2011 and earlier

• Photo of Youthful Kim Jong-un Revealed
  Kim Jong-un (left) standing beside late leader Kim Jong-il in 2009 (top) and in August 2012 (bottom). /Rodong Sinmun-KCNA Kim Jong-un (left) standing beside late leader Kim Jong-il in 2009 (top) and in August 2012 (bottom). /Rodong Sinmun-KCNA North Korea on Wednesday filled another gap in the photographic history of leader Kim Jong-un, whom few people had laid eyes on until late in 2010. The official Rodong Sinmun carried six photos of late leader Kim Jong-il and his son Jong-un visiting major military units, one of which was a previously unseen picture from 2009. Kim junior has a less striking hairstyle and is slimmer than now. [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong-il 'Died in Fit of Rage Over Construction Project'
  Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died in a fit of rage on Dec. 17, 2011 after being briefed about a serious leak at a hydro-electric power plant, a source claims. The plant in Huichon, Jagang Province was built to supply about half of the power needs of the capital Pyongyang. "After being briefed about the leak, Kim Jong-il lambasted officials and ordered them to repair it," said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. "He rushed to make an on-site inspection of the facility unable to contain his anger and died suddenly." North Korea announced on Dec. 19 last year that Kim died of a heart attack caused by stress and overwork while on a train on his way to a field inspection. [KJI_death] [Intelligence] [Media]
• Danger of collapse? Signs of instability in NK
  “On the outside, it appears to be stable but there are signs of conflicts within.” This was a comment made by a South Korean government official as North Korea observed the first anniversary of the death of the late leader Kim Jong-il. Kim’s son, Jong-un, seems to have secured control of the Workers’ Party, government and the military within a short period of time but there are signs of instability in many aspects of the leadership. Kim Jong-un was elevated to the level of the commander-in-chief of the North Korean military Dec. 30 last year, became the general secretary of the Workers’ Party in April, placing him as the undisputed leader of the country within four months. [Kim Jong Un] [Collapse] [Logic] [Heading] [Media]
• Kim Jong-un Squanders $1 Billion on Showy Projects
  One year into his rule, new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has largely reverted to third-world type, squandering money on the personality cult surrounding his family and ill-conceived prestige projects while the economy languishes. In April, the regime spent US$10 million on statues of nation founder Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il in Mansudae west of the Taedong River, which runs east to west in Pyongyang. It also built prestige structures like an eight-story theater, 20 to 45-story high-rise apartment complexes, and a children's [Kim Jong Un] [Media] [Heading]
• Part II: The Kim Family Reigns: Preserving the Monarchy and Strengthening the Party-State
  By Alexandre Mansourov This is Part II of a three-part analytical series written by Dr. Alexandre Y. Mansourov assessing the leadership changes during Kim’s initial year in office. This article will analyze key dynamics within the Kim family, including the rising influence of Kim Jong Un’s uncle Jang Song Thaek and the emergence of Kim’s wife, Ri Sol Ju as a factor in family politics, as well as the regime’s efforts to preserve and modernize the Kim monarchy. It will also discuss how the regime seeks to strengthen the socialist party-state, reinvigorate the party’s central leadership institutions, tighten the party’s control over mass public organizations, and watchfully manage the party’s center-periphery relations. Dr. Mansourov’s research and analysis is based solely on publicly available materials. The views presented here are his own and do not reflect the official position of any government, departments, or agencies.
• Part I: A Dynamically Stable Regime
  By Alexandre Mansourov Editors’ Note: Beginning today, the first anniversary of Kim Jong Un’s assumption of power in North Korea, 38 North is publishing a three-part analytical series written by Dr. Alexandre Y. Mansourov assessing the leadership changes during Kim’s initial year in office. ?The first article, published today, addresses three fundamental questions: who really governs the country, how stable is the current North Korean regime, and what lies over the horizon for the leadership transition? ?Part two will analyze key dynamics within the Kim family, including the rising influence of Kim Jong Un’s uncle Jang Song Thaek and the emergence of Kim’s wife, Ri Sol Ju as a factor in family politics, as well as the regime’s efforts to preserve and modernize the Kim monarchy. The article will also discuss how the regime seeks to strengthen the socialist party-state, reinvigorate the party’s central leadership institutions, tighten the party’s control over mass public organizations, and watchfully manage the party’s center-periphery relations. ?Part three will analyze the main drivers and direction behind Kim Jong Un’s transformation of the government he inherited from his father, focusing on his overhaul of the national security establishment and party-military relations, restructuring of the socio-economic team, and adjustment of the foreign policy team. Part I: A Dynamically Stable Regime A year into Kim Jong Un’s rule, the formal father-to-son succession is over. But the political transition from the Kim Jong Il-centered totalitarian one-man rule to a more complex authoritarian governing system—so far centered on the new leader—still continues. North Korean leadership politics has become as vibrant, hard to predict, and somewhat open-ended as it was during past political transitions in North Korea, especially in the late 1940s, early 1970s, and mid-1990s, leading some Western pundits to question the stability of the current regime. Although the domestic political situation in Pyongyang is no longer static, I judge it to be dynamically stable and conducive to further development towards a more responsive, accountable, and efficient government. Kim Jong Un and the forces standing behind him shattered the political status-quo inherited from his father last December with bold and speedy actions aimed at discarding the legacy governing system, rejuvenating and revamping the country’s national security establishment, restructuring its economic policy-making apparatus, readjusting the foreign policy team, and reshuffling local governance elites.
• How Long Can Kim Jong-un Stay in Power?
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has devoted most of his first year at the helm to consolidating his grip of power. He appointed his loyalists to key party, government, and military posts and clinched the top titles -- supreme commander, the first secretary of the Workers Party, the chairman of the National Defense Commission, and the marshal of the republic. [Kim Jong Un] [Agency]
• N.Korean Mystery Official 'a Rocket Scientist'
  The mystery man spotted next to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday and Monday, edging top officials out of the coveted spot, has been identified as Choe Chun-sik, who heads the renegade country’s arms development. A man (in circle) believed to be Choe Chun-sik, the head of the Second Academy of Natural Science, stands next to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong-il at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Monday. /Reuters-Newsis A man (in circle) believed to be Choe Chun-sik, the head of the Second Academy of Natural Science, stands next to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong-il at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Monday. /Reuters-Newsis A government source here on Tuesday said Choe seems to head the Second Academy of Natural Science charged with the North's weapons development. The institute developed the rocket that North Korea successfully launched last week, probably as a cover to test long-range missile technology. [Intelligence] [Satellite]
• Who Runs N.Korea?
  Jang Song-taek (left) and Kim Kyong-hui Jang Song-taek (left) and Kim Kyong-hui Last week's rocket launch by North Korea has once again focused international attention on the renegade country, especially the opaque clique that runs it. Besides the titular leader Kim Jong-un, whose first anniversary in power the launch marked, pundits are wondering what role is played by the young leader's uncle Jang Song-taek, often described as the eminence grise behind the throne, and his aunt Kim Kyong-hui. [Jang Song-taek] [Intelligence]
• Kim Jong-un's Wife Heavily Pregnant
  Ri Sol-ju (left), the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd left), during the inaugural ceremony of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Monday. /Yonhap Ri Sol-ju (left), the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd left), during the inaugural ceremony of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Monday. /Yonhap A screen grab from North Korea's official KCNS news agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's wife Ri Sol-ju heavily pregnant. The couple were pictured at a ceremony on the first anniversary of Kim Jong-il's death on Monday. [Ri Sol Ju]
• North Korea mourns late leader
  AFP | 2012-12-18 0:50:08 By Agencies North Korea on Monday mourned the death one year ago of leader Kim Jong-il, with its rocket scientists taking pride of place at a mass memorial ceremony led by his son and successor Kim Jong-un. Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack on December 17, 2011, although his death was only announced to North Koreans and the world two days later. Hundreds of thousands of people, civilian and military, stood stock still in ranked formation outside the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun mausoleum in Pyongyang, during a three-minute silence observed across the entire nation. Wrapped in heavy overcoats against the bitter winter cold, the mass crowd listened to a speech extolling the late Kim's virtues delivered from a balcony where Kim Jong-un watched over the proceedings. [KJI_death]
• Kim Jong-il's body goes on display in North Korea
  Leader's embalmed corpse unveiled in Pyongyang's Kumsusan mausoleum on the anniversary of his death Associated Press guardian.co.uk, Monday 17 December 2012 12.39 GMT anniversary of Kim Jong Il's death North Koreans clap as their country's flags are flown at half mast during a reopening ceremony at the Kumsusan palace in Pyongyang which houses the body of former leader Kim Jong-il. Photograph: Ng Han Guan/AP North Korea has unveiled the embalmed body of Kim Jong-il, still in his trademark khaki jumpsuit, on the anniversary of his death. Kim lies in state a few floors below his father, national founder Kim Il-sung, in the Kumsusan mausoleum, the cavernous former presidential palace. Kim Jong-il is presented lying beneath a red blanket, a spotlight shining on his face in a room suffused in red. Wails echoed through the chilly hall as a group of North Korean women sobbed into the sashes of their traditional dresses as they bowed before his body. The hall bearing the glass coffin was opened to select visitors on Monday – including the Associated Press – for the first time since his death. North Korea also unveiled Kim's yacht and his armoured train carriage, where he is said to have died. Among the personal belongings featured in the mausoleum are the parka, sunglasses and pointy platform shoes he famously wore in the last decades of his life. A MacBook Pro lay open on his desk. [KJI_death] [ICT]
• Inaugural Ceremony of Renovated Kumsusan Palace of Sun Held
  Pyongyang, December 17 (KCNA) -- The renovated Kumsusan Palace of the Sun opened with due ceremony on Monday, the first anniversary of demise of leader Kim Jong Il. Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), first chairman of the National Defence Commission (NDC) of the DPRK and supreme commander [KJI_death]
• 'More senior NK leaders to fall'
  By Kim Young-jin Kim Jong-un One year after the announcement of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Dec. 19, 2011, his son and successor Kim Jong-un appears to have overseen a relatively smooth transition of power. But analysts say tricky moves such as replacing more senior figures and smoothing relations with regional players will test the new leader before he sees the kind of power his father exerted. [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong-un Marks 1st Anniversary in Power
  North Korea marks the first anniversary of former leader Kim Jong-il's death on Monday and the first year of his third son Jong-un's rise to power. North Korea has been in a frenzy of celebration over the backward country's recent rocket launch. Since the rocket took off on Wednesday, massive rallies have been held across the country almost every day and the state media have stressed that the launch accomplished Kim senior's last wishes, thus legitimizing his son's rule. Thursday's Rodong Sinmun covered the rocket launch on four of its six pages, and on Friday the daily reported that Kim Jong-un had given a written order to the satellite control center to launch it and inspected the center later. Wise to the possibility of failure since the last launch in April tanked, the state media had not announced the launch in advance. A South Korean government official on Friday said the regime's excitement is understandable since Kim Jong-un has accomplished nothing else in his first year in power. [Kim Jong Un] [Agency]
• Who Is the Mystery Man Next to Kim Jong-un?
  A mystery man was spotted next to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a ceremony on Sunday marking the first anniversary of former leader Kim Jong-il's death. The man, dressed in a suit and tie, occupied a place close to the leader reserved for the No. 1 military official, and South Korean intelligence are trying to find out who he is. [Intelligence]
• After one year of Kim Jong-un, small changes but still no significant reform
  Posted on : Dec.17,2012 12:10 KST Kim Jong-un with the rest of North Korea’s leadership, including titular head of state Kim Yong-nam (left) at a Dec. 16 event to commemorate the one year anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s death. (Reuters/Yonhap News) Third generation leader has been more open than his father, but North Korea remains basically the same By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter December 18 marks one year since Kim Jong-un became ruler of North Korea following the death of his father Kim Jong-il. Although he has shown a more open ruling style than his father, Kim has been appraised as failing to achieve any significant results related to economic reform or improvements in foreign relations. [Kim Jong Un] [Agency]
• National Memorial Service Marks First Anniversary of Demise of Kim Jong Il
  Pyongyang, December 16 (KCNA) -- A national memorial service was held with solemnity here to mark the first anniversary of demise of leader Kim Jong Il. Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, was present. Leading officials of the party, state and army attended. [KJI_death]
• NK commemorates 1st death anniversary of late leader
  North Korea held on Sunday a mass rally in Pyongyang to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong-il while the country is jubilant over its successful launch of a long-range missile. North Korea's state-run Korean Central Broadcasting Station, monitored in Seoul, broadcast live the commemoration ceremony held in late morning in a Pyongyang stadium. Current leader and Kim's third son, Jong-un, attended the rally along with other top officials. [KJI_death]
• Kim Jong-il anniversary: 'We are too busy trying to survive to care'
  As North Korea mourns its former leader with a rocket launch and more public tears, those who have escaped the regime speak about the struggle of daily life, away from the cameras Share 203 ania Branigan in Yanji guardian.co.uk, Monday 10 December 2012 14.07 GMT As icy winter clutched the land, from its steep mountains to Pyongyang's grand monuments, they wept and trembled in their masses: 24 million people united in a display of grief. "For 15 days after Kim Jong-il died we had to mourn, every day. We had to go to the big portrait in the town and to the statues," recalled Song Miha, a birdlike woman in her early 40s. "Who knows what people thought? I was neither sad nor happy. My life is so hard, I just wondered: Where will things go?" [Media] [Agency]
• Kim Jong-un Beefs Up Security Amid Fear of Unrest
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has apparently stationed around 100 armored vehicles at his house, summer home and other facilities for fear of a military coup or uprising, sources say. [Spin]
• N.Korea Blows $100 Million on Personality Cult
  North Korea has spent more than US$110 million on the personality cult surrounding dead leader Kim Jong-il and has run into serious financial trouble as a result. According to an informed source Monday, a 23-m statue of Kim Jong-il in Mansudae, Pyongyang in April is estimated to have cost $10 million. And seven more such statues have been built in various places including some official buildings and the city of Kanggye, altogether costing $50 million.
• Int'l Day of Persons with Disabilities Marked
  Pyongyang, December 3 (KCNA) -- The 2012 joint meeting of the disabled took place at the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace on Monday, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Present at the meeting were Minister of Public Health Choe Chang Sik who is chairman of the Central Committee of the Federation for the Care of the Disabled of Korea, officials concerned, teachers and students of the palace and disabled persons. Members of the missions of the international organizations including EU aid mission and embassy officials here were also present.
• Lair of King Tongmyong's Unicorn Reconfirmed in DPRK
  Pyongyang, November 29 (KCNA) -- Archaeologists of the History Institute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences have recently reconfirmed a lair of the unicorn rode by King Tongmyong, founder of the Koguryo Kingdom (B.C. 277-A.D. 668). The lair is located 200 meters from the Yongmyong Temple in Moran Hill in Pyongyang City. A rectangular rock carved with words "Unicorn Lair" stands in front of the lair. The carved words are believed to date back to the period of Koryo Kingdom (918-1392). Jo Hui Sung, director of the Institute, told KCNA: "Korea's history books deal with the unicorn, considered to be ridden by King Tongmyong, and its lair. The Sogyong (Pyongyang) chapter of the old book 'Koryo History' (geographical book), said: Ulmil Pavilion is on the top of Mt. Kumsu, with Yongmyong Temple, one of Pyongyang's eight scenic spots, beneath it. The temple served as a relief palace for King Tongmyong, in which there is the lair of his unicorn. The old book 'Sinjungdonggukyojisungnam' (Revised Handbook of Korean Geography) complied in the 16th century wrote that there is a lair west of Pubyok Pavilion in Mt. Kumsu. The discovery of the unicorn lair, associated with legend about King Tongmyong, proves that Pyongyang was a capital city of Ancient Korea as well as Koguryo Kingdom."
• Unicorn lair 'discovered' in North Korea
  Korean news agency say they have 'recently reconfirmed' the lair of one of the unicorns ridden by the ancient King Tongmyong Share 2769 inShare.1Email Ben Quinn guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 November 2012 22.02 GMT Spiral horned Unicorn The unicorn was said to have been ridden by the ancient Korean King Tongmyong, founder of a kingdom which ruled parts of China and the Korean peninsula. Alamy Normally, North Korea's official state news agency is the place to go for reports ranging from the reclusive totalitarian state's unparalleled scientific achievements to the limitless love which its inhabitants reserve for their successive leaders. [Media]

• NK sacks defense minister
  Photos above show Kim Kyok-shik, right, a new minister of the People’s Armed Forces in North Korea, replacing Kim Jong-gak, left, who was removed from the post only seven months into his job. / Yonhap By Kim Young-jin North Korea has sacked its defense minister in a shake-up apparently aimed at bolstering loyalty to its young leader Kim Jong-un among the military elite, reports said Thursday. The regime replaced Kim Jong-gak as minister of the People's Armed Forces after just seven months in the position.
• Secret Report Throws Light on N.Korean Purges
  Pak Nam-gi /Yonhap Pak Nam-gi /Yonhap Senior North Korean apparatchik Pak Nam-gi was executed by firing squad in the course of a reactionary purge in 2010, a classified report obtained by the Chosun Ilbo reveal. Pak, the chief of the Workers Party's Planning and Finance Department, was accused spying for South Korea, and "admitted" at a trial in January 2010 that he tried to "embrace the South Korean economic model." He was shot two months later. The report details the entire proceedings until Pak's death sentence.
• Slogan Hailing Kim Jong-un Carved into Hillside
  A massive 560 m slogan praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been carved into a hillside near a lake in Ryanggang Province. The slogan, which was identified in a satellite photo on Google Earth, reads "Long Live Gen. Kim Jong-un, the Shining Sun of [North Korea]!" Each letter measures 15 m by 20 m, about the size of a building.
• Blast on N.Korean Cargo Ship Injures 5
  An explosion on a North Korean cargo ship at anchor in Hong Kong waters has left two sailors badly burned and three others hurt, Chinese media reported Wednesday. They said the ship's engine room suddenly caught fire around 9 a.m. on Tuesday when the vessel was sitting south of Tsing Yi Island. The accident injured five crewmen, with two in critical conditions.
• Slogan Hailing Kim Jong-un Carved into Hillside
  A massive 560 m slogan praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been carved into a hillside near a lake in Ryanggang Province. The slogan, which was identified in a satellite photo on Google Earth, reads "Long Live Gen. Kim Jong-un, the Shining Sun of [North Korea]!" Each letter measures 15 m by 20 m, about the size of a building.
• Blast on N.Korean Cargo Ship Injures 5
  An explosion on a North Korean cargo ship at anchor in Hong Kong waters has left two sailors badly burned and three others hurt, Chinese media reported Wednesday. They said the ship's engine room suddenly caught fire around 9 a.m. on Tuesday when the vessel was sitting south of Tsing Yi Island. The accident injured five crewmen, with two in critical conditions.
• Kim Jong-un Checks Loyalty of Top N.Korean Officials
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been conducting extensive loyalty checks of senior party, government and military officials since April, a South Korean government official said Tuesday. "Since Kim Jong-un assumed the top posts in the party, government and military in April, the regime has been conducting an inspection and loyalty check of key figures," the senior Unification Ministry official said.
• Hawk Returns to Senior N.Korean Army Post
  Gen. Kim Kyok-sik, who orchestrated the artillery shelling of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island in November of 2010, has been restored to his former rank. North Korean state TV on Monday reported leader Kim Jong-un's visit to a military squadron and showed Kim Kyok-sik, who accompanied him, wearing the insignia of a four-star general, a Unification Ministry official said. Gen. Kim Kyok-sik (left) is seen wearing a four-star insignia while accompanying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a recent visit to a military squadron. /[North] Korean Central TV-Yonhap Gen. Kim Kyok-sik (left) is seen wearing a four-star insignia while accompanying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a recent visit to a military squadron. /[North] Korean Central TV-Yonhap Kim had been demoted to a three-star general for his apparent failure to deal effectively with Seoul's responses after the shelling of Yeonpyeong. Pyon In-son, North Korea's vice minister of the People's Armed Forces, was put in command of forces along the west coast replacing Kim. "Kim was demoted to vice director of the Railways Ministry, but was restored to the rank of vice minister of the Ministry of People's Armed Forces when he protested," said one intelligence official here. "It was during this time that his rank fell to three-star general."
• NK leader doing loyalty check of key officials
  North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un is conducting a far-reaching loyalty check on the country's key party, government and military officials as he strives to consolidate his power, a Seoul government official said Tuesday. "After he officially took over power last April, Kim Jong-un has been conducting a task to verify loyalty or (existence of) corruption of key figures," the official at the Unification Ministry said on condition of anonymity. The loyalty checks started in Pyongyang and seem to have trickled down to regional units, he said. The leader is reshuffling his regime in accordance with the results of the loyalty check, the Seoul official said, indicating that the process is aimed at replacing officials from the previous leadership with people favorable to the new leader.
• Kim Jong-un Still Trying to Get Control of the Military
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un apparently remains determined to rein in the military, whose power under former leader Kim Jong-il had turned it into a state within the state. Former army chief Ri Yong-ho, who was sacked in July, is under house arrest at a hot spring in North Hamgyong Province, South Korean intelligence have learned. Also, two business fronts of the North Korean military that were responsible for bringing in hard currency have been placed under state control. [Civil-military]
• Different world of jobs in NK
  By Andrei Lankov Westerners or, for that matter, South Koreans are always impressed when they are told that somebody in North Korea is a medical doctor. It is seen as an embodiment of career success ? like it would be, no doubt, in Seoul, New York or London. However, North Korea is different: the North Korean doctors do not enjoy even nearly the same treatment as their pampered and, frankly, overpaid Western colleagues. In the West, the doctors came to occupy a unique position of well-paid and much revered professionals. Their corporations zealously guard their privileges and raise a hell every time these privileges are threaten in any way. Being a doctor in the West is synonymous with success. Meanwhile, the Communist countries chose the Soviet model of health care. Within this model being a doctor means an otherwise unremarkable white-collar job, in income and social standing roughly similar to that of a high school teacher. Incidentally, this relatively low esteem did not necessarily influence the actual performance of the public health system: the Communist states, in spite of rather problematic economic performance and low income, were able to establish remarkably efficient systems of health care, and relative cheapness of doctors’ labor was one of the ingredients in their achievements.
• Kim Jong-nam Resurfaces in Singapore
  The eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has apparently been living in Singapore since the beginning of this year. Government sources here said Kim Jong-nam (41) moved to Singapore at the end of January after spending the New Year with his family at his former home in Macau. "I saw Kim three times in the last seven months," said one source in Singapore, twice in the lobby of the new luxury Marina Bay Sands Hotel and once in the Orchard Road shopping area. Kim was wearing sunglasses.
• Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems Presented to KPA Units
  Pyongyang, November 12 (KCNA) -- Multiple-launch rocket systems "Nyomaeng-ho" associated with the ardent patriotism of the women across the country were presented to units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on the occasion of the 4th National Meeting of Mothers. Those multiple-launch rocket systems "Nyomaeng-ho" were provided through a dynamic good conduct movement of the organizations and members of the Democratic Women's Union of Korea (DWUK) across the country.
• New Welfare Service Facilities Inaugurated in Pyongyang
  Pyongyang, November 9 (KCNA) -- There sprang up on the picturesque bank of the Taedong River in Pyongyang the Ryugyong Health Complex, the People's Open-air Ice Rink and the Skate Park. The magnificent edifices having a peculiar architecture in conformity with the appearance of the capital city are the fruition of the love for the people. The Ryugyong Health Complex with a total floor space of 18 379 square meters has modern facilities for bathing, hairdressing, beauty and massage treatment and fitness exercises. The complex can accommodate at least 7 200 persons a day. The People's Open-air Ice Rink has a total floor space of 6 469 square meters while the Skate Park has a total floor space of more than 1 3300 square meters. They provide all conditions for skating and roller-skating all year round.
• Was a North Korean General Really Executed by Mortar Fire?
  Who knows? But it has the ring of truth. BY MICHAEL MADDEN |OCTOBER 31, 2012 The latest gallows gossip from Pyongyang recounts the execution of fifty-something Kim Chol, the nom de guerre of a deputy defense minister. South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo reported in late October that Kim was one of several senior Korean People's Army officials executed or arrested after Kim Jong Un's accession following the December 2011 death of his father Kim Jong Il. According to the paper, during North Korea's official three-month mourning period, Kim Chol enjoyed liquor in the company of a female colleague in the North Korean military, a violation of Kim Jong Un's explicit warning against "singing or dancing, merrymaking or recreation." If the story is accurate, Kim Chol and his comrades were killed by mortar rounds fired at point-blank range. Kim Chol's fate cannot be confirmed. North Korea is notoriously opaque, with strict controls on information and a rigorously censored state media. Narrative accounts about North Korean elites are often fabrications; little snippets of information are imaginatively threaded together by creative diplomats or intelligence officials (Chosun Ilbo sourced Kim Chol's death to a lawmakers' "intelligence data") and peddled to journalists working in the hyper-competitive South Korean and Japanese media markets. And yet sometimes the stories of elites emerge from gossip inside the country, from clerks, typists, telephone operators, workers in foreign trading corporations and middle management in the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. The Kim Chol story first appeared in South Korean media in March; its reappearance, and the trivial reason cited for his execution, suggests it originated from gossip. [Media]
• N.Korea Gets 1st English-Language Sign
  North Korea has got its first English-language sign. The Rodong Sinmun daily on Sunday featured a photo showing leader Kim Jong-un at a roller skate rink in Pyongyang with a sign saying "Skate Park."
• Kim Han-sol interviewed by Elisabeth Rehn (1/2)
  Video interview
• Reformer Flame: Neutralized Moth. Why did Kim Han-sol do a TV interview?
  While Kim Han-sol’s recent video created a splash, his comments do not alter North Korea’s trajectory in any meaningful way UNLESS his comments were explicitly directed from a capital city. We will almost certainly not know and therefore cannot discount the possibility that one or more capitals are reaching out via this young man in a strategic communication – although he is presently not connected enough to effect any changes
• Kim Jong-un’s wife reappears after absence, may be pregnant
  Posted on : Oct.31,2012 16:24 KST North Korean first lady Ri Sol-ju appears in public for the first time in 52 days with her husband Kim Jong-un at a performance by the Moranbong Band to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Kim Il-sung Military University, Oct. 29. (KCNA/Yonhap News) Ri Sol-ju may have stayed out of public to reduce attention, or rest in pregnancy’s early stages By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter Kim Jong-unappeared in public on Oct. 30 with his wife Ri Sol-ju, the latter’s first public appearance in 52 days. The Korean Central News Agency reported that the North Korean leader and first lady attended a performance by the Moranbong Band to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Kim Il-sung Military University. Ri was last seen in public on Sept. 8, while Kim had not been seen since Oct. 14. Photos of Ri at the performance printed by KCNA and the Rodong Sinmun newspaper raised questions about whether the North Korean first lady may be pregnant. In the two photographs that were released, she is seen wearing a long beige overcoat, an outfit commonly worn by pregnant women in cold weather. But observers also said the small size of the images made it impossible to tell from Ri’s face or body whether she is expecting.

• N.Korea Squanders Millions on Kim Family Cult
  The National Intelligence Service said on Monday that North Korea is spending around US$330 million on amusement parks and the cult surrounding the ruling Kim family. The NIS told a National Assembly hearing that the North Korean regime is building huge outdoor swimming pools and water parks modeled after theme parks in Europe like Switzerland's Alpamare. The agency said the plaza in front of Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the pickled bodies of nation founder Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il lie in glass coffins, is being transformed into a luxurious garden modeled after those of French and Austrian palaces.
• NK first lady reemerges in public
  Ri Sol-ju, left in front row, applauds as her husband North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, to her left, reacts during a musical performance to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Kim Il-sung Military University, in Pyongyang, Monday. / Yonhap By Kim Young-jin North Korea’s “first lady” Ri Sol-ju resurfaced in state media after a 50-day hiatus, Tuesday, amid speculation over her possible pregnancy. Ri and her husband North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday attended a concert commemorating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Kim Il-sung Military University, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported.
• North Korea: small signs of spring?
  October 21st, 2012 Author: Tessa Morris-Suzuki, ANU Ever since its formation in the 1950s, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, which represents pro-DPRK members of Japan’s ethnic Korean minority, has sent lavish gifts to North Korea to mark national celebrations. The choice of gifts is deeply symbolic — a delicate matter involving much discussion and negotiation. As well as being suitably generous, the presents should accord with the current policies of the North Korean government. In 1972, when North Korean leader Kim Il-sung celebrated his 60th birthday, the main gifts were a textiles factory and a glassworks. In 1992, for his 80th birthday, the present was the Mangyongbong 92, a passenger ferry, which plied the seas between Japan and North Korea until the imposition of sanctions in 2006.
• North Korean officer executed by mortar for failing to mourn
  7:55 PM Thursday Oct 25, 2012 A North Korean army officer has paid the ultimate price for failing to grieve during the official period of mourning for former leader Kim Jong-il. Kim Chol was executed by mortar shell after he was caught drinking during the 100-day period that followed the Dear Leader's death last December. The Daily Mail reports he was ordered to stand on the spot where a mortar was targeted and was obliterated by the blast. [Media]
• N.Korean Vice Defense Chief Executed by Firing Squad
  North Korea's vice minister of the People's Armed Forces was among senior officers executed by firing squad early this year for drinking alcohol during the mourning period for former leader Kim Jong-il, it emerged Tuesday. According to intelligence data submitted to lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee, new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un checked on the behavior of senior party, government and military leaders during the mourning period early this year. Kim Chol was executed in January, in an apparent bid to force top military brass into submission [Intelligence]
• Kim Jong-un's 'Sick' Aunt Resurfaces
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's aunt, believed to be a key figure behind the throne, resurfaced on Sunday after disappearing from the radar for more than a month amid speculation that she is gravely ill. North Korea's state-run media reported that Kim Kyong-hui (66) attended the 15th anniversary of late leader Kim Jong-il's election as head of the Workers Party. Kim and her husband, eminence grise Jang Song-taek, are the main patrons of the young leader. She was last spotted at a concert on Sept. 1 and had not been seen since. Rumors that she is ill surfaced after Kim failed to attend a top party meeting on Sept. 25. [Intelligence] [Media]
• Kim Jong-nam Disappears from Radar
  The eldest son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has not been seen in his second home in Macau since his half brother Kim Jong-un became the new leader of the North. The head of an association for Korean residents in Macau, Lee Dong-sup, said Kim Jong-nam disappeared from Macau since his brother came to power late last year.
• N.Korean Parliament Meets
  North Korea's rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly convenes on Tuesday for the second time this year. On Monday, delegates laid a wreath at the Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il statues at the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces in Pyongyang, the official KCNA news agency reported. The SPA will likely discuss agricultural reforms that will permit farmers to sell about 30 to 50 percent of their produce in the market.
• N.Korea Holds Annual Fashion Event
  /AP-Newsis North Korean models showed off the new seasons' clothes at a fashion show in Pyongyang on Sept. 19. The official [North] Korean Central News Agency said the two-day event showcased fashions for everyday life, festivities, weddings, and children's clothes. The event has been held every year since 2003, and anybody who wishes to participate, from professionals to students and housewives can take part.
• NK parliament approves 12-year compulsory education system
  North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament approved on Tuesday a compulsory 12-year education system, the country's state media said as it held an unexpected gathering of legislators. "Ordinance of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly on enforcing universal 12-year compulsory education was promulgated at the session," the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, referring to the county by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
• North Korean Legislature Meets Amid Speculation About Reforms
  By Choe Sang-Hun Published: September 25, 2012 SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s Parliament convened on Tuesday amid speculation among outside analysts that the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, might use the session to reshuffle his government and discuss economic reforms

• Kim Jong-il Personality Cult 'Cost $40 Million'
  North Korea has spent at least US$40 million on the personality cult surrounding ex-leader Kim Jong-il since he died in December last year. With yet more statues to be built, the figure is likely to keep growing. The money would buy the impoverished country 130,000 tons of maize, which could feed the entire population of 24 million for 13 days. According to an informed source, the North Korean government started repair work on the Towers of Eternal Life that are found at all major crossroads nationwide after Kim's death. It was to change the slogan "Our great leader Kim Il-sung is eternally with us" to "Our great leader Kim Il-sung and dear leader Kim Jong-il are eternally with us."
• Kim Jong-il Fetes 'Military-First' Doctrine
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju attended an event to celebrate the "military-first revolution" on Saturday, North Korea's official KCNA news agency reported. /Yonhap Kim Kyong-hui, the dictator's aunt and head of the light industry department of the Workers' Party, also showed up in military uniform, scotching a rumor that she is on her sickbed.
• Kim Jong-un Inherits Father's Taste for Bling
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is spending top dollar on luxury products from overseas. He is apparently building a private ski resort and importing equipment to build his own sauna. The younger Kim's propensity for luxury goods seems to exceed even his late father Kim Jong-il's penchant for the good life, which involved expensive whiskey and foreign cars bought as gifts for loyal officials. [Kim Jong Un] [Spin]
• The Curious Tale of Kim Jong-il's Sushi Chef
  North Korea invited U.S. nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker in October 2010 and showed him its uranium enrichment facility in Yongbyon. It was the first time the North gave a foreigner access to the top-secret facility. North Korea had also shown Hecker its nuclear facilities after reprocessing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods in January of 2004 and following its first nuclear test in October of 2006. Every visit by Hecker was followed by intense debate in the U.S. between doves who called for negotiations with Pyongyang and hawks who urged increased pressure on the secretive regime. [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong-il's Ex-Sushi Chef Full of Praise for N.Korea
  Late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's former sushi chef was full of praise about the North under new leader Kim Jong-un after a trip there. "So much has changed," Kenji Fujimoto told the Chosun Ilbo at Japan’s Narita International Airport on Tuesday. Kim Jong-il's former sushi chef arrives at Narita Airport in Japan on Tuesday. Fujimoto (not his real name) was Kim Jong-il's personal chef from 1989 until 2001 and has published several books about the secretive country. "The people of Pyongyang I ran into in the streets looked cheerful. So much has changed since Kim Jong-un became leader. It is all because of leader Kim Jong-un," he said. Kim threw a welcome party for Fujimoto, who told reporters during a stopover in Beijing that the new leader has become a "man of stature." Fujimoto promised to give more details about his visit on TV. One intelligence source in Japan said Fujimoto's trip to North Korea was financed by a private Japanese broadcaster and highlights will be shown in a special TV program. The source added, "It looks like North Korea wants to publicize Kim Jong-un and his leadership in Japan." Fujimoto apparently has a wife and children in the North and met them during his trip. [Kim Jong Un]
• No Hard Feelings as Kim Jong-il's Sushi Chef Revisits N.Korea
  Kenji Fujimoto, late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's former sushi chef, talks to the press at Beijing Capital International Airport on Saturday on his way back from the North. /Yonhap Late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's former sushi chef visited the North for the first time in 11 years spent mostly telling tales out of school, but there were apparently no hard feelings as he met new leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju, according to Japan's Kyodo News. The chef, who goes by the pseudonym Kenji Fujimoto, was Kim's personal chef from 1989 until 2001 and has published several books about this time in the secretive country. He told reporters in Beijing on his way back from the North that he met Kim Jong-un at a welcome party for him and that Ri was also present.
• Former Kim family sushi chef visits North Korea
  Posted on : Aug.6,2012 15:27 KST Kenji Fujimoto has cordial visit, says Kim Jong-un has “grown tremendously as a person” By Jeong Nam-ku, Tokyo correspondent Kenji Fujimoto, former chef to Kim Jong-il, returned to Beijing on August 4 from a two-week trip to North Korea. Fujimoto (not his real name) worked as personal cook for the family of the North Korean leader from the 1980s until his escape from the country in 2001. He returned to North Korea on July 21 at the invitation of current leader Kim Jong-un and stayed for two weeks.
• Kim Jong-un's Wife In Concert
  (video)
• NK leader married to divorcee: Chinese media
  By Cecilia Park Ri Sol-ju, who has recently been public proclaimed as the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was allegedly previously married to a college professor, according to the Dajiyuan, a Chinese language daily in Los Angeles, July 30. [Media]

• Kim Jong-un's Uncle Gains Control of N.Korea
  North Korea is now firmly under the control of Jang Song-taek, the eminence grise behind 20-something leader Kim Jong-un, following the purge of a rival group led by army chief Ri Yong-ho. Analysts say Jang has emerged as the sole power behind the throne, systematically dismantling a power structure put in place by former leader Kim Jong-il before his death in 2011. In January 2009, when Kim Jong-il handpicked his son Jong-un to succeed him, he handed control of the military to Ri, of the State Security Department to its first deputy director U Dong-chuk, and of the Workers Party's Organization and Guidance Department to some officials close to Jang, according to an informed source. But no sooner was Kim dead than Jang set about eliminating Ri, U and other key officials.
• N.Korean Military in Crisis
  South Korean government officials believe the chief of the North Korean Army's General Staff, Ri Yong-ho was abruptly sacked as part of a purge aimed at consolidating leader Kim Jong-un's grip on power. A government official here said it seems Jang Song-taek, the uncle and patron of Kim, and Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, the director of the People's Army General Political Bureau, got the nod from Kim to investigate Ri and sacked him after uncovering corruption.
• North Korea in Focus: New Power Struggle or Intelligence Failure
  By Byong Chul Lee Has the North Korean power struggle reached a point of crisis? Are we on the eve of convulsions among the top North Korean leaders? These questions have emerged in the wake of Vice Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the North Korean People’s Army Ri Yong Ho’s removal from all his posts. Indeed, no one at the governmental intelligence bodies or numerous North Korea-related institutes at home (South Korea) or abroad were able to predict that Kim Jong Un, the young leader of the communist regime in Pyongyang, would remove one of his military strong men so swiftly. It seems that North Korea watchers and analysts have not only overestimated Ri’s influence inside the military, they have also overestimated his role. Our ignorance of what goes on in this secret regime is symbolic of the mystery surrounding North Korean policy. [Intelligence] [SK NK policy] [Agency]
• North Korean veterans commemorate 'day of victory'
  AFP | 2012-7-27 23:55:06 By Agencies Thousands of North Korean veterans vowed Friday to uphold the military-first policy and remain loyal to new leader Kim Jong-un in a rally marking what the North calls its victory in the 1950-53 conflict. The indoor rally in Pyongyang drew about 3,000 war veterans with decorations on their chests, state television showed. "We must absolutely follow respected leader Kim Jong-un and defend him with our lives," vice marshal Choe Ryong-hae said in a speech, adding the North's military is ready to crush enemy forces if attacked. Across the country, soldiers, workers and students laid floral baskets and bouquets before the statues of late founding leader Kim Il-sung who died in 1994 and his son Kim Jong-il who died last December, state media said. The Korean War ended on July 27, 1953, with an armistice, leaving some 2 to 3 million soldiers and civilians dead. The truce was never followed by a peace treaty, and the two Koreas are still technically at war. "Pyongyang has been wrapped in a festive mood to greet the participants in the great Fatherland Liberation War who are here thanks to the deep loving care of Kim Jong-un," the official news agency said. [Korean War]
• N.Korea Publishes Revealing Snap of Regime at Play
  Kim Jong-un takes a ride next to Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Liu Hongcai and Kim's aunt Kim Kyong-hui during a visit to an amusement park in Pyongyang on Wednesday. /[North] Korean Central TV-Yonhap North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the completion ceremony of an amusement park in Pyongyang on Wednesday. A picture published by the state media shows him with Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Liu Hongcai and aunt Kim Kyong-hui on a giant swing. The picture can be seen as symbolic of the current regime, with its close family ties and dependence on China. Across from the North Korean leader is Choe Ryong-hae, the most influential person in the North Korean military and the director of the People's Army General Political Bureau. Next to Choe are interpreters. A South Korean intelligence officer commented, "This picture depicts clearly who is running North Korea at the moment. Liu is sitting in the middle between Kim Jong-un and Kim Kyong-hui. It is a rather interesting arrangement." An Unification Ministry said, "The rides in the picture seem to be more adventurous and violent than the standard joy rides. Young Kim Jong-un may be able to take it, but it would be a bit too difficult for Kim Kyong-hui, who is not in good form for a woman of 66." [Kim Jong Un] [China NK]
• NK leader fast cementing hold on leadership
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, reacts on a ride as he attends the completion ceremony of the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang in this undated photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Thursday. / Yonhap By Kim Young-jin North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has asserted his leadership style with more speed than expected, analysts said Thursday, amid a series of moves aimed to build his personality cult. From attending a concert featuring Disney and other icons of American culture to the surprise acknowledgment of his 2010 marriage, watchers say Kim has been busy shaping his image as more open than his father, the late despot Kim Jong-il. At the same time, the regime has gone to lengths to show its control over the military by promoting younger officials and the ouster of Kim’s top military aide Ri Yong-ho. “He is making an effort to differentiate himself from his father and show this to his country,” said Baek Seung-joo, a senior analyst at the state-run Korea Institute of Defense Analyses in Seoul. “Now that he has shown he is different in style, the hope is that he will show he is different in policy as well.” [Kim Jong Un]
• In North Korea, young leader shows off wife to project image of ‘ordinary’ guy
  (Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service/ Associated Press ) - ADDS DATE - In this Wednesday, July 25, 2012 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service Thursday, July 26, 2012, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol Ju, right, waves to the crowd as they inspect the Rungna People’s Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang. CAPTION FULLSCREEN Text Size Print E-mail Reprints By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, July 26, 1:14 PMAP SEOUL, South Korea — The nation’s young leader tours a new amusement park with his beautiful bride on his arm, smiling and waving to adoring crowds. An everyday image of domestic bliss in high places? In North Korea, it was a carefully choreographed appearance aimed at showing Kim Jong Un as a friendly, modern leader, no different from the heads of other countries. It also provided a sharp contrast to the intensely private face his father Kim Jong Il had portrayed during his 17 years in power. Kim Jong Un’s marital status was confirmed almost as an afterthought by state TV in an understated report on Wednesday about the opening of the amusement park: “As a welcoming song resonated, dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un, supreme commander of our party and people, appeared at the inauguration ceremony together with his wife, comrade Ri Sol Ju.” [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong-un 'to Stay in Power for 15 Years'
  Kim Jong-un's regime will be able to sustain itself for another 15 years, the Royal Bank of Scotland forecasts. Despite the recent military reshuffle in the North and the rise of younger technocrats within the ruling Workers Party, the bank speculates that there will be no major reform or regime change in the near future. And although there may be social confusion arising from the developments, the bank said the chances of anarchy breaking out or a public uprising are extremely slim. RBS was subject to a massive bailout from the U.K. government after it failed to predict the 2008 global financial crisis. [Bizarre]
• North Korean media identifies Kim Jong-un’s official wife
  Posted on : Jul.26,2012 11:00 KST Modified on : Jul.26,2012 11:09 KST Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju at a resort area located on Rungna Islet on Pyongyang’s Botong river, July 25. (Yonhap News) Young leader takes a different track by publicly announcing his marriage North Korean state media have identified the woman seen accompanying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a recent series of public appearances as his wife. North Korean Central TV (KCTV) reported on July 25 that the woman is named Ri Sol-ju. Kim and his wife attended a ceremony to mark the completion of a resort area built on Rungna Islet in Pyongyang’s Botong river. Since Ri Sol-ju, believed to be in her late 20s, first appeared on state media on July 5 when she was seen seated to the right of the leader during a concert, she has been next to Kim at a series of events. North Korean media have not disclosed information about her, except for her name and status as Kim Jong-un‘s wife. [Kim Jong Un]
• Rungna People's Pleasure Ground Opens in Presence of Marshal Kim Jong Un
  Pyongyang, July 25 (KCNA) -- The Rungna People's Pleasure Ground has been built in Pyongyang as another grand edifice. It is one of the projects leader Kim Jong Il was specially interested in. It is a product of loving care for people of Marshal Kim Jong Un as well as a socialist wealth to hand down for all ages. It consists of Dolphinarium, Wading Pool, Fun Fair and mini golf course on Rungna Islet in the picturesque Taedong River. An opening ceremony took place with splendor on Wednesday. Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju were present at the ceremony. All the participants enthusiastically welcomed them, loudly shouting "Hurrah!" [Kim Jong Un]
  Video of Kim Jung Un at Rungna People's Pleasure Ground
  
• Kim Jong Un Visits Rungna People's Pleasure Ground
  Pyongyang, July 24 (KCNA) -- Marshal Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, first chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, visited the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground just before the start of operation. His first leg was a mini golf course. He said the mini golf course was built to match well with the landscape of Rungna Islet. He stressed the need to plant a lot of trees there for shades for those enjoying golf in summer.
• NK confirms mysterious woman to be Kim Jong-un's wife
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and a woman believed to be his wife applaud while watching a concert in Pyongyang on July 6. / Yonhap By Lee Tae-hoon North Korea confirmed Wednesday that a young woman repeatedly seen closely flanking its leader Kim Jong-un in recent public appearances is his wife. “General Kim Jong-un attended a groundbreaking ceremony along with his wife Ri Sul-joo,” the North's state-run Korean Central TV reported Wednesday as it describes the young leader’s visit to an amusement park construction site. [Kim Jong Un] [Intelligence]
• N.Korean Army Chief's Ouster 'Carefully Plotted' Ri Yong-ho
  The North Korean regime meticulously planned the ouster of Army chief Ri Yong-ho, informed sources here said Sunday. One source said North Korean eminence grise Jang Song-taek, the uncle of leader Kim Jong-un, and Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae prepared the firing by checking ammunition supplies at military bases directly under Ri's command and stepped up surveillance of any army divisions Ri could mobilize in his defense. South Korean intelligence apparently noticed this before Ri was fired. [Intelligence]
• Hyun Yong-chol takes high-ranking position in North Korea’s hierarchy
  Posted on : Jul.23,2012 13:19 KST Power reshuffle shows Kim Jong-un consolidating control of regime By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter Vice Marshal Hyon Yong-chol, recently named the new chief of general staff of the North Korean military, has taken former chief of general staff Ri Yong-ho’s place in North Korea’s pecking order, just behind Choe Ryong-hae, the director of the military’s political bureau. This places Hyon fifth in North Korea‘s official hierarchy. In a report issued on July 20 on an event celebrating Kim Jong-un’s promotion to marshal, which was held the previous day at Pyongyang Gymnasium, North Korea’s official Korea Central Television introduced Hyon after Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly Kim Yong-nam, Premier Choe Yong-rim and Choe Ryong-hae. After Hyon came People’s Armed Forces Minister Kim Jong-gak and National Defense Commission vice chairman Jang Song-taek. Hyon’s place in the order was the same as former chief of general staff Li’s had been.
• Pyongyang Children's Department Store Opens
  Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- The Pyongyang Children's Department Store which was built in Changjon Street opened on July 19. It has secured quantities of modern quality goods loved by children, and exhibited them in peculiar way for sale. On the opening day, the shop was packed with children and their parents. The spectacular play rooms created on each floor were crowded with children all day long. TVs showing cartoons and Karaoke for children and soft drink stands added to the delight of visitors. The dear respected Kim Jong Un sent several thousand pieces of amusement equipment to the store.
• North Korea: More revealing than Mickey
  James Pearson SEOUL - The world's media buzzed with rumor over the weekend as the Associated Press broke the news that the stage of Pyongyang's latest musical gala had been dominated by North Koreans dressed up as famous Disney characters. According to the videos and images released by North Korea's official YouTube channel Uriminzokkiri, not only were Mickey Mouse and friends a central part, the entire performance was accompanied by various clips from Disney classics via a large TV screen in the background. While headlines focused on the more sensational aspect of quintessentially American Mickey Mouse in what many see as a deeply anti-American state, many observers failed to pick up on an even more significant change the original article revealed: the short skirts, high heels and shoulder-revealing dresses worn by Seasoned Pyongyang-watchers will know that Disney characters are not a rare occurrence in North Korea.
• Mystery woman with North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un stirs speculation
  Date July 10, 2012 - 1:30PM 19 reading now A mystery woman pictured accompanying North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un to recent events has prompted speculation about whether she is his partner or his younger sister. The North's state television on Sunday aired footage of the woman joining Kim Jong-un as he paid tribute to his late grandfather Kim Il-sung on the anniversary of his death in 1994. [Kim Jong Un] [Media]
• Kim Jong-un's Sister Surfaces
  A person believed to be the younger sister of the successor to the North Korean leadership appeared on state TV on Wednesday. The woman, clad in black traditional costume, was spotted weeping behind Kim Jong-un as he greeted mourners at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang where dead leader Kim Jong-il lies in state. An intelligence source said, "She looks slimmer than in the photos we have of her, perhaps because she's been crying a lot, but our analysis confirms she is Kim Yeo-jong (24)." [Intelligence] [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong Un Provides Field Guidance to Rungna People's Pleasure Ground and Breast Cancer Institute
  Pyongyang, July 1 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, first chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, provided field guidance to the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground nearing its completion and the Breast Cancer Institute of the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital now under construction. [Kim Jong Un]
• North Korea’s Partisan Family State
  Heonik Kwon and Byung-Ho Chung The decade after the Korean War (1950–1953) was a formative era for North Korea. Many of the striking features of the country’s political and social system visible today took root during the postwar era, from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s. The era was, above all, a time of proud achievements for North Korea. Socialist politics are often referred to as substantive economic democracy based on the principle of egalitarian access to and distribution of social goods, in contrast to the formal democracy of liberal states founded on ideas of universal suffrage and personal liberty to pursue greater access to social goods. In the early postwar years, North Korea achieved great success in building a state and economic system on the model of substantive democracy, rapidly transforming a war-torn, and previously highly stratified, primarily agrarian society into an energetic, industrial society enjoying distributive justice and universal literacy. North Korea recorded this achievement in a relatively brief period of time and with relatively little social turbulence or political violence compared to other revolutionary socialist states. This was, in significant measure, an ironically positive consequence of the Korean War, which, although it literally brought North Korea to ashes and claimed unimaginable suffering from its population, nevertheless had the effect of eliminating major class conflicts and social inequalities. The war resulted in poverty and deprivation for everyone; it also uprooted potential class and political enemies, many of whom moved to South Korea during the war. The Korean War also gave rise to an elaborate mechanism of mass mobilization in North Korea, which was subsequently used in economic recovery and then in building a state-controlled, collective economy. The result was impressive. By 1956, just three years after the end of the devastating war, North Korea recovered its prewar level of agricultural production and doubled pre-war industrial output, achieving a stunning annual industrial growth rate of forty-five per cent in 1957. The collectivization of agriculture was completed by the end of the 1950s. During the same period, the country carried out a series of major social reforms including free primary and secondary school education, state-sanctioned equal rights for women in workplaces, state-subsidized medical services, and a welfare system for war invalids and the families of the fallen. It was against this background of successful mass mobilization that the famous Cambridge economist Joan Robinson, after her visit to Pyongyang in October 1964, wrote a report called “Korean Miracle.” Robinson praised “the intense concentration of the Koreans on national pride” in North Korea’s social economic development, led by the country’s leader Kim Il Sung, who was “a messiah rather than a dictator.” [1] [Kim Il Sung]
• Kim Jong Un Provides Field Guidance to Pyongyang Hosiery Factory, Children's Department Store
  Pyongyang, July 2 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, first chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, provided field guidance to the Pyongyang Hosiery Factory and the Children's Department Store. The first leg of his guidance was the Pyongyang Hosiery Factory. [Kim Jong Un]
• Power Transition in North Korea and Kim Jong Un’s Leadership Style: Prospects for Reform and Opening
  by Haksoon Paik July 3, 2012 Haksoon Paik observes that over the past months, Kim Jong Un has displayed several new leadership styles characterized by more openness and transparency, which could potentially lead to reform. Paik notes that Kim Jong Un’s new leadership style “seems to have attained popularity among North Koreans…[his] imitation of his grandfather’s style also appears to have given people hope for a better future, reminding them of “those old good days” of the Kim Il Sung era…”. Paik concludes that it is inevitable, under the circumstances, for Kim Jong Un’s policies to be as independence (juche)-seeking, military-first and defensive against external security threats as his predecessors’, but that Kim Jong Un shows signs of being more sensitive and responsive to the demands of the people from below in the domestic realm. Haksoon Paik is the Director of Inter-Korean Relations Studies Program and the Director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute, an independent think tank in South Korea. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Nautilus Institute. Readers should note that Nautilus seeks a diversity of views and opinions on significant topics in order to identify common ground. [Kim Jong Un] [Agency]
• Voice of Kim Jong-un's Mother Heard for the 1st Time
  A North Korean video makes the voice of the mother of leader Kim Jong-un publicly audible for the first time. Ko Yong-hui, late leader Kim Jong-il's third wife, is heard speaking in a film reportedly screened for top military officers and the Workers Party, which shows her inspecting military sites along with her husband. Experts say Pyongyang has been trying to boost the personality cult surrounding Ko by releasing photos of her with Kim Jong-un in his childhood since May. The film gives neither her name nor the exact date. Ko, who died of cancer in 2004, is believed to have been born in Japan in 1952 and moved to North Korea with her family in the 1960s.
• Kim Jong Un Sends Autographs to Officials, Workers and Children
  Pyongyang, June 29 (KCNA) -- The dear respected Kim Jong Un sent autographs to officials and other workers in various units and children after reading letters and a paper from them. [Kim Jong Un]

• Is Kim Jong-nam mending ties with NK?
  Kim Jong-nam By Kim Young-jin Speculation swirled Wednesday over the role of Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, following a report that he visited the Stalinist country last month. Citing a source, a local daily reported that Kim Jong-nam, said to live in semi-exile due to his wayward lifestyle, visited the North for several days and held talks with close aides of his youngest brother Kim Jong-un, now leader of the nuclear-armed country. Jong-nam has been the subject of much speculation since the death of his father in December. He did not appear during the subsequent mourning period, nor during milestone celebrations for the 100th birth anniversary of country founder Kim Il-sung in April, fueling speculation of a rivalry with his brother.
• N.Korea Appoints New Head of Missile Force
  Kim Rak-gyom (in red circle), the new head of North Koreas Strategic Rocket Force, walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right). /Yonhap Kim Rak-gyom (in red circle), the new head of North Korea's Strategic Rocket Force, walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right). /Yonhap North Korea appointed Lt. Gen. Kim Rak-gyom as head of its Strategic Rocket Force ahead of a Workers Party meeting in April, it was revealed Thursday. The Strategic Rocket Force oversees all of North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile facilities.
• Activist's Wife 'Died in N.Korea in 2008'
  The wife of a prominent South Korean activists who was lured to the North in the 1980s died on Nov. 23, 2008, according to Choi Sung-yong of the Family Assembly Abducted to North Korea. Choi said a source in North Korea saw the death certificate Shin Suk-ja at an organization under the North Korean Health Ministry in Pyongyang. The cause of death was given as cirrhosis of the liver. That would square with North Korea’s claim that she died of hepatitis, which affects the liver. On April 27, the North Korean permanent mission to the UN sent a letter to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention saying Shin died of the hepatitis that she had been battling since the 1980s but did not disclose the date of her death
• Kim Jong-il's Grandson Feels Sorry for Starving Compatriots
  Kim Han-sol in a picture from his Facebook page Kim Han-sol in a picture from his Facebook page
• N.Korean Regime Extols Kim Jong-un's Mother
  The North Korean propaganda machine has taken to extolling leader Kim Jong-un's mother Ko Yong-hui, who died in June 2004. A video clip apparently used to indoctrinate senior military officers shows Ko watching little Kim draw a picture, cleaning a field jumper for her husband Kim Jong-il, and firing a handgun.
• Kim Jong-un Makes Public Speech at Children's Rally
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a children's rally on Wednesday made his second public speech since taking power in December. North Korean state media said Kim told some 20,000 children they will "lead the most powerful country in the future, where every home will be full of laughter." Pundits say that Kim's two public speeches in only six months in power show that he is trying to differentiate himself from his reclusive father Kim Jong-il, who uttered only a single sentence in public during his 17 years in power. [Kim Jong Un]
• NKorea’s new leader addresses gathering of students in 2nd public speech since taking power
  By Associated Press, Thursday, June 7, 3:04 PM PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea’s young leader Kim Jong Un made his second speech at a major public event since taking power in December, addressing a children’s rally aimed at winning a new generation’s support. About 20,000 young people gathered at Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Stadium for Wednesday’s speech, which capped an unprecedented six-day children’s festival. The celebrations took place two days after North Korea’s military threatened to fire at South Korean media companies unless they apologized for criticisms of the festivities, including a Channel A report comparing the event to Hitler Youth rallies during Germany’s Nazi era. North Korea typically holds mass events for landmark anniversaries such as the leaders’ birthdays and the founding of the Workers’ Party or military. It is the first time such extensive celebrations have been organized for the founding of the Korean Children’s Union, the first political organization young North Koreans join. [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong-un visits apartment
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talks to soldiers during a visit to a newly-constructed apartment complex in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on June 1, 2012. KCNA did not reveal when Kim made the visit. (No Sales outside of South Korea) (Yonhap) (END) [Photo] [Kim Jong Un]

• Kim Jong Un Goes Round Kaeson Youth Park Funfair
  Pyongyang, May 25 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, went round the Kaeson Youth Park Funfair to learn about its management and operation. Learning in detail about the operation of the amusement equipment personally watched by general secretary Kim Jong Il, he noted with appreciation that the funfair is kept neat and tidy and managed regularly. Before the merry-go-round swing, he said it is most popular, adding when he accompanied Kim Jong Il visiting the funfair last year, he had a chance to ride it. [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong Un Provides Field Guidance to Construction of Changjon Street Nearing Completion
  Pyongyang, May 25 (KCNA) -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, provided field guidance to the construction of Changjon Street nearing its completion. There are in Changjon Street 5 to 45-storeyed apartment houses for thousands of families, each of which having several living rooms and tens of buildings for nurseries and kindergartens, secondary school, pharmacies, educational and healthcare institutions, commercial and catering networks and various welfare and service facilities standing in good harmony. After being briefed on the street in front of a huge map showing the panoramic view of the Mansudae Area, Kim Jong Un went round various restaurants, shops and stalls and parking lot in the basement, etc. to acquaint himself in detail with the construction of the street. He looked round various parts of Haemaji Restaurant built in a peculiar style and was satisfied with it. [Kim Jong Un]
• Hereditary Succession in North Korea: Lessons of the Past
  By Charles Armstrong North Korea’s transition to third-generation Kim leadership appears to be going smoothly, indeed much more smoothly than many outside observers had expected. This should not be a surprise to anyone familiar with the history of the DPRK, which ceased to be a “normal” communist dictatorship decades ago, and instead became a regime of hereditary leadership, firmly centred on the Kim family. The question was never whether or not a son of Kim Jong Il would become leader after Kim’s death, but which son it would be. As Kim Jong Il’s own rise to power shows us, leadership succession in the DPRK is not based on hereditary privilege alone. Kim Jong Il had to prove his ability and his loyalty, and to compete with other contenders for the throne from within the Kim family. Kim Jong Il’s most serious competitor appears to have been his uncle, Kim Il Sung’s younger brother Kim Yong Ju. Ultimately Kim Jong Il won out in this intra-familial power struggle and gained the support of his father for succession in the early 1970s, when he was around 30 years old, roughly the same age Kim Il Sung was when he became North Korea’s leader in 1945 and that Kim Jong Un is now. [Kim Jong Un] [Kim Il Sung] [Kim Jong Il]
• NK builds benevolent image of leader Kim Jong-un
  North Korea's state media have apparently set out to build an image of the country's new leader Kim Jong-un as caring as citizens show little sign of warming to the young ruler. Numerous reports in the North Korean media recently have stressed Kim's concern for his people by quoting his instructions to officials during inspection trips to industrial sites and public facilities. [Kim Jong Un]
• North Korea’s Ideology after April 2012: Continuity or Disruption?
  By Ruediger Frank Introduction Until the death of Kim Jong Il in December 2011, the big question affecting nearly every aspect of North Korean affairs—domestic or international—was who would be his successor. Now that this issue has been resolved by the selection and promotion of Kim Jong Un, the focus has shifted to the nature and sustainability of the new leadership. The four mega-events in April 2012 were supposed to provide insights: a Worker’s Party Conference, a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly, a missile/rocket/satellite launch, and the long-prepared celebrations of Eternal President Kim Il Sung’s centenary birthday. We could indeed observe dramatic changes, particularly in the DPRK’s ideology—a field that Kim Jong Il in 1995 described as the key frontier in the defense of socialism (Korean style). This article is based on my personal observations during a visit to North Korea from April 10-16, 2012, as well as official DPRK material, and addresses the question: Are recent ideological changes just a regular progression in a linear, continuous development, or do they mark a major disruption?
• Kim Jong Un Tours Mangyongdae Funfair
  Pyongyang, May 9 (KCNA) -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, toured the Mangyongdae Funfair. The Mangyongdae Funfair is a cultural recreation ground for the people and an entertainment and educational center built by the great loving care and benevolence by President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il who were always considerate of providing the Korean people with more affluent and highly civilized life. Covering 70 hectares, the funfair has the first-phase funfair built in Kalmaeji Field and the second-phase one and a wading pool built on an expansion basis in Songsan Field. The funfair has made positive contribution to the entertainment of people and school youth and children for decades. He looked round various places of the funfair to acquaint himself in detail with its management and operation. In front of the swingboat in the second-phase funfair, he, pointing at the seriously broken pavement in the compound of the funfair, asked officials when the road was last re-paved. It is regretful that the road has not been managed well, he said. Putting his finger on the faulty arrangement of the bases of Oriental arborvitae and Sabina Chinensis, he said it would be good to have gravel stones planted in various shapes around the trees. Seeing the weeds grown in between pavement blocks in the compound of the funfair, he, with an irritated look, plucked them up one by one. He said in an excited tone that he has never thought that the funfair is under such a bad state and a proverb that the darkest place is under the candlestick fits the funfair. He scolded officials, saying why such things do not come in their sight and querying could the officials of the funfair work like this, had they had the attitude befitting master, affection for their work sites and conscience to serve the people. Plucking up weeds can be done easily with hands as it is different from updating facilities, he added. [Kim Jong Un]
• NK leader lambastes park officials for poor oversight
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lashed out at officials of an amusement park for neglecting to take proper care of the facility's grounds and rides, the North's state media said Wednesday in an apparent move to highlight the leader's concern for his people. North Korean media, including the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), said Kim inspected the Mangyongdae Funfair in Pyongyang and scolded officials there after discovering flaws throughout the park. It is the first time the North Korean media have reported a public censure by the new leader. Reports on similar activities by Kim's father and late leader Kim Jong-il were also rare. According to the news reports, Kim Jong-un noticed a damaged path in front of a Viking ride and called it "pathetic," while also pointing out flaws in the park's gardens and a roller coaster, the condition of paint on rides and the safety of a water park. "Seeing the weeds grown in between pavement blocks in the compound of the funfair, he, with an irritated look, plucked them up one by one," the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch monitored in Seoul. "He said in an excited tone that he has never thought that the funfair is under such a bad state and a proverb that the darkest place is under the candlestick fits the funfair." [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong Un Provides Field Guidance to Work for Developing Rungra Pleasure Ground for People
  Pyongyang, April 30 (KCNA) -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and first chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission, provided field guidance to the work for developing the Rungra Pleasure Ground for People. He was accompanied by Jang Song Thaek, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK and vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission. The Rungra Pleasure Ground for People covering an area of nearly 100 hectares consists of the Rungra Dolphin Aquarium, Rungra Wading Pool, Rungra Funfair, etc. The first leg of his visit was the construction site of the Rungra Dolphin Aquarium. The aquarium has a building area of 5 980 square meters and a total plottage of 14 940 square meters with 1 460 seats. It is an aquarium for aquatic creature equipped with adequate welfare and service facilities for watching performance of dolphins including a water tank of nearly 3 000 cubic meters for performance, 16 auxiliary water tanks, room for scientific and technological knowledge and soft drink stands. [Kim Jong Un]
• Jang Song-taek Gains Control Kim Jong-un's Guards
  Jang Song-taek, the uncle and patron of new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has apparently put himself in charge of the top guard unit that protects Kim. "Despite being a civilian, Jang Song-taek began appearing dressed in military uniform adorned with four-star insignia on his epaulettes after the death of Kim Jong-il," a source familiar with North Korea said. "A close inspection of his uniform reveals that it is characteristic of the elite unit."
• Kim Jong Un Visits Exhibition of Military Science and Technology
  Pyongyang, April 29 (KCNA) -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and first chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission, visited the 26th Exhibition of Military Science and Technology of the KPA. He was accompanied by Choe Ryong Hae, Ri Yong Ho, Kim Jong Gak, Jang Song Thaek, Kim Yong Chun, Hyon Chol Hae, Son Chol Ju, Pak Jae Gyong, Kim Yong Chol, Ri Jae Il, Kim Myong Guk, Yun Tong Hyon, Jon Chang Bok and Pak Jong Chon.

• NK leader observes combined arms military exercise
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed a combined arms exercise to mark the 80th anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA), a media report said Saturday
• Kim Jong Un Attends Opening Ceremony of Meat and Fish Shop
  Pyongyang, April 26 (KCNA) -- The Mansugyo Meat and Fish Shop built on the bank of picturesque Pothong River in Pyongyang started its business on Wednesday. The 3-storey shop covers 5 000 plus square meters. Its ground floor has counters of fresh and frozen fish and processed fish while the first floor counters of meat including beef, pork, goose, turkey and quail and processed foodstuff. The second floor has a restaurant serving steak. The opening ceremony was held on Wednesday. The dear respected Kim Jong Un appeared at the shop to congratulate its opening. [Kim Jong Un]
• Photo: North Korea puts on a big show, visible even from space
  DigitalGlobe, File/Associated Press - FILE - This April 15, 2012 satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe shows a parade held to mark the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birthday Pyongyang, North Korea. The parade can be seen from the top center of the frame as it makes it way toward Kim Il Sung Square in the lower right hand corner where a large formation of people in red and gold clothing spell out the word “glory” in Korean. The parade culminated with the unveiling of a new long-range missile, though it’s not clear how powerful or significant the addition to the North Korean arsenal is. Some analysts suggested it might have been a dummy designed to dupe outside observers. By Associated Press, Friday, April 27, 3:38 AM In North Korea, the choreography can be part of the geography. The country is famous for organizing crowds of thousands of people using colored cards to spell out political slogans and images in stadiums or large squares, and the gathering last week to celebrate the 100th birthday of national founder Kim Il Sung was no different. This time, however, the spelled out message in a central square in the capital of Pyongyang was big enough to be visible from space. An April 15 image of a celebration taken by a satellite and distributed by DigitalGlobe shows people in red and gold clothing gathered in Kim Il Sung Square and spelling out the word “glory” in Korean. The parade culminated with the unveiling of a new missile, although analysts who have studied photos of a half-dozen ominous new North Korean rockets say they were fakes.
• Kim Jong Un Appears at Mansugyo Meat and Fish Shop
  Pyongyang, April 25 (KCNA) -- The Mansugyo Meat and Fish Shop built on the bank of picturesque Pothong River in Pyongyang started its business on Wednesday. Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, first chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission, supreme commander of the Korean People's Army and supreme leader of the Workers' Party of Korea and the people, appeared at the shop to congratulate its opening. {Kim Jong Un]
• N.Koreans 'See Kim Jong-un as Upstart'
  North Koreans feel new leader Kim Jong-un is getting above his station by having himself appointed first secretary of the Workers Party by the country's rubber-stamp parliament earlier this month, a South Korean official claimed Sunday. "In North Korea, first secretary stands above all other secretaries," the official said. "North Koreans are saying that Kim Jong-un has risen to a higher position than his father and are whispering that it is immoral of him to do that." [Kim Jong Un] [Black]
• NK TV shifts to live broadcasts under new leader
  North Korea's traditionally secretive state television is increasingly broadcasting live under new leader Kim Jong-un, in a rare break from efforts to inherit the traits and policies of previous rulers in the dynastic regime. In the four months following the Dec. 17 death of Kim's father and strongman Kim Jong-il, the (North) Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station has aired many of the nation's key events live, including all the awkward moments the late Kim apparently tried to avoid, according to Yonhap News Agency's monitoring of the footage [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong-un Makes 1st Public Speech
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivered his first public speech on Sunday after a massive military parade marking the centenary of nation founder Kim Il-sung. Kim read monotonously for 20 minutes in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 people. The speech was peppered with references to his father Kim Jong-il's "songun" or military-first doctrine. He said the time when nuclear arms could be used to threaten his country was "forever gone" and called for strengthening the songun doctrine by placing the "first, second and third" priority on military might. "The self-reliance of the nation is more valuable" than peace, he added. A government official here said Kim Jong-un appeared to be emulating his grandfather Kim Jong-il, who used to deliver a speech to North Koreans every New Year’s Day. Kim Jong-il, by contrast, rarely spoke publicly. [Kim Jong Un] [Kim Il Sung]
• N.Korea Evokes Nostalgia for Kim Il-sung
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (bottom far right) and senior leaders applaud as the statues of former leaders Kim Il-sung (left) and Kim Jong-il are unveiled at a ceremony in Pyongyang on Friday. /AP-Yonhap North Korea's massive military parade in celebration of Kim Il-sung's centenary on Sunday was naturally all about the nation founder himself. By evoking nostalgia for the old partisan that is deeply ingrained in the minds of many North Koreans, the current regime seems to be hoping to stabilize the new regime. New leader Kim Jong-un made a monotonous 20-minute speech apparently intended to recall Kim Il-sung's style, since the founder's eccentric son, long-term dictator Kim Jong-il who died last year, only made one short public speech in his whole life. [Kim Il Sung]
• Kim Jong-un speaks his father’s words with his grandpa’s face
  New leader showing more public style in addressing citizens of the crumbling country » New North Korean leaders Kim Jong-un waves while reviewing the massive military parade in Pyongyang on April 15. The parade was held to commemorate the centenary of founding North Korean leader Kim Il-sung. This year, the parade was held on Kim Il-sung‘s birthday for the first time. (AP Newsis) By Kim Kyu-won, staff writer New North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stunned observers with a 20-minute speech at a Sunday event in Pyongyang to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his grandfather Kim Il-sung’s birth. » Like Grandpa, like grandson Analysts interpreted the speech as a move to show himself as willing to appeal to and communicate directly with the people in his government in an open and public-friendly manner. This contrasts with his father Kim Jong-il, who rarely spoke to the public. [Kim Jong Un] [Kim Il Sung]
• North Korea pulls out all the stops with military parade
  Pyongyang puts on its biggest parade ever to commemorate old leader and introduce new one » A new long-distance ballistic missile was unveiled at Sunday’s military parade in Pyongyang. By Lee Soon-hyuk, staff writer North Korea has long claimed that the one-hundredth anniversary of Kim Il-sung‘s birth would mark the first year of an era of great national strength and prosperity. To mark the anniversary, yesterday the North held the biggest military parade in its history, at which it publicly revealed a new type of long-distance ballistic missile. The parade was held by the North Korea’s Korean People‘s Army, Navy, Air Force, Worker-Peasant Red Guard and Young Red Guards Cadets in Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang on Sunday morning. 880 pieces of weaponry and equipment of 34 kinds were displayed. [Warning]
• New North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun speaks publicly for first time
  By Chico Harlan, Published: April 15 | Updated: Monday, April 16, 4:30 AM The Washington Post SEOUL — Newly in charge of a country where leaders are idolized but rarely heard from, Kim Jong Eun on Sunday stepped onto a balcony in Pyongyang overlooking tens of thousands. He moved toward a podium affixed with seven identical microphones. And then he spoke. The young North Korean leader, in his first public address, told a packed crowd of soldiers and citizens that he would follow the legacy of his father and grandfather and prioritize the country’s military strength. [Kim Jong Un]
• Eternal' Father and Son of North Korea
  On the same day as North Korea’s failed attempt to launch a rocket, giant statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il were unveiled in a ceremony on Mansudae Hill of Pyongyang. And Kim Il-sung's grandson Kim Jung-un was named first chairman of the National Defense Commission, in a move widely seen as an attempt to solidify his control over the country.
• Kim Jong-un delivers first televised speech
  North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un has delivered his first ever televised public speech during a major military parade to mark the centenary of the birth of his grandfather, state TV showed Sunday. "I offer the purest respect and the greatest honour to great comrades Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il," he told cheering crowds, referring to his late grandfather and deceased father. Jong-un, clad in black Mao suit, delivered the speech from the viewing stand looking over tens of thousands of troops taking part in the massive military parade in the capital Pyongyang. "I express my greetings to our compatriots in South Korea and across the world who dedicate themselves to reunification and the prosperity of the nations," he said in a youthful voice, rarely looking up from his text. "Let's go on for our final victory!" he said, pointing his finger ahead to cheering troops who repeatedly chanted "Mansei! (long life)" (AFP) [Kim Jong Un]
• New North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun speaks publicly for first time
  View Photo Gallery — Kim Jong Eun, North Korea’s ‘great successor’:?Following the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, the isolationist state will try to pass power to Kim’s youngest son, Kim Jong Eun, who is in his 20s. Text Size PrintE-mailReprintsBy Chico Harlan, Published: April 15 | Updated: Monday, April 16, 4:30 AMThe Washington Post SEOUL — Newly in charge of a country where leaders are idolized but rarely heard from, Kim Jong Eun on Sunday stepped onto a balcony in Pyongyang overlooking tens of thousands. He moved toward a podium affixed with seven identical microphones. And then he spoke. The young North Korean leader, in his first public address, told a packed crowd of soldiers and citizens that he would follow the legacy of his father and grandfather and prioritize the country’s military strength. North Korea's new leader addressed his nation and the world for the first time Sunday, vowing to place top priority on his impoverished nation's military, which promptly unveiled a new long-range missile. .In the speech broadcast on state television, Kim recited the points emphasized in Pyongyang’s propaganda, saying he wouldn’t be intimidated by foreign aggressors. But the speech marked a stark reversal from the style of late leader Kim Jong Il, whose voice was heard publicly only once by North Koreans — and for a matter of seconds — when he shouted “Glory to the heroic Korean People’s Army” at a military parade in 1992.
• Wrong turn grants glimpse behind North Korean curtain
  It's hard to know what is real in North Korea, but foreign press got a chance to see life behind the facade by accident Share 21 reddit this Tim Sullivan, Associated Press in Pyongyang guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 April 2012 06.54 BST Article history North Korean residents of the capital city mingle on the side of the street in Pyongyang Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP The press bus took a wrong turn - and suddenly, everything changed in the official showcase of North Korean achievement. A cloud of dust swirled down deeply potholed streets, past concrete apartment buildings crumbling at the edges. Elderly people trudged along the pavement, some with handmade backpacks crafted from canvas bags. Two men in wheelchairs waited at a bus stop. There were shops with no lights, and unsurfaced sidestreets. Ordinary North Koreans stared unabashedly at the 50 or so foreign reporters on a rare trip to this secretive, autocratic nation as it honoured its founder, heralded its new leader and prepared for Friday's satellite launch - an apparent failure that Washington said was really a test of missile technology. [Media]
• North Korea WPK reshuffling shows few surprises
  At 62, Choi Ryong-hae is a relatively young, rising force in the administration » Kim Jung-un, first secretary of North Korean Workers’ Party By Kim Kyu-won, staff writer As expected, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, 30, took on the positions of Workers’ Party (KWP) of Korea standing committee member and Central Military Commission (CMC) chairman at the fourth party representatives’ meeting Wednesday. With this, Kim assumes becomes the official leader of the country following the December death of his father Kim Jong-il. The process unfolded as expected, with the exception of Kim Jong-un’s receiving the new supreme title of “first secretary” rather than inheriting his father’s position of general secretary, a title Kim Jong-il will hold permanently. [KWP]
• North Korea in April: Defining the Future Under Kim Jong Un
  By Ruediger Frank Will Kim Jong Un (right) prove to be more like his father Kim Jong Il (left) or his grandfather (Kim Il Sung), or will his legacy be distinctly his own? (Photo: AFP/Getty Images) April 2012 promises to be an interesting month for North Korea and its observers, with at least four mega-events. The long announced celebrations to mark the 100th birthday of the country’s late founder Kim Il Sung will be held on the April 15. Two days before, the annual session of the Supreme People’s Assembly (the North Korean parliament) will convene. The fourth Conference of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) will take place on the 11th. Last, but not least, around the same time a rocket launch that has been criticized by the West as a missile test is set to take place.
• Kim Jong-un Named 1st Secretary of the Workers Party
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was appointed to the new post of first secretary of the Workers Party, while his dead father Kim Jong-il was named "general secretary for eternity." The appointment completes Kim Jong-un's rise to the supreme leadership of the Stalinist country. "It looks like the new position was created to let Kim Jong-un show deference to elder members of the party while at the same time exercising control," said Prof. Yoo Ho-yeol at Korea University. [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong-un's Aunt Seen as Power Behind the Throne
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's aunt Kim Kyong-hui is the one wielding the real power in the Stalinist country now that her nephew has been named first secretary of the Workers party, experts believe. Kim Kyong-hui is the daughter of nation founder Kim Il-sung, which gives legitimacy to her status, and her experience in government is apparently making up for Kim Jong-un's lack of it.
• Kim Jong-un put in his place
  Recent appointments have new Pyongyang regime all set » North Korean workers raise signboards honoring former leader Kim Jong-il, April 10 in central Pyongyang. (AP Newsis) By Park Byung-soo, staff writer The curtain is officially up on the Kim Jong-un regime in North Korea. Kim Jong-un was appointed first secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) at the fourth party representatives’ meeting Wednesday in Pyongyang. He was also promoted from vice-chairman to chairman of the Central Military Commission. At the same gathering, the late Kim Jong-il was named “eternal general secretary.” [Kim Jong Un]
• WPK Holds Kim Jong Il in High Esteem as Eternal General Secretary
  Pyongyang, April 11 (KCNA) -- The Fourth Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea decided to hold leader Kim Jong Il in high esteem as eternal general secretary of the WPK. The conference took place at a stirring time when all the service personnel and people of the DPRK are turning out in the great historic advance for fresh victory of the Juche revolution. [Kim Jong Il]
• WPK Conference Elects Kim Jong Un as First Secretary of WPK
  Pyongyang, April 11 (KCNA) -- The Fourth Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea elected the dear respected Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of the WPK and people of the DPRK, as first secretary of the WPK, true to the behest of leader Kim Jong Il. The Conference solemnly declared internally and externally that Kim Jong Un was elected first secretary of the WPK, reflecting the unanimous wishes of all the party members, servicepersons and all other people. [Kim Jong Un]
• N.Korean Party Faithful Gather for Momentous Meeting
  A congress of the North Korean Workers Party on Wednesday to mark the centenary of nation founder Kim Il-sung is expected to complete the ascent to power of new leader Kim Jong-un when it makes him party secretary. Kim junior succeeds his father Kim Jong-il, who died suddenly in December
• Kim Il Sung Prize Awarded to Kim Jong Il
  Pyongyang, April 9 (KCNA) -- General secretary Kim Jong Il was awarded Kim Il Sung Prize on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of President Kim Il Sung. A decree on awarding the prize was released on Mar. 29 by the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) of the DPRK. The SPA Presidium said in its decree that reflecting the unanimous will and desire of all the service personnel and people, it decided to confer the prize on Kim Jong Il who indicated the road for the Korean revolution and the times to follow with his encyclopedic ideas and theories and ushered in a shining heyday of building socialist culture in Songun Korea.
• Flowers and confetti for first day of school for North Korean students
  ( Jon Chol Jin / Associated Press ) - In this Monday, April 2, 2012 photo, North Korean students break through lines of colorful ribbons as they arrive for their first day back to school during a ceremony to mark the start of a new school year at Pyongyang Middle School No. 1 in Pyongyang North Korea. By Associated Press, Published: April 6AP PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korean students in Pyongyang celebrated the first day of their new school year this week with flowers and confetti. It’s a moment marked by ceremony for students entering a school for the first time, whether it’s primary school, a university or something in between. It’s a tradition for the parents of primary school students to pin flowers on their new school uniforms. At middle school, older returning students do the honors for their new classmates. At Pyongyang Middle School No. 1, which late leader Kim Jong Il attended as a teen, older students showered their new schoolmates with confetti Monday and pinned bright pink flowers on their chests. Mothers wearing traditional Korean dresses posed for snapshots with their children, then squeezed into the back of classrooms as the students took their seats and opened up notebooks for the first day of school. At the front of the room was a big whiteboard, with the portraits of late President Kim Il Sung and late leader Kim Jong Il hanging on the wall above it. At the back was a billboard with hand-painted instructions on rules and policies. “I promise on behalf of my classmates to study hard,” one student said in a brief ceremony in the courtyard outside the school. [EWA]
• Kim Jong Un Inspects Defence Unit on Ryo Islet
  Pyongyang, April 4 (KCNA) -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of the Workers' Party of Korea and the people of the DPRK, inspected a unit on Ryo Islet defending a forward post on the east coast. He gave the 4th Company and the 3rd Company of the Coastal Artillery Battalion under the unit binoculars and automatic rifles as souvenirs and had a photo session with service personnel of the defence unit and their families.
• Kim Jong Un Elected Delegate to 4th WPK Conference
  Pyongyang, April 2 (KCNA) -- Meetings to elect delegates to the 4th Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) took place in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The dear respected Kim Jong Un was elected a delegate to the conference at meetings of the Korean People's Army and provinces (political bureaus). Kim Jong Un is creditably carrying forward the cause of Songun (military-first) politics, true to the intention of leader Kim Jong Il. The enormous feats performed by Kim Jong Il in putting the DPRK dignity on the highest level are being glorified under his leadership. His guidance leads to effecting signal achievements [Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong-un 'Barely Managed at Swiss School'
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had difficulty adjusting to life at the international school in Switzerland where he was enrolled for two years in the 1990s, Swiss daily Le Matin reported Sunday. Citing anonymous sources, the paper said Kim was absent for 75 days in his first year at the school in Bern, and for 105 days of the second year. One source, who said he was a classmate of Kim's, said the leader-in-waiting often came to school in the afternoon only and got poor grades. Sources said Kim, who used the pseudonym Pak Un, got 3.5 points out of six in natural sciences, and barely passed math, social studies and German. Kim was initially placed in an advanced class but was moved down and only got the minimum grade needed to pass. But he got five points out of six in music and technical studies. [Kim Jong Un]
• N.Korea Sells Off Resources to Pay for Celebrations
  North Korea earned at least US$1.8 billion from exports of underground resources last year, Radio Free Asia reported last Friday. The figure is double the rough amount of $900 million it earned from resource exports the previous year and equivalent to the amount the regime is reportedly spending on the centenary of nation founder Kim Il-sung on April 15. The regime is expected to spend at least $2 billion for the festivities, which among other things require large handouts to the population to give an illusion of prosperity. South Korean authorities speculate that the regime spent another $850 million building a long-range missile to be launched around the time of the centenary and a missile launch pad in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province
• NK completes electing new leader Kim as party delegate
  After a series of party meetings countrywide, North Korea has elected new leader Kim Jong-un as a delegate to this month's ruling party conference, the North's state media said Sunday, in a move seen by outside analysts as another effort to consolidate Kim's grip on power.

• Solemn National Memorial Service on 100th Day since Demise of Kim Jong Il Held
  Pyongyang, March 25 (KCNA) -- A solemn national memorial service was held in Pyongyang on Sunday on the 100th day since the demise of General Secretary Kim Jong Il. The dear respected Kim Jong Un was present at the memorial service.
• 'NK leader has relations with married woman'
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is allegedly having an affair with a married singer older than him In an interview with Daily NK, a Seoul-based online newspaper on North Korea-related news, a North Korean defector said that a female vocalist who sang in the concert, “Women are Spring,” with North Korea’s Eunhasu (Milky Way) Orchestra held on March 8, has been having sexual relations with North Korea’s new young leader.
• Even Kim Jong-il Couldn't Control N.Korean Army, Says Son
  Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, has repeatedly said that even his father was unable to gain complete control over the North's powerful military. Kim Jong-nam, who was passed over as his father's successor, exchanged some 150 e-mails with Japanese journalist Yoji Komi. "North Korea experts say this can't be true, but Kim Jong-nam told me that whenever he had the chance," Komi told reporters Wednesday. [Songun] [Kim Jong Nam]
• NK to hold parliamentary session in April
  North Korea will convene a parliamentary session in April, the country's state media reported Saturday, amid its preparations to launch a rocket that could further heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The Supreme People's Assembly will hold a session on April 13, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief dispatch, without elaborating on its agenda.
• Kim Jong-il's eldest son opens up
  Kim Jong-nam, left, speaks with Yoji Gomi, a Japanese journalist with the Tokyo Shimbun, at an unidentified location. Excerpts of their conversations and email exchanges have been publishd in the Japanese book “My Father, Kim Jong-il, and Me.” The Korean version of the Japanese book was published last week. / Courtesy of Joongang M&B By Do Je-hae Kim Jong-nam has displayed behavior unbefitting the eldest son of one of the world’s most reclusive leaders Kim Jong-il, who died on Dec. 17, 2011. Kim Jong-nam is the only member of North Korea’s “royal family” who speaks to the foreign media. He travels freely and spends much of his time in China or Macao, its special autonomous region. He considers himself a “capitalist.” So when it was reported in January that a book containing his interviews and emails was published in Japan, the international press paid attention to see Kim’s own views on the future of North Korea. [Kim Jong Nam]
• Can Kim Jong-un Subdue the N.Korean Military?
  As soon as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un became vice chairman of the Workers Party's powerful Central Military Commission there emerged signs of a sweeping purge. Around a dozen high-ranking officers, including an assistant chief of the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces, an assistant chief of the General Staff Department as well as frontline commanders were brutally executed, ostensibly for being drunk or for sexual harassment during the mourning period for dead leader Kim Jong-il.
• Accordionists who gave Internet an A-ha moment challenge preconceptions about North Koreans
  By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, March 22, 6:52 PMAP PYONGYANG, North Korea — Five teenagers in school uniforms hold accordions. On the wall is a giant painting of the secret mountain hideout of their nation’s founder, Kim Il Sung. Small red stickers on their instruments mark them as gifts from Kim Jong Il. Yes, this is North Korea. But as they grind their accordions into song, what comes out is no somber ode to either of the late leaders. Instead, as more than 1.5 million YouTube viewers already know, it’s one of the poppiest of 1980s-era pop songs, A-ha’s “Take on Me.” .The three young men and two women launch into the performance with gusto, swaying to the music, tapping their accordions and clapping their hands overhead. Their catchy cover, recorded in December, became a sensation as it challenged the world’s preconceptions about North Koreans. [Media] [Image]
• Kim Jong-un 'Purged Top Brass of Dissenters'
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has purged high-ranking military officers to consolidate his grip on power after the death of his father Kim Jong-il, it emerged on Tuesday.
• Kim Jong-un Promotes Missile Officials to Top Military Ranks
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un carried out his first high-level military reshuffle on Feb. 15, and appointed three civilians to the rank of general, a South Korean government source said Monday. Pak To-chun, Workers Party secretary for munitions, was made a four-star general, and Ju Kyu-chang, director of the party's Machine-Building Industry Department, and Paek Se-bong, a member of the party's Central Committee, were made three-star generals.
• N.Korea to Spend Billions on Centenary Celebrations
  North Korea is about to spend an estimated US$2 billion, or one third of its annual budget, to mark the centenary of nation founder Kim Il-sung on April 15, plus an additional $850 million to build a three-stage rocket and launch pad for the event. The total would be enough to buy 4.75 million tons of rice based on current grain prices at $600 per ton as the regime holds out its hands for international food aid
• Kim Jong-un 'Using Int'l Dialogue to Consolidate Power'
  South Korean and U.S. government officials believe North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seeking to use renewed dialogue with the international community to consolidate his grip on power. A diplomatic source in Seoul on Wednesday said the reason the North recently held high-level talks with the U.S. in Beijing and sent Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho to the U.S. to voice its willingness to resume six-party talks was "to stabilize Kim's leadership." [Agency] [Continuity]

• Kim Jong Un Enjoys Concert of Unhasu Orchestra
  Pyongyang, February 24 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, supreme commander of the Korean People's Army and supreme leader of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Korean people, enjoyed concert "The Hearts Following the Sun" commemorating the Day of the Shining Star given by the Unhasu Orchestra. After the national anthem was played, the audience observed a moment's silence in memory of general secretary Kim Jong Il.
• A new shopping experience for North Koreans
  Feb. 24, 2012 - North Koreans are buzzing with excitement at a newly opened shopping center in the capital, Pyongyang. It's been opened as part of efforts to increase the availability of consumer goods in the country. (Feb. 24) (/The Associated Press) [Daily life] [Media]
• North Korea to hold pivotal Workers‘ Party conference
  New leader Kim Jong-un could be named to influential positions previously held by his deceased father » North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap News) By Kim Kyu-won, Staff Writer North Korea is planning to hold a Workers’ Party conference this April to announce the appointment of Kim Jong-un to key central positions such as general secretary of the Workers‘ Party of Korea. Kim currently vice chairman of the Commission for Military Affairs of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (Central Military Commission. On Monday, the Korean Central News Agency reported that the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Workers‘ Party of Korea had “decided to convene a party conference in mid-April in order to unite firmly around Comrade Kim Jong-un and complete the great achievements of Juche and of the Military-First Revolution.”
• Pang Hak-se: founder of NK security police
  By Andrei Lankov North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, right, talks with Soviet officials in Pyongyang in 1947. The Soviet Union dispatched hundreds of ethnic Koreans to Pyongyang to act as interpreters, advisers and controllers of the nascent communist regime. Among them was Pang Hak-se, who contributed to the establishment of the North Korean security police. / Korea Times file Soviet Korean Pang Hak-se became a high-level official in the North Korean police bureaucracy in 1947. He was the first head of the nascent communist regime’s state security.
• N. Korea the poorest Asian performer of U.N. poverty-reduction goals
  SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korea lags behind other countries in the Asia-Pacific region in achieving the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals, according to a report. In 2000, world leaders adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce child mortality and achieve universal primary education by 2015. The declaration also calls for global efforts to promote gender equality and improve maternal health, as well as combat HIV and AIDS. [Agency] [Sanctions]
• N. Korea to hold key party conference in April
  North Korea will hold a key political conference in April, the country's state media reported Monday, amid fresh tensions with South Korea. The Workers' Party has decided to convene the conference in mid-April "to glorify the sacred revolutionary life and feats" of its late leader Kim Jong-il and "rallied close" around his son and successor, Kim Jong-un, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The junior Kim was named a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party in the previous party conference in September 2010, the North's biggest political gathering in 44 years.
• Dynastic Succession in North Korea
  by Bruce Cumings I was in Singapore when Kim Jong-il died on 17 December, so I was reading from a salutary distance what passed for expert American commentary. “North Korea as we know it is over,” according to a piece in The New York Times written by a specialist who had served in the George W Bush administration; the country would come apart within weeks or months. Another asked how could the callow son grapple with octogenarian leaders in the army — wouldn’t there be a coup? Might Kim Jong-un “lash out” to prove his toughness to the military? Others worried that a collapse might require US Marines on Okinawa to swoop in to corral loose nukes (a key mission for several years). The Obama administration fretted about a power struggle, something Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had spoken of after Kim’s stroke three years earlier. The model seemed to be the USSR after Stalin died, or China after Mao. They ignored what happened when Kim Il-sung died in 1994 — which was nothing. [Transition]
• One of NK's richest men said to serve in assembly hall
  Cha Chol-ma, known as one of North Korea's richest men, has been confirmed to be serving in a top position at the Mansudae Assembly Hall, the seat of the North's legislative body, the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA).
• Kim Jong Un Pays Homage to Kim Jong Il
  Pyongyang, February 16 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, supreme commander of the Korean People's Army and supreme leader of the Workers' Party of Korea and the people, visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on Thursday, the Day of the Shining Star, to pay profound respects to leader Kim Jong Il.
• Kim Jong-il's eldest son in financial trouble: report
  MOSCOW (Yonhap) -- Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il, is having financial problems after his own country and China cut off funding over recent doubts he expressed about his younger brother's grip on power, a Russian newspaper said. According to the latest edition of Argumenty i Fakty, Kim Jong-nam was recently kicked out of his 17th-floor room at a luxurious hotel in Macao because he could not pay the $15,000 that was due.
• Kim Jong-un Reshuffles Top Military Brass
  The man fingered by South Korean authorities as being responsible for the torpedo attack against the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan, has been promoted from lieutenant general to general, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported on Wednesday. In the first high-level military reshuffle conducted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un following the death in December of his father, Kim Jong-il, Gen. Kim Yong-chol, head of the policy department of North Korea's National Defense Commission, was granted the new title.
• Statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il Erected at Mansudae Art Studio of DPRK
  Pyongyang, February 14 (KCNA) -- The statues of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il riding on horses together were erected at the Mansudae Art Studio with approach of the Day of the Shining Star. Their construction, the first of its kind in the history of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Korean revolution, is a great glory and pride of Kim Il Sung's nation and Kim Jong Il's Korea. A ceremony of unveiling the statues took place on Tuesday
• N.Korea Orders People Home for Kim Jong-il's Birthday
  North Korea has apparently ordered people studying or working abroad to return home by Thursday to mark the birthday of dead leader Kim Jong-il. The Daily NK, a website specializing in news about the isolated country, on Tuesday said the regime told North Koreans in China to come back. [Media]
• Two leaders commemorated
  New statue of the former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (right) who died last December is unveiled in Pyongyang, Feb. 14. The larger-than-life bronze statue is located just beside the statue of his father Kim Il-sung (left), and shows that he will be worshiped after death like his father. (Kyodo/Yonhap News)
• ‘NK defector got divorced for watching S. Korean dramas’
  By Kwon E-youn “A few months ago, I heard the news that if anyone betrays the regime in North Korea, he or she would be executed along with all the three generations of his or her family. I pray for my family’s safety.” When asked whether he misses his family left in North Korea, a 48-year-old man, identified by his family name Lee from North Hamgyeong Province in the North, who has now settled in the South, dropped tears, without answers.
• N. Korea idolizing new leader’s mother
  Ko Yong-hui By Kim Young-jin North Korea appears to be idolizing the late mother of its new leader Kim Jong-un as it attempts to solidify a personality cult around him after the death of his father, the late ruler Kim Jong-il.
• Statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il Erected at Mansudae Art Studio of DPRK
  Pyongyang, February 14 (KCNA) -- The statues of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il riding on horses together were erected at the Mansudae Art Studio with approach of the Day of the Shining Star. Their construction, the first of its kind in the history of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Korean revolution, is a great glory and pride of Kim Il Sung's nation and Kim Jong Il's Korea. A ceremony of unveiling the statues took place on Tuesday
• Kim Jong Un Acknowledges Letters from Ordinary People
  Pyongyang, February 13 (KCNA) -- The dear respected Kim Jong Un sent his autographs to officials and working people of different units and teachers and students of the country on Feb. 9 after reading the letters they presented to him on the Day of the Shining Star, which carried their pledge to implement the behests of leader Kim Jong Il. Among them were officials of the Sonchon County Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, employees of the Kangdong Hydro-power Construction Complex and the Korean April 26 Children's Film Studio, girls who volunteered to go to Taehung from Pyongyang, teachers and students of Ryongrim Secondary School in Ryongrim County of Jagang Province and Min Hong Dan, Ri Chuk Bok, Ri Kyong Yon, Ryu So Gum and Ko Hu Hoe to whom Kim Jong Il wished good luck for the future. In the letters they expressed their ardent yearning for Kim Jong Il and profound reverence for Kim Jong Un who is identical to him in idea and leadership traits. [Kim Jong Un]
• N. Korean officials pledge allegiance to new leader
  North Korean officials swore loyalty to their new leader Kim Jong-un in a rally, the country's television reported Monday, in the latest public display of support for his dynastic power succession. Kim became the supreme commander of the country's 1.1 million-strong military soon after the December death of his father, Kim Jong-il. The young leader is believed to be consolidating his power.
• N.Korean Dynasty's Authority Challenged
  Major structures built to promote the personality cult of North Korea's Kim dynasty have been damaged as isolated pockets of resistance begin to grow, according to reports. A statue of Kim Jong-suk, former leader Kim Jong-il's mother, in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province was damaged in October and a monument in Pyongyang in celebration of the was destroyed in April last year. Based on information from domestic and foreign intelligence agencies, Saenuri Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun said on Sunday, "The Kim Jong-un regime has witnessed several events challenging the authority of regime founder Kim Il-sung and his family."
• Kim Jong Il Sends 700,000 Books to Library
  Pyongyang, February 8 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il sent more than 700,000 books and materials in more than 595,000 kinds to the Grand People's Study House during his life. The House is a unique Korean-style library provided by President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The President made sure that the grand library which can accommodate workers, farmers, intellectuals, youth and students was built in the best place he had spared for two decades after the war. [Personalisation]
• Kim Jong-un Touring Elite Military Units
  New North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited seven military units over the past month, most of them of elite forces. A South Korean security official said Seoul is trying to find out why Kim is focusing on these elite units that have great strategic and symbolic significance. The state-run media reported Kim on Jan. 31 visited the 1,017th Air Force Unit, one of two MIG-29 fighter units in the North. The MIG-29 is the newest of the North's 800 fighter jets and was donated by the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. [Kim Jong Un] [Military balance]
• N.Korea's Smiling New Leader
  The North Korean regime is apparently trying to project a more cheerful image of new leader Kim Jong-un, who is seen wreathed in smiles in the latest official pictures. Kim was pictured smiling during visits to military bases, holding the hands of soldiers and even whispering in their ears in an apparent bid to stress a sense of camaraderie. [Kim Jong Un]
• N. Korean leader woos support with hands-on style
  New North Korean leader Kim Jongun greets students at the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School in Pyongyang in this undated photo released by the North’s state media on Jan. 25. / AP-Yonhap By Kim Young-jin North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un is offering something rarely seen from the nation’s top leaders as he rounds up support for his fledgling regime ? a sense of warmth. From gently clasping a boy’s cheeks while meeting students to linking arms with officials during on-site visits, analysts say the youngest son of late head of state Kim Jong-il has been aiming to project a confident, caring image. [Kim Jong Un]
• To Sell a New Leader, North Korea Finds a Mirror Is Handy
  By CHOE SANG-HUN Published: February 1, 2012 SEOUL, South Korea — When Kim Jong-un made his debut as the North Korean heir apparent in September 2010, he looked so much like his grandfather, the closest thing North Koreans had to a god, that South Korean intelligence officials noted that many North Koreans who saw the young man for the first time on television broke down in tears. [Kim Jong Un]
• NK forces actor to get plastic surgery for filming Kim Il-sung
  North Korean regime even compelled an actor to undergo plastic surgery when producing a film about the Soviet Army officer who saved Kim Il-sung, founder of the Stalinist regime, it has been reported. The Russian TV channel, TV-Center, reported on Jan. 25 revealed this, whilebroadcasting a documentary film named ‘Comrade Kim, the Prince of Chosun(Korea),’ which covers power succession from grandfather Kim Il-sung to third generation Kim Jong-un of North Korea. In 1985, Chosun Art Film Studio of North Korea and Mosfilm Studios of the USSR co-produced a movie, ‘Eternal Comrade,’ about the Soviet Army’s first lieutenant Yakov Novichenko, who had saved the leader of North Korea from grenade attack to assassinate him just less than one year after Korea’s independence from the Japanese colonial rule.
• NKorea’s young leader gets rock star treatment during visits modeled on revered grandfather
  By Associated Press, Published: January 30 SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s young new leader gets rock star treatment when he visits his troops — just as his father did. But while the late Kim Jong Il mostly stayed aloof in dark shades, his son holds hands and hugs his soldiers. Kim Jong Un seems to want to bond with his country’s people. Young Kim gets rock star treatment when he visits his troops, just as his father did. But while the late Kim Jong Il mostly stayed aloof in dark shades, his son holds hands and hugs. He seems to want to bond. .The style harkens back to Kim Il Sung, his grandfather and revered founder of the country and ruling dynasty, and may reflect an attempt to turn a corner on the periods of hardship and famine under Kim Jong Il, analysts say. Kim Il Sung’s image as a daring young general fighting Japanese colonial troops is powerfully engraved in the minds of North Koreans. Cheers, applause and calls of “Hurrah!” greet Kim Jong Un as he examines the heating systems of soldiers’ quarters, the pressure of their water faucets, the books stacked in their libraries — even the taste of their food. [Kim Jong Un]

• North Korean church leader Kang Yong Sop dies
  23 January 2012 — Erich Weingartner i Rate This New Year's greeting by Kang Yong Sop The Rev. Kang Yong Sop, chair of the Central Committee of the Korean Christian Federation (KCF), passed away in Pyongyang on 21 January 2012, at the age of 80. I have known Kang for more than 20 years. On the same day his death was announced, I received a New Year’s greeting card bearing his signature. Rev. Kang Yong Sop at a WCC Consultation in Hong Kong 2009. (Photo WCC) Rev. Kang was the son of another Protestant pastor, with family links to Kim Il Sung. [Religion]
• N. Korea in wealth divide conundrum
  By Kim Young-jin As nations worldwide grapple with rising wealth inequality, the “socialist paradise” of North Korea appears to be no exception, with the gap between its emerging entrepreneurial class and the rest of the country widening rapidly, experts say. Emboldened by Chinese investment and new trade opportunities, those among the wealthy are not difficult to spot, according to recent visitors to Pyongyang. Imported cars now cause regular traffic jams and businesspeople chatter on state-sanctioned mobile phones _ previously unimaginable occurences. But experts say the development is concentrated in the capital and a handful of other urban areas, namely Sinuiju, Nampo, Sariwon and Kaesong while the rest of the country faces a starkly different story. “It’s like two different planets,” said Bernhard Seliger, a Seoul-based unification expert who periodically visits the North. “Pyongyang is modernizing but in the countryside the water supply is primitive and people still use oxcarts.” [Inequality] [Marketisation]
• Kim Jong-nam and the question of North Korea’s leadership stability
  January 24th, 2012 Author: Scott A. Snyder, CFR North Korea’s leadership succession from Kim Jong-il to Kim Jong-un has gone according to script. The Korean Workers’ Party and the Korean People’s Army are supporting Kim Jong-un as North Korea’s new leader and North Korea’s propaganda machine has not missed a beat in announcing new titles, manufacturing accomplishments and portraying Kim Jong-un as a Great Successor worthy of the name. But despite these efforts, there are two notable missing pieces: Kim Jong-un’s brothers Kim Jong-nam and Kim Jong-chul. The failure of these brothers to publicly appear at the funeral clarifies that they are excluded from power, but their apparently differing fates raise important questions about Kim Jong-un’s power and the sustainability of his leadership. [Transition]
• Relatives of NK leader's powerful uncle handle overseas relations
  Several relatives of Jang Song-thaek, the powerful uncle of North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un, are handling the country's diplomatic and trade relations in the nation where the ruling elite often seek overseas posts to earn foreign cash and lead comfortable lives, defectors in Seoul said Wednesday. Jang, a four-star general and brother-in-law of late leader Kim Jong-il, has long been considered a key official in helping Kim's son, Jong-un, consolidate power. He also serves as vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, once headed by the late Kim.
• North Korea’s power transfer
  Author: Alexander Vorontsov, Russian Academy of Sciences January 18th, 2012 The grand funeral ceremony for Kim Jong-il was completed earlier this month, and North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong-un, was officially sworn in. The event clearly opened a new chapter in North Korea’s history. [Transition] [Kim Jong Un]
• N. Korea holds first cabinet meeting since Kim's death
  North Korea held its first cabinet meeting since its long-time leader Kim Jong-il's death, the state media said Sunday. According to North Korea's official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), the North's cabinet members convened an enlarged plenary meeting earlier in the day to review last year's national economic plans and to discuss economic tasks for this year. The latest meeting was the convened for the first time since Kim died of a heart attack on Dec. 17 after decades of an iron-fist rule. North Korea holds quarterly cabinet meetings to discuss the national economy. Choe Yong-rim, the country's premier, and cabinet members set developing the light industry and agriculture as this year's prioritized tasks, the KCNA said. (Yonhap)
• Pyongyang springs to life again as NKoreans pay respects to late leader Kim on lunar New Year
  (David Guttenfelder/Associated Press) - North Koreans gather to lay flowers on a stage in front of a large portrait of the late Kim Jong Il as they pay their respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Pyongyang residents said they were encouraged to celebrate the traditional holiday as they usually do, despite the death of Kim Jong Il, only the second leader North Koreans have known since the nation was founded in 1948. By Associated Press, Monday, January 23, 4:23 PM PYONGYANG, North Korea — Soldiers and children, bundled up against the freezing cold, lined up Monday at Pyongyang’s main plaza to pay their respects again to late leader Kim Jong Il on the first day of the lunar new year holiday. A massive portrait of Kim that had been taken down after a mourning period following his Dec. 17 death was back up at Kim Il Square. People scurried across the vast plaza to get in line to bow and lay single red flowers, the late leader’s namesake “kimjongilia” begonias, made of fabric. The song “It’s snowing” blared from the loudspeakers, a reminder of Kim’s solemn funeral procession through the capital city’s snowy streets late last month. For several weeks after the funeral, Pyongyang was barren and somber. But almost overnight the city has filled with color again. North Korea’s red, white and blue national flag fluttered from signposts. Banners celebrating “Juche 101” — the current year, according to the North Korean calendar, which begins with the 1912 birth of national founder Kim Il Sung — and posters marking the holiday were pinned to buildings and walls.
• NK new leader makes another visit to military unit
  North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un made yet another visit to a military unit, his fifth this month, according to a state media report Sunday, as the young successor tries to consolidate his power after the death of his father Kim Jong-il. [Kim Jong Un] [KPA]
• Kim Jong-un married in 2010: report
  North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-un waves during a visit to a military regiment as officers applaud in this undated photo released Thursday by Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency. It was thought to be his second visit to a military site since becoming leader. Yonhap By Kim Young-jin New North Korean leader Kim Jong-un married a woman some two years his elder in an arrangement made by his powerful regents, a report said this week. Japan’s Weekly Post quoted North Korean defectors as saying Kim married the woman, a graduate of the top Kim Il-sung University in 2010 after the matchmaking by his aunt and uncle, who are said to be guiding the young leader into power. The report comes as the world continues to watch for clues about the little-known leader, who was thrust into the spotlight following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, last month. [Kim Jong Un]
• Why is Kim Jong-nam criticizing NK leader?
  By Kim Young-jin Theories are swirling over why Kim Jong-nam, the eldest brother of new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is criticizing the dynastic succession underway in the communist state following the death of their father. Kim, who lives in semi-exile in China, has called the hereditary transfer “difficult to tolerate” and warned of possible ambitions of the North’s powerful military. He made the remarks in a series of emails with a Japanese reporter who published the correspondence in a book released Wednesday.
• New book claims Kim Jong Il’s eldest son fears North Korea regime may collapse
  By Associated Press, Published: January 18 TOKYO — A new book claims that the eldest son of North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong Il believes the impoverished regime is in danger of collapse and that his young half-brother, chosen to lead after Kim’s death, is merely a figurehead. The book by Tokyo-based journalist Yoji Gomi went on sale Wednesday. He says it is based primarily on email exchanges he had with Kim Jong Nam over many years.
• Why Did Kim Jong-nam Open Up to Japanese Reporter?
  Why did former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Jong-nam share his views about the Stalinist country with a Japanese journalist over seven years? Yoji Komi In October 2010, Kim promised to "answer all questions" and even asked Yoji Komi, an editor at the Tokyo Shimbun, to "get my thoughts in good order and publish them at a suitable time." Kim Jong-nam met six Japanese correspondents including Komi at Beijing Capital International Airport in 2004. He sent e-mails to all of them in December that year. But it was Komi with whom he kept up the correspondence. North Korean sources say Kim was apparently intrigued that Komi is a Korea expert who was stationed in Beijing after a stint in Seoul and has significant connections in South Korea. Komi's 464 Facebook friends include former Grand National Party chairman Chung Mong-joon; Kim Choong-hwan, the chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee; Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor of North Korean studies at Korea University; and Lee Ae-ran, a North Korean defector and the director of the North Korean Food Institute in Seoul.
• More Revelations from Kim Jong-nam's E-mails
  Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, communicates by e-mail with a mystery contact in South Korea, according to a new book by a Japanese journalist. "I asked an acquaintance in [South] Korea to send [a cartoon depicting new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un] and already read it," Kim Jong-nam writes in the collection of over 100 e-mails exchanged over seven years with Yoji Komi.
• Kim Jong-nam 'Trying to Position Himself as Voice of Reform'
  What was in Kim Jong-nam's mind when he asked a Japanese journalist Yoji Komi of Tokyo Shimbun in October 2010 to "get my thoughts in good order and publish them at a suitable time?" It was immediately after his half-brother Jong-un was named as successor of his now deceased father Kim Jong-il. North Korea experts have been abuzz after what are said to be e-mails from North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son surfaced in a book by a Japanese journalist. Some feel the candid e-mails criticizing the North Korean regime are an attempt by Kim Jong-nam, who was passed over for the leadership, to position himself as an alternative to the regime.
• North Korea's leader will not last long, says Kim Jong-un's brother
  Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of Kim Jong-il, describes succession as 'a joke' and predicts the regime will collapse in new book Jonathan Watts and Tania Branigan in Beijing guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 17 January 2012 12.43 GMT The eldest son of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il has predicted the regime would soon fail, with or without reforms, according to a new book that the author says is based on emails and interviews with Kim Jong-nam. The book says that Kim Jong-nam – who has never met the new leader, his half-brother Kim Jong-un – described the dynastic succession as "a joke to the outside world", and said even his father had originally opposed the hereditary transfer of power.
• Kim Jong-nam Says N.Korean Regime Won't Last Long
  Kim Jong-nam Former North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Jong-nam has said the isolated regime will eventually fail with or without reforms. The comment appears in e-mail conversations exchanged over seven years between Kim Jong-nam and a Japanese journalist and obtained by the Monthly Chosun. The nearly 100 e-mails were sent from 2004 until December last year to Yoji Komi, an editor at the Tokyo Shimbun daily. The two also spoke in person in January and May last year. [Media] [Collapse]
• Eldest son speaks of Kim Jong-il's death in Beijing
  Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il, replied, "Oh...(that's) natural," when asked whether he was shocked by his father's death on Dec. 17, a South Korean professor said Monday. His father died of heart attack in the North. Jong-nam was spotted at an airport in Beijing last week, Park Seung-jun, a professor of Chinese language and literature at South Korea's Incheon University, told Yonhap News Agency by phone. Jong-nam, believed to be in his early 40s, was sitting in front of the departure gate for a flight to Macau Saturday, sporting jeans, a dark blue padded jacket and a baseball cap, according to said Park. [Media]
• North Korea's Khrushchev
  Scenes of Pyongyang citizens wailing the death of "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il remind us how easily dictatorships can manipulate public opinion. But are the rest of us so immune to similar manipulation? The commentaries after Kim's death tell us repeatedly that the deceased North Korean leader was reclusive, erratic, enigmatic and dangerous. Yet almost all the few outsiders who actually met the man came away impressed by his intelligence, moderation, rationality and openness. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who saw him close up during the 2002 abductee negotiations, has praised Kim for his bright (akarui) personality and directness. He said he had no feeling he was talking to some kind of dark dictator. Even the hawkish former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the Kim he saw was quite "rational."
  True, being democracies also means we have access to sources such as Wikipedia, which give much more impartial accounts of Pyongyang's alleged evils, including the two recent allegedly aggressive attacks on South Korean forces in the disputed western sea frontier region (for an even better account go to japanfocus.org/-Tim-Beal/3665)
  History will show the late Kim to have been North Korea's Khrushchev. The former Soviet leader also sought detente with the West only to have his hopes dashed by U-2 flights and other U.S. hawk activities, which in turn strengthened the hand of the Soviet hawks. [KJI_death] [Kim Jong Il]
• Kim Jong-il dead: apocalypse now or a new dawn?
  January 10th, 2012 Author: Aidan Foster-Carter, Leeds University The sudden death of Kim Jong-il changes North Korea, in Donald Rumsfeld’s useful phrase, from a known unknown to an unknown unknown. With Kim senior we knew where we were — to some extent: the old trickster liked to keep us guessing. But his son is a blank — so far. Anything is now possible. The range of possible scenarios runs from benign to apocalyptic. The world wants North Korea to come in from the cold and embrace peace and reform [Transition] [Inversion]
• North Korean realities
  January 16th, 2012 Author: Peter Drysdale, Editor, East Asia Forum One of the more momentous changes in Asia that heralded in the New Year was the sudden death of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, and the succession by his son, Kim Jong-un. Kim Jong-il’s death had long been seen by some outside observers as portent for the collapse of the North Korean regime and the announcement encouraged much comment that reflected these forebodings, including calls for calm from political leaders who should have been in the know. Anything seemed possible. [KJI_death] [Transition]
• North Korea after Kim Jong Il: The Risks of Improvisation
  By Ruediger Frank Kim Jong Il’s death was announced less than three weeks ago. But the world is surprisingly quickly getting used to the new leadership in North Korea, as if there were no concerns left at all. To provide a counterweight to this amazingly complacent mood, and the many speculations about a stable North Korean future (including my own), I’d like to play devil’s advocate and ponder a relatively pessimistic scenario based on my reading of some developments that should be watched carefully. We do have reason to believe that the current course of events related to succession in North Korea is more of the improvisation type than the outcome of a long-term strategy. In the end, it might indeed work and Kim Jong Un and the system will survive, but this is by no means to be taken for granted.
• Will N.Korea's Dynastic Succession Work?
  It has been almost a month since North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's death, and there has been a considerable amount of controversy whether the sorrow expressed by the North Korean public was genuine or not. Those who claim that the dramatic expressions of grief were genuine say that they were the result of brain washing, state propaganda and demagoguery. Those who doubt their sincerity say that most North Koreans must be aware of the true state of the country under Kim’s iron-fisted rule: some North Koreans may be saddened by his death, but the vast majority are probably not.
• Special Report of Political Bureau of C.C., WPK
  Pyongyang, January 12 (KCNA) -- The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea issued the following special report on Thursday: The Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee solemnly announces that it has decided as follows, reflecting the unanimous desire and ardent request of all party members, service personnel and people to hold the great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il in high esteem as the eternal leader of the Party and the revolution, glorify his sacred revolutionary life and undying revolutionary feats forever and surely carry to completion the revolutionary cause of Juche started in Mt. Paektu: 1. The great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il will be laid in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, the sacred temple of Juche. 2. The statue of the great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il will be erected with respect. 3. February 16, the greatest auspicious holiday of the nation when the great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il was born, will be instituted as the Day of the Shining Star. [KJI_death]
• North Korea reportedly to punish those who didn’t properly mourn Kim Jong-Il
  By Elizabeth Flock North Koreans who did not properly mourn the death of their “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-Il will now be punished, the Daily NK reported Wednesday. The punishment applies to all those who did not seem genuine or profuse enough in their crying. North Koreans weep as they attend the funeral procession for late leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang. (KYODO - REUTERS) The Daily NK, a South Korea-based online newspaper run by critics of the North Korean government, reports that punishment will include six months in a labor training or re-education camp.
• Kim Jong Un Inspects Construction Projects Undertaken by KPA
  Pyongyang, January 11 (KCNA) -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of the Workers' Party of Korea, state and army, inspected various construction projects undertaken by KPA service personnel including the Pyongyang Folk Park and the Meat Shop in Hero Street. He was greeted on the spot by commanding officers of the units engaged in the construction. Going round various projects for hours, he acquainted himself in detail with the progress made in the construction, etc.
• Eldest brother casts doubts on new NK leader's grip on power
  The eldest brother of North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un has expressed doubts about his half-sibling's hold on power, anticipating the ruling elite to extend their influence over the communist country, a Japanese newspaper said Thursday. Kim Jong-nam told the Tokyo Shimbun in an e-mail sent on Jan. 3 that he has "doubts about how a young successor with some two years (of training as heir) can retain the 37 years of absolute power" wielded by his late father and former leader Kim Jong-il, the newspaper said. Kim Jong-nam, believed to be in his late 30s, has lived abroad for years after apparently falling out of favor with his father for attempting to enter Japan on a fake passport in 2001. A source familiar with Kim's activity told Yonhap News Agency last month that the eldest son had arrived in Beijing from the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, shortly before Pyongyang held a state funeral for his father on Dec. 28. It remains unclear whether Kim Jong-nam attended the funeral. "I expect the existing ruling elite to follow in the footsteps of my father while keeping the young successor as a symbolic figure," he said in the e-mail, making his first remarks on the North Korean regime and succession process since his father's death. "It is difficult to accept a third-generation succession under a normal reasoning (process)." It is not the first time Kim Jong-nam has been critical of the hereditary succession in his country that started when his father inherited power from his own father and North Korea founder Kim Il-sung in 1994. Kim Jong-nam told the Tokyo Shimbun in January last year that "even Chairman Mao Zedong of China did not enforce hereditary succession." "(Hereditary succession) does not fit with socialism, and my father was against it as well," he was quoted as telling the paper in an exclusive interview held in a southern Chinese city. (Yonhap) [Succession]
• NK’s main paper launches English website
  A screen capture of the English-language website for North Korea’s ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, Tuesday / Korea Times By Kim Young-jin North Korea’s ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun has launched an English-language website in an apparent attempt to expand its reach in the international community. South Korea, with which the North is still technically at war, blocked the site within hours under the National Security Law, a Unification Ministry official said on condition of anonymity. The newspaper is the main mouthpiece of the Workers’ Party. The party also publishes a weekly English-language tabloid, the Pyongyang Times. The launch came as Pyongyang is securing the base of power for new leader Kim Jong-un following the death of his father Kim Jong-il last month. Though unclear whether the move was linked to the transition, analysts said it was the latest attempt to amplify the North’s voice outside its borders.
• NK says late leader Kim Jong-il's body to lie in state in mausoleum
  North Korea said Thursday the body of late leader Kim Jong-il will lie in state permanently at a mausoleum and his February birthday will be instituted as the "Day of the Shining Star." The North also said it will erect Kim's statue and portraits and build towers across the country in what could be an attempt to strengthen his personality cult and justify the dynastic power succession of his son, Kim Jong-un.
• Children of NK officials receive job favors
  North Korea has handed out decent jobs to children of former and current North Korean elite in what could be an attempt to help ensure the dynastic power succession goes smoothly, a source familiar with the isolated country said Tuesday. Jang Yong-chol, a nephew of Jang Song-thaek, became North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia in 2010 before fully serving out his term as Pyongyang's top envoy to Nepal, the source said. [Corruption] [Propaganda]
• Is NK leader's age a handicap?
  New North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a rifle in this image captured from a documentary aired Sunday by the North’s state media. / Yonhap By Kim Young-jin With Kim Jong-un rapidly taking the helm of North Korea, a looming question remains over whether a man thought to be no older than 30 can be mentally equipped to run a nuclear-armed country of 24 million. While his exact age is not known, Kim ? who became the country’s “Supreme Leader” last month after the death of his father Kim Jong-il ? is markedly younger than most world leaders or the 35 years required to be president of the United States. [Kim Jong Un]
• Book Details Frank Comments from Kim Jong-il's Eldest Son Kim Jong-nam
  A collection of candid e-mails and interviews with late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Jong-nam will be published in Japan on Jan. 20, the Kyodo news agency reported last Friday. Kim exchanged the e-mails with Yoji Komi, an editor of the Tokyo Shimbun. They began writing to each other after Komi ran into Kim at Beijing International Airport in 2004. The Japanese journalist later interviewed Kim for a total of seven hours in Beijing and Macau last year. In one e-mail sent after his father's funeral this month, Kim Jong-nam criticizes the third-generation hereditary power succession in the North. Commenting on the leadership under his younger brother Jong-un who became new North Korean leader, he writes, "The existing power group will take over, putting the young successor up as a symbolic figurehead." Kim Jong-nam describes Kim Jong-il as a "strict and affectionate" father. He claims Kim Jong-il once said, "I won't hand power to my child." [Succession]
• New NK leader’s late mom gains spotlight
  Ko Yong-hui By Kim Young-jin As North Korea builds a personality cult for new leader Kim Jong-un, his late Japanese-born mother is garnering attention as some say her background could complicate the idolization of the heir. Among the latest reports, it appears that Ko Yong-hui, consort of the late autocrat Kim Jong-il secretly visited Japan multiple times before her death in 2004, calling attention to her past as an ethnic Korean who was living in Japan.
• NK troops swear loyalty to new leader Kim Jong-un
  North Korean troops have pledged their allegiance to their new leader Kim Jong-un in the latest public display of military support to his dynastic power succession. Kim has risen to the post of the supreme commander of the country's 1.1 million-strong military soon after the sudden death of his father, former leader Kim Jong-il, as he consolidates his power. Soldiers of the army, navy and air force solemnly swore to faithfully follow the leadership of Kim Jong-un in a rally on Monday at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, where the late Kim's body lies in state, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. [Transition]
• North Korea to issue special pardons for convicts to mark birthdays of 2 late leaders
  By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, January 10, 7:31 PM SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea will issue special pardons for convicts to commemorate milestone birthdays of its two late leaders, state media said Tuesday, in the first such dispensations in more than six years. The pardons come as North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, moves to solidify his power in the wake of his father Kim Jong Il’s death last month. Believed to be in his late 20s, Kim Jong Un has already picked up a slew of prominent titles such as supreme commander of the military, with top officials publicly pledging their loyalty. The pardons will start Feb. 1 at the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch. KCNA did not say what sorts of crimes would be pardoned or how many inmates would be freed. The decision is meant to mark the 70th anniversary of the birth of Kim Jong Il in February, and the 100th anniversary of the birth of his father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, in April, KCNA said.
• The Reality of Tears
  By Erich Weingartner The question consistently asked by journalists over the past weeks is whether the weeping and wailing that accompanied the death and funeral of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is the product of stage management or a genuine outpouring of grief. In other words, how real are the tears? To our secular and cynical Western sensibilities, it seems inconceivable that a nation would be moved to tears at the death of what we believe to have been an evil tyrant who ate lobsters and caviar while his people starved, who squandered the nation’s wealth on nuclear weapons while soliciting humanitarian aid, who operated a network of brutal prison camps and kept the entire population isolated from the outside world. Why is there no nationwide rejoicing? Should we not see people dancing in the streets of Pyongyang? As is often the case when dealing with North Korea, our simplistic questions require more complex answers than time allows in journalistic interviews. [Grief] [KJI_death]
• Kim Jong-un 'Watched Long-Range Missile Launch'
  North Korean state TV marked new leader Kim Jong-un's birthday on Sunday with a documentary that claimed he watched the launch of a long-range missile alongside his late father Kim Jong-il in April 2009. In this undated image aired by [North] Korean Central Television on Sunday, North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un appears in a military vehicle (top) and a helicopter at an undisclosed place in North Korea. /KCTV-Yonhap The 50-minute film focusing on Kim junior's so-called on-the-spot guidance tours said he accompanied his father during a visit to the control center for the launch of the Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite. The launch of the fictitious satellite was a thin cover for what is widely believed to be an attempt to test a long-range missile. [Satellite] [Kim Jong Un]
• North Korea hails Kim Jong-un's birthday, not marked as a holiday
  Agencies | January 09, 2012 00:55 By HaoZhou@GT North Korea Sunday praised its young leader as "the genius among the geniuses" in military strategy on what is believed to be his birthday, AFP reported. In a documentary about Kim Jong-un's virtues, state television showed the leader driving a tank and giving orders to troops in artillery, navy and air force units, lauding his "excellent military leadership." [Kim Jong Un]
• Officials of DPRK Do First Friday-Labour of Year
  Pyongyang, January 6 (KCNA) -- Officials of ministries and national institutions in the DPRK did the first Friday-labor of the year on cooperative farm fields. Officials from the Ministry of Mining Industry, the Ministry of Light Industry and other units carried much quality manure on trucks to the Wonro Vegetable Farm in Mangyongdae District. They did carrying and spreading of manure with agricultural workers. Officials of the Cabinet Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Trade, General Bureau for Service for People and other ministries and national institutions did work on the Rihyon Vegetable Co-op Farm in Sadong District. While working they recalled the devoted efforts made by leader Kim Jong Il who had ceaselessly walked rough fields to provide the people with more affluent life.
• N.Korea Starts Image-Building of New Leader
  North Korea portrays Kim Jong-un as a confident, chummy new leader in footage aired on state TV Tuesday evening. In the footage, Kim Jong-un looks happy and smiles several times when talking with field commanders during his first official public activity since he became North Korean leader. Kim visited the 105th Seoul Ryu Kyong-su Guards Tank Division last Sunday. [Kim Jong Un]
• Bleak details emerge of life under Kim Jong-un
  By Kim Young-jin Sketchy details are emerging on the harsh measures underway in North Korea as new leader Kim Jong-un consolidates his power, including a reported crackdown to prevent defections across the China border. A local daily this week quoted an activist who aids North Korean refugees as saying three would-be defectors were recently shot dead as they attempted to cross the Amnok River (Yalu River). The report followed others that Pyongyang tightened border controls before announcing the death of late ruler Kim Jong-il last month. Despite intense scrutiny by the international community, little is known about the new North Korean leadership led by Kim Jong-un, who is the youngest son of the late despot. [Spin] [Kim Jong Un]
• Pyongyang Elite Key to Regime's Survival
  Some 500,000 core members of the Pyongyang elite are thought to be the North Korean regime's last bastion of power. A South Korean government official last week said, "We believe that about 500,000 people in Pyongyang are high-ranking members of the Workers Party, military and the government. Their destiny is really bound up with the Kim Dynasty because they live in special quarters and benefit from special rations." According to a source, senior members of the Workers Party headquarters in Pyongyang live in some 30 high-rise apartment buildings there. Chief military personnel live near the Ministry of People's Armed Forces, and Cabinet members near the Kyoro Hotel. Kim Jong-il's closest aides live in an exclusive quarter of luxury homes called Eundeokchon, meaning Village of Blessing, built by Kim.
• N.Koreans Rally in Show of Support for New Leader
  North Koreans took part in a massive rally in the capital, Pyongyang, Tuesday to show support for their country's policies and new leader Kim Jong-un. Pumping their fists and chanting, tens of thousands of people beat drums and carried placards and large national flags as they paraded across Kim Il-sung Square. North Korean officials called on people to rally behind the young Kim and protect him as "human shields," while working to solve such pressing problems as food shortages by upholding the policies of late leader Kim Jong-il.
• 'Kim Jong-il's eldest son secretly pays last respects'
  The eldest son of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il has visited Pyongyang to pay his last respects, the Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported Sunday. Kim Jong-nam, 40, flew left Macau where he mainly lives for Pyongyang on Dec. 17 after learning about his father's death that day, the report said. He used a passport under the false identify of Kim Chol and avoided a flight via Beijing which might have given more exposure to his return home, the daily said. He left after "a few days" and was now in Macau, the report said. Kim Jong-un, the new North Korean leader and youngest son of Kim Jong-il, was presumed to have accompanied his older brother to see their father's body, Yomiuri said. [Succession] [Transition]
• Will Kim Jong-un land softly or with thud?
  Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s new leader, presides over a memorial service held for his late father Kim Jong-il at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang Thursday. In 2012, analysts will closely watch for hints on whether the twenty-something heir can successfully lead the Stalinist state. / Yonhap Analysts divided over new NK regime after death of Kim Jong-il By Kim Young-jin If a picture is worth a thousand words, then images of North Korea’s chosen successor Kim Jong-un last week during funeral services for his father, Kim Jong-il, may fill an entire book with uncertain premonitions regarding the Stalinist state. Wearing a black coat buttoned to the neck and, at times, a grimace on his face, he looked much like what one would imagine of a twenty-something about to inherit a troubled state of 24 million. As a year that promises only ambiguity gets underway all eyes are on his new regime to see whether it will sink or swim, a question with implications for a region nervous over its estimated stockpile of several nuclear weapons.
• NK seen strengthening allegiance to new leader
  North Korea renewed its allegiance to its new leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday, drawing on the last words of his late father and former leader Kim Jong-il and holding a mass rally in support of the heir. Recent reports in the communist state's official media have introduced what are said to be the last words of Kim Jong-il, who apparently made clear his intention to bequeath power to his third and youngest son, Jong-un.
• N.Korean New Year’s statement calls for continuation of policies
  With Kim Il-sung`s 100th birthday in 2012, the North plans to seek industrial and military improvement » North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-un conducts a field inspection of a tank division near Pyongyang as his first official activity as North Korean leader, Jan. 1. (KCNA Yonhap) By Kim Kyu-won, Staff Writer North Korea's joint New Year's editorial Sunday emphasized the execution of the late Kim Jong-il's policies as his youngest son Kim Jong-un takes over leadership of the country. Analysts interpreted it as an expression of Pyongyang's intention to maintain Kim Jong-il's policies under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, the vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Party Central Military Commission.
• Who’s calling the shots in Pyongyang?
  By Kim Young-jin North Korea’s behind-the-scenes elevation of Kim Jong-un, the inexperienced son of late ruler Kim Jong-il, as its new leader is raising huge questions about who is calling the shots in the Stalinist state and whether its system can hold. On the surface, Pyongyang has moved with surprising speed to consolidate his power, naming him supreme commander of the North’s 1.2 million-strong military and placing him at the center of funeral proceedings since his father’s sudden death of heart failure last month. But many are unconvinced that the 28-year-old has much real control given his inexperience in a society that prioritizes seniority. Instead they offer that a coterie of powerful aides is in charge, comprised of powerful players assembled by the late “Dear Leader.” Such a scenario leaves the door open for cleavages of power after decades of iron-fisted authoritarian rule and raises concerns over the future of the nuclear-armed state. [Transition]
• North Korea promises prosperity, demands loyalty to new leader in editorial
  By Chico Harlan, Monday, January 2, 1:13 AM BEIJING — North Korea vowed an “all-out drive” Sunday toward economic prosperity, setting a vision for a nation with fewer food shortages, a stronger military and a people who defend their new supreme leader with their lives. “The whole Party, the entire army and all the people should possess a firm conviction that they will become human bulwarks and human shields in defending Kim Jong Eun unto death,” said an editorial carried in the country’s three major state-run publications.
• N.Korea's New Year's Statement Stresses Continuity
  The traditional joint New Years editorial of North Korea's official papers was mostly devoted to stressing dead leader Kim Jong-il's legacy and his "songun" or military-first doctrine, as if to reassure everyone that nothing will change now that his 20-something son Kim Jong-un has taken over. Nam Sung-wook, director of the Institute for National Security Strategy, said, "It was a poorly-prepared statement that contains only an outline with no details. There are no specifics on what will be done other than the consolidation of Kim Jong-un's grip on power."
• Kim Jong Un Assumes KPA Supreme Commandership
  Pyongyang, December 31 (KCNA) -- The dear respected Kim Jong Un, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, assumed the supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army at the behest of leader Kim Jong Il on Oct. 8 Juche 100 (2011). [Kim Jong Un]
• Joint New Year Editorial
  Pyongyang, January 1 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun, Joson Inmingun and Chongnyon Jonwi, leading newspapers of the DPRK, on Sunday published a joint editorial "Glorify this year 2012 as a year of proud victory, a year when an era of prosperity is unfolding, true to the instructions of the great General Kim Jong Il". The full text of the editorial is as follows: Having seen out the year 2011 in bitter tears of blood, the service personnel and people of Korea are now seeing in the New Year Juche 101 (2012). It was a long-standing tradition of our people to extend best wishes for good health to the great leader Kim Jong Il on every New Year's Day and set out on the advance of that year. His august name and benevolent image were a banner of victory that instilled in our people confidence in sure victory and will to achieve it and a source of their mental strength. Now our service personnel and people, turning the great sorrow into one-thousand-fold strength and courage, are embarking on a grand march towards the goal of achieving prosperity in the new century of the Juche era, following the leadership of their supreme leader Kim Jong Un.
• Report on Meeting of Political Bureau of C.C., WPK
  Pyongyang, December 31 (KCNA) -- A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was held here on Friday. Present there were members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau and members and alternate members of the Political Bureau of the C.C., the WPK. The meeting courteously proclaimed that the dear respected Kim Jong Un, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK, assumed the supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army according to the behest of leader Kim Jong Il on October 8, Juche 100 (2011). All the participants stood up to welcome him with enthusiastic applause.
• Joint Calls of Central Committee and Central Military Commission of WPK Published
  Pyongyang, December 31 (KCNA) --The Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea published joint calls on Saturday on the centenary of birth of President Kim Il Sung. The joint calls are as follows: Having seen out Juche 100 (2011) with the greatest national sorrow over losing too suddenly, too early and too regrettably the great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il, whom we had trusted and followed as in heaven, we are seeing in Juche 101 (2012).
• Solemn National Memorial Service for Kim Jong Il Held
  Pyongyang, December 29 (KCNA) -- A solemn national memorial service for Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, was held in Pyongyang Thursday. Kim Il Sung Square was wrapped in a solemn atmosphere. The dear respected Kim Jong Un, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK and supreme leader of the WPK, state and army, appeared on the tribune of honor. Present there were members of the National Funeral Committee, Nam Sung U, vice-chairman
• Ceremony of Bidding Last Farewell to Kim Jong Il Held
  Pyongyang, December 28 (KCNA) -- A solemn ceremony of bidding last farewell to Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, took place in Pyongyang on Wednesday. The dear respected Kim Jong Un together with senior officials of the party, state and armed forces organs observed silence before the bier of Kim Jong Il, praying for his immortality, and went round the bier before the departure of a funeral procession. Then a ceremony of paying last respects to Kim Jong Il was solemnly held in the plaza of the Kumsusan Memorial Palace. Kim Jong Un, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK and supreme leader of the WPK, state and army, took part in the ceremony.
• North Korea, the arts of succession
  JE Hoare, 29 December 2011 The aftermath of the death of Kim Jong-Il highlights the obstacles in the way of a clear assessment of North Korea's power dynamics, says JE Hoare. About the authorJE Hoare is a scholar of Korean affairs and a co-editor of the annual series Korea: Politics, Economy and Society (Brill). As a diplomat, he was responsible for setting up the first British embassy in Pyongyang during 2001-02, and represented the country there for almost two years. During this period he had unique access to many aspects of the North Korean administration, the functioning of business and industry, and the country as a whole. He is the co-author (with Susan Pares) of North Korea in the 21st Century: An interpretative guide (Brill / Global Oriental, 2005) Death and taxes are said to be certainties. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK / North Korea) announced the abolition of taxes in the 1970s, but so far has failed to abolish death. This at least became clear with the announcement that Kim Jong-Il, effective ruler of the country since his father Kim Il-Sung's death in 1994, had died on 17 December, leaving his third known son, Kim Jong-Un, as probable successor. [KJI_death]
• Who Is Kim Jong-un?
  Kim Jong-un North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's death suddenly put his untested son Jong-un in charge of the Stalinist country. But little is known about the podgy 29-year old. Even his name was widely spelled wrong at his first public appearance in September last year. The Unification Ministry's Who's Who of key North Korean officials has only a few lines as to the information about Kim Jong-un. His voice has never been heard outside the North. [Intelligence][Kim Jong Un]
• Kim Jong-un assumes supreme commandership of N. Korean military
  North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong-un, has risen to the supreme commander of the communist nation's massive armed forces, state media reported Saturday, a strong indication that the young son of late leader Kim Jong-il is solidifying power. The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party met Friday and "proclaimed that the dear respected Kim Jong-un ... assumed the supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army according to the behest of leader Kim Jong-il on Oct. 8," Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency said. "The meeting courteously proclaimed that the dear respected Kim Jong Un, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK, assumed the supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army," it said. [Kim Jong Un]
• NK to issue gold, silver coins in honor of late leader
  North Korea said Saturday it will issue gold and silver coins to mark the 20th anniversary of late leader Kim Jong-il's ascension to the supreme commander of the communist nation's armed forces.