North Korea and South Korea

[GreyhoundFan]

"Japan warns citizens they might have only 10 minutes to prepare for a North Korean missile"

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TOKYO — North Korea might be talking about building missiles that can reach the United States, but Kim Jong Un’s regime already has lots of missiles that can reach Japan. So the Japanese government is preparing its citizens in case a missile comes their way — possibly with less than 10 minutes’ warning.

The prime minister’s office issued new “actions to protect yourself” guidelines this week, including for the first time instructions on how to respond if a North Korean ballistic missile is heading toward Japan.

Three of the four missiles that North Korea launched March 6 fell within Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan, the body of water that separates Japan and the Korean Peninsula. North Korea later said that it was practicing to hit U.S. military bases in Japan.

North Korea showed almost two decades ago that it has all of Japan in its reach. In 1998, North Korea fired a Taepodong-1 missile — ostensibly for launching a satellite — over Japan and into its economic zone on the Pacific Ocean side.

The Japanese government’s advice isn’t exactly helpful, amounting to basically: You won’t get the warning in time, but if you do, then go to a strong building.

...

As North Korea has issued threats and paraded missiles this month, Japan’s official civil defense website has had 5.7 million visitors in the first 23 days of April — compared with usual monthly traffic of less than 400,000 hits.

Under the "frequently asked questions" section, the government poses the question of how many minutes it would take for a missile to reach Japan.

“When a missile is launched from North Korea, it will not take long to reach Japan,” the answer reads. “For example, the ballistic missile launched from [North Korea] on February 7 last year took 10 minutes to fly over Okinawa.”

The central government has also been holding meetings to instruct local governments what they should do if a North Korean missile hits their region.

This meeting was unprecedented in post-war Japan, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported, marking the first time the Japanese government has taken steps to instruct residents on how to prepare for enemy attacks.

...

In “Actions and Other Measures In Case of Falling of Ballistic Missile” posted on its website last week, Fukui’s prefectural government told citizens to “evacuate to a substantial building or underground shopping area” if they were outside, and to lie down under cover and away from windows if inside.

Japan has a system called “J-Alert” designed to broadcast information about an imminent missile attack to disaster management officials at the local level. Here’s how The Japan Times described the system:

From there, local governments will relay warnings via outdoor loudspeaker systems, emergency broadcast channels on cable TV, FM radio broadcasts and cellphone alerts.

If you are outside when a warning is sounded or received, the government’s advice is to proceed calmly to the strongest concrete building you can quickly get to, or to go underground, if possible. Families in their homes are advised to stay low to the floor, take cover underneath tables and to stay away from glass windows.

But Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura said that there would be almost no time to respond to a North Korean missile.

“A missile may not be detected as soon as it leaves the launch pad ... and that could take several minutes,” he said, according to the Japan Times report. “Depending on the case, the warnings and alarms might only sound four or five minutes before a missile arrives."

Meanwhile, sales of nuclear shelters and radiation-blocking air purifiers have surged in Japan, Reuters reported. A small company that specializes in building nuclear shelters, generally under people’s houses, has received eight orders in April alone compared with six orders during a typical year.

Increased efforts to make contingency plans in response to growing public concern will also likely accelerate a push by the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for an upgraded ballistic missile defense system for the nation, the Asahi Shimbun wrote.

An influential group of politicians is publicly arguing for technically pacifist Japan to acquire the ability to strike North Korea instead of having to rely on the United States for its defense, and has submitted a recommendation to the government to this effect.

 

[candygirl200413]

Hearing about the 10 minutes terrified me and made me extremely sad cause I have family living there currently (also my favorite place to visit as well). Honestly praying nothing happens this weekend.

[GreyhoundFan]

"U.S. starts ‘swiftly’ installing controversial anti-missile battery in South Korea"

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SEOUL — The United States military started installing a controversial anti-missile defense system in South Korea overnight Tuesday, triggering protests and sparking criticism that it was rushing to get the battery in place before the likely election of a president who opposes it. 

The sudden and unannounced move came only six days after U.S. Forces Korea secured the land to deploy the system, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD.  

Moon Jae-in, a liberal candidate who has a strong lead in the polls ahead of the May 9 presidential election, has promised to review South Korea’s decision to host the anti-missile battery. 

“There’s a sense in Seoul that THAAD deployment has been rushed based on the timetable of South Korea’s presidential election, rather than North Korea’s threats,” said John Delury, a professor of international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul.

“To some extent, the acceleration of THAAD deployment has ‘worked,’ limiting the next South Korean leader’s room for maneuver,” Delury said. “But there’s the danger of a backlash among the South Korean public feeling like a pawn in the game of ‘America First.’ ” 

...

“Last night’s action was necessary to swiftly deliver an additional layer of defense to South Korea against the growing North Korean missile threat,” said Elise Van Pool, a spokeswoman for USFK.

The timing was due to public safety, she said. “The movement of the equipment entailed large convoys. In the interest of public safety and to ensure minimal impact on the local community, this movement was conducted at night,” she said.

But South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said that South Korea and the United States had been working “to secure the swift operational capability of the THAAD system against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat.”

“South Korea’s military plans to secure full capability of the THAAD system operation within the year,” the ministry said in a statement. 

A spokesman for Moon, the Democratic party’s candidate for president, criticized the sudden moves overnight. 

“Moon Jae-in has been consistent in his position on the THAAD deployment: that it must be decided by the next administration after enough public discussion and by national consensus,” Park Kwang-on said in a statement. 

“Any deployment that completely ignores appropriate processes must be suspended now and the final decision should be made after consultation between South Korea and the U.S.,” he said.

...

After equivocating for years, the South Korean government — led by then-President Park Geun-hye — decided last July to allow the deployment of the system to guard against the North Korean threat.  

Each THAAD battery includes at least six truck-mounted launchers that carry up to eight missiles each. They are designed to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles like the ones that North Korea has been launching at a steady clip over the past year. 

North Korea, itself, has bolstered the case for the system, with dozens of missile launches over the last year, all of which have South Korea easily within range. 

...

But Beijing has protested vehemently against the deployment, apparently concerned that the system’s powerful radar could be used to keep tabs on China, and has imposed painful economic boycotts on South Korean companies in response. 

“The deployment of THAAD in South Korea will destroy the strategic balance in the region and bring about a further increase in tensions,” Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Beijing Wednesday. “The Chinese side strongly urges the U.S. and South Korea to cancel the deployment and withdraw the equipment.”

Residents in the Seongju area, where the battery will be deployed, have also been protesting, worried that the system’s presence will make them a target for North Korea’s missiles. 

According to local reports, six trailers carrying the X-band radar, mobile launchers and other parts of the system were seen entering the site about midnight. 

A group of residents protested against the move and tried to stop the equipment from being taken onto the site, clashing with police, the Yonhap news agency reported from Seongju, in the southeast of South Korea.

They waved placards saying “No THAAD, No War” and “Hey, U.S.! Are you friends or occupying troops?”

“Police let THAAD equipment pass through [protesters] by repressing them,” Kang Hyun-wook, a religious leader who was leading the protest, told Yonhap. “The THAAD deployment is illegal and should be nullified.”

 

[Cartmann99]

Quote

 

Adm Harry Harris, the commander of US Pacific Command (Pacom), sounded dire notes before a congressional panel on Wednesday, testifying that he did not have confidence that North Korea would refrain from “something precipitous” should it succeed in miniaturizing a nuclear weapon to mount on a ballistic missile.

While Harris did not provide any timetable for reaching an “inflection point” in North Korean nuclear capabilities, he suggested that the North’s accelerating missile tests indicated that Pyongyang will at some point be able to launch a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile at the United States unless stopped by an external force, diplomatically or militarily.

“Just as Thomas Edison is believed to have failed 1,000 times before successfully inventing the light bulb, so, too, Kim Jong-un will keep trying. One of these days soon, he will succeed,” Harris told the House armed services committee.

Harris indicated a preference for a sizeable show of military force in order to deter North Korea from launching a devastating assault, to include sending the guided-missile submarine USS Michigan to South Korea’s port city of Busan, overflying the Korean peninsula with B-1 and B-52 bombers, and ordering the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group to the waters near Korea.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/26/north-korea-nuclear-attack-south-korea-us-navy

[GreyhoundFan]

"North Korea puts out new video showing the White House in crosshairs and carriers exploding"

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SEOUL — A North Korean propaganda outlet Thursday released an inflammatory video clip showing a simulated attack on the White House, declaring “the enemy to be destroyed is in our sights.”

The video comes at a particularly tense time in relations between North Korea and the United States, with the Trump administration sending warships to the region in a show of force against Kim Jong Un’s regime.

Earlier this week, North Korea conducted large-scale artillery drills, showing off conventional weaponry that can easily reach the South Korean capital of Seoul, home to some 25 million people.

President Trump, who has been urging China to apply pressure to North Korea and to act if Beijing doesn’t, convened congressional lawmakers Wednesday to brief them on the “very grave threat” posed by Pyongyang.

...

A North Korean website, Meari, or Echo, released a video showing photos of the White House and aircraft carriers with a target on them, as if they are in the crosshairs.

It then shows simulated footage of the aircraft carrier exploding in a ball of flames, with the caption: “When the enemy takes the first step towards provocation and invasion.”

The 2.5 minute long video also included scenes from the huge military parade that North Korea held on April 15 to mark the anniversary of the birth of the state’s founder, Kim Il Sung, as well as showing footage of North Korean artillery and missile launches.

Against the background of missile launches, the caption read: “We will show you what a strong country that leads the world in nuclear and missile technology is capable of.”

...

I know at least some of it is saber-rattling, but it's still unnerving.

[GreyhoundFan]

"North Korea’s Special Operations forces are numerous, mysterious and formidable"

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Dozens of Special Operations troops marched in North Korea’s military parade this month, covered from head to toe in green, brown and black camouflage. Carrying variants of the Kalashnikov rifle with high-capacity “helical” magazines, they shouted slogans in support of Kim Jong Un, seemingly delighting the North Korean leader as he watched.

The scene underscored a long-held understanding about Pyongyang’s military: Special Operations troops have an outsize role. An assessment of those forces will likely come up Wednesday when the Trump administration hosts an unusual White House briefing for lawmakers about North Korea’s military capabilities, as Washington pressures Pyongyang to halt its advancing nuclear weapons program.

In the past few years, national security analysts and senior defense officials have suggested that it may not be North Korea’s ballistic missiles or artillery that are used to launch a large-scale attack on South Korea or U.S. installations, but North Korean commandos potentially armed with chemical or biological weapons.

The Pentagon also last year realigned its efforts to counter weapons of mass destruction under U.S. Special Operations Command, rather than U.S. Strategic Command, which has other missions that range from space operations to missile defense. A senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, said at the time that he considered the situation with North Korea very uncertain and that defense officials were preparing contingency plans.

North Korean Special Operations troops have been involved in some of the country’s most notorious military operations over the past few decades. They include a 1968 raid on South Korea’s capital of Seoul that led to fatalities on both sides and a 1996 incident in which a North Korean reconnaissance submarine ran aground in South Korean waters, prompting a manhunt, firefights and an eventual statement of regret from Pyongyang.

...

“Strategic SOF [Special Operations Force] units dispersed across North Korea appear designed for rapid offensive operations, internal defense against foreign attacks, or limited attacks against vulnerable targets in the ROK [Republic of Korea] as part of a coercive diplomacy effort,” the report said. “They operate in specialized units, including reconnaissance, airborne and seaborne insertion, commandos, and other specialties. All emphasize speed of movement and surprise attack to accomplish their missions.”

One example cited is a 2015 incident in which land mines maimed two South Korean soldiers near the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. Seoul accused North Korean troops of sneaking into the DMZ to lay the mines and threatened to make Pyongyang pay a disproportionate “harsh price,” but ultimately took no action.

Bruce Bennett, a national security analyst with the Rand Corp., said it’s feasible Pyongyang could rely more on Special Operations troops to carry out provocations in the future that are hard to tie to the North Korean government, such as bombings in South Korea. It’s unlikely they’d be involved in carrying out a nuclear attack considering the size of the munitions North Korea is developing, but commandos could wield biological weapons, he said.

Bennett, who testified before Congress in 2013 on the threat North Korean biological weapons pose, said the February assassination of Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Un’s half brother, showed that North Korea possesses VX nerve agent, one of the most potent chemical weapons. The country also likely has the nerve agent sarin and the ability to wage biological warfare with germs like anthrax, cholera, plague and smallpox, Bennett said.

...

I've not kept up with everything about NK, but this is scary.

[Cartmann99]

3 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

In the past few years, national security analysts and senior defense officials have suggested that it may not be North Korea’s ballistic missiles or artillery that are used to launch a large-scale attack on South Korea or U.S. installations, but North Korean commandos potentially armed with chemical or biological weapons.

I hadn't really allowed myself to ponder the full range of weapons North Korea might possibly possess. 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Trump administration talks tough on North Korea, but frustrated lawmakers want details"

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President Trump and his top national security advisers briefed congressional lawmakers Wednesday on what a senior aide called the “very grave threat” posed by North Korea, but they offered few details about the administration’s strategy to pressure Pyongyang.

Administration officials emphasized in a pair of private briefings — one open to all senators and held at the White House complex and one for House members on Capitol Hill — that they were developing a range of economic, diplomatic and military measures in the wake of a series of provocations from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s regime.

Lawmakers said they came away convinced that the Trump administration recognized the urgency of the mounting tensions on the Korean Peninsula, where Pyongyang conducted a failed missile test last week and drew international condemnation for the launch.

But several members of Congress said the administration remained vague about its efforts to confront Pyongyang beyond tougher talk from Trump.

“There was a definite degree of resolve that we’ve got a bad situation on our hands and they’re ratcheting up the importance of this,” said one Republican senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss a private meeting. “One of the things that I surmised from it was that as much as anything else, perhaps they wanted to prepare everybody for the fact that this could escalate quickly. That’s my own read on it.”

...

Trump has tried to reset the U.S. approach to North Korea, citing the failure of past administrations to rein in the rogue nation’s nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile programs. The administration has said the era of “strategic patience” — isolating the regime economically and diplomatically in hopes of reengaging in diplomatic talks — is over, and Trump has promised that the United States would “solve” the North Korea problem unilaterally if necessary. The president also has directly pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping to exert more pressure on Kim.

But the Trump White House has not defined a policy that looks strikingly different from the approach of past administrations, lawmakers said.

Asked by reporters to speak more broadly about Trump’s foreign policy doctrine, the senior administration official said the president “weighs the risk of any action . . . but what he’s also done in the first few weeks is weigh the risk of inaction.”

“He’s recognized there’s a cost to inaction,” the official said, citing Trump’s decision to authorize a missile strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces over the use of chemical weapons in that nation’s civil war.

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Senators rode together to the White House on a large white bus, and they were instructed to leave their cellphones outside the auditorium, which had been configured as a secure briefing room to prevent electronic eavesdropping.

Although the briefing was sobering, it was not revelatory, some of the participants said.

“There was very little, if anything new,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “I remain mystified about why the entire Senate had to be taken over to the White House rather than conducting it here.”

...

The Republican senator who requested anonymity said “the basic gist of it at the beginning was that we’re going to get more aggressive; we’ve waited and they’ve continued to be bad actors. We’ve reached a point where things are getting pretty dire and getting to the point where we’ve got to get more aggressive.”

“From then on, what we all wanted to know is: What does that mean?” the senator added. “What is it that we should be looking for as the trigger that something is about to happen and that we’d end up taking some kind of kinetic action? That’s where things got a little elliptical.”

Lawmakers who planned to push the administration to take intermediary steps — such as stiffening sanctions against China for its support of Pyongyang, or relabeling North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism — came away with no promises from the administration.

“I have supported putting North Korea back as a state sponsor of terror,” Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) said. “But no indication yet from the administration.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.) came away from the briefing promising to file legislation that would increase sanctions against North Korea and its supporters to “choke off some of the hard currency that this regime uses for its nuclear program.” He said his proposal would focus on financial institutions, North Korea’s shipping industry and “slave labor” crews that are sent to work abroad so the Kim regime can collect their wages.

“We’re going to move very quickly,” Royce said.

Gee, no specific details from the White House, why was anyone surprised?

[GreyhoundFan]

"North Korea fires another ballistic missile, the 75th of Kim Jong Un’s tenure"

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TOKYO — North Korea fired another ballistic missile early Saturday morning but it exploded within seconds of being launched, American and South Korean defense officials said.

Coinciding with renewed diplomatic and military pressure on North Korea from the Trump administration, this latest launch underscores both Kim Jong Un’s determination to make technical progress on his weapons programs and his defiance amid international pressure.

President Trump, who was briefed on the launch soon afterward, took to Twitter to reiterate his expectation that Chinese President Xi Jinping use his leverage to make Kim stop.

“North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!” he tweeted.

Trump has repeatedly called on China, North Korea’s neighbor and largest trading partner, to punish the regime in Pyongyang, and has warned Xi that if he doesn’t act, the United States will.

...

But Ralph A. Cossa, president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Pacific Forum, said that the Trump administration appeared to be struggling to figure out how to deal with North Korea.

“When it comes to foreign policy, and Korea policy in particular, the Trump administration has had a pretty steep learning curve, and it has been a lot more curves than learning,” Cossa said.

...

The tangerine toddler is going to Tweet us into a nuclear war.

[Cartmann99]

5 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"North Korea fires another ballistic missile, the 75th of Kim Jong Un’s tenure"

The tangerine toddler is going to Tweet us into a nuclear war.

I saw a brief blurb about the North Korean launch earlier, but I didn't know that Trump had tweeted about it until just know.

*sighs dejectedly* 

[laPapessaGiovanna]

“North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!” he tweeted.

Hundreds of thousands years of human evolution, thousands of years of civilization, an immense amount of knowledge, rhetoric and diplomacy from Hammurabi to nowadays and he zeroes it all. His short chubby twitting thumb is as devastating as Alexandria's library fire.

Xi Jinping probably hurt his face facepalming and Un died of heart failure caused by all the laughing.

OMG this can't be for real. Can you imagine JFK writing that to Kruscev? 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Controversial missile defense shield operational in South Korea"

Quote

A U.S. antimissile defense system recently installed in South Korea is now operational, a U.S. official said Monday, in the latest sign of an enhanced U.S. response to threats from North Korea.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss military operations overseas, said the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, an American-made system to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles, had reached initial operating capability.

The U.S. military’s installation of the THAAD battery in South Korea has been hotly contested. China considers the system a threat to its own security, while critics in South Korea allege that the United States is scrambling to set up the system before that country can hold a presidential election that might lead to a decision to halt its use altogether.

The scrutiny of the THAAD installation, which has been under discussion with Seoul for years, reflects heightened tensions over North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, which have made advances in recent years and which American officials fear could reach the point of posing a nuclear threat to the mainland United States.

The Trump administration has made a range of statements about its military posture toward North Korea and its willingness to employ force to prevent the continuation of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. In an interview made public Monday, President Trump said he would be “honored” to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un under the right circumstances. A day earlier, he refused to rule out military action against Pyongyang.

...

This worries me.  I'm not very familiar with THAAD, but I can see KJU considering that a provocation for launching missiles.

[Childless]

17 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"Controversial missile defense shield operational in South Korea"

This worries me.  I'm not very familiar with THAAD, but I can see KJU considering that a provocation for launching missiles.

So do the South Koreans which is why they hate it and want it gone.

[Cartmann99]

Is someone from the Trump administration working to get Professor Kim released? 

Quote

 

North Korea said on Wednesday an American man it had detained in late April, the third U.S. citizen being held by the isolated country, was intercepted because he was attempting to commit "hostile acts".

The state-run KCNA news agency said the American, identified last month as Kim Sang Dok, was arrested on April 22 at the Pyongyang airport for committing "hostile criminal acts with an aim to subvert the country".

The latest information about Kim's detention comes as tensions on the Korean peninsula run high, driven by concerns that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of U.S. pressure and United Nations sanctions.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-detainee-idUSKBN17Z0GC

I can't imagine how scared his friends and family must be right now. 

[GreyhoundFan]

34 minutes ago, Cartmann99 said:

Is someone from the Trump administration working to get Professor Kim released? 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-detainee-idUSKBN17Z0GC

I can't imagine how scared his friends and family must be right now. 

I hope they are. I know that in the past, they've done quite a bit quietly behind the scenes to effect the release of prisoners. I'm sure his friends and family are terrified. I know I would be.

[GreyhoundFan]

Another American citizen has been detained in NK.

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North Korea has detained another American who worked at a private university in Pyongyang, taking to four the number of U.S. citizens being held by Kim Jong Un’s regime.

Kim Hak-song, who worked for the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, was detained Saturday, North Korea’s state news agency said.

Kim was arrested on suspicion of “hostile acts” against North Korea, the official Korean Central News Agency said. “A relevant institution is now conducting a detailed investigation into his crimes,” it said.

No other details about him were available. 

The State Department said Sunday that it was “aware of reports that a U.S. citizen was detained in North Korea.”

“The security of U.S. citizens is one of the department’s highest priorities,” a spokeswoman said, adding that the department was working with the Swedish Embassy, which represents the United States in North Korea.

“Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment,” she said.

Two weeks ago, North Korea detained another U.S. national, Kim Sang-dok or Tony Kim, as he waited to board a flight at Pyongyang airport. He had been teaching a class in international finance and management at the same university, known as PUST.

PUST is the only private educational institution in North Korea. It is run by a Korean American professor and funded largely by Christian groups. It began offering classes in English to the North Korean elite in 2010.

PUST has more than 60 foreign faculty members, including from the United States, Canada, Britain and China, its website says. 

...

The State Department advises Americans against traveling to North Korea, warning of “the serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea’s system of law enforcement.” 

The detentions come at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.  

President Trump has been vacillating between calling Kim Jong Un a “smart cookie” and threatening military action against North Korea, while the Kim regime has been warning of a nuclear attack in the face of any U.S. threat.

In the latest development, North Korea accused the United States and South Korean intelligence agencies on Friday of plotting to kill Kim Jong Un using “biochemical substances.”

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the agencies “hotbed of evils in the world” and said in a statement that they had “hatched a vicious plot to hurt the supreme leadership.” 

The statement said that a citizen, identified only as Kim, had been paid $290,000 for himself and his “terrorist accomplices” as part of the alleged plot. He was supposed to target the “supreme leadership” at a public event or military parade, using “bomb terrorism” that involved “biochemical substances including radioactive substance and nano-poisonous substance,” it said. 

Kim is the most common surname on the Korean Peninsula, used by about a quarter of all Koreans.   

 

[GreyhoundFan]

I found this interesting: "This hostel in Berlin is a clandestine cash cow for North Korea"

Quote

Berlin’s City Hostel appears at first glance to be a simple, cheap option for staying in the German capital. It’s not far from landmarks such as the Brandenburg Gate, and while online reviews complain of dodgy WiFi and broken windows, the hostel offers “good value for your money,” as one traveler recently remarked. A bed in a mixed six-person dorm costs only about $20.

Visitors may have wondered about the high fence outside their accommodations — or the gigantic North Korean flag next to the building — but probably didn’t worry too much about it.

But what they almost certainly didn’t know is that their stay at City Hostel indirectly benefited the regime of Kim Jong Un, making unsuspecting tourists into involuntary financiers of a notorious totalitarian state. The property is owned by the Kim regime, which received it as a gift from the communist government of the former East Germany. North Korea does not operate the business itself, but it receives tens of thousands of dollars every year in rent from both the hostel and a conference center there.

That may soon change. The current German government is not amused by the lucrative North Korean real estate business. On Wednesday, it announced plans to shut down the hostel and the conference center. Britain and Germany have recently cracked down on several other companies associated with the North Korean regime, reacting to mounting concerns over an escalation of tensions between the United States and North Korea.

“The constant threatening gestures by the North Korean government are worrying us. We will increase the pressure to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table,” said Markus Ederer, the state secretary of Germany's Federal Foreign Office.

“It is particularly important that we dry out the sources of funding for the nuclear weapons program,” said Ederer, drawing a direct connection between revenue from the Berlin youth hostel and North Korea’s efforts to advance its nuclear weapons capabilities.

...

Both the hostel owner and the North Korean Embassy in Berlin have been notified by authorities that the rental agreement violates international law, but a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry declined to say when exactly the hostel will have to shut down.

The North Korean Embassy, which is located in the former diplomatic district of East Berlin, was mostly built in the early 1970s. Parts of the embassy were vacated as relations between Germany and North Korea soured following Germany’s reunification in 1990. Years later, in the early 2000s, a low-budget hostel and a conference center were opened in what used to be the embassy’s main building, turning the property into a revenue source for the regime in Pyongyang.

...

With Wednesday’s announcement, German authorities are trying to shut down what is believed to be North Korea’s last official revenue source in the country. But for now, according to booking websites, the hostel is sold out on many nights over the coming months — international intrigue and WiFi included.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

A couple of scary articles: "North Korea’s Kim celebrates test of ‘perfect weapon system’"

Quote

TOKYO — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un celebrated a test of the “perfect weapon system” ­after his engineers launched what they said was a new kind of intermediate-range ballistic missile system capable of carrying “a large-size heavy nuclear warhead.”

The missile, launched Sunday morning, appeared to show substantial progress toward developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the mainland United States, U.S. rocket scientists said.  

“North Korea’s latest successful missile test represents a level of performance never before seen from a North Korean missile,” said John Schilling, an aerospace engineer who specializes in rockets. This means North Korea might be only one year, rather than the expected five, from having an ICBM, he said.

 The latest launch was widely condemned, with the White House calling North Korea a “flagrant menace” and urging allies to impose stronger sanctions. South Korea and Japan also condemned the launch. 

Releasing the first photos of the launch — something Pyongyang does with missiles it deems successful — North Korea’s state media said that it was a “new ground-to-ground medium long-range strategic ballistic rocket” that it called Hwasong-12.

It used a reentry vehicle capable of delivering a warhead to a target, the Korean Central News Agency reported. 

“If the U.S. dares opt for a military provocation against the DPRK, we are ready to counter it,” the agency said, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name.

“If the U.S. awkwardly attempts to provoke the DPRK, it will not escape from the biggest disaster in the history,” the agency quoted Kim as saying. “The U.S. should not . . . disregard or misjudge the reality that its mainland and Pacific operation region are in the DPRK’s sighting range for strike and that it has all powerful means for retaliatory strike.” 

Although North Korea is known for its florid rhetoric, experts are concerned that it is making substantial progress toward Kim’s stated goal of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile early Sunday, sending it from a launch site near its border with China 435 miles into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

Analysts think the Hwasong-12 could be the “mystery missile” displayed in a huge military ­parade in Pyongyang last month, which appeared to be a smaller version of its KN-08 ICBM. 

....

 

 

"AP Explains: North Korea missile test is huge step forward"

Spoiler

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test may be nearly as big a deal as its propaganda machine claims.

Although outside experts see several places where North Korea is likely stretching the truth, the missile launched Sunday appears to be the most powerful the country has ever tested. Some analysts believe the missile, if proven in further tests, could reach Alaska and Hawaii if fired on a normal, instead of a lofted, trajectory.

There’s also a political victory for North Korea. The test gives a boost to leader Kim Jong Un as he seeks to show his people that he’s standing up to America and South Korea. And it also lifts scientists in the authoritarian nation who are working to build an arsenal of missiles with nuclear warheads that can reach the U.S. mainland. They’re not there yet, but tests like this are the nuts and bolts a successful weapons program needs.

Here’s a closer look at what happened in Sunday’s missile launch, which came only a few days after the inauguration of a new South Korean president, and why it’s viewed as a worrying development by North Korea’s neighbors and Washington.

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[ShepherdontheRock]

The UVA frat boy that was detained in the DPRK last year for drunkenly stealing a propaganda poster has been sent home, in a coma and with extensive and probably  permanent brain damage. 

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/15/politics/otto-warmbier-north-korea/index.html

This is why if you go to the DPRK on a tour, don't act a fool. 

In fact, don't even get me started on why I think visiting the DPRK on one of those tours is in and of itself super problematic. 

Also, it irritates me that Mr. Warmbier is whining about how "Obama did nothing" and conservatives are latching onto this narrative, and meanwhile there are still 3-4 Americans of Korean descent trapped in North Korea who were probably told the same things the Warmbiers were told. 

And it really gets to me how the same people who will victim blame black men who were shot by the police are all into this narrative of Otto as a totally innocent victim... I mean come on. You should know DPRK is not a funny joke place to pull frat boy antics. And if this is an impetus for nuclear war with the DPRK and destruction of the Korean peninsula...ugh...

I feel bad for him and his parents but come on now. 

[apple1]

24 minutes ago, ShepherdontheRock said:

The UVA frat boy that was detained in the DPRK last year for drunkenly stealing a propaganda poster has been sent home, in a coma and with extensive and probably  permanent brain damage. 

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/15/politics/otto-warmbier-north-korea/index.html

This is why if you go to the DPRK on a tour, don't act a fool. 

In fact, don't even get me started on why I think visiting the DPRK on one of those tours is in and of itself super problematic. 

Also, it irritates me that Mr. Warmbier is whining about how "Obama did nothing" and conservatives are latching onto this narrative, and meanwhile there are still 3-4 Americans of Korean descent trapped in North Korea who were probably told the same things the Warmbiers were told. 

And it really gets to me how the same people who will victim blame black men who were shot by the police are all into this narrative of Otto as a totally innocent victim... I mean come on. You should know DPRK is not a funny joke place to pull frat boy antics. And if this is an impetus for nuclear war with the DPRK and destruction of the Korean peninsula...ugh...

I feel bad for him and his parents but come on now. 

This kid is from Cincinnati; he went to high school about 20-25 minutes away from where I live.

I am also a mom. I can't help think, how would I feel if it were my child.

A few more (maybe disjointed) thoughts:

- I don't think any American has any business visiting in North Korea -- unless it would be Secretary of State Tillerson for job-related reasons.

- I find myself distressed by an abundance of comments on various internet and new sites, placing blame. As a mom, and hopefully as trying-to-be-decent person, I am not perfect. Neither were this kid and his parents. It, no doubt, was an ill-advised trip, and pulling a propaganda poster down was also ill-advised. But making an ill-advised trip, or pulling a piece of paper off a wall should not be life-ending (for all practical purposes). Most people have done ill-advised things in their youth, and I am pretty sure most parents have had their kids do things the parent didn't want the kid to do, even things with life changing or life ending consequences. So maybe we could stop being so judgmental. (And no, I cannot imagine the reasoning behind going to North Korea in the first place; misguided at best).

- I understand that the father has at least partially blamed Obama for his being held as long as he was held, and credited the Trump administration for his release. This is complete nonsense. North Korea only released him now because news of his condition got out. That said -- In circumstances of great grief and great stress, people don't always think and speak clearly and appropriately.

-Let's put the blame where it belongs: On the North Koreans who likely beat the tar out of this kid, sufficient to cause the extent of his injury(ies).

- Anyway -- I just wish (I know, wishful thinking) we (general we, NOT specific to FJ) could all do a little better with the way we interact. Words on the internet are still words.

I kind of feel like the world has gone way off the deep end.

Edited June 15, 2017 by apple1
typo

[candygirl200413]

I felt the same in terms of "wow can't believe he did this trip" but as someone who just graduated college (okay granted a year but still!) I was honestly so shocked with how his condition ended up. They brought him into the hospital in America by carrying him!!! not even a gurney, he was carried by a few men. Like what?! Now he's suffering what sounds like rather serious brain damage and even though I think/know this trip was rather stupid it still sucks in the sense of how his body was left.

I don't think he's innocent cause yes he did make really dumbass choices but at the same time I still have a soft spot for him.

[ShepherdontheRock]

@apple1 I'm not meaning to blame Mr. Warmbier for what happened. Of course I believe the North Koreans went way over the top, and they're ultimately responsible for his well being...or lack thereof. And I of course don't believe that making the uninformed and unwise decision to go to DPRK and steal a propaganda justifies it. My problem was more the hypocrisy of the media glossing over the fact that he did something very reckless that common sense/everything the State Department/the DPRK guides should have told him not to do, while wanting to act like black male victims of police brutality got what they deserved.

Which is a good point, whoever was the tour guide supervising him, their family must have gotten in even worse trouble because the tour guides get SEVERELY punished for their charges acting out. 

The American Doctors that have evaluated him say that the botulism and sleeping pill explanation doesn't add up, however they don't believe his coma was caused by a trauma and his condition is more consistent with having had cardiac arrest while in custody.

If nothing else, this should serve as a cautionary tale to dissuade people from visiting the DPRK. Although I'm definitely not in favor of most travel bans either, I'd support a strict State Department ban on visiting the DPRK because

1) tourist money feeds the dictatorship,  and I think tourists paying money to support the luxurious lifestyles of those complicit in the regime is against all of our interests. 

2) They're openly hostile and contra to our interests. See literally almost everything in the past 50+ years, and the fact they got Mr. Warmbier to make an example out of him. 

3) I'd prefer to spend as little taxpayer money to rescue people from the DPRK, because most likely they are being held for ransom. Again, we do not want to give money to them in any fashion. See #1. 

4)The DPRK actually sounds like a horrible place to visit, where, as apple1 says, Americans have no business being. Save people from themselves. 

It occurred to me that maybe the reason Warmbier got jailed instead of simply deported, which according to Lonely Planet is the normal practice for foreign rule breakers, is that the DPRK is getting really desperate and wanted money. I mean, lately everything else they've done has reeked of some kind of desperation. Then again, they are just that way on their own so...

[candygirl200413]

I also like to believe that the interview (with seth rogen and james franco) was more that likely accurate....

[apple1]

Otto Warmbier died at 2:20 this afternoon.

Edited June 19, 2017 by apple1

[GreyhoundFan]

I thought this was an excellent opinion piece: "Let us mourn Otto Warmbier. The North Koreans treated him like one of their own."

Spoiler

Let’s pause for a moment to consider some essential truths about the regime in North Korea. A little more than a year ago, the government there arrested a visiting American student named Otto Warmbier. The charge? He had allegedly tried to steal a propaganda poster. Even if he did commit this heinous offense, it’s also likely that Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un wanted a bit of additional leverage during a moment of tension with the United States, and Warmbier made a good target. North Korea has often held Americans as hostages in the past.

But this time, matters took a terrible turn. Not long after his captors forced Warmbier to make a bizarre public confession, he disappeared. The Swedish diplomats in Pyongyang who handle such matters on Washington’s behalf couldn’t even get a hint of what was happening. Then, after long months of silence, the North Koreans suddenly announced they were sending Warmbier home — in a coma. American doctors diagnosed extensive brain trauma. And now we learn that he has died, at age 22.

Think about it: Kim’s minions realized that their captive American was brain-dead — so they decided to unload the responsibility onto his parents. That in itself is appalling enough. But the question remains: What did they do to this kid to create such horrific damage? Why did they single him out for such barbaric treatment?

We’ll probably never know. In his novel “1984,” George Orwell invented the notion of the “memory hole,” a place where uncomfortable truths go to die. North Korea, the closest equivalent in today’s world to a genuine Orwellian dystopia, is one giant memory hole. Millions of people there — yes, millions — have been consumed by its state-created famines, its purges, its frenzied political campaigns. Few other regimes in the world have shown such maniacal contempt for their own citizens. The North Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk, who grew up in a concentration camp, once told me how inmates who tried to supplement their meager diets with rats were brutally punished — for “theft of state property.”

My heart goes out to Warmbier’s family. Neither he nor they deserved any of this. But at least — miserable consolation that it is — he will be remembered. The same cannot be said for the legions of North Koreans who populate their country’s mass graves, faceless and forgotten. As we mourn the fate of this poor American, let’s spare a thought for them as well.

Such a sad situation.