Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — President Barack Obama’s oratorical flights against North Korea’s plan to fire a long-range rocket next month may have pleased his South Korean hosts, but evoked little more than polite responses from the Chinese and Russians who exercise the most influence in Pyongyang. The failure of Team […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By East-Asia-Intel.com”>Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com North Korea’s newly-installed ruler Kim Jong-Un has been accelerating efforts to form his own independent power base, placing individuals loyal to him in key positions of authority after purging a number of potential rivals, sources in Seoul said. “A series of reshuffles are undergoing in the Party, the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — The youngest son keeps his mouth shut, and the oldest one talks too much. Clearly, the silent one knows what’s best for him as he plays the title role bequeathed to him by his late father, North Korea’s “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-Il. Kim Jong-Un is showing […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com Obtaining foreign currency is the most important thing that Kim Jong-Un can do to secure the short-term future of his new regime, sources and analysts in Seoul say. Kim Jong-Un, believed to be in his late 20s, became ruler of the destitute country following the death of his […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com WASHINGTON — North Korea stands to be a major winner if Israeli hawks prevail and Israel attacks Iranian nuclear facilities. With Iran said in some quarters to be only months away from emerging as the world’s 10th nuclear weapons power, North Korea reportedly is producing more middle-range missiles […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com North Korea marked the first birthday of Kim Jong-Un since becoming the country’s top ruler with a documentary that highlights the young leader’s military prowess, despite the fact that he has no military background. Government officials and analysts in Seoul consider the airing of the cult-like documentary on […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The rise of the son as “supreme commander” of North Korea’s armed forces gives rise to nostalgia. Already the reign of the father is beginning to seem like the good old days. At least as long as Kim Jong-Il was around a certain sense of security prevailed. South […]
Wesley Pruden History loves irony, as Prof. Gingrich could (and no doubt will) tell us. Two men renowned for their deeds die more or less on the same day on opposite sides of the world. The bad guy gets the big headline, the good guy makes the front page one last time as a footnote […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com As many as 200 North Korean college students who had been mobilized for construction work have died in recent accidents caused by a lack of safety equipment and procedures. The reclusive country has launched notorious “speed battles” that force workers to perform faster without concern for safety, a […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com WASHINGTON — Call it a matter of conflicting — or colliding — messages. South Korean conservatives have forced a free-trade agreement with the United States through a fractious National Assembly. A U.S. Congress “supercommittee” has demonstrated the weakness of the American system of governance by abject, humiliating failure […]