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UN Human Rights envoy: time for world to act
Marzuki Darusman, the U.N.’s human rights expert on North Korea has called for the international community to take action on the country. Speaking in Geneva on Monday, he said “repression remains unabated and the authorities in country continue to exercise the strictest control over all aspects of its citizens’ lives.” That despite a letter sent two…
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Cyber femme fatale targets South Korean government
It would be unfair to suggest South Korean intelligence officers are falling for the oldest trick in the spying book — there are surely older ones — but the femme fatale is certainly dated. A staple of James Bond movies and soviet-era thrillers, it appears that North Korean hackers are using a modern variant in an attempt…
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North Korea’s new satellite caught on camera
A satellite hunter in The Netherlands has captured the first known image of North Korea’s Kwangmyongsong 4 (???4?) satellite in orbit. Marco Langbroek took the image on Feb. 28 as the satellite passed through the nighttime sky. The photo was taken with a 2-second times exposure and the satellite appears as the diagonal line running…
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Completed satellite command center revealed in TV images
North Korean TV recently broadcast the first video images of the activities surrounding the launch of the Kwangmyongsong 4 satellite. The images came in a 37-minute documentary called “경애하는 김정은동지의 령도밑에 지구관측위성《광명성-4》호 성과적으로 발사” (rough translation: Earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong 4 successfully launched under guidance of respected and beloved comrade Kim Jong Un) that contained several…
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BBC says no date yet on North Korean service launch
The BBC says it hasn’t yet decided when its planned North Korean radio service will begin broadcasting, despite a report last week that said it would be on the air later this year. South Korea’s KBS reported the service is targeting a launch in the fall of 2016. The report quoted “a BBC insider” as…
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The slow search for Kwangmyongsong 4
Since just after it launched on Feb. 7, satellite monitors have been watching and listening for North Korea’s newest satellite but to-date, nothing. We know it’s up there. U.S. Strategic Command picked it up on its space surveillance system a few hours after it launched and published details of its orbit. Armed with that knowledge, satellite…
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Sanctions bill passes Congress, is sent to Obama
A bill intended to tighten sanctions on North Korea and anyone working with the country passed the U.S. Congress on Friday. Its next stop is the desk of President Obama. House Resolution 757 (HR757) is the first bill to pass both houses of congress that specifically targets North Korea and was proposed by Ed Royce, a California Republican…
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U.S.: No reason to doubt execution reports
The U.S. State Department says it has no reason to doubt media reports that Ri Yong Gil, North Korea’s army chief of staff, has been executed. “Frankly, it exemplifies, I guess, the brutality of the political climate in North Korea,” said Mark Toner, the State Dept.’s deputy spokesman, during a briefing on Thursday. Toner was…
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Bill would expand U.S. support for foreign media aimed at DPRK
A bill that would strengthen and modernize U.S. support of international media aimed at North Korea was introduced into the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. House Resolution 4051 (H.R.4051) is being proposed as an amendment to the North Korea Human Rights Act of 2004 and expands that bill’s support of shortwave radio broadcasts to include newer means of information dissemination…
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Latest reports say Kwangmyongsong-4 is under control
North Korea’s Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite has stopped tumbling and is in a stable orbit, according to reports. On Monday, CBS News and CNN quoted unnamed U.S. government officials as saying the satellite was tumbling on its orbit, but reports on Tuesday say it’s stabilized. “They got the tumbling under control,” an unnamed official told Reuters. That’s an…
