North Korea

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One Weird Thing North Korea Does Better Than the West

Pour a glass of its Asian pear juice, say 2 samplers

(Newser) - Is there anything North Korea can teach the US? Turns out ... juice drinks? At Foreign Policy , Justin Rohrlich got his hands on snacks and drinks from nations cut off from American junk food—North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Cuba. He enlisted food writer Mark Bittman to help him sample the...

Rodman Returns to N. Korea to Hang With the 'Marshal'

Jailed American won't be discussed, he says

(Newser) - Dennis Rodman is back in Pyongyang, but the family of imprisoned American Kenneth Bae shouldn't get their hopes up: The former NBA star says the five-day visit is about basketball and hanging out with his "awesome" buddy Kim Jong Un, not diplomacy. "I'm not going to...

N. Korea Axes Talks on US Prisoner Over 'Blackmail'

US envoy's trip called off

(Newser) - North Korea has withdrawn its invitation to a US envoy to visit the country over a detained American because Washington perpetrated a "grave provocation" by allegedly mobilizing nuclear-capable bombers during military drills with Seoul that ended Friday. Analysts say the move signals that possible informal negotiations between the two...

Kim Jong Un's Ex-Girlfriend Executed: Report

Hyon Song Wol said to be killed by firing squad on Aug. 20

(Newser) - A pretty jarring report out of North Korea, which claims that Kim Jong Un's former girlfriend was executed by a machine gun-toting firing squad last week. Chosun Ilbo reports by way of sources in China that Hyon Song Wol (of "Electric Horse-Lady" fame ) was arrested on Aug....

US Will Try to Get Ailing Citizen Out of North Korea

Envoy will ask for Kenneth Bae to be pardoned

(Newser) - A US envoy is headed to North Korea this week in an attempt to secure the release of Kenneth Bae , the American sentenced to 15 years of hard labor there. Robert King, special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, will fly to Pyongyang Friday at the government's invitation....

N. Korea Tried to Ship Gas Masks to Syria: Report

Turkey intercepted them, says Japan newspaper

(Newser) - One of the world's veteran pariah nations reportedly tried to help out one of its newer ones: A Japanese newspaper says North Korea got caught trying to ship gas masks to Syria this spring. The report in the Sankei Shimbun says Turkish officials acting on a tip from the...

N. Korea&#39;s Latest Demon: Meth

 N. Korea's Latest 
 Demon: Crystal Meth 
in case you missed it
Aug 24, 2013 7:00 PM CDT

N. Korea's Latest Demon: Crystal Meth

Country is in throes of 'drug epidemic,' says journal

(Newser) - Illegal drugs are a growing problem in North Korea—and some users are turning to the substances to cure common illnesses, the BBC reports. "The whole of North Korean society is being affected by illegal drugs," a defector tells South Korea's Chosun Ilbo . "Some wealthy people...

N. Korea Guards Forced Woman to Drown Her Baby

Defectors tell their stories to UN panel

(Newser) - What's new are not the stories but the audience: Two North Korean defectors yesterday shared wrenching stories with the first UN panel assembled for the purpose of looking into human-rights violations in the country, reports the New York Times . The Commission of Inquiry's three members will spend a...

N. Korea Tries to Woo Back Defectors With ... TV Fame?

Returnees supposedly offered money, TV appearances

(Newser) - North Korea is trying to woo back defectors with promises of cash rewards and TV appearances instead of one-way tickets to the gulags where an estimated 200,000 of their countrymen languish, defectors in Seoul tell Reuters . Around 25,000 defectors live in South Korea and some of them say...

Koreas Agree to 1st Reunions Since 2010

But Pyongyang wants a carrot

(Newser) - North Korea today accepted a South Korean offer for talks on reuniting families separated by war, but proposed separate talks on resuming lucrative tours to a scenic North Korean mountain in an apparent effort to link the two discussions. Last week, the two Koreas agreed to work toward a resumption...

N. Korea's First Smartphone Is Illegal to Use in N. Korea

Also, probably not actually made in N. Korea

(Newser) - North Korea has launched its first smartphone. Just one catch: data services are illegal in the Hermit Kingdom, so it's likely not much more useful than a regular cellphone, the Washington Post reports. The phones also probably aren't made in North Korea. Though a new report by state-run...

American Held in N. Korea Hospitalized

Family worried about Kenneth Bae's health

(Newser) - The family of an American man detained in North Korea says he's been hospitalized, and the need to bring him home is becoming more urgent. Terri Chung is the sister of Kenneth Bae , a tour operator and Christian missionary who has been detained for the past nine months. She...

N. Korean Comic Pulled Off Stage, Sent to Coal Mine

Lee Choon Hong mentioned 'sensitive issues' onstage: report

(Newser) - North Korean authorities weren't laughing over a comedian's "slip of the tongue"—and sent her straight into forced labor, the Daily Mail reports. Lee Choon Hong, known for her mimicry and satire, was performing for workers at a 150,000-acre farm project when she mentioned "...

Hiker Attempts to Traverse Both Koreas

New Zealander wants to document something all Koreans love: their mountains

(Newser) - Hiking is not a popular pastime in North Korea—when you're starving, walking long distances is not a fun recreational activity. But that hasn't stopped New Zealand hiker Roger Shepherd, who has visited the country four times to climb the Baekdudaegan mountain range—the first foreigner to set...

Jimmy Carter Plans N. Korea Rescue Mission 'Very Soon'

Ex-prez will try to free Kenneth Bae

(Newser) - Possibly for the first and only time, Jimmy Carter and Dennis Rodman share a common goal: securing the release of Kenneth Bae , the Korean-American tour guide serving a 15-year sentence for allegedly trying to bring down North Korea's government. The ex-president—who succeeded in a similar mission in 2010...

North Korea Flaunts Captured US Spy Ship

Former crew not pleased

(Newser) - Real classy, North Korea. Those wags in Pyongyang are thumbing their nose at the US yet again by making a captured US spy ship the centerpiece of a newly renovated museum commemorating the signing of the Korean War armistice (or, as North Korea calls it, "Victory Day"). The...

Images Reveal North Korea Construction Mystery

Why has work been halted for 8 months at long-range rocket site?

(Newser) - It's not too often that growing grass features big in international spying efforts, but that's exactly the case with this story. The AP reports that an analysis of recent satellite imagery taken over North Korea indicates that construction has been halted for the last eight months at a...

War Buddy Heads to N. Korea to Find Fallen Pilot

Jesse Brown was the Navy's first black aviator

(Newser) - Ever heard of Ensign Jesse Brown? Probably not, and that's too bad, because "he's a Jackie Robinson in many ways," says his old war buddy Thomas Hudner. "He's a historic figure, yet he's lying on a Korean mountainside." The AP has the...

North Korea to Panama: Give Back Our Ship

'Aging' weapons due for repair, return: Pyongyang

(Newser) - North Korea is finally weighing in on the seizure of its ship by Panama , and it says the weapons found on board are simply for repair and return to Cuba. "This cargo is nothing but aging weapons which are to be sent back to Cuba after overhauling them according...

Cuba: N. Korean Ship's Weapons Are Ours—and Old

'When this stuff was new, Castro was plotting revolutions'

(Newser) - North Korea—antique weapons repairer? The Cuban government says it owns the military equipment found on a North Korean ship seized by Panamanian authorities, and the "obsolete defensive weapons" found hidden in a cargo of sugar were to be repaired in the country before being returned to Cuba, the...

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