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
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/541
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
Oct 05
KCNA reports that both leader and son participated in watching the North Korean military drills. Kim Jong-Un has suddenly been quite prominent in North Korean media lately, and it is widely accepted that he is being groomed to succeed his father Jong-Il as the leader of the North Korea dynasty. Kim Jong-Un received key posts that effectively label him 2nd-in-command at a rare Korean Worker’s Party conference last week, while secrecy still shrouds his life prior to these promotions. Events such as this viewing of drills are similar to the father-son behaviour of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, travelling and leading together. Will there be shared leadership in the future while Jong-Il survives?
In related events, the South Korean defense minister reported to parliament that during the US-SK war game exercises in late August, their GPS reception was intermittenly jammed and interfered with by North Korea. The jamming equipment is alleged to be Russian in origin, and can operate on signals within 100km, which may pose a serious concern for South Korea military, who are dependent on guided weapons that utilize the technology. It is also believed that North Korea is also trying to export the technology to the Middle East.
Source: Yahoo! News via AFP / Yahoo! News via Reuters
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/470
Oct 05
DailyNK has an interesting article of an admission of guilt by a North Korean foreign official to a South Korean official a few years back.
KAL 858 was a passenger flight en route from Baghdad to Seoul, which was sabotaged by time bombs left by two North Korean agents who left in a stopover in Abu Dhabi. The agents were caught and swallowed cyanide pills, but one survived and later admitted to the bombing, claiming the order was sent from Kim Jong-Il himself. Naturally North Korea has denied the incident, despite overwhelming evidence (see also: the sinking of the Cheonan) to the contrary.
During the Six Party Talks, Ri Gun, vice foreign minister at the time, stated “We have not committed any terrorist acts since the KAL incident”. When the official urged Ri to have DPRK formally apologize for the incident in order to be removed from the list of countries supporting terrorism, Ri clammed up as if he had blurted out the wrong thing.
Source: DailyNK
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/466
Oct 01
ISIS, the Institute for Science and International Security published a report regarding new construction at the site of Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center in North Pyongan, North Korea. The site is notable for producing weapons grade fissile material for nuclear bombs, and under the agreement of the now stalled Six Party Talks, where the nuclear cooling tower was famously demolished in June of 2008. Recent satellite imagery reveals large scale excavation at the site, as well as two new buildings, though it is too early to say what the DPRK is constructing at the site. Recent threats to resume and even ramp up production of nuclear weaponry lead some to speculate that the North has backpedaled on it’s 6PT committments and is working hard to weaponize itself with nuclear arms.
Source: ISIS
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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.
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/391
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.
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/350
Sep 04
I’ve been busy with vacations and work lately, unfortunately not able to update as much as I’d like. Things should be normal now. Here’s what was missed:
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Aug 19
Yonhap News reports that the DPRK has finally spoken on the issue of the seized Daesung fishing craft. They announced that four South Korean and three Chinese fishermen have “confessed” to trespassing in waters claimed by the North. The fates and health of the captured men are unknown, but state-run KCNA news have stated that the issue is still under investigation.
Source: Yonhap News / The New York Times
Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/272
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