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N. Korea fires artillery towards S. Korean island, official says SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Tuesday fired several rounds of artillery towards South Korean waters and an island near the tense west sea border, the South's military said. The North's artillery shells fell at 2:34 p.m. in the South's waters off the island of Yeonpyeong, some of them landing directly on the island, said Col. Lee Bung-woo, spokesman at the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The South's military responded with its artillery firing.

Stanford physicist "stunned" by Norks' 2000+ centrifuges President Barack Obama and senior U.S. diplomats have in recent months privately shared with their Chinese and Russian counterparts growing U.S. concerns that North Korea was taking steps to enrich uranium and that the effort, unless stopped, would have serious national-security implications, according to people familiar with the matter.  But the revelation on Saturday that Pyongyang had already installed thousands of centrifuges to produce nuclear fuel at its Yongbyon nuclear facility is raising questions inside Washington's nuclear-nonproliferation community about why more wasn't done by a succession of U.S. administrations to block the North's atomic...

KIM TAE YON made the statement just now in S. Korean Parliament (budget committee) that this is due to the just released information that North Korea has been building a light water nuclear reactor at amazing speed, details just released to the world and satellite photos also revealed.Minister of Defense of South Korea Kim stated that this is to put a halt to North Korean nuclear weapons ambition, and is now being considered, which will go back on South Korea's committment in 1991 under President Roh Tae Woo to never manufacturer, house or use nuclear weapons in South Korea.

In a deeply Confucian, elder-respecting society, the transfer of power to a youngest son (especially one who looks like an overfed kid fresh out of school) is a tricky exercise. The North Korean regime is wrapping up festivities celebrating the debut of Kim Jong Un, the youngest acknowledged son of Kim Jong Il. If all goes according to plan — not likely — Jong Un will eventually succeed his father as “Great Leader” of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. On Sunday, we got two clues about the chubby dictator-in-waiting, who joined his dad on the reviewing stand high atop...

SEOUL, South Korea — The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, attended a massive military parade with his youngest son and designated successor on Sunday as the ruling Communist regime celebrated the 65th founding of its Workers’ Party. The son, Kim Jong-un, wearing a dark suit despite his recent promotion to four-star general, watched the festivities and reviewed squads of goose-stepping troops with his 68-year-old father and other senior politicians and generals. The event was held in Kim Il-sung Square, named for Kim Jong-un’s grandfather, the founder of the North Korean state.

"On this trip, I discovered that both sides want reunification and that Korea is one, so I see hope on the Korean peninsula," Lee, who made the visit with his parents, Kyoung and Melissa Lee, told The Associated Press.

Four (4) North Koreans attempted to sneak into the USA from Mexico our southern border, but were apprehended. The four necessarily are intelligence operatives, for NO North Korean citizens travel freely or without the sanction and close watch and instruction of the Korean Workers Party and the intelligence apparatus of North Korea; only diplomats and those under control of the KWP are allowed overseas travel, passports (in this case to get to Mexico), etc..North Korean refugees fleeing Kimilsungist Communism are processed through normal diplomatic and refugee channels.Why has this not been a top issue? What were they attempting to...

The U.N. Security Council adopted a statement Friday condemning the attack that led to the sinking of a South Korean warship without directly linking North Korea to the incident. The 15-member council unanimously approved the statement one day after five veto-wielding members, including the North's major ally China, agreed to a draft statement. China succeeded in diluting the statement, as it did not point the finger at North Korea and included North Korea's denial of involvement in the incident, which killed 46 sailors in the Yellow Sea in March. "The Security Council condemns the attack which led to the sinking...

The North Korean government yesterday threatened to exact more severe punishment against captive American Christian human rights activist Aijalon Gomes if the United States keeps pressing to censure Pyongyang for sinking a South Korean warship. North Korea's government news agency said, "if the U.S. persists in its hostile approach toward the DPRK," it will "naturally be compelled to consider the issue of applying a wartime law to him," which could include the death penalty. Applying wartime law might make sense from North Korea's point of view because the war has never really ended. In June 2009, Pyongyang unilaterally withdrew from...

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...

The United States is concerned over Myanmar's "growing military ties" with North Korea and will work to ensure a UN ban on arm exports from Pyongyang is enforced, a Pentagon spokesman said on Friday. US defense secretary Robert Gates's press secretary said the United States was closely monitoring Myanmar's cooperation with North Korea in light of UN Security Council resolutions banning Pyongyang from exporting weapons or nuclear technology. "We are concerned with growing military ties with the DPRK (North Korea) and are following it closely to ensure that the multiple UNSCRs (UN Security Council resolutions) are enforced," press secretary Geoff...

This is a link to the original Japanese story just now.Rather sketchy and breaking, but will synopsize main points into English as thus:There is the large Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea for manufacturing products, which is just across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from the truce village of Panmunjom, jointly run by North and South Korea. You can clearly see this development from overlook vantage points on hills located around Panmunjom. There are a number of South Korean managers and employers there on-site as we speak. At this time, they are apparantly not free to leave.N. Korea is threatening to...

High-level lobbying by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has failed to persuade the Chinese leadership to do anything substantial regarding Pyongyang's sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in late March. Diplomatic sources in the Chinese capital said State Councillor Dai Bingguo privately told the American delegation — which just ended the second bilateral Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED) in Beijing — that Chinese diplomats would privately urge the Kim Jong-Il regime to refrain from further provocative acts against South Korea. But there would be no public statements from Beijing condemning Kim’s latest act of brinksmanship. At the end of...

ONE of the students at my university was killed in the attack that sank a South Korean naval vessel on March 26. A visual communications major, Mun Yeong-uk was only a few months from concluding his military service when a North Korean torpedo split the warship, the Cheonan, in half. His classmates loyally collected money for his family’s funeral expenses, but I was struck by how few people on our campus evinced any real anger toward the regime of Kim Jong-il. This lack of indignation is mainstream here. Most people now accept North Korea’s responsibility for the sinking that killed...

North Korean spokesmen reacted furiously last week to claims by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman that Pyongyang is supplying weapons technology to Iran and Syria. Representatives of the regime of Kim Jong-Il described Lieberman as an “imbecile.” The official Korean Central News Agency in a memorable phrase accused the foreign minister in an official statement of “faking up sheer lies.” The indignant denials notwithstanding, recent studies indicate that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as North Korea is officially known, is indeed playing a crucial but little remarked upon role in facilitating the arming of the Iran-led regional axis, including in...

A North Korean submarine torpedoed and sank a South Korean gunboat in March, killing 46 sailors. This was the conclusion of a thorough investigation by experts from the U.S., Australia, Britain, and Sweden, last week. The White House then decried "an act of aggression," omitting that it was also an act of war. Perhaps the greatest tactical error in diplomacy is to make a threat you are not prepared to act on. The Bush administration earned a reputation for being as good as its word, alas at the sacrifice of much public support. The Obama administration has already squandered its...

Just found this photo from Communist North Korea from several days ago apparantly during one of dictator Kim Jong il's "on the spot guidance tours".and also here: Note the manufacturer of the computer monitor (and presumably the hard drive itself) (Dell Computer, Round Rock, Texas, USA), which General Secretary Kim Jong-il is inspecting. Link to article on North Korean news through Japanese website: LINK

It's just a banner now on Reuters home page.

Fellow Koreans, I am standing here today, keenly aware that the Korean Peninsula is facing a critical turning point. My fellow citizens, The Cheonan was sunk by a surprise North Korean torpedo attack. Again, the perpetrator was North Korea. Their attack came at a time when the people of the Republic of Korea were enjoying their well-earned rest after a hard day’s work. Once again, North Korea violently shattered our peace. The sinking of the Cheonan constitutes a military provocation against the Republic of Korea by North Korea. Since the end of the Korean War, the North has perpetrated incessant...

President Barack Obama has directed the U.S. military to coordinate with South Korea to "ensure readiness" and deter future aggression from North Korea, the White House said on Monday. The United States gave strong backing to plans by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to punish North Korea for sinking one of its naval ships, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement. The White House urged North Korea to apologize and change its behavior, he said. "We endorse President Lee's demand that North Korea immediately apologize and punish those responsible for the attack, and, most importantly, stop its belligerent...