Oct 06
The always intriguing North Korean Economy Watch blog has linked the latest issue in Joseph Bermudaz‘ KPA Journal. These journals which come in PDF format detail the North’s military assets, biographies of its commanders, strategies, and more. Very interesting material and I encourage you to read them all. Click the link below to download all 9 issues published so far.
Source: North Korea Economy Watch
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/478
Aug 23
These are folks who have travelled through North Korea whether as tourists, undercover journalists, or businessmen. Their tales give you a real feeling for what it must be like as an outsider inside the reclusive country. Reading these accounts is an easy way to get an idea of North Korea’s isolationist principles if you’re new to the subject. And I will update and bump this post as I come across more!
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/646
Aug 09
Details are sketchy at the moment, but it has been reported by the South’s Defense Ministry that North Korea has fired artillery shells into the sea. How much artillery, what they may have been firing at (if anything), and how close to disputed borders the firing occurred at has yet to be release.
Update: Yonhap News is reporting that 110 shells were fired, all on the North side of the Northern Limit Line of the Yellow Sea. It is still unclear whether they were firing at anything specific, or if this simply was a demonstration of force. The South’s Navy is on heightened alert.
Source: Associated Press via Google News / Yonhap News
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/222
Aug 09
A number of media outlets reported this weekend on the seizure of a North Korean fishing vessel. The North has been completely mum on the issue; appeals from Seoul for the safe return of the vessel and her crew have gone unanswered. The ship, the “Daeseung”, was crewed by 4 South Koreans and 3 Chinese civilians, so it will be interesting to see China’s reaction to this movie. The ship was believed to be in disputed waters, and the last communication with the boat was made at 4:45PM (Korea time), just a few hours after responding affirmatively to a SK Fisheries department asking “Are you now being towed by a North Korean patrol ship?”.
Source: DailyNK
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/221
Aug 08
I have no details other than this, Associated Press has a tiny blurb about it and noone else seems to be carrying the story on this sleepy Sunday morning. Will post more when I see more. Full text: “Seoul says North Korea has seized South Korean fishing boat in waters off the eastern coast”.
This comes in the wake of a huge cabinet reshuffle in South Korea by president Lee Myung-Bak, and in the middle of South Korean naval exercises designed to intimidate and deter an ever-threatening North.
Source: @BreakingNews / Yonhap News (2)
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/214
Aug 04
As the South begins Thursday a 5 day naval exercise in the Yellow Sea, North Korea has responded by moving its SA-5 anti-air missiles towards the action. The North has previously threatened “strong physical retaliation” as a response to the drills, and the South has challenged back that any provocation will result in an immediate counter-attack. Is Korean War 2 about to break out on the peninsula?
Source: Chosun Ilbo / Google News
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/197
Aug 03
I don’t know if it’s even worth posting these, as the North threatens “all out war” on a seemingly daily basis since being directly accused for the sinking of the Cheonan this past March. The latest threats are in response to South Korean anti-submarine drills near the maritime border between the warring nations.
Source: Yonhap News
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/189
Aug 01
Hard to tell what to make of this story: North Korean mines in boxes have washed ashore in South Korea, reportedly due to heavy rains. A fisherman grabbed one of the boxes which exploded, killing him and wounding another. 30 of these mines have come ashore since Saturday. Korean War relics, or a new type of warfare in the wake of the Cheonan incident?
Source: MSNBC
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/161
Jul 30
A report titled “World Nuclear Stockpile Report” by a magazine called “Bulletin of Atomic Scientists” claims that despite two tests performed in 2006 and 2009, and enough plutonium to construct 8-12 more bombs, the DPRK is unable to weaponize their nuclear arsenal. US Intelligence agencies believe the state possesses no missiles capable of delivering the ordinance.
Source: The Chosun Ilbo
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/147
Jul 30
160 luxury Chinese-made Mercedes cars have been given out by the “Dear Leader” to high ranking officials. This is notable because UN Security Council Resolution 1718 prohibits exporting luxury vehicles to the DPRK, and the gifts also come in wake of the September meeting of top party officials, where party loyalty is most certainly to be tested over the inevitable succession of Kim Jong-Un.
Source: DailyNK
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/141
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