Free Republic

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un ordered the communist nation to prepare its “toughest anti-U.S. counteraction to be launched aggressively” during an end-of-year party meeting, state propaganda ordered on Sunday, an apparent attempt to be ready for major foreign policy changes under incoming American President Donald Trump. Kim’s Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), the only legal political entity in the repressive communist state, regularly holds end-of-year meetings to evaluate its performance over the past year and recalibrate its leadership. Kim appoints or removes officials at will, gives multiple speeches on his various ideological priorities, and usually concludes with some excoriating of...

North Korea claims more than a million young people have signed up to join or rejoin the army this week, state media reported, after accusing South Korea of sending propaganda drones to Pyongyang and blowing up border roads. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Wednesday that 1.4 million young people, including students and youth league officials, signed the petition to join the army. “Millions of young people have turned out in the nationwide struggle to wipe out the ROK scum who committed a serious provocation of violating the sovereignty of the DPRK through a drone infiltration,” KCNA...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally requested that the State Duma ratify the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The treaty was signed during Putin's trip to Pyongyang in June and includes pledges by Russia and the DPRK to assist each other in case of foreign aggression. The Russian media reported on Monday that the ratification proposal had been registered in the legislature's docket. -snip- The document includes an article that states that "if one of the parties is subjected to an armed attack by any state or several states and thus finds itself...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a speech before his state's military academy that Pyongyang must be more ready for war than ever. He based his warning on "the complicated international situation and the unsafe and unstable military and political situation around North Korea." "If the enemy dares to attack North Korea, we will hit him without hesitation, making use of all available resources," Kim said. In addition, he instructed his forces to be prepared with a "mental, ideological, moral, and tactical" advantage.

Local media in the state of Georgia more than a year later is still wondering who was behind the destruction of the iconic Georgia Guidestones monument.The mysterious monument that stood in Elberton, Ga., was demolished last year after an explosive device badly damaged the 119-ton granite structure.Here’s part of Fox 5 Atlanta’s report:Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of the shocking bombing of the Georgia Guidestones in Elberton County. The person responsible for the strange and assumedly random act of destruction has still not been identified or captured by police.Early on the morning of July 6, 2022, security footage captured an...

Crazy Rocketman Bob Maddox has a little issue with a broken fuel switch and can't turn off the fuel pumps and has to exit the (pulse-jet powered) kart while still rolling.

SEOUL, June 5 (Yonhap)--North Korea appears to have fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from at least two locations Sunday, an informed source here said...

Seoul (AFP) – North Korea has been using satellite subterfuge to test parts of a so-called "monster" missile, analysts say, as it gears up for a sanctions-shattering launch ahead of a key domestic anniversary. Pyongyang has conducted a record nine weapons tests so far this year, in what experts see as an effort to work through a laundry list of strategic weapons set out by leader Kim Jong Un. One top priority is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can carry multiple warheads -- the Hwasong-17, dubbed a "monster missile" and first unveiled at a parade in October 2020. It...

MYSTERY WIRE — NASA is preparing to launch its fourth crew of astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule on October 30. The four crew members – three American and one German – have given their blessings to actor William Shatner, who will rocket into space next week — boldly going where no other sci-fi stars have gone before. Speaking ahead of their launch, the crew gave their best Vulcan salutes to space-bound actor William Shatner. Earlier this week, Jeff Bezos’ space travel company, Blue Origin, announced Captain Kirk himself will be rocketing into space from...

North Korea has held a military parade to mark the communist state's 73rd founding anniversary, but did not display any major ballistic missiles. State media photos of the night-time parade showed marching soldiers and workers in hazmat suits instead. Leader Kim Jong-un, who looked visibly slimmer, was seen among the unmasked crowds hugging children. North Korea is suffering from food shortages and a deepening economic crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On Thursday, state media released images of fire trucks, tractors, and fireworks at the parade. One section of the parade marched in what appeared to be bright red hazmat...

North Korea wants a raft of international sanctions eased – including on imports of luxury items such as high-class liquors and suits – before it will restart denuclearisation talks with the United States, South Korean lawmakers have said. Pyongyang has also called for sanctions banning its metal exports and imports of refined fuel and other necessities to be lifted, the lawmakers said on Tuesday after being briefed by Park Jie-won, head of the South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS). The remarks came as the NIS said North Korea was distributing emergency military reserves of rice amid a severe food shortage...

The U.S. military conducted an airstrike against Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab jihadists on Tuesday, the first airstrike in the country since President Joe Biden took office, the Pentagon said. The US military command for Africa (AFRICOM), in coordination with the Somali government, 'conducted one air strike in the vicinity of Galkayo, Somalia today against al-Shabaab,' Pentagon spokeswoman Cindi King told AFP. The strike, 430 miles northeast of Mogadishu, targeted Shabaab Islamists....

TOKYO — North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un has chastised ruling party officials for failures in their anti-virus work that created what he called a “grave incident” that caused a “huge crisis” in the country’s battle against covid-19, state media reported Wednesday.... ...State media did not specify what had happened. “By neglecting important decisions of the party in its national emergency antivirus fight in preparations for a global health crisis, officials in charge have caused a grave incident that poses a huge crisis to the safety of the nation and its people,” the Korea Central News Agency quoted Kim as...

US bishops’ conference denies any wrongdoing in ongoing Peter’s Pence lawsuit, blames parishionersWASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — In an ongoing case regarding the use of Peter’s Pence donations, lawyers for the U.S. bishops have asserted that parishioners were aware (or at least ought to have been) that their money could be used by the Holy See for any purpose, despite their own advertisement to the contrary.The Peter’s Pence lawsuit was originally filed in January 2020 against the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) by the Stanley Law Group based in Dallas, Texas, representing a Class Action brought by...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s diplomatic mission to North Korea complained on Thursday of acute shortages of essential goods such as medicine, problems getting healthcare and pandemic restrictions that it said were unprecedented in their severity. Foreign diplomats have been leaving North Korea in droves, it said in a statement on Facebook, describing it as an exodus that had left behind fewer than 290 foreign nationals in the country....

North Korea launched two ballistic missiles on Thursday local time for the first time in a nearly year. "We are aware of North Korean missile launches this morning into the East Sea. We will continue to monitor the situation and are consulting closely with our allies and partners," a Department of Defense spokesperson wrote in an email to the Washington Examiner... ...North Korea also test-fired two short-range cruise missiles over the weekend, South Korean defense officials said on Wednesday. The weekend test did not violate United Nations resolutions, which restrict North Korea from developing or launching ballistic missile technologies.

The younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fired back at the White House on Monday with a vague warning about what would happen if the Biden administration got off on the wrong foot with Pyongyang. CNN reported that Kim Yo Jong, who officially holds a high-ranking position in North Korea's only political party, issued a statement warning the White House against "causing a stink with its first step," an apparent reference to any attempt by the Biden administration to reverse moves made by President Trump...

Are we still numbering the weeks of stay-at-home quarantine stuff? If we are, I apologize, because I have no idea which one we’re starting now. The only thing of which I am certain is that it’s Monday, April 9476th, 2020 today. We kinda/sorta had some sports to pay attention to over the weekend, as the social-distance NFL draft wrapped up for a season that still may not happen. That wasn’t much comfort for me, as I am not a fan of the current draft format, which I explained in my Friday column. The one news story that played out over...

Reconnaissance of a North Korean launch site indicates that Kim Jong-Un may be preparing to test a long-range ballistic missile, three U.S. intelligence officials who monitor North Korea in different agencies tell TIME. The intelligence comes ahead of a fast-approaching self-declared year-end deadline that Kim set in an April 12 speech for a nuclear deal with the U.S. In recent weeks, North Korea has reopened its Sohae Satellite Launching Station and resumed testing what U.S. intelligence officials and private experts suspect may be a solid fuel rocket engine that could be used in an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching...

A war of words between President Trump and North Korea has escalated this week. It started Tuesday with a member of North Korea’s Foreign Ministry suggesting the US should choose what kind of “Christmas Gift” it wanted. North Korea has set the end of the year as deadline for some kind of progress on stalled denuclearization talks with the US. So this was seen as a threat that North Korea could soon launch another long-range missile if it doesn’t receive some sanctions relief this month: In a statement translated on the state news agency, Ri Thae Song, a first...