Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The rapid-fire sequence of events surrounding the film “The Interview” raises a familiar question: When will the world lose patience with the North Korean regime and toss out the “supreme leader” along with the flunkies and toadies and cronies surrounding him? Or do we need the regime in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com By now so many people have seen “The Interview” that it almost seems ridiculous to think that Sony briefly banned its release. The film is so accessible that Sony’s main problem may be how to get people to pay to see it when anyone can download it or […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — A growing global wave of criticism, concern and consternation continues as both the UN General Assembly and now the Security Council have firmly condemned North Korea’s communist regime for human rights abuses to its own population. The moves come amid widening, and overdue, international attention […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Maybe we should all be thankful. No harm done in this Sony/North Korea flap; just a war of words. A torrent of them, in fact, but so far no fatalities, no injuries, merely hurt feelings, stunned outrage, routine mass media sturm and drang. Ok, sound and fury, signifying […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The North Koreans could not have come up with a better way to publicize a movie. Can anyone imagine a Hollywood comedy causing a diplomatic storm involving United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and threats of “resolute and merciless” retaliation against the country that spawned this slapstick nonsense? The […]
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Why do the North Koreans simply refuse to follow the logic and needs of foreign analysts when it comes to the timing of great events? Here everyone was saying that Kim Jong-Un had to show up for the 69th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party one week ago, and […]
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The world seems to be missing Kim Jong-un. The porcine image of this overweight 30-something reviewing his troops or wagging a finger at a map or “ordering” a missile test had become a media staple until he vanished from view in early September. Oh, we also like to read about his […]
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com WASHINGTON — The eyes of the world are upon the new U.S. war in Syria and Iraq, and that’s not just because people want to know how or whether aerial bombardments and missile strikes are really knocking out the bad guys. One question is whether such high-tech attacks from the air […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korea has been developing a submarine-based ballistic missile launch system which could send nuclear-tipped missiles to as far as Alaska, military officials and analysts here said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed for the first time a report that South Korea has detected signs of the North’s […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — The bitter rivalry between Hwang Pyong-So and Kim Wong-Hong, two of North Korea’s most powerful leader under Kim Jong-Un, has emerged in the wake of fierce competitions to win much-needed foreign currency. The power struggle between Hwang, the country’s top military leader in charge of the powerful General […]