North Korea

nivek

As Above So Below
How ridiculous, I thought it was fake news at first reading...

North Korea billed US $2 million for Otto Warmbier's medical care

BEIJING — North Korea issued a $2 million bill for the hospital care of comatose American Otto Warmbier, insisting that a U.S. official sign a pledge to pay it before being allowed to fly the University of Virginia student from Pyongyang in 2017.

The presentation of the invoice — not previously disclosed by U.S. or North Korean officials — was extraordinarily brazen even for a regime known for its aggressive tactics.


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nivek

As Above So Below
U.S seizes 'sanctions-busting' North Korean ship in escalation of tensions hours after Kim Jong-Un unleashes more missiles - and Trump says dictator isn't 'ready to negotiate'

The Trump administration says it has seized a North Korean cargo ship that U.S. officials say was used to transport coal in violation of international sanctions, and the president said he now doubts Kim Jong-un is serious about denuclearization negotiations.

The Justice Department on Thursday announced the seizure of the Wise Honest. The ship was detained by Indonesia last month with two dozen crew members on board.

It is the first time the US has seized a North Korean cargo vessel over sanctions violations.

U.S. officials say payments for maintenance and equipment for the ship were made unwittingly in American dollars through U.S. banks.

The move came hours after Kim's regime carried out new missiles tests, and Donald Trump said at the White House that while North Korea wants to negotiate with the United States, he does not think it is ready to do so.


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Toroid

Founding Member
U.S seizes 'sanctions-busting' North Korean ship in escalation of tensions hours after Kim Jong-Un unleashes more missiles - and Trump says dictator isn't 'ready to negotiate'

The Trump administration says it has seized a North Korean cargo ship that U.S. officials say was used to transport coal in violation of international sanctions, and the president said he now doubts Kim Jong-un is serious about denuclearization negotiations.

The Justice Department on Thursday announced the seizure of the Wise Honest. The ship was detained by Indonesia last month with two dozen crew members on board.

It is the first time the US has seized a North Korean cargo vessel over sanctions violations.

U.S. officials say payments for maintenance and equipment for the ship were made unwittingly in American dollars through U.S. banks.

The move came hours after Kim's regime carried out new missiles tests, and Donald Trump said at the White House that while North Korea wants to negotiate with the United States, he does not think it is ready to do so.


13303622-7011505-image-a-24_1557422180061.jpg
That ship doesn't even look seaworthy.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
North Korea has submarines, really?...

North Korea just revealed one of its most potentially dangerous weapons yet

KCNA_Sub.0.jpg

North Korea has released pictures of a new submarine that it could potentially use to launch nuclear weapons. If that’s the case, the country may have gained a very dangerous, stealthy ability to threaten the US and its allies — all in defiance of President Donald Trump.

Pyongyang released three images on Monday night showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un standing in front of a massive submarine inside a shipyard. Experts say it’s large enough that it could carry missiles equipped with nuclear bombs, allowing Kim to order nuclear strikes from unknown underwater locations.

While none of the photos definitively prove the vessel could shoot nuclear-tipped projectiles — they’re cropped so you can’t see the top part of the submarine where the weapons would go — analysts tell me North Korea would probably only be interested in developing a submarine if it had nuclear capability.

More on the link

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pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
North Korea has submarines, really?...

North Korea just revealed one of its most potentially dangerous weapons yet

View attachment 7587

North Korea has released pictures of a new submarine that it could potentially use to launch nuclear weapons. If that’s the case, the country may have gained a very dangerous, stealthy ability to threaten the US and its allies — all in defiance of President Donald Trump.

Pyongyang released three images on Monday night showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un standing in front of a massive submarine inside a shipyard. Experts say it’s large enough that it could carry missiles equipped with nuclear bombs, allowing Kim to order nuclear strikes from unknown underwater locations.

While none of the photos definitively prove the vessel could shoot nuclear-tipped projectiles — they’re cropped so you can’t see the top part of the submarine where the weapons would go — analysts tell me North Korea would probably only be interested in developing a submarine if it had nuclear capability.

More on the link

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Yup. Diesel-electric boats that can be very, very quiet. Not a blue water sub and they still have to pop up to breathe like our nukes don't but still dangerous. I remember something about these subs from years ago, like when Madeleine Albright went there about 20 years ago. Not necessarily new. Don't think they are capable of launching a true ICBM but are definitely a regional threat. I think China has a few of these too.

After a coffee break I was just thinking that if I had a map that would pinpoint exactly where our very capable and very stealthy 'underwater assets' are - and I say that because you can read about unmanned submersibles in Popular Mechanics - then I bet a whole lot of little red points would be clustered around the Korean peninsula.
 

Dejan Corovic

As above, so bellow
Yup. Diesel-electric boats that can be very, very quiet. Not a blue water sub and they still have to pop up to breathe like our nukes don't but still dangerous. I remember something about these subs from years ago, like when Madeleine Albright went there about 20 years ago. Not necessarily new. Don't think they are capable of launching a true ICBM but are definitely a regional threat. I think China has a few of these too.

After a coffee break I was just thinking that if I had a map that would pinpoint exactly where our very capable and very stealthy 'underwater assets' are - and I say that because you can read about unmanned submersibles in Popular Mechanics - then I bet a whole lot of little red points would be clustered around the Korean peninsula.

Naaahh ...

Everybody knows kid is just posturing ... bravado for kindergarten that he locked up. No Navy would waste it's assets on such backyard.

Subs are needed to surround more serious threats, China, Russia and Iran. Priority would be to keep Strait of Hormuz, Bering Strait, Chinese coast and Japanese straits safe.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Exclusive: China sent team including medical experts to advise on North Korea’s Kim

China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to three people familiar with the situation.

The trip by the Chinese doctors and officials comes amid conflicting reports about the health of the North Korean leader. Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim's health.

A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party's International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea on Thursday, two of the people said. The department is the main Chinese body dealing with neighbouring North Korea.

The sources declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.

The Liaison Department could not be reached by Reuters for comment late on Friday. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment late on Friday.

Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, reported earlier this week that Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure on April 12. It cited one unnamed source in North Korea.

South Korean government officials and a Chinese official with the Liaison Department challenged subsequent reports suggesting that Kim was in grave danger after surgery. South Korean officials said they had detected no signs of unusual activity in North Korea.


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The shadow

The shadow knows!
News reports are all in agreement.
Kim had an operation in his heart.
Something went wrong.
Some reports have him getting a stint.
Now here is where it gets murky.
1. recovering
2. critical condition
3. vegiivtive state
4. dead
I favor he is in a coma or dead.
the reason it is not announced is leadership power struggles
 

wwkirk

Divine
There are many questions at the present time. But if Kim does die, it's virtually certain that one of his relatives will ascend to power. Communism is supposedly egalitarian, but North Korea has been effectively an absolute monarchy with a royal family.
Where Is Kim Jong Un? Amid Rumors Of Death Or Vegetative State, Satellites Used To Track North Korean Leader
Speculation surrounding North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to mount, as reports of his poor health have led to rumors that he has either died or been left in a vegetative state. As the nation’s notorious secrecy has made it difficult to confirm what has or has not happened, some groups have turned to satellites to try and make sense of the situation in North Korea.

According to a report released Saturday from 38 North, a project dedicated to monitoring the secretive nation using satellite imagery, a train belonging to the Kim family was present in Wonsan, a port town on the eastern coast of North Korea, from April 21 and April 23. While this information does not provide confirmation about Kim’s health or whereabouts, it does provide evidence to the theory that he is being held at an “elite area” in that region.

Following up on 38 North’s report, Reuters was unable to independently confirm that the train was, in fact, the one owned by Kim, or that he is or was being held in Wonsan.

Kim’s well-being first came under question when he was absent from the Day of the Sun on April 15, an important celebration of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung’s birthday, which one expert on the country told the New York Times is “the closest thing to blasphemy in the North.” State-run media has been notably silent on the leader, last reporting his whereabouts on April 11 when he attended a government meeting.

Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai claimed that Kim underwent heart surgery after collapsing during a visit to a rural area. The report was unreliable, citing an unnamed source, and did not specify the rural area.

Kim, who ascended to power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011, last disappeared from the public eye in 2014. After not being seen for several weeks, he reemerged with a cane. His ongoing health problems have reportedly stemmed from obesity, exhaustion due to his high-pressure position, and a heavy smoking habit.


Recent reports on Kim’s status have been unclear or contradictory. CNN cited U.S. officials monitoring the situation who said the leader was in “grave danger.” Reuters, citing South Korean government sources, later disputed this claim and reports on Sunday cited South Korean intelligence that claimed Kim was "alive and well."

While U.S. officials have mostly avoided public comment and speculation about Kim's health, National security adviser Robert O’Brien said on Tuesday that the Trump administration was "keeping a close eye" on reports. But on Saturday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a key member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, cast doubt about Kim's health in an interview with Fox News.

“It’s a closed society. I haven’t heard anything directly, but I’ll be shocked if he’s not dead or in some incapacitated state because you don’t let rumors like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society which is really a cult, not a country, called North Korea,” Graham said.

 

The shadow

The shadow knows!
one thing.. what if it's not his heart...
Maybe Kim is sick ..
from coronavirus..
 

wwkirk

Divine
Interesting tidbit/trivia.

The North is extremely secretive, and doubly so about its leadership. Kim's father and predecessor Kim Jong Il had been dead for two days before anyone outside the innermost circles of North Korean leadership was any the wiser.

On past precedent, the first indication will be an announcement of a special broadcast on state television. If the camera cuts to a woman in a black dress, Kim is dead.


Ri Chun Hee, the North's veteran newsreader, has for decades announced key milestones in the North, with her voice brimming with joy for successes and tears flowing for bad news.

When she declares a successful nuclear test or missile launch, she wears a pink joseon-ot, a traditional Korean dress known as hanbok in the south.

But she wore black to reveal the deaths of both Kim Jong Il in 2011 and his father and predecessor, the North's founder Kim Il Sung in 1994.

From
What Would Happen To North Korea If Kim Jong Un Died

I must say, I'm impressed with the lady's ability to exhibit just the right sentiment on cue.
 

Shadowprophet

Truthiness
No one here will believe this, But I believe it or not actually spoke to Kim Jong un once. This was a hand full of years ago and the man literally came into a youtube comments room to defend himself from a news article, No, No, This was really him, The proof was in how quickly fox took the news article down as soon as he began commenting.

I'm almost certain it really was him. Anyway, The main focus in his defense was, Asking me If I was a leader of a nation? did I know what it was like to lead millions of people and be held responsible for their economy and their well being, He even highlighted how much of what people hear about North Korea is taken out of context and propagandized because a nation like North Korea can not be maintained like a nation with a population like China's or even North America, HE said to make his Economy work so the lions share of people there do have access to hospitals and food means some people have to suffer, He said you can't have the Have's without the have nots.


Now, I'm not saying this really was Kim, However, The news article was taken offline during this conversation. I leave it to everyone to decide Who is really what,

But I do leave you with this food for thought, What Enemy has America ever had ever in all of its histories that wasn't made out to be an insane tyrant dictator? That Is kind of our M/O, Everyone who Opposes us, Is an insane Tyrant Terrorist dictator. We do kind of paint people in that light, Believe what you will, I've lived a strange life and spoken to a lot of interesting people, For what It's worth, I believe it really was him. I believe the man literally jumped on youtube to defend himself.
 
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pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
No one here will believe this, But I believe it or not actually spoke to Kim Jong un once. This was a hand full of years ago and the man literally came into a youtube comments room to defend himself from a news article, No, No, This was really him, The proof was in how quickly fox took the news article down as soon as he began commenting.

I'm almost certain it really was him. Anyway, The main focus in his defense was, Asking me If I was a leader of a nation? did I know what it was like to lead millions of people and be held responsible for their economy and their well being, He even highlighted how much of what people hear about North Korea is taken out of context and propagandized because a nation like North Korea can not be maintained like a nation with a population like China's or even North America, HE said to make his Economy work so the lions share of people there do have access to hospitals and food means some people have to suffer, He said you can't have the Have's without the have nots.


Now, I'm not saying this really was Kim, However, The news article was taken offline during this conversation. I leave it to everyone to decide Who is really what,

But I do leave you with this food for thought, What Enemy has America ever had ever in all of its histories that wasn't made out to be an insane tyrant dictator? That Is kind of our M/O, Everyone who Opposes us, Is an insane Tyrant Terrorist dictator. We do kind of paint people in that light, Believe what you will, I've lived a strange life and spoken to a lot of interesting people, For what It's worth, I believe it really was him. I believe the man literally jumped on youtube to defend himself.
So you’ve aggravated William Shatner and Kim Jong Un online? Cool! Keep up the fine work
 

wwkirk

Divine
I don't think anyone seriously regards Kim Jong Un as crazy. Crazy like a fox, maybe, but not insane. He has frequently made outlandish claims and threats, but they are just part of his negotiating strategy and PR image.

North Korea has never been a full fledged wild card. It's highly dependent on China, and would never engage in "adventurism" that would seriously antagonize them, or lead to actual warfare with the West. In terms of true military belligerency, Kim Jong Un is a far cry from his granddaddy, Kim Il Sung. Of course, the world was a lot different in the era of the Korean War, so maybe they each are just reflections of their respective times.
 
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