Free Republic

Say it isn't so. Could this actually be the next US Secretary of State (Hat Tip: Barak Ravid)? Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met during his visit to Washington Wendy Sherman, an adviser to the US Democratic Party's presidential primary candidate Hillary Clinton, the foreign affairs ministry announced on Thursday. The Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid stated that during the meeting Sherman listened to Shoukry's evaluations of political and economic developments taking place in Egypt, the country's regional and international relations, as well as the country's efforts to fight terrorism. "The meeting reflected the mutual wish to...

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Americans who travel to North Korea despite ongoing warnings risk "unduly harsh sentences" for actions that would not be considered a crime in the United States, the U.S. State Department said in its latest travel warning on Monday. The department, in a detailed warning against such travel, cautioned that at least 14 U.S. citizens have been detained in North Korea in the past 10 years and that American travelers should be aware that possessing any media criticizing the country could considered a crime.

North Korea seizes Russian yacht with crew in neutral waters Published time: 14 May, 2016 11:03 Edited time: 14 May, 2016 12:00 North Korean coast guards intercepted a Russian yacht in neutral waters and escorted it to a N. Korean port without giving an explanation on Friday. The Russian embassy in Pyongyang has demanded the immediate release of the Russian vessel and its crew. Sportsmen aboard the Elfin yacht were returning to Vladivostok from an international regatta in the South Korean port of Busan, when it was waylaid by what had appeared to be a fishing boat sailing under the...

North Korean Marathon Runners Accused Of Cheating During Race To Qualify For Olympics May 11, 2016 8:35 PM PYONGYANG, North Korea (CBSNewYork) — Two North Korean marathon runners are accused of cheating during a race to qualify for the Olympics. South African athletes manager Dewald Steyn told Race Results Weekly that Ra Hyon-ho and Ri Kwang-bom cut the course during the Mangyongdae Prize Pyongyang Marathon North Korea to hit the Olympic qualifying time of 2:19:00 set by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Ra finished fourth at 2:15:45, while Ri came in fifth at 2:16:25 during the April 10 marathon....

BBC correspondent in North Korea detained over reporting North Korea detained a BBC journalist and ordered his expulsion over his reporting, the broadcaster said on Monday, as a large group of foreign reporters cover a rare congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party. Posted 09 May 2016 12:55 Updated 09 May 2016 13:40 PYONGYANG: North Korea detained a BBC journalist and ordered his expulsion over his reporting, the broadcaster said on Monday, as a large group of foreign reporters cover a rare congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party. Rupert Wingfield-Hayes was detained on Friday as he was about to...

Why a conservative economist says Trump could make America ‘the North Korea of economics’ By Jim Tankersley May 6 In his run for the White House, Donald Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on imports from China, in almost-certain violation of international rules. He has threatened to confiscate money that immigrants from Mexico wire home to their families, in order to force the Mexican government to pay for a border wall. This week, he suggested that, in an economic crisis, the government might repay only some of the money it owes to certain holders of its debt. Those threats reflect...

05.06.16 2:06 AM ET No Weddings, Funerals in North Korea So Kim Jong Un Can ‘Party’ No work breaks, no travel, and no food (again). The Dear Leader launched an unprecedented crackdown on his beleaguered masses to ‘celebrate’ a rare Congress for his elite this weekend. Kim Jong Un has imposed extraordinary social controls across North Korea—and especially in the capital of Pyongyang—in the run-up to the Workers’ Party 7th Congress, which starts Friday. The once-in-a-generation event—the last was held in 1980—is supposed to celebrate Kim’s rule, but in recent months observers have been seeing signs of a breakdown of...

Daily NK obtains snacks to be distributed at Party Congress Seol Song Ah | 2016-05-06 17:57 Snacks for 7th Party Congress participants. Daily NK has exclusively obtained a bundle of snacks that will be part of a larger gift set handed out to participants of the 7th Party Congress, which began today in Pyongyang. The goods were produced on April 25 at the Gold Cup Athletes Comprehensive Food Factory located in Pyongyang’s Mangyongdae district. The gift package contains some 30 types of snacks including fried glutinous rice crackers, jam-filled pastries, strawberry lily biscuits [named for an famous North Korean song],...

Fake North Korea bills found, Seoul police say The counterfeit money was found at a thrift store. By Elizabeth Shim Contact the Author | May 3, 2016 at 10:05 PM SEOUL, May 3 (UPI) -- South Korean police are investigating a large stack of counterfeit North Korean bills found at a Seoul thrift store. The massive pile of fake North Korean money weighed about 330 pounds, and was found in a heap of wastepaper in southwestern Seoul, Yonhap reported. The counterfeit money was printed in 5,000 North Korean won denominations. There is no official exchange rate for the currency. The...

Bernie Sanders says conditions in Baltimore no better than North Korea, West Bank By Linda Qiu on Thursday, April 28th, 2016 at 5:06 p.m. Residents of some Baltimore neighborhoods are no better off than people living in impoverished North Korea and the violent West Bank, Bernie Sanders said during a campaign rally in Maryland ahead of that state’s primary. "Poverty in Baltimore, and around this country — poverty is a death sentence," Sanders said April 24. He then laid out some rather unflattering and harsh comparisons: "Fifteen neighborhoods in Baltimore have lower life expectancies than North Korea. Two of them...

North Korean food supply hit by drought, UN warns, as Kim Jong Un spends on missiles Huileng Tan | @huileng_tan Thursday, 28 Apr 2016 | 12:30 AM ET North Korea's already-low food supply is set to deteriorate this year as dry weather hits crop yields, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned. "Given the tight food supplies in 2015/16, the country's food security situation is expected to deteriorate from the previous year when most households were already estimated to have poor or borderline food consumption levels," the agency said in a report on Wednesday. North Korea's total...

North Korea Accuses US Soldiers of Provoking Border Troops By hyung-jin kim, associated press SEOUL, South Korea — Apr 29, 2016, 4:13 AM ET North Korea on Friday accused U.S. soldiers of trying to provoke its frontline troops with "disgusting" acts and encouraging South Korean soldiers to aim their guns at the North. A North Korean military statement warned U.S. soldiers to stop what it called "hooliganism" at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom or they'll meet a "dog's death any time and any place." "GIs hurled fully armed MPs of the South Korean puppet army into perpetrating such dangerous...

WASHINGTON – North Korea now has two satellites orbiting over the United States capable of performing a surprise electromagnetic pulse attack at an altitude and trajectory that evade U.S. National Missile Defenses, a national security expert warned in an interview with Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin. Peter Vincent Pry told G2 Bulletin that the satellites can be commanded either to deorbit and hit a target on the ground or explode at a high altitude to create an EMP effect that would knock out the unprotected U.S. national electrical grid system and all life-sustaining critical infrastructures that depend on it. “The threat,”...

Kim Jong Il's former Japanese chef visits N.Korea A former Japanese chef for the late North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, has just ended a visit to North Korea. Kenji Fujimoto served as the chef for the former leader for 13 years until 2001. He arrived at an airport in Beijing from Pyongyang on Saturday after a stay of more than 10 days. Fujimoto did not disclose details about his trip which started on April 12th. Four years ago, Fujimoto was invited by the current leader Kim Jong Un, who assumed power after his father's death, to visit the country...

Kim Jong Un broadcasts 'Master Chef'-style cooking competition while North Korea starves Published April 22, 2016 Cheese-chomping despot Kim Jong Un held a “Master Chef”-style competition to find North Korea’s top cooks as millions across the nation starve. The Emmental-obsessed dictator gave the show, which was broadcast on state TV, the green light despite an estimated two-thirds of the country’s 27 million people surviving on food rations. The Commie connoisseur developed a love of European cheeses and fine wines when he went to school in Switzerland. But the tubby tyrant was served decidedly different fare during the contest as competitors...

North Korean Missile Exploded, Damaged Launcher in Failed Test U.S. commander says threats from Pyongyang increasing BY: Bill Gertz April 20, 2016 5:00 am North Korea’s first attempt to test-launch a new intermediate-range missile last week failed after the Musudan blew up shortly after launch, causing a huge fireball that damaged the mobile launcher, according to American defense officials. “We’re still assessing the specifics of it but I can tell you that it was a fiery, catastrophic attempt at a launch,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters Friday. “It was not successful.” The test failure on Friday represents...

(2nd LD) Removal of U.S. nuclear umbrella would lead Seoul to contemplate nuclear armament: incoming USFK commander 2016/04/20 05:23 (ATTN: ADDS comments in paras 16-17; CHANGES headline) By Chang Jae-soon WASHINGTON, April 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea would have to think about developing its own nuclear weapons for self-defense if the United States removes its "nuclear umbrella" protection for the Asian ally, the incoming commander of U.S. Forces Korea said Tuesday. Gen. Vincent Brooks, nominated to succeed Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti as USFK commander, made the remark during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, stressing that it's very important for...

Govt closes down city North Korean clinics Apr 17, 2016 Dr. Hamis Kigwangalla, the deputy minister of Health, Social Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, announced during an impromptu visit to the clinics on Friday, one located at Mahiwa Street and the Oriental Traditional Medicine at Magomeni Mikumi both operated by Maibong Company, a North Korean firm.The deputy minister said the two clinics were operating without legal documents including lacking a business license. While being interrogated by the minister, a healer at the clinic whose name could not easily be availed told the minister that their business is jointly operated with...

Three Nobel prize winners to visit North Korea in late Aril: VOA 2016/04/18 13:10 SEOUL, April 18 (Yonhap) -- Three Nobel laureates will visit North Korea late this month on a rare mission to engage the communist country through science and technology, a media report said Monday. During their April 30 to May 6 trip, the Nobel prize winners will give lectures and hold seminars at the North's three most prestigious schools -- Kim Il-sung University, Kimchaek University of Technology and Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, according to the Washington-based Voice of America (VOA). VOA made the report in...