Oct 20
Setting a deadline of June 2011, South Korea’s government has announced that it will outline a plan for eventual reunification with North Korea. The worst case scenario, some estimates predict, will be that the cost of a regime class and gradual unification could cost several trillion US dollars. This announcement, like the August 2010 announcement of a Reunification Tax is likely to stir some saber rattling on the Northern side of the peninsula.
Source: Yonhap News
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Oct 11
Hwang Jang-Yop, a high level member of the North Korean government during the Kim Il-Sung era who helped develop the Juche ideology with Kim Il-Sung and famously defected to South Korea in 1997, died on October 10th. DailyNK has a nice special on Hwang and his lessons about North Korea (see the “Related Articles” from this page). The death is being ruled as not suspicious, but an autopsy will be performed. Great information on the life of Hwang Jang-Yop can be found on his Wikipedia page.
Source: Daily NK
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Sep 23
The 22nd to the 25th is the Korean “Thanksgiving” harvest holiday known as Chuseok. DailyNK reports that this is one of the few holidays North Koreans are able to celebrate without any sort of political worship. Typically a feast (very expensive by North Korean standards, often costing as much as a month’s salary) of harvest foods are consumed and the graves of deceased family members are visited and honoured. Perhaps someday separated familes from the South and North can celebrate a Chuseok feast together in the future.
Source: DailyNK
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Sep 17
As North Korea backpedals on its aggravation of tensions on the Korea peninsula, the United States remain firm in their handling of the isolationist nation. The torpedo attack on the Cheonan has been described as an “act of war”, and repeated illicit arms deals between Iran and Myanmar have further fueled distrust in North Korea’s commitments to 6 party talks for denuclearization. “The United States has underscored numerous times that North Korea can only achieve the security and international respect it seeks by ceasing its provocative behavior, improving its relations with its neighbors, complying with international law, and taking irreversible steps toward fulfilling its denuclearization commitments under the September 2005 Joint Statement” states Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs. Recent nuclear tests and rocket launches further undermine such talks, and has given the US grave doubts regarding the productivity of resuming denuclearization discussion with the DPRK.
Presently, it is unlikely North Korea possesses the capability to launch a nuclear strike. They have enough fissile material to aid in the production of several nuclear bombs, but it is believed that they do not properly have the technology to launch a nuclear capable missile. However, cooperation with other states wishing for nuclear arms such as Iran and Burma may hasten their nuclear launch capability.
Source: Yonhap News
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Sep 14
South Korea officially announced their final report regarding the sinking of the Cheonan warship in April. They have once again indicated that evidence suggests overwhelmingly that a North Korean torpedo was the antagonist in the sinking. A shockwave caused by a torpedo explosion bent the hull of the ship in half, causing it to sink. The recovered rear portionm of the torpedo posess marks that indicate that the North manufactured and launched the torpedo, while deformed propellers on the Cheonan were explained by the immedia halt of the boat’s movement by the initial blast. If I find a full version of the report to share, I will post it here.
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Sep 14
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Sep 12
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Sep 09
Popularly dubbed as the “Hotel of Doom” or “The Worst Building in the World” this famous eyesore is the most distinguishing feature of the Pyongyang skyline. This building is the Ryugyong Hotel, or “105 Building”. Standing at 330 metres in height, the hotel was anticipated to be the largest in the world (for it’s time) and construction was supposed to be completed in June 1989 for the World Festival of Youth and Students. Construction halted in 1992 due to equipment shortages and North Korea’s worst famine that prevailed through much of the 1990s. 
In 2008, Egyptian company Orascom had a contract to construct a 3G mobile network in Pyongyang. However, that work seems to have extended to refurbishing the derelict hotel. Work is well underway adding glass surfaces to the exterior of the building, and telecommunication antennas. Interior renovations are said to follow. The banner to this website features the Pyongyang skyline in February 2009, and you can note the “purple” looking glass panels and green scaffolding around the cone. Here is a picture of a picture of a render of the building upon its completion (rumoured to be around 2012):
The video below shows a unique close-up view of the shoddy construction.
What’s next for this debacle of soviet-style engineering? Will it ever be completed, or will it remain empty and unused, only appearing fancy on the outside? In North Korea, you can only expect the unexpected…
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Sep 09
The mysterious and highly anticipated Worker’s Party gathering in Pyongyang is set to kick off any day now (possibly delayed due to flooding and travel restrictions), probably to coincide with this national holiday. After World War II, when Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula ended, Soviet and American forces could not come to agreement about how Korea should be governed. The United Nations wanted to hold elections to determine a government for Korea. On September 9th, believing he could win free elections in the North for leadership of the entire peninsula, Kim Il-Sung (with Soviet backing) forbid the United Nations to enter past the 38th parallel. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the antithesis to the newly founded Republic of Korea in the south, was founded with premier Kim Il-Sung at the helm. Kim Il-Sung was eventually tagged as leader and technically remains that way today, 17 years after his death.
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Sep 07
Amid thawing tensions on the peninsula, North Korea’s Red Cross has requested rice, cement and construction equipment from the South’s equivalent Red Cross. In what could be regarded as a gesture of “good will”, the North has released the South Korean fishing vessel “Daeseung 55” after a month of captivity. NK state media stated referred to the release as “A decision made based on fraternal love and from a humanitarian perspective.” This seems to indicate that the North is hopeful for aid from the South to cope with extensive and ongoing flooding near the Chinese border.
Source: DailyNK / Arirang TV / KBS (image)
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