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A new look at North Korea
Most people who read this blog will be familiar with the image of the two Koreas at nighttime by a NASA satellite On January 30, 2014, an astronaut on the International Space Station used a Nikon D3S camera to capture a new image of the Korean peninsula at 10:16 pm — one that’s even more…
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New CRS report on North Korea
The Congressional Research Service has published a new report on North Korea. The report, “U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation,” is embedded below. CRS works for the U.S. Congress and produces objective and impartial reports that are intended to provide policy makers in the House and Senate with analysis of current issues. The organization is…
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DPRK UN ambassador takes questions, gives advice
It’s not often that a North Korean official faces a skeptical press corps and takes questions. Judging by Friday’s appearance at the United Nations by DPRK Ambassador Sin Son-ho, it’s even rarer that they provide answers to those questions. Sin called a news conference at the U.N. in New York on Friday morning to announce…
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‘No discernible improvement’ in DPRK human rights in 2013
Human Rights Watch says it has seen “no discernible improvement” in the human rights situation in North Korea since Kim Jong Un took power in late 2011. The verdict, which likely comes as no surprise to anyone that watches the country, was included in the New York-based group’s annual “World Report” on human rights in…
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Kim Jong Un’s new year address
For the second year in a row, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared on state TV and radio on January 1 to deliver a new year address to his nation. The direct address was something of a surprise when it happened last year as Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, was rarely heard speaking on…
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“Mass intimidation” from DPRK media on Jang’s execution
North Korean state media’s coverage of the arrest, trial and subsequent execution of Jang Song Thaek was “tantamount to mass intimidation,” Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday. “Although only to be expected from one of the world’s worst dictatorships, such manipulation of news and information is disturbing,” the Paris-based group said in a statement. “The extensive…
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Voice of Korea on Jang Song Thaek
North Korea’s external broadcasting service, the Voice of Korea, ran three reports last week on the arrest and subsequent trial and execution of Jang Song Thaek. The reports, in English, are reproduced below. The first report ran on December 9 and covered the meeting of the political bureau of the central committee of the Worker’s…
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UN, US State Dept. react to execution of Jang Song Thaek
The United Nations Human Rights agency said it is following with concern news coming out of Pyongyang that Jang Song Thaek was executed this week. “This underscores the arbitrary nature of the system in the DPRK and the absence of transparency and due process which is required for the rule of law,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a…
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North Korean TV on execution of Jang Song Thaek
Korean Central Television broadcast a 17-minute report on the special military tribunal of the DPRK Ministry of State Security. The trial concluded by sentencing Jang to death. Here’s the clip:
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North Korean media announces execution of Jang
High-level purges in North Korea have been typically quiet affairs in the past. Rumors would circulate that someone had been removed from office, state media would be analyzed for mentions of the person’s name and confirmation would usually only come months or years later when they either reemerged or someone else appeared in a position…
