NORTH KOREA

North Korea border town opens to tourists

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:08:22 GMT

Source: www.kjct8.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Separated by a river from China's Dandong City, Sinuiju has long been a popular NORTH Korean destination for Chinese tourists but was pretty much off-limits to Western visitors until now. ...

Gitmo needs $200 million in upgrades; Guardsmen called up in Oklahoma; an ICBM test planned for today; Hagel meets with a Russian; What North Korea could do to the U.S.; Baron, out; and a bit more.

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:56:26 GMT

Source: www.foreignpolicy.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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ROY MCKAY commented on article Opinion: How North Korea Could Cripple the U.S.

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:06:29 GMT

Source: online.wsj.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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Japan tips its hand via North Korea

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:39:49 GMT

Source: www.atimes.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Tokyo characterized the revelation as a diplomatic fiasco maliciously inflicted by NORTH KOREA. Seoul slammed it, and the US was kept in the dark. Whatever the truth, the "secret" dispatch of Japanese envoy Isao Iijima to Pyongyang has broken a united stand and revealed Japan's determination to move beyond being an obedient US ally to being an independent regional force. - Peter Lee (May 21, '13) ...

Eyewitness: North Korea

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:24:47 GMT

Source: www.guardian.co.uk --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Photographs from the Guardian Eyewitness series ...

The softer side of North Korea? Candid snaps reveal soldiers relaxing on fairground rides

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:23:00 GMT

Source: www.dailyexpress.co.uk --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
NORTH KOREA may have spent the past few months berating most of the western world with bellicose rhetoric and threatening nuclear destruction, but, as these candid images show, the secretive state does in have a softer side. ...

Detained Chinese Fishermen, Boat Released by North Korea

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:03:05 GMT

Source: www.ncrumors.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Officials in Beijing say 16 Chinese fishermen who were seized for ransom in NORTH KOREA have been released. China's Foreign Ministry said the men and their fishing boat were returned safely on Tuesday. It added that no ransom was paid. The owner of the boat says the NORTH Koreans were demanding nearly $100,000 for the return of the boat and crew, which were taken May 6 in the waters between China and the Korean peninsula. It remains unclear who in NORTH KOREA was responsible for the ... ...

North Korea releases detained Chinese fishing boat

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:28:00 GMT

Source: www.courant.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
BEIJING (Reuters) - NORTH KOREA released a Chinese fishing boat on Tuesday more than two weeks after it was detained in waters between the countries, as China demanded an explanation for the incident that has been a new irritant in ties between the often uneasy allies. ...

Chinese Fishing Boat, Crew Released by North Korea

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:20:30 GMT

Source: abcnews.go.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Owner, Chinese state media say Chinese fishing boat, 16 crew released by NORTH KOREA ...

Malaysia voices concern over North Korea's missile launch

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:00:48 GMT

Source: thestar.com.my --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has voiced concern over the latest short-range missile launches by NORTH KOREA from May 18 to 19, resulting in heightened tensions in the KOREA Peninsular. ...

North Korea releases Chinese sailors

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:06:40 GMT

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
NORTH KOREA has released 16 Chinese fishermen and their boat, Chinese state-run media has said. ...

North Korea returns hijacked fishing boat as Chinese social media erupts in fury

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:47:33 GMT

Source: qz.com --- Monday, May 20, 2013
An absurd episode involving a Chinese fishing boat hijacked by NORTH KOREA has come to an end with the safe return of the vessel and its crew. Although the matter was resolved by officials behind closed doors, a fervent discussion took place on social media–and it was decidedly one way. The fishing boat’s owner, Yu Xuejun, took it upon himself to spread the word of NORTH KOREA’s seizure of the vessel and ransoming of its crew via his Weibo microblog : “the captain of the seized boat communicated using a satellite phone, and when I asked questions, it was clear that he didn’t dare speak. We’re afraid that the crew have been beaten.” His updates set China’s netizens into overdrive in condemnation of NORTH KOREA. “NORTH KOREA has gone too far!” the hawkish Chinese Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan told his 300,000 followers on Weibo. “Even if you are short of money, you can’t grab people across the border and blackmail.” It’s not entirely clear who in NORTH KOREA seized the fishing boat, but the most likely culprits seem to be entrepreneurial members of the NORTH Korean military looking to supplement their paychecks. The state-owned Global Times newspaper wrote in an editorial that “the NORTH Korean military police are using the ambiguity of maritime borders to make a quick buck.” The editorial concluded with a stern warning for Pyongyang: “if it is difficult to teach NORTH KOREA in words, we can make it understand in deeds.” Chinese microbloggers ...

China media: North Korea warned

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:41:57 GMT

Source: www.debatepolitics.com --- Monday, May 20, 2013
Quote: State media in China warn NORTH KOREA to stop detaining fishing boats amid public anger over the "kidnapping" of fishermen by unidentified captors. State media report a Chinese fishing boat and its 16-man crew who were reportedly held for ransom by an armed group in waters off the west coast of NORTH KOREA were released early on Tuesday. Global Times says the incident has "fuelled outrage" among the Chinese public, with internet users venting "fury" towards NORTH KOREA, as "traditionally close ties between the nations have been pushed toward greater tension". A bilingual Global Times editorial suspects that the NORTH Korean army used the ambiguity of maritime borders to "make a quick buck" by detaining the Chinese crew. "If NORTH KOREA continues to go rogue, China should take actions to push it toward a more measured response... If we don't set rules for NORTH KOREA, our whole government's image may be seen as being too weak to deal with maritime issues," it stresses. Read more @: BBC News - China media: NORTH KOREA warned NORTH KOREA is like China's bastards child; they are stuck with them but they really dont like them and dont remember how they got stuck with them. ...

North Korea releases Chinese fishing boat

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:41:47 GMT

Source: www.ft.com --- Monday, May 20, 2013
Boat owner says no ransom was paid despite an earlier report that Pyongyang had demanded $97,000 for the release of the vessel and its 16 crew ...

North Korea Fires Fifth Missile in Three Days

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:27:33 GMT

Source: ntdtv.org --- Monday, May 20, 2013
NORTH KOREA fires its sixth short range missile in three days and condemns South KOREA for criticizing what it said were its legitimate military drills. ...

North Korea releases Chinese fishermen after briefly holding them hostage

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:21:28 GMT

Source: www.rawstory.com --- Monday, May 20, 2013
NORTH KOREA has released 16 Chinese fishermen and their boat, Chinese state-run media said Tuesday, after reports that armed assailants had taken the sailors hostage and demanded a ransom. “All the fishermen with the boat are safe on their way back,” China’s Xinhua news agency said, citing a Chinese embassy official in Pyongyang it said had heard the news from the ship’s owner. Xinhua said the fishermen had been detained “by the Democratic People’s Republic of KOREA side”, using the NORTH’s official name, and without giving further details. The vessel’s owner Yu Xuejun told AFP that armed NORTH Koreans seized the boat in waters between the two countries on May 6 and demanded 600,000 yuan ($98,000) for the men’s release, adding they were probably from Pyongyang’s military. The incident is the latest strain in the relationship between the neighbours. Beijing is Pyongyang’s sole major ally and its key provider of aid and trade, but China said it “firmly opposed” the nuclear-armed NORTH’s atomic test in February. China has stayed in “close communication” with NORTH KOREA over the incident, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing on Monday. The detention caused outrage online in China, with Internet users accusing the authorities of not making sufficient efforts to secure the men’s release. In an editorial Tuesday before the release was announced, the state-run Global Times said China should “should let the ...

North Korea Holds Chinese Fishing Boat For Ransom

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:02:06 GMT

Source: chinadigitaltimes.net --- Monday, May 20, 2013
China’s foreign ministry disclosed on Sunday that NORTH KOREA took over a Chinese fishing boat earlier this month and continues to hold its crew hostage , according to Chris Buckley of The New York Times: The vessel’s owner, Yu Xuejun, called the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang, the NORTH Korean capital, on May 10 to seek help, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a brief statement issued through Sina Weibo , the country’s Twitter-like microblog service. Mr. Yu was not on the boat when it was seized. “The embassy immediately made representations to the consular affairs bureau of the NORTH Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking that NORTH KOREA release the vessel and the crew as soon as possible, and ensure the safety of the lives and property of the detained crew, as well as their legitimate rights,” the Chinese ministry statement said. … The Chinese media reports said the boat was seized on May 5, with 16 men onboard, and NORTH Korean authorities demanded payment of 600,000 renminbi, equal to about $98,000, to release them and the vessel, apparently on the grounds that it was fishing in waters claimed by NORTH KOREA. The deadline for payment was Sunday, The Beijing Times newspaper said. [Source] China’s state-run Global Times reported on Monday that those responsible were “highly likely from the NORTH Korean army,” with one expert speculating that NORTH KOREA may be retaliating for sanctions imposed by the United Nat ...