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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has tested a new tactical weapon, the North’s official news media said on Friday, reporting that Kim Jong-un witnessed the event in his first publicized visit to a weapons test site since the country test-launched its intercontinental ballistic missile last November. State media did not identify the weapon, and the test did not appear to violate the voluntary moratorium North Korea imposed on nuclear and long-range ballistic missile tests this year. Still, Mr. Kim’s renewed activities at weapons test sites could complicate the already stalled talks between North Korea and the United States over...

North Korea stepped up its repression of its own citizens by banning drinking and singing,the Yonhap news agency reported Monday. According to the report, North Korean citizens are banned from attending “any gatherings related to drinking, singing and other entertainment." The move may be part of an effort to stifle “a possible negative impact” of sanctions against the rogue regime for its recent nuclear weapons tests. ....

Kim Jong-un's approval rating higher than Barack Obama's Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has a public approval rating of over 50 per cent, according to a poll of escapees living in South Korea. By Julian Ryall, Tokyo and Chris Irvine 3:27PM BST 30 Aug 2013 Despite reports of him purging army generals and executing former girlfriends by firing squad, a survey carried out by the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University on 133 North Korean defectors found that 61.7 per cent believed he had the majority support of his people. Although not strictly scientifically accurate,...

Kim Jong-Il was born Yuri Irsenovich Kim. His official biography states that he was born on a sacred mountain (Baekdu Mountain, the legendary birthplace of Korea’s first kingdom) on February 16, 1942, where his father was serving in a secret military base, attempting to overthrow the Japanese. Further, it states that his birth was marked by a double rainbow over the mountain, a new star appearing in the sky, and, before his birth, a swallow foretold his coming. Besides the obvious parts of this that aren’t true, he also was not born on Baekdu Mountain in 1942, but rather was...

(Video at link). The Kim Jong Il 'Im so lonely' song from the movie Team America by Matt Stone and Trey Parker Lyrics: I'm So Ronery So ronery So ronery and sadry arone There's no one Just me onry Sitting on my rittle throne I work rearry hard and make up great prans But nobody ristens, no one understands Seems like no one takes me serirousry And so I'm ronery A rittle ronery Poor rittle me There's nobody I can rerate to Feel rike a bird in a cage It's kinda sihry But not rearry Because it's fihring my body...

Kim Jong-il is dead

Air Force Unit: Reported on Dec. 3 by Korea Central TV. Reported on Nov. 29 by Korea Central TV. NK Training Exercise: Reported on Nov. 29 by Korea Central TV. 4th Corps: Reported on Nov. 26 by Korea Central TV. At an Orchard with Workers:Reported on Nov. 23 by Korea Central TV. At a Fish Farm: Reported on Nov. 12 by Korea Central TV.

You Look Simply Marvelous! AFP - The trademark suit sported by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is now in fashion worldwide thanks to his greatness, Pyongyang's official website said Wednesday. Uriminzokkiri, quoting an article in communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, said the modest-looking suits have gripped people's imagination and become a global vogue. "The reason is that the august image of the Great General, who is always wearing the modest suit while working, leaves a deep impression on people's mind in the world," it said. "To sum it up, that is because his image as a great man is so...

Actor Alec Baldwin was rushed to a New York City hospital last night after his daughter called 911 claiming the “30 Rock” star was unresponsive, NBC News reported Thursday. After 14-year-old Ireland called 911, medics rushed to the actor’s apartment before taking him to Lenox Hill hospital. He was reportedly released after an hour of treatment at around 1 a.m.

Why it's sane for Kim Jong-il to be crazy Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:28am EDT By Andrew Marshall, Asia Political Risk Correspondent - Analysis SINGAPORE (Reuters) - For those who see North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as a dangerous lunatic prepared to risk the annihilation of his regime by launching a devastating attack on his neighbors, there is no shortage of supporting evidence. He uses platform shoes and bouffant hair to appear taller. His official media churns out hagiographic tales of his almost superhuman talents -- including the world's greatest round of golf, 38 under par with 5 holes in...

A fresh wave of cyber attacks that slowed U.S. and South Korean websites this week hit more targets on Thursday, a Web security firm said, while the South's spy agency has said the hacking may be linked to North Korea. The impact of the attacks, aimed so far at dozens of sites including the White House and the South's presidential office, was seen as negligible, experts said, but served as a reminder that Pyongyang has been planning for cyber warfare.

Kim Jong-il has formally named his third son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor as he prepares to stand down as North Korea's leader. Kim Jong-il, 67, who is known as North Korea's "Dear Leader", suffered a stroke at the end of last year and has been incapacitated ever since. South Korea's National Intelligence Service has now confirmed that the Korean People's Army, the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the ministerial cabinet have been asked to pledge their allegiance to Kim Jong-un, 25, the youngest member of the world's only Communist ruling dynasty. "I was notified by the South...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Il promoted 35 generals Tuesday as the country marked one of its biggest national holidays, the birthday of his late father. Kim's father, Kim Il Sung, died in 1994 at age 82 but still holds the title of the country's "eternal president." The elder Kim's birthday is known as "Day of the Sun" and is celebrated along with the birthday of the country's current ruler. The younger Kim often promotes generals to mark holidays and boost the morale of the military, the backbone of his totalitarian rule. He has promoted...

THE world's only Communist dynasty may come to an abrupt end, with reports that North Korea is to set up a military junta once the current leader, Kim Jong-il, leaves office. Kim, who "inherited" the job from his father, Kim Il-sung, has previously tipped his eldest son, Jong-nam, 36, as heir apparent. But sources in China, which has the closest diplomatic links with the rogue state, said he had changed his mind a few years ago and was now preparing to introduce a "collective" military-based leadership. Kim, who recently turned 65, has yet to announce the change officially, but he...

North Korea has promised to wind down its nuclear programme in return for a package of international aid and the normalisation of relations with America.The secretive Stalinist state agreed to shut down its main nuclear reactor within 60 days, and eventually disable it irreversibly, in a momentous deal signed at the end of a six-country conference in Beijing. It will also allow international inspections of the site. In return the US will begin the process of removing North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, and move towards ending sanctions imposed after the country's underground nuclear test in...

/begin my translation Something’s Wrong with Kim Jong-il... in Power Struggle or Detained? [Newsis[ Quoting a reliable source in S. Korea, Jiji Press of Japan reported on Jan. 26 that there is an intelligence that something may be wrong with Kim Jong-il recently. In its dispatch from Seoul, it reported that Kim Jong-il is not in Pyongyang, and intense power struggle could be going on between factions inside his inner circle. Intelligence outfits of U.S. and S. Korea are now trying to verify this now, according to the report. The source suggests the possibility that something might have happened to...

/begin my translation of excerpt Interview with Mr. H and Mr. B (translator's note: both are residents in Ham-heung, N. Korea; the interview was conducted via telephone; Mr. B was out in China for a visit.) -- How do N. Korean people view Kim Jong-il? Oh, you mean 'that kid'(Kim Jong-il)? We don't care. Whenever we see 'that kid', we get mad. When 'Great Leader' (Kim Il-sung) was alive, we received some gifts, free school uniforms, and food rations. However, quite honestly, what has 'that kid' done for us? They always talk about achievements of 'that kid' on TV. It...

Kim Jong-Il Sorry for Nuke Test, Molested as Child by Scott Ott (2006-10-21) — North Korean President Kim Jong-Il today reportedly told Chinese diplomats that he regrets his government’s recent detonation of a nuclear device, and he revealed that he had been molested as a child. “President Kim is sorry, and he takes full responsibility for the atomic bomb test,” said an unnamed Chinese source, “but in the spirit of transparency and vulnerability, he wants people to know about the childhood molestation incident.” The North Korean leader has reportedly checked himself into a rehab center to “heal his inner child...

BEIJING — North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told a visiting Chinese delegation that the communist nation didn't plan to conduct additional nuclear tests, a news report said Friday. Kim told Chinese envoy Tang Jiaxuan that "we have no plans for additional nuclear tests," Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unnamed diplomatic source in Beijing. Kim also expressed regret about his country's nuclear test to the delegation and said Pyongyang would return to nuclear talks if Washington backs off from its financial sanctions, a South Korean newspaper reported Friday.