by WorldTribune Staff, July 10, 2018 South Korea has approved rare screenings of nine North Korean films during the upcoming Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) near Seoul. The cultural breakthrough is in the spirit of relaxed tensions following the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un, inheritor of the communist dynasty launched […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK — We have seen this movie before and it never ends well. An arrogant and boastful dictator snubs the world and threatens his neighbors. The international community frets in rightful indignation but does little to respond. As tensions rise, the world appears hostage to a bully. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk The death of Otto Warmbier provides a powerful reminder of the torture and terrorism perpetrated by one of the world’s most repressive regimes. Americans are no doubt aware of the tyranny of the dynasty led by a man who revels in ordering the development of long-range missiles capable of […]
by WorldTribune Staff, February 14, 2017 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother has been killed in Malaysia, reports said. Kim Jong-Nam was killed on Feb. 13, allegedly by poisoning, the Yonhap News Agency and other South Korean media outlets reported on Feb. 14, citing unidentified sources. As the first-born son of dictator Kim Jong-Il, Kim […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk Following is an excerpt from a book by WorldTribune and Geostrategy-Direct columnist Donald Kirk and the Korean author Kim Ki-Sam, “How South Korea’s Kim Dae-Jung bought his Peace Prize and financed Kim Jong-Il’s nuclear program”. South Korea’s first woman president has been impeached over allegations involving a confidante, but […]
by WorldTribune Staff, June 5, 2016 On a 2013 visit to Pyongyang, former NBA star Dennis Rodman referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un as “awesome” and a “friend for life.” On a 1995 visit to Pyongyang, boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who passed away on June 3 at the age of 74, refused to bow […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com North Koreans some years ago had an unusual way of acquiring professional expertise in teaching people foreign languages. Rather than advertise for teachers, they kidnapped native speakers. Most of them were Japanese, but they also captured likely candidates from Europe and the Middle East. Robert Boynton, a professor […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Edward Snowden seems to have considered just about every conceivable option for asylum. At least two countries, Venezuela and Nicaragua, whose leaders are deeply critical of U.S. foreign policy, are happy to accept him. He would no doubt be glad to live in either while disclosing still more […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korean leaders have been living in fear of coming under Chinese control but had no option but to rely on the economic giant for much-needed hard currency, documents and sources said. According to the 2007 inter-Korean summit transcript disclosed by South Korea’s spy agency, then North Korean […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com NEW DELHI — The late “Great Leader” Kim Il-Sung no doubt drew upon the teachings of Mao Zedong when he formulated his philosophy of “juche” or self-reliance, but one word you never hear on visits to North Korea is “Maoism.” If North Korea recognizes Mao Zedong as an […]
