North Korea

A government spokesman described the North's psychological warfare methods as "immature".

learned Stalin's lessons well:
http://news.yahoo.com/north-koreas-army-chief-staff-executed-report-005503170.html

No new friends

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2013/12/04004192.jpg

haha

north korea was the only realm from Game of Thrones that survived to the modern age

Is it just me, or does it seem like DPRoK's saber rattling is getting less traction than it ever has?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/31/north-korea-praises-trump-and-urges-us-voters-to-reject-dull-hillary

Awesome

the Dennis Rodman of American politics

interesting:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/satellite-imagery-suggests-china-is-secretly-punishing-north-korea/2016/06/30/8638d8d6-3ee8-11e6-80bc-d06711fd2125_story.html

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/08/louis-cole-vlogger-north-korea

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/world/asia/north-korea-executes-deputy-premier.html

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has executed his deputy premier for education and purged two other senior officials, sending them to re-education camps, the South Korean government said on Wednesday.

Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman for the South’s Unification Ministry, said at a news briefing that the South Korean government had used various means to confirm the execution of Kim Yong-jin, the deputy premier, and the purge of Kim Yong-chol, the head of the United Front Department of the ruling Workers’ Party, which handles relations with, as well as spying operations against, South Korea. Choe Hui, a deputy chief of the party’s Propaganda and Agitation Department, was also banished for re-education, Mr. Jeong said.

should send my resume to the agitation department

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/08/18/who-is-kim-jong-un/

iirc this piece goes over a lot of the same ground as the one published on NK in the LRB last year, with the same conclusions (i.e. what an incredible fuck-up). Except it gives Jong-Un a good review, of sorts.

It seems he is actually pretty good at the old totalitarian dictator game. A few pieces I have read in the past seem to have overstated the importance of his gift economy game without even mentioning his frequent liquidations of top brass and clever playing of S Korea's fear of regime collapse to his own advantage.

could regime collapse really be any worse than it is right now? are there really worse actors than kim?

regime collapse = millions of destitute north koreans pouring into south korea

you may be aware of situations in which bordering countries wish to keep our immigrants from poorer neighbouring states?

this thread title bums me out

Can't it get changed to "North Korea: Still Bizarre," or something like that?

you may be aware of situations in which bordering countries wish to keep our immigrants from poorer neighbouring states?

― ælərdaɪs (jim in vancouver), Thursday, September 1, 2016 6:13 PM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

never heard of it

does SK really think of north koreans as foreign refugees? i know that there are still a lot of divided families w/ ties that go to before the division. wouldn't they be happy for an opportunity for reunification? and doesn't kim jong-un being overthrown suggest an opportunity for that? (i really don't know i'm just theorizing)

http://i.imgur.com/Z34DuOf.jpg

(Except without the cars, I guess.)

does SK really think of north koreans as foreign refugees?

Yes, absolutely. Definitely from a practical perspective of health issues, integration into education, sustained employment, etc but increasingly from a 'national' perspective as well. It's partly generational - a higher proportion of older than younger Koreans think of people from the DPRK as being the same nationality as them, according to surveys. There's a social stigma in being from the North - and that's with refugee numbers in the tens of thousands rather than 25m.

Half-brother (the one always in pajamas and gambling in Macau) assassinated.

Kim Jong-Un's gained like 100 pounds in the last few years, wtf

A fatal poison you can spray on someone at an airport ... hilarious and not scary at all.

It must be some scary shit when you've got your family potentially coming after you (see also Robert Durst's brother)

It sounds like he was apolitical and no kind of threat. Some mild criticism of it being a third gen succession regime in his history but not much else.

https://mobile.twitter.com/STcom/status/831765067091865606

There are reports both suspects are dead.

That image is strangely fascinating and creepy

Hilarity continues!

this is fucking crazy, also a good way to get away with an assassination plot i suppose: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/17/suspect-north-korea-killing-thought-she-was-taking-part-in-tv-prank-indonesia-siti-aisyah-police-kim-jong-nam

makes a good cover story for her. if you can't avoid the facts, muddle the motivation.

Plausible though because what assassjn would be fool enough to expose themselves to camera scrutiny

News that he was killed with WMD VX gas is pretty scary, because now there's a smoking gun pretense for Trump Inc. to shout "WMD!" Well, that and nukes.

that was probably north korea's entire supply of vx tbf

On the other NK thread as well - good read:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/02/24/world/asia/north-korea-propaganda-photo.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

that bomb looks like its missing a gigantic fuse

https://lh4.ggpht.com/fxsJt9QQyQAxHIFGAKK_ZgIkknZeOjCbK1ULw9F1vvMkr_mGp1z0NgzwYXvVNVO1KA=w300

Yeah, interesting, but isn't it equally plausible that these are...totally empty inside?

lol! it is just missing a big black on white Acme Nuff Destructive Nuclear Warhead label on the side.

http://i.imgur.com/ZwwoUYC.jpg

they sure have great taxidermists

this should be where the camera pulls back to reveal that Kim Jong-un and the ppl around him are in fact more waxworks standing on another stage, and so on into infinity

I can't think of a more terrifying brief than having to make a utopian diorama of the ex-great leader.

"Shit, does he look too normcore?" and "I'm crap at modelling hands, better put them in the pockets" might have been part of the discussion.

Is there a coin slot, does he move?

he does look pretty normcore - my grandad used to rock that tan coat/olive trousers combo

he has a look of my dad now you mention it

urge to position small armies of miniatures on that excellently manicured flocking

I'm surprised they kept the patches in the grass.