in emergency session today amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula and a North Korean warning of a "catastrophe" if South Korea goes ahead with a live-fire drill. Russia called for the meeting, and Moscow wants the UN's most powerful body to adopt a...

North Korea: Cancel Drills, or We'll Attack Again

South Korea plans more drills on Yeonpyeong Island

(Newser) - Tensions between the Koreas ratcheted even higher today, when the North threatened to attack Yeonpyeong Island again if the South goes through with its plans to hold live-ammunition drills there. “The intensity and scope of the strike will be more serious than the Nov. 23 shelling,” officials told...

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