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/begin my excerpts [Between Seoul and Pyongyang: by Ju Sung-ha] Details on the Attempted Assassination of Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang 2014-11-04 03:00:00 A picture on Nov. 3,2012, the day of assassination attempt. Everybody is laughing, following Kim Jong-un, but only Jang Song-thaek (on the left of Kim) is not, holding his hands back and staring forward. From N. Korea’s Central TV.Attempt on Kim Jong-un’s life occurred in Pyongyang, two years ago, on Nov. 3, 2012 Kim Jong-un’s schedule on the day included the tour of Ryu-kyong-won, a multipurpose recreation facility, people’s outdoor skating rinks, and roller-skating rinks, which were nearing...

Rivalries Within North Korean Elite Led to Purge, South’s Spy Chief Says By CHOE SANG-HUN SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s intelligence chief said Monday that Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, who was executed this month, apparently had not plotted a coup as Pyongyang had said, but had fallen victim to intrigue within the country’s elite over lucrative business deals, according to lawmakers in Seoul. Mr. Jang, 67, who was once believed to be the second most powerful man in North Korea, was executed on Dec. 12 on charges of plotting to overthrow his...

Is Kim Jong-un a Puppet of Hardline Brass? Speculation is growing that hardline North Korean generals were behind the execution of leader Kim Jong-un's uncle Jang Song-taek and that Kim was merely their pawn. That would be worrying for South Korea, which would face an increased threat of military provocations. Park Hyung-joong at the Korea Institute for National Unification said Jang's purge was part of a power struggle where factions in the military that Jang had stripped of their lucrative businesses tried to regain them. Forces opposed to Jang, who was seen as a moderate, used a purported challenge to...

Kim Jong Un’s former classmates say he really is ‘dangerous, unpredictable, prone to violence’ By Max Fisher, Updated: December 16 at 12:39 pm North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS) The U.S. government reached alarming conclusions about the personal character of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un based on interviews with people who knew him when he was a student in Switzerland, former U.S. Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell revealed on CNN over the weekend. The official U.S. assessment of Kim's character is perhaps not, on its face, very...

Details emerging from North Korea about Kim Jong-un's surprising public purging of his uncle from a top position indicate that it was a family affair with his aunt and brother, armed with a pistol, taking part in the arrests of ranking officials. ... "What you have to understand is that the North Korean dynasty is run by an absolute blood-based hereditary mindset," pointed out Lee Yun-keol, the president of North Korea Strategic Information Service Center. The purge drama was designed by Kim Kyong-hee, Jang's wife, and Kim Jong-un, Lee said. ... The South Korean media have also been reporting that...

/begin my translation Jang Sung-taek Being Dragged Out Jang Sung-taek Being Dragged Out (Seoul=Yonhap News) On Dec. 9, N. Korea's Chosun Central TV aired the picture of arrest of Jang Sung-taek, Vice Chairman of National Defense Commission, at an expanded session of ruling Party's Politbureau. 2013.12.9 /end my translation

(LEAD) North Korean leader's uncle removed from power: spy agency SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's uncle Jang Song-thaek has been removed from power, South Korea's spy agency said Tuesday. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) made the assessment based on information provided by multiple reliable sources that claimed two of Jang's closest confidants were executed in public in late November. It said that those accused were cited for corruption and activities that countered the stance of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The agency speculated that it is still trying to determine the scope of...

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told a parliamentary committee that it believed Jang Song-thaek had been removed as vice chairman of the North’s top military body, the National Defence Commission. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle, seen as his nephew’s political regent and one of the most powerful men in the country, has apparently been ousted and several associates executed, South Korea’s spy agency said on Tuesday. According to the NIS, Jang was “recently ousted from his position and two of his close confidantes – Ri Yong-ha and Jang Soo-kil – were publicly executed in mid November”, lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae...

December 26, 2011 Jang Song-taek Cements Position in N.Korean Regime Jang Song-taek, the uncle and patron of new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, appeared on state TV on Sunday dressed in full military uniform for the first time. Until now, Jang had only been spotted in a suit and tie. Korean Central TV broadcast footage of Kim Jong-un and Jang paying their respects to dead leader Kim Jong-il, who lies in state at Kumsusan Memorial Hall in Pyongyang. Jang's insignia confirm his military status as a four-star general in addition to his existing titles of vice chairman of the powerful...

Jang Sung Taek's Star Ascends Again By Kim So Yeol [2010-06-07 18:09 ] The unexpected third meeting of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly was held today, the 7th, just two months after the second meeting on April 9th. In the meeting, Jang Sung Taek was designated Vice-chairman of the National Defense Commission at Kim Jong Il’s suggestion, according to the Chosun Central News Agency (KCNA). Additionally, the Premier of the Cabinet was replaced, with Choi Young Rim taking over from Kim Young Il. Choi Young Rim was formerly Chief Secretary of the Party in Pyongyang, and is a member of...

N.Korea's No. 2 Leader Says Nuclear Talks Are Over North Korea's Kim Yong-nam says the six-party nuclear talks are over for good. The reclusive regime's second-highest official told delegates at the Non-Aligned Meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh that there can be no dialogue or negotiations "where the principles of respect for sovereign rights and equality are denied." Kim claimed Pyongyang had no choice but to take "decisive measures" to further strengthen its nuclear deterrence. The six-party nuclear dismantlement talks were suspended late last year and Pyongyang declared this April it was not returning to the talks after...

<p>The prestigious Council on Foreign Relations is about to get a jolt of sex appeal.</p> <p>The exclusive, Manhattan-based foreign-policy group has decided to admit actress Angelina Jolie, a U.N. goodwill ambassador who has taken more than 30 trips worldwide to advocate for refugees, AIDS orphans and disaster victims.</p>

Former US president Jimmy Carter speaks with DER SPIEGEL about the danger posed to American values by George W. Bush, the difficult situation in the Middle East and Cuba's ailing Fidel Castro. SPIEGEL: Mr. Carter, in your new book you write that only the American people can ensure that the US government returns to the country's old moral principles. Are you suggesting that the current US administration of George W. Bush of acting immorally? Carter: There's no doubt that this administration has made a radical and unpressured departure from the basic policies of all previous administrations including those of both...

(1010 WINS) (Atlantic City, NJ) Gov. James E. McGreevey took office as a straight-arrow former prosecutor bent on putting an end to the corruption for which New Jersey was notorious. But lately, one associate after another has been engulfed in scandal, with allegations of prostitutes and payoffs, code words and sweetheart deals. So far, McGreevey's name has come up in an alleged extortion plot. But he has not been charged, and he has denied any wrongdoing and accused New Jersey's chief federal prosecutor -- a Republican mentioned as a possible candidate for governor -- of trying to smear him for...