Monthly Archive for September, 2007

More information about Syria, but unconfirmed

Published
by
Jack
on September 22, 2007
in News, North Korea, Other Regimes and United States
. 1 Comment

Some more information is coming to light in this case, while North Korea an Syria deny the charges. Washington is not confirming or denying the source according to AFP. Whatever the source, the rumors and un-named sources are starting to emerge only to add to the fire. While I do believe there is something unsavory going on, unless there is a confirmation, there is really no way to know 100%. This can really muck things up for the talks, but I doubt this will change the summit. Also what bothers me (as said before) are the high level talks with Syria and Iran. What in the world are they planning or talking about?

Elite Israeli forces seized North Korean nuclear material during a raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israeli warplanes bombed it September 6, a newspaper reported Sunday.The Sunday Times quoted well-placed sources as saying the commandos seized the material from a compound near Dayr az-Zwar in northern Syria and that tests of it in Israel showed it was of North Korean origin.

Israel had been surveying the site for months, according to Washington and Israeli sources quoted by the newspaper which gave no date for the commando raid or details about the material seized.

An unidentified senior American source quoted by The Sunday Times added that the US government sought proof of nuclear-related activities before allowing the air strike by F-151 warplanes to go ahead.

The raid by the elite Sayeret Matkal was personally directed by Ehud Barak, Israel’s defence minister who once commanded the unit, the newspaper said.

It said he had been preoccupied with the site since assuming his post on June 18.

Seems credible enough, but again,

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino flatly refused to confirm or deny media reports that Israel struck a nuclear site but sharply rejected suggestions that the incident showed Washington had been naive about Pyongyang’s intentions.

Also, there is a bill underway to halt talking North Korea off the terror list. I say got for it.

Update: See Left Flank’s reaction. Also see One Free Korea.

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A closer look at propaganda Part 1: The American media

Published
by
Jack
on September 21, 2007
in Cult Of Personality, History, North Korea, United States and propaganda
. 0 Comments

Edward BernaysWhat got me thinking about this subject was watching the four part series from BBC called The Century of the Self. If you have not seen it before, I suggest you watch it and you will be provoked into thought. While this deals with American and (some) European history of propaganda (public relations), it got me wondering about North Korea and how the Propaganda and Agitation Department may work. Since nobody really knows what goes on in that department other than the people working there, we do have some glimpses into the massive propaganda machine. This is a gigantic subject and will never claim to be an expert on the subject. This is simply to think out loud and get some feedback on how these ideas are developed and used in different societies, mainly the U.S. vs. North Korea. The ideas are polar opposites, but what elements do they have in common if any at all?

Today, we look at the American media, public relations, Edward Bernays and how the masses are persuaded to buy products, vote for a politician or get the latest spin from a celebrity spokesperson. While not everybody buys into the spin, product or celebrity damage control, the United States is a society of choice and competition, and the powers that be in the public relations profession clamor for the attention for the consuming public.

In the next part of the series, we look into The Policy Elites paper and how North Korea uses propaganda to persuade its masses to keep the regime in power. We look at how isolation, exploitation of traditions and cults of personality shape the hearts and minds of the people.

As always: Please be aware this is an ongoing research project, and information contained in this post may have glaring factual or missing information that I may not be aware of. If anybody has any insight that will make me better understand it, please say so in the comments and I will love to take your views into consideration and learn something. That is the whole goal of this blog.

Continue reading ‘A closer look at propaganda Part 1: The American media’

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Floods hit Pyongyang again (update)

Published
by
Jack
on September 21, 2007
in News, North Korea and Other Topics
. 0 Comments

It seems the years of deforesting, and mismanagement of the Kim regime are taking its toll:

Storms caused by Typhoon Wipha lashed the country late on Thursday, causing widespread flooding and cutting transport links.

State media said rice and other crops were lost as the rains inundated western provinces and the capital, Pyongyang

Almost 37 cm of rain was recorded in the provinces of South Hwanghae, South Phyongan and North Hwanghae in one day.

It is difficult to say how much more the impoverished country can take, and if Kim does not shape up and fly right (eg Syrian connection) things could get very bad for Kim Jong Il. Something is up, and Syria visiting Pyongyang just adds to the suspicion. I am very sure they are not talking about what they had for dinner last night.

More updates - Looks like the situation is getting worse, according to the KCNA anyway:

Rice and other crops were lost as rains spawned by Typhoon Wipha inundated western provinces and the capital Pyongyang in the past three days, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

It said the new downpours had caused “heavy losses in many sectors” of the economy and some areas damaged by last month’s floods had again been hit.

Kim Un-Chol, deputy head of North Korea’s Red Cross Society, said diseases were spreading because of the damage to hospitals and other infrastructure in the impoverished state caused by the August rains.

“What we are most concerned about now is disease outbreaks,” he was quoted as saying by Chosun Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper published in Japan.

“Many patients are suffering from diarrhoea,” Kim said, adding that water treatment facilities had been contaminated.

Health facilities were “in miserable condition” with 562 hospitals wrecked and 2,100 clinics damaged. “Drug stores were inundated and all medicines there were soaked and ruined.”

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Super Kim!

Published
by
Jack
on September 21, 2007
in Video and wtf
. 1 Comment

A hat tip to hapo for this funny video:

Enjoy!

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I added another blog to the blogroll

Published
by
Jack
on September 20, 2007
in DPRK Forum Blurbs
. 0 Comments

This feed has absolutely nothing to do with North Korea, but this is a good friend for many years and has some interesting insights on life. His goal is not to conform but to tell it like he sees the world despite the opinions would otherwise dictate. Just a word of warning: May contain posts that may not be suitable for all ages.

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Bush warns Syria and North Korea about Nukes and other interesting reads

Published
by
Jack
on September 20, 2007
in Diplomacy, Kim Jong Il, North Korea, Nukes, Other Regimes, The region and United States
. 0 Comments

Bush did not give a lot of specifics about what the heck is going on in Syria and the possible ties with North Korea, but one thing is clear: He seems concerned at the least.? What else is known is either not known or is under wraps for right now at least:

“We expect them to honor their commitment to give up weapons and weapons programs and to the extent that they are proliferating, we expect them to stop their proliferation,” Bush told reporters.

He also warned against states sharing “information and/or materials” linked to nuclear weapons.

That’s what raised my eyebrow. What extent? A little, a lot? However, it seems the six-party talks have been postponed because of the flurry of reports on the reported Syrian/DPRK nuke trading:

Continue reading ‘Bush warns Syria and North Korea about Nukes and other interesting reads’

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Propaganda Time!

Published
by
Jack
on September 19, 2007
in Cult Of Personality, Kim Jong Il, Video and wtf
. 2 Comments

Let us sing a song about how the Great General loves little kids and sends Grapes Of Love like big candy. It is so tasty!

This was the first propaganda video I ever saw, and it was pretty heartbreaking to see at first because of the reports of kids dying. After a while, it did not really phase me because this is pretty much the norm for the North Korean propaganda machine. There are other videos of interest where the above video came from, so check that out (Some videos may contain content not suitable for everybody, so viewer discretion is advised).

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And the Syrian/Israel plot thickens and other news (Updated)

Published
by
Jack
on September 19, 2007
in Humanitarian Topic, News, North Korea, Nukes and Other Regimes
. 0 Comments

Again, there’s something going on, and cannot put my finger on it. We all know Iran is not a fan of Israel, but the meetings with North Korea and North Korea milling around Syria is starting to make me wonder. Then fast forward to today, and we got Iran stepping in to give the two cents:

The announcement comes amid rising tensions in the region with the United States calling for a new round of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program and Israeli planes having recently overflown, and perhaps even attacked, Iranian ally Syria’s territory.

“We have drawn up a plan to strike back at Israel with our bombers if this regime (Israel) makes a silly mistake,” deputy air force chief, Gen. Mohammad Alavi was quoted as telling Fars in an interview.

Is this just the excuse it needs to start a war with Israel? Also, what kind of strike? The thought is not very fun to think of. As rising tensions mount, what role (if any) does North Korea play into this debacle? That much is not known right now, but rumors mount Israel hit targets of nuclear facilities:

Continue reading ‘And the Syrian/Israel plot thickens and other news (Updated)’

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Kim Dae-jung speech drinking game (Update 2)

Published
by
Jack
on September 19, 2007
in News, North Korea, Nukes and ROK
. 0 Comments

Yes, it is that time again, and there are some interesting news around these parts. One in particular that caught my attention was this little blurb. Here is a little game you can play. Everytime he mentions “unification”, take a drink.

I cannot go through the thing bit by bit right now, but I will lay it to you folks in a nutshell:

1. Kim Dae-jung goes into office and makes the Sunshine Policy. Much happiness ensues.

2. Kim Dae-jung meets Kim Jong Il in 2000, they both nod and everything is peachy.

3. Albright meets Kim Jong Il a little later and in exchange for goodies, Kim will be a good boy.

4. Bush gets into office and ruins everything.

5. Bush goes into the Feb. 13 Agreement, and that makes Kim Dae-jung happy.

6. Restates Kim Jong Il really wanted normal relations until Bush got into office, the scoundrel…

7. Keep giving what North Korea wants, and everything should be fine.

8. Much Utopian talk ensues.

9. Do not let China in, and invest money into North Korea.

10. Kim Dae-jung says anti- U.S. rhetoric in South Korea is not true, and how South Korea is a vital partner with them despite the displeasure of U.S. policy.

Get all of that? I sure hope so. That speech made my head hurt. Now here is another game you can play:

Everytime you see a fact omitted to make Kim Dae-jung look better, take a drink.

Everytime there is blame passed to somebody else, take a drink.

On second thought, do not do it. You might get alcohol poisoning.

Update: In case you have not read it yet, looks like North Korea has been taken off the drug trafficking list. last I heard, the opium business is doing just fine with people smuggling the stuff across the river. I guess that all stopped now. Update: See One Free Korea’s in-depth report (See Slim’s comment). DPRK Studies NKEconWatch. (Updates as posts come)

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Voice of Korea in English

Published
by
Jack
on September 18, 2007
in DPRK Forum Blurbs
. 0 Comments

Some of you folks may know about this already, but I did not, and looked high and low for it. A reader (Thanks hapo!) contacted me via instant messenger and directed me to this link. It hsome good stuff you can listen to. It is a lot like Songun Blog, but in audio format. Enjoy! (Fixed typo)

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