Free Republic

WASHINGTON, July 22 (Yonhap) -- The United States has come up with scenarios to cope with any contingencies in North Korea after leader Kim Jong-il's death, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command said Wednesday. "We are prepared to execute a wide range of options in concert with allies in South Korea and in discussions through (the Department of) State, which would have the lead, with countries in the region, and internationally if necessary," Adm. Timothy Keating said at a news conference at the Pentagon. "I don't think it is axiomatic that the departure of Kim Jong-il means a national...

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...

/begin my translation Kim Jong-il May Not Survive This Winter Choi Sung-yong, "Kim Jong-il knows he may not live long." [2009-07-15 15:08 ] Amid flurry of rumors on Kim Jong-il's health, Choi Sung-yong, the head of (S. Korean) Abductee Family's Association, said, "Kim Jong-il may not survive this winter," quoting a credible source from N. Korea on July 15. Mr. Choi appeared on "Open World, Today" at PBC and said, "As you know, if a cancer spreads, doctors will tell you how long you can live," basically saying that Kim's days are numbered. However, he won't say exactly what illness...

North Korea convened a mass government meeting on the 15th anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung (today). They had the usual funeral music in commemoration of "The Great Leader". One could perhaps say the music was for KIM JONG IL himself, who shuffled pitifully into the Korean Workers Party assembly--a disheveled wreck of a man. Here are photos of Kim Jong Il, taken earlier today in North Korea:

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2009 – North Korea’s launch of four short-range missiles yesterday didn’t surprise Defense Department officials, a Pentagon spokesman said today. “What’s fair to say is that North Korea, [and its] behavior, continues to be unpredictable,” Bryan Whitman said, noting the activity “was not unexpected.” Whitman said he doesn’t know of any specific violations of a June 12 United Nations Security Council nonproliferation resolution on North Korea associated with the launch. North Korea has been the subject of near-universal condemnation since conducting a nuclear test in April. It also has tested intercontinental and intermediate-range missile technology. A defense...

Go to the page HEREHit the little orange box with the arrow, right below this photo, and the video will stream very shortly:From Japanese national TV just a few hours ago, the NNN network--prime time.The Japanese news says this is unprecedented.Getting hot, folks.

/begin my excerpts Speculation Mounts on Worsening Kim's Health N. Korea's provocation may be due to (hurrying up) succession (Beijing = Yonhap News) Kwon Young-suk = Speculation spreads rapidly among Beijing's diplomatic circles that the health of N. Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who suffered a stroke last August is deteriorating again. Diplomatic sources in Beijing said on June 4, "S. Korea, U.S., China, and Japan are lately paying close attention to health of Kim Jong-il." This is because analysis of the escalating tension including the second nuclear test lent credence to the argument that Kim Jong-il want to hurry up...

Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, eats live fish, according to his former chef. The 68-year-old enjoys raw fish so fresh "that it is still moving" washed down with fine French wines and brandies, Kenji Fujimoto said. "He particularly enjoyed raw fish so fresh that he could start eating as its mouth is still gasping and the tail is still thrashing," he said. "I sliced the fish so as not to puncture any of the vital organs, so of course it was still moving. Kim Jong-il was delighted. He would eat with gusto." The 56-year-old chef, who is in hiding...

Lawmakers are so far taking a measured approach to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as the Obama administration and the United Nations Security Council work on avenues to stymie potential nuclear proliferation or an arms race in the region. The congressional recess in some ways has offered a respite from a barrage of statements on current events, but the panels that focus on foreign affairs are not rushing into offering any reaction into how the North Korea situation should be handled. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, helmed by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), will hold a hearing on North Korea in the...

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned North Korea on Saturday that the United States would not accept it as a nuclear weapons state, as Asian security officials struggled to find a new way to deal with the isolated Communist nation. “We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in Asia — or on us,” Mr. Gates told a major defense conference here that has been dominated by North Korea’s test this week of a nuclear device and the firing of at least six short-range missiles, all in defiance of international...

SEOUL: North Korea was reportedly on the verge on Tuesday of test-firing more missiles, a move set to heighten tensions after its second nuclear weapons test drew condemnation around the globe. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to consider the options after Pyongyang's test of a nuclear device on Monday, which some estimates said was almost as powerful as the atom bombs that flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The council called the test a "clear violation" of international law and immediately began working on a resolution that could impose new sanctions on the secretive North, which has now tested...

WASHINGTON (AFP)--U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that the U.S. and its negotiating partners may have to "show some patience" before nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea can resume. Clinton, speaking at a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, said both the U.S. and Russia want to try to get the North Koreans back to the six-party negotiating framework. "We may have to show some patience before that is achieved, but we agree on the goal that we are aiming for," Clinton said. The U.S. has been involved in negotiations with the two Koreas, China, Japan...

Vice President Joe Biden speaks to workers and volunteers and then signs a banner at the National Domestic Violence Hotline Headquarters, Tuesday, April 28, 2009 in Austin, Texas. CEO Sheryl Cates looks on during the visit. Vice President Joe Biden, right, embraces Cindy Loper, a worker at the National Domestic Violence Hotline Center, and signs a book for Dominique Amescua, during his visit Tuesday, April 28, 2009, in Austin, Texas. He spoke later and said that curbing violence against women also helps tens of thousands of American children who witness the violence and may become homeless because of it. Vice...

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: North Korea vowed Tuesday to bolster its nuclear deterrent and boycott the six-party talks aimed at its denuclearization in protest of a UN Security Council statement condemning the country's recent rocket launch on April 5. North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement that it ``resolutely condemns'' the action by the United Nations, which it said ``rampantly'' infringes upon the country's sovereignty and ``severely debases'' the people's dignity. ``We have no choice but to further strengthen our nuclear deterrent to cope with additional military threats by hostile forces,'' the statement said. "We will never again take part...

A North Korean diplomat has warned that Pyongyang would react strongly to any censure by the UN Security Council of its long-range rocket launch. Pak Tok Hun, North Korea's deputy UN ambassador, said that if the 15-member council "takes any kind of steps whatever, we will consider this infringes upon the sovereignty of our country. The next option will be ours." He declared Pyongyang would take "necessary and strong steps" following any censure motion. "Every country has the inalienable right to use outer space peacefully," Mr Pak insisted, pointing out that many countries had already launched satellites into space several...

At $19.99, it's the least expensive invasion of your wallet that you will endure from our new Chia in Chief.

This is an embedded video of the President of Joseph Enterprises advertising the Chia Obama - Funny, funny! I figure it will be gone soon so somebody needs to figure out how to snatch it!!!

Video footage (clip) of SM-3-armed Japanese AEGIS destroyers putting to sea, heading out for possible confrontation with North Korean ICBM missile in the next few days.Go here, hit arrow on the orange box, just below the aerial photo of the crafts leaving port here in Japan.

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea moved a long-range missile to a launchpad this week and plans to send it into space in early April in defiance of repeated international warnings. While North Korea has been making missiles to intimidate its neighbors for nearly half a century, what makes this launch particularly worrying is the increasing possibility -- as assessed by U.S. intelligence and some independent experts -- that it has built or is attempting to build nuclear warheads small enough to fit atop its growing number of missiles. North Korea "may be able to successfully mate a nuclear warhead...

SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il increased the number of his public visits three-fold this month from his average activities for February in recent years, Seoul officials said Friday. Kim appeared publicly 15 times this month, compared to an average 5.3 visits he made in February between 2000 and last year, said the Unification Ministry. This year's figure was the highest since he took the rein of the country after his father and North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's death in 1994. The 67-year-old Kim dropped out of public view for weeks after his suspected stroke in...

PYONGYANG, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Il, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, called for efforts to boost the country's electricity output, state media said on Sunday. During an inspection tour of the newly-built Ryesonggang Youth Power Station No. 1 plant in North Hwanghae province, Kim called for large-scale construction of hydro-power stations, large or small. He also said measures should be adopted to ensure coal supplies to thermal power plants.

SEOUL (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has attended a Lunar New Year volleyball match and an artistic performance by the military, state media said Thursday in its latest reports on his activities. The 66-year-old, who reportedly suffered a stroke last August, was "enthusiastically welcomed" by spectators at the game between an army team and another team, the Korean Central News Agency said. It gave no date for the game but said it was held to mark the Lunar New Year, which began Monday. Kim also attended a song and dance performance by members of the navy and air...

North Korea's main newspaper has renewed the threat of military action against South Korea, and warned that the rogue state does not indulge in "empty talk". On Saturday, a dour man in military uniform appeared on North Korean television, flanked by army flags, and read a statement saying the country was now on a war-footing. He said the North would take an "all-out confrontational posture" against its neighbour. Although North Korea regularly issues threats against the South, a spokesman for the South Korea Unification ministry said it was the most serious threat since 1998. The television broadcast accused the South...

Vice-president-elect Joe Biden likened the country’s economic crisis to the attacks of 9/11 Monday in a private meeting on Capitol Hill. “We’re at war,” Biden told congressional leaders of both parties during their sit-down with Barack Obama in the Capitol, according to two sources familiar with the exchange. It’s not the first time the vice-president-elect has used stark language to underscore the perilous state of the economy. In an interview last month on ABC’s “This Week,” Biden said that a stimulus package was needed to keep the economy from “absolutely tanking.” Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said Biden “was speaking of...

LONDON – Analysts on the Asian Desk at MI6 say China's People's Liberation Army has moved as many as 100,000 troops to its border with North Korea, ostensibly to block refugees from fleeing into China in the event of the death of Kim Jong-II, the president of the pariah state, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. North Korea also has announced it will reinforce its border with South Korea after accusing its neighbor of "provocation beyond the danger level." The result, according to one analyst, is "the most explosive situation since the Korean War."

South Korea — South Korean intelligence indicates that ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has suffered a serious setback and has been hospitalized, a newspaper reported Wednesday. The report in the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper cited an unnamed government official in saying intelligence obtained Sunday suggested "a serious problem" with Kim's health. The report did not elaborate.

The conventional wisdom seems to be that, by selecting the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee - a veteran of more than 35 years as a Washington insider - as his vice-presidential running mate, Sen. Barack Obama has more than adequately compensated for his own total lack of foreign policy and national security experience.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden is already trying to manage expectations for an Obama Administration. Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, told supporters at a fundraiser in Seattle that it might not be immediately apparent Obama is "right" during his first 100 days, especially on foreign policy matters. "Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy," Biden said. "I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate. And he's gonna need help. And the kind of help he's gonna need is, he's...

On today’s episode of “Ellen,” Joe Biden told Ellen DeGeneres “that if I lived in California, I would vote against Proposition 8.” This initiative reads, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Yet in his debate with Sarah Palin on October 2, Biden said that “Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage.” Catholic League president Bill Donohue weighed in on this today: “Proposition 8 is a civil initiative that would secure marriage as an institution that is exclusively between a man and a woman, and Joe Biden...

Just moving in Japanese language, from South Korean daily newspaper. Norkies launched two missiles into Yellow Sea just the other day (10/2). Intel revealing they have set up launch facilities to fire out 10 or more in some kind of a show of force volley. Link to Japanese article out of Yahoo Japan, Jiji Press, based on Chosun Ilbo Daily news report out of Seoul.....will provide more details later.....S. Korean military ordering civilian vessels to stay the hell out of the area (until at least 15 October).....

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA -- A simple question about Kim Jong Il's health provokes a torrent of angry, broken English. "It's a pack of lies," declared Oh Keum Suk. The 26-year-old North Korean tour guide jumped from his seat at a coffee shop and in an exaggerated motion stormed away. Then he turned on his heels to chew out the foreigner who had dared ask about reports that the North Korean leader had suffered a stroke. "Kim Jong Il is my father, my grandfather, my family. How do you talk about my family that way?" The topic is so taboo that...

Salvaging Our North Korea Policy.... By JOHN R. BOLTON There are signs, albeit small ones, that the Bush administration may be reaching the end of its patience with the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program. These signs could prove illusory. But as it nears its end, the administration has a serious responsibility: It must not leave its successor with an ongoing, failed policy. At a minimum, President Bush should not bequeath to the next president only the burned-out hulk of the Six-Party Talks, and countless failed and violated North Korean commitments. Since they were conceived in spring 2003,...

Just happened a few hours ago in brutal communist North Korea's capital, Pyongyang.The New York Philharmonic. CLICK HERE, THEN UNDER THE SINGER'S PHOTO, HIT PLAYBe patient as it loads. May not be viewable on all PCs.

TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - North Korea may slow the pace of disablement of its nuclear facilities, blaming a delay in the delivery of energy aid promised under a disarmament deal, Kyodo news agency reported, quoting a Pyongyang official. "There is a delay in the implementation of economic compensation obligations to be undertaken by the other countries in the six-party talks," Hyun Hak Bong, deputy director of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's American affairs bureau, was quoted as saying late on Wednesday. "We have no choice but to take measures to adjust" he added, referring to the pace of disablement...

U.S. Diplomat Is Residing in North Korean Capital, Chosun Says By Heejin Koo Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. diplomat has been residing in North Korea since mid-November, acting as a liaison between the governments of Washington and Pyongyang, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing an unidentified official in Washington.The presence of the unidentified U.S. envoy, who is staying at the Koryo Hotel in Pyongyang, is an indication of improved relations between the two nations since North Korea pledged to disable its Yongbyon nuclear plant by the end of this year, the Seoul-based daily said. The U.S. plans...

AP Kim Jong Il: I'm an Internet Expert Friday October 5, 8:35 am ET Report: NKorean Leader Kim Jong Il Calls Himself 'Internet Expert SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il called himself an "Internet expert" during summit talks with South Korea's president this week, a news report said Friday.The reclusive leader made the remark after South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun asked that South Korean companies operating at an industrial park in the North Korean city of Kaesong be allowed to use the Internet, Yonhap news agency reported, without citing any source. "I'm an Internet expert...

NKorea's Kim gets "personal" message from China's Hu 2 hours, 35 minutes ago North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il was given a "personal message" from Chinese President Hu Jintao during a visit to Beijing's embassy in Pyongyang, the North's state media said Monday. No details were given of Sunday's visit, which coincides with a trip to the United States by North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-Gwan. Kim Jong-Il was accompanied by several senior aides including Kim Ki-Nam, secretary of the ruling Workers' Party, and Kang Sok-Ju, first vice minister of foreign affairs, said the Korean Central News Agency. It said...

North Koreans marched and sang as the country’s Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il, celebrated his 65th birthday yesterday, days after agreeing to shut down his country’s nuclear programme. But rumours and speculation abounded over the security of his regime. Hard information about the workings of the North Korean leadership is almost impossible to establish, but recently there have been unusually intense rumours about possible plots against the Dear Leader. The latest story doing the rounds of intelligence agencies is that his brother-in-law, Jang Song Thaek, a close aide who returned to public life last year after being purged, is emerging...

NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong-il made his first public appearance since last week's nuclear test, taking in a song and dance performance, the North's official KCNA news agency reported today. Kim has mostly been absent from the public eye since North Korea test fired seven missiles in July, leading some to speculate the North's defiant acts over the past few months have put his leadership to the test. Kim was accompanied by several top North Korean officials as they watched performers sing the praises of the communist state and Kim's leadership with songs such as Love of Comrades and Always...

'Malignant narcissism, paranoia, defensive aggression… and now, we think, Kim's got the Bomb' By Philip Sherwell (Filed: 15/10/2006) Jerrold Post has never met his patient – a reclusive yet attention-seeking figure who pursues his penchant for wayward behaviour nearly 7,000 miles away from the doctor's office in suburban Washington. But he still knows what makes him tick. For Dr Post is one of the world's foremost political psychologists, who has been putting the likes of Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro on his virtual couch for the CIA for 21 years. Diminutive dictator: Kim Jong-il is 5ft 2 without his platform...

With the events unfolding in North Korea, just thought it was time for FR to have a live Asian thread also.

just breaking on fox website now.. in the banner.

Mr Keating said . . . "My great concern is that Japan may use the impasse of North Korea and this testing of its nuclear weapons to move into nuclear weapons itself, eschewing the nuclear protection provided to it by the United States under its umbrella," he told a business breakfast.

SEOUL, South Korea — A U.S. military plane capable of detecting radiation has taken off from southern Japan amid concerns over a threatened nuclear test by North Korea, a news report said Thursday. The plane, which can collect and analyze radioactive substances in the air, took off from the U.S. air base at Kadena on the southern island of Okinawa, Kyodo News agency reported

The first of the contenders for the Democrat nomination for president in '08 announced his candidacy this past weekend and hardly anyone noticed. The few people who did notice were notably underwhelmed, whether they be of the Left or Right. Perhaps this is because the newly announced candidate is the blowhard serial plagiarizer with the tranplanted Chia-Pet hair that few (except himself) take seriously---Senator Joe Biden. Personally, I am happy that Joe Biden is going to run because his histrionic antics will provide a WEALTH of comedic material for the DUmmie FUnnies. In fact, I am currently looking for...

http://meta.cdn.yahoo-streaming.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20060819-00000016-nnn-int-movie-000&media=wm300kNOTE: THIS LINK TO THE NNN SITE WILL BE GOOD FOR NO MORE THAN 24 HOURS

Reports from Seoul Korea, (daily newspaper Joongang Ilbo in Seoul) via the Japanese Jiji press agency, that South Korean intelligence has intercepted radio messages/communications in North Korea, which were aired last month, to civilians in the Kilju County, Northern Hamgyeong Province area of northeastern D.P.R.K., to evacuate.The source in the South Korean government said "our interpretation is that following North Korea's underground nuclear blast test, they wish to head off any escape of radiation that would be a threat to the nearby civilian population and are evacuating as such."

TOKYO--North Korea has launched a seventh missile, a news report said Wednesday, citing Japanese government sources.North Korea fired the latest missile at 5:22 p.m. (4 a.m. EDT), Kyodo News Agency reported. The missile landed 6 minutes later, the report said.

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea will respond to a pre-emptive U.S. military attack with an "annihilating strike and a nuclear war," the state-run media said Monday, heightening its antagonistic rhetoric. The Korean Central News Agency, citing an unidentified Rodong Sinmun newspaper "analyst," accused the United States of increasing military pressure on the isolated communist state. The North Korean threat of retaliation, which is often voiced by its state-controlled media, comes amid U.S. official reports that Pyongyang has shown signs of preparing for a test of a long-range missile. "The army and people of the DPRK are now in full...

Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) speaks at a news conference after an altercation with a Capitol Hill police officer earlier in the week in Washington March 31, 2006. McKinney is waiting to learn if she will be charged for apparently striking an officer after she entered a House office building earlier this week unrecognized and did not stop when asked. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts