North Korea

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Japan Shoots Down Dummy US Missile

Japanese expanding missile defense systems with Yank help

(Newser) - A Japanese warship off Hawaii has shot down a US-made mock ballistic missile in flight over the Pacific Ocean, the BBC reports. The test, using a US-developed intercept missile, was the first of its kind by an American ally. Japan and the US stepped up their missile defense cooperation after...

Psych Prof Puts Bush on the Couch
Psych Prof
Puts Bush
on the Couch
OPINION
Dec 17, 2007 2:46 PM CST

Psych Prof Puts Bush on the Couch

Snarky summary has implications prez should take seriously

(Newser) - President Bush recently scorned a reporter’s “Psychology 101,” but one mind-minded professor says he could benefit from a few lessons. Bush should start by trying “pattern matching,” Jonathan Haidt writes in the LA Times, with no little humor: If he’d stop equating Islam with...

Historic Train Crosses Korean Border

Freight service aims to narrow economic gap between countries

(Newser) - The historic first of what will be a regular schedule of freight trains crossed the border from South Korea to North Korea today, marking a major leap forward in the countries' reunification process and a step toward what could be a hugely profitable railway system. The link is part of...

NY Philharmonic to Play N. Korea
NY Philharmonic to Play N. Korea
Dec 10, 2007 9:01 AM CST

NY Philharmonic to Play N. Korea

Musical diplomacy may help, says ambassador

(Newser) - The New York Philharmonic plans a historic Pyongyang concert in February, giving Kim Jong Il occasion to dig out his fanciest tracksuit—and further defrosting US relations with the onetime axis of evil member. “We haven’t even had Ping-Pong diplomacy with these people,” said ambassador Christopher Hill....

Bush Pulls About-Face on North Korea

Offers normal ties to former 'axis of evil' player for nuke secrets

(Newser) - In a sharp reversal from the days when he labeled North Korea part of the "axis of evil," President Bush has sent a letter to Kim Jong Il saying that if the dictator reveals the details of his nuclear program by the end of the year, the US...

US Envoy Visits North Korean Reactor

Top diplomat makes rare visit to discuss disabling of nukes

(Newser) - A top US official got a rare glimpse of North Korea's nuclear reactor on a visit to ensure the reclusive nation is on track toward disabling its weapons program, the BBC reports. Christopher Hill also met with the North's foreign minister to discuss Pyongyang's timetable on declaring all of its...

Koreas at Impasse on Fishing Zone
Koreas at Impasse on Fishing Zone
Nov 28, 2007 7:17 AM CST

Koreas at Impasse on Fishing Zone

Day 2 of defense summit founders on maritime borders

(Newser) - The second day of talks between North and South Korean defense ministers hit a snag today, writes Reuters, as efforts to find a compromise on the disputed maritime border fell short. The two ministers had also sought to begin steps towards a formal peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean...

Koreas' Defense Chiefs Begin Peace Talks

Ministers first aim to settle sea dispute

(Newser) - South Korea's defense minister is negotiating today with his North Korean counterpart in a bid to settle the nations' disputed sea border. The first talks between defense ministers in seven years aims to deepen the agreements from last month's landmark summit calling for greater peace via economic collaboration.

US Places Diplomat in N. Korea
US Places Diplomat
in N. Korea
Nov 26, 2007 10:05 AM CST

US Places Diplomat in N. Korea

First Pyongyang official lays groundwork for permanent presence

(Newser) - Washington has had a "permanent" diplomat stationed in Pyongyang since mid-month, a source tells the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, marking the first time a US official has been assigned full-time to North Korea. The move is seen as a precursor to possible normalization of relations between the US...

Thousands Flee N. Korea Via Covert Network

Brokers charge $2K to $10K to reach Seoul through China

(Newser) - Thousands are fleeing Kim Jong Il's regime, thanks to an expanding network of brokers who smuggle defectors to Seoul through China, the Washington Post reports. Savvy Seoul brokers charge them up to $10,000 for a luxury "planned escape," complete with fake documents, but stakes are rising as...

Bush, Japanese PM Boost Ties
Bush, Japanese PM Boost Ties
Nov 16, 2007 5:25 PM CST

Bush, Japanese PM Boost Ties

Leaders offer assurances on Afghanistan, North Korea

(Newser) - President Bush and new Japanese PM Yasuo Fukuda today vowed to reconcile hot-button issues concerning North Korea and Afghanistan that have strained relations, Reuters reports. In his first visit to the White House, Fukuda pledged to do his "utmost" to renew a refueling mission for coalition forces in Afghanistan,...

Korea Chiefs to Launch Border-Busting Railway

Freight link to strengthen economic ties

(Newser) - In their latest step toward closer ties, the leaders of North and South Korea have agreed to establish a cross-border train system to strengthen economic connections. Beginning in December freight trains will follow a 16-mile track through the heavily patrolled border frontier to a joint industrial complex in North Korea's...

Korean PMs Get Down to Business
Korean PMs Get Down to Business
Nov 14, 2007 7:19 AM CST

Korean PMs Get Down to Business

After summit, premiers meet in Seoul to discuss economic development

(Newser) - North Korea's prime minister  is in Seoul today for the start of a 3-day summit with his South Korean counterpart. The leaders are discussing how to implement peace agreements from last month's landmark meeting of the two Korean top leaders. But in the first visit by a northern leader to...

US Urges Japan to Return to Afghanistan

Japanese naval contribution halted by domestic politics

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Japan today to resume a naval support mission for US operations in Afghanistan, Reuters reports. Japan has conducted refueling operations in the region for the past six years at a cost of approximately $195 million. The mission was stopped earlier this month after an opposition...

North Korea Disabling Nukes
North Korea Disabling Nukes
Nov 6, 2007 3:03 AM CST

North Korea Disabling Nukes

US experts supervising program

(Newser) - North Korea has begun disabling its nuclear installations under the supervision of a team of nine US experts, reports Agence France Presse. Work started at plutonium production facilities in the Yongbyon complex, where North Korea has already shut down a reactor. "Obviously, it is going to take some time,...

North Korea's Dancing Agitprop
North Korea's Dancing Agitprop
Nov 3, 2007 3:07 PM CDT

North Korea's Dancing Agitprop

Western visitors tell tales of propaganda-drenched state

(Newser) - The 2,000 Western tourists who managed to visit North Korea this year—four times as many as were allowed in 2002—offer a weirdly illuminating glimpse into the propaganda-saturated country closed to journalists, notes the Economist. Kim Jong-Il’s “Mass Games” performances—packed with synchronized dancing eggs and...

US Team to Disable Nuke Plant
US Team to Disable Nuke Plant
Nov 1, 2007 2:50 PM CDT

US Team to Disable Nuke Plant

Disabling North Korea's nuclear complex at Yongbyon should take several months

(Newser) - A US team arrived in Pyongyang today and is to begin disabling North Korea's nuclear complex this week—a process which experts say will zap plutonium production for at least a year, but falls short of destruction. North Korea has agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for 1...

Syria's Alleged Nuke Site Gone in Puff of Smoke

Military facility bombed by Israel is quickly razed, pics show

(Newser) - A Syrian military facility bombed in an Israeli air strike last month has been quickly—and mysteriously—razed and cleared, according to a new photograph taken by a commercial satellite. The Syrian government had been accused of building a nuclear reactor on the site capable of producing weapons, the Washington ...

Israeli Strike on Syria Hit Nuke Reactor

Partly-built facility based on North Korean model

(Newser) - Israel's air strike on Syria last month was aimed at a nuclear reactor, US and Israeli intelligence analysts say. The partly-built facility was based on a North Korean model—a link that could harm Pyonyang's new denuclearization deal if Israel can prove that Kim Jong Il helped mount the reactor....

US Task Force Targets Illegal Arms Sales

Groups will handle complex prosecutions, inter-agency teamwork

(Newser) - The Justice Department announced today that it will create special task forces charged with blocking the efforts of hostile nations to illegally export US-made parts and technology for the enrichment of their weapons systems, the Los Angeles Times reports. The National Counterproliferation Initiative will target the middlemen and front companies...

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