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Zilch5 Vogon Poet
Great Old One Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Total posts: 1527 Location: Western Sydney, Australia Gender: Male |
 Posted: 13-03-2013 10:01 Post subject: |
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Further development - every North Korean website apparently just shut down according to a Tweet I received. Not that there are many.
Here's a list of them at the link - I tried most of them and couldn't reach any:
http://www.northkoreatech.org/the-north-korean-website-list/
Cyber Attack? NK going into shut down mode? The Chinese pulling the plug and telling Kim to shut up? Who knows?  |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17931 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 19-03-2013 17:10 Post subject: |
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| Kondoru Unfeathered Biped Joined: 05 Dec 2003 Total posts: 5788 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 19-03-2013 19:47 Post subject: |
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Did they bother to include my friend dying because he could not afford treatment?
And millionares with outside toilets? |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17931 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 21-03-2013 16:15 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | North Korea threatens to attack US bases in Okinawa, Guam
http://rt.com/news/north-korea-air-raid-alert-568/
North Korea has threatened to target US airbases in Okinawa and Guam as it issued an air raid alert on Thursday and ordered its military to stand ready, the country’s state media reported.
"The United States is advised not to forget that our precision target tools have within their range the Anderson Air Force base on Guam where the B-52 takes off, as well as the Japanese mainland where nuclear powered submarines are deployed and the navy bases on Okinawa," the North Korean command spokesman was quoted as saying by KCNA news agency.
The threats came as a response to the use of nuclear-armed US B-52 bombers in joint war games South Korea held with the US. "We cannot tolerate the US carrying out nuclear strike drills, setting us as targets, and advertising them as strong warning messages," the spokesman said.
The air raid alert was issued at 9:32 am local time (00:32 am GMT) with military units and civilians told to take cover, Korean Central Television said.
A news report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency suggested that the warning appears to be a part of a military drill, though this has not been confirmed by Pyongyang.
This comes amid growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and ongoing saber-rattling that followed the UN Security Council's imposition of strict sanctions on Pyongyang over its third underground nuclear test in February.
On Monday, the US said that every military resource at its disposal, including its nuclear arsenal, would be available to South Korea in the event of a confrontation with the North.
Earlier in March, Pyongyang threatened all-out nuclear war with the US and South Korea after the two countries began joint military drills on the Korean Peninsula. The North also nullified the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, claiming the drills were preparations for an invasion. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17931 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-03-2013 16:40 Post subject: |
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Still heading towards a high threat level.
| Quote: | North Korea cuts military hotline with South
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21950139
COMMENTS (42)
Tensions between the two Koreas are high following North Korea's nuclear test in February
North Korea says it is cutting a military hotline with South Korea, amid high tension on the peninsula.
The hotline is used to facilitate the travel of South Korean workers to a joint industrial complex in Kaesong.
Pyongyang has been angered by fresh UN sanctions following its 12 February nuclear test and US-South Korea military drills.
In recent weeks its habitually fiery rhetoric has escalated, with multiple warnings issued.
On Tuesday, it said it had ordered artillery and rocket units into "combat posture" to prepare to target US bases in Hawaii, Guam and the US mainland.
It has also threatened a "pre-emptive" nuclear strike against the US in recent days and told the South it has scrapped the Korean War armistice agreement.
While the situation is currently unpredictable, some analysts believe Pyongyang may be trying to force the US and others into negotiations, with all-out war unlikely, says the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul.
US Pentagon spokesman George Little said on Tuesday that North Korea's threats "followed a pattern designed to raise tensions" and that North Korea would "achieve nothing by these threats".
'No need'
North Korea has already cut both a Red Cross hotline and another used to communicate with the UN Command at Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone that divides the two Koreas.
The military hotline is used by the two sides to communicate over travel to the Kaesong joint industrial zone, inside North Korea.
"Under the situation where a war may break out any moment, there is no need to keep up North-South military communications," a senior North Korean military official was quoted by KCNA news agency as telling the South before the line was severed.
Until now, operations at the joint complex have been normal despite the rise in tensions.
South Korea's Ministry of Unification confirmed that the North was no longer answering calls to the hotline, reports Yonhap news agency.
North Korea says it has scrapped the Korean War armistice agreement
When the North also previously cut the military hotline in 2009, operations at the joint complex continued because other channels of communication were used, Yonhap adds.
An inter-Korean air-traffic hotline still exists between the two sides, according to reports.
'Build trust'
The move came as South Korean President Park Geun-hye set out policies towards the North "designed to establish peace and a foundation for reunification by building and restoring trust".
"Without rushing and in the same way that we would lay one brick after another, based on trust, (we) will have to develop South-North relations step by step and create sustainable peace," Yonhap news agency quoted her as saying.
She has spoken in the past of a desire for more dialogue with North Korea but current tensions are obstructing movements to improve ties.
In a statement on Wednesday carried by KCNA, North Korea told Ms Park that a "wrong word" from her could entail "horrible disaster at a time when the North-South relations are being pushed to the lowest ebb".
Late on Tuesday, North Korean state-run media also reported that its top political bureau would soon hold a rare meeting to discuss "an important issue for victoriously advancing the Korean revolution". It did not specify the issue, or the date of the meeting.
Overnight, meanwhile, South Korea briefly placed a border military unit on its highest alert, in an indication of the heightened tensions.
The alert happened early on Wednesday after a South Korean soldier discovered a "strange object" at the border, military officials said. The alert prepares troops for a possible incursion from North Korea.
The soldier, who was at a military post in Hwacheon, in South Korea's north-eastern Gangwon province, threw a grenade at the object at around 02:30 local time (17:30 GMT), officials said. The alert was lifted at 09:20 local time. |
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| sherbetbizarre Great Old One Joined: 04 Sep 2004 Total posts: 1418 Gender: Male |
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| Zoffre Joined: 23 Nov 2002 Total posts: 620 |
| Posted: 04-04-2013 17:05 Post subject: |
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Real or fake? Are things hotting up or are they really lukewarm?
| Quote: | North Korea moves missile with 'considerable range' to coast, says Seoul
South Korea's defence minister confirms move, but says North is showing no other signs of preparing for full-scale conflict
South Korea's defence minister has confirmed that Pyongyang has moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, but said there were no signs that North Korea was preparing for a full-scale conflict despite the continuing standoff.
The confirmation from Kim Kwan-jin came hours after North Korea's military announced it had been authorised to attack the US using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons.
Kim said he did not know why the North had moved the missile, but suggested it "could be for testing or drills".
He dismissed Japanese media speculation that the missile could be a KN-08, which is believed to be a long-range missile that - if operable - could hit the US.
Kim told a parliamentary committee meeting that although the missile had considerable range, it was not sufficient to hit the US mainland.
His description could suggest a missile known as the Musudan, which has a range of 3,000km (1,800 miles). That would make Japan and South Korea potential targets along with US bases in both countries.
Map: North Korean missile defence ranges and Guam deployment
There are doubts, however, about the missile's accuracy and range, and some suspect that long-range missiles unveiled by Pyongyang at a parade last year were actually mock-ups.
Kim said that if North Korea were preparing for a full-scale conflict, there would be more signs of the mobilisation of troops and supplies.
So far, he said, South Korean military officials had found no evidence of such preparations.
"[North Korea's recent threats] are rhetorical threats," he said. "I believe the odds of a full-scale provocation are small."
He did, however, add that North Korea might mount a small-scale provocation as it did in 2010, when it shelled a South Korean island, killing four people.
The Pentagon announced on Wednesday night that it would deploy a missile defence system known as the terminal high altitude area defence system to the US Pacific territory of Guam to strengthen regional protection against a possible attack.
The deployment is the biggest indication yet that Washington regards North Korea's sabre-rattling as more worrying than similar threats over the past few years. It also suggests the US is preparing for a long standoff.
The $800m (£529m) battery was not due for deployment until 2015, but will now be in place within weeks. There had been debate within the Pentagon about deploying it first to the Middle East to protect Israel, but the threat from North Korea is now viewed as more serious.
A Pentagon statement said the deployment was "a precautionary move to strengthen our regional defence posture against the North Korean regional ballistic missile threat".
On Wednesday, the US defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, said North Korea posed "a real and clear danger" to South Korea, Japan and the US.
"They have a nuclear capacity now," he told the National Defense University in Washington. "They have a missile delivery capacity now. And so, as they have ratcheted up their bellicose, dangerous rhetoric, and some of the actions they have taken over the last few weeks, present a real and clear danger."
His response contrasted with more muted comments by other members of the Obama administration over the past few days as they sought to reduce tensions.
China also voiced strong fears about rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. Its foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, told reporters in Beijing that the country's deputy foreign minister, Zhang Yesui, had expressed serious concern over the crisis at a meeting with ambassadors from the US and South Korea.
"In the present situation, China believes all sides must remain calm and exercise restraint and not take actions which are mutually provocative and must certainly not take actions which will worsen the situation," Lei said.
North Korea followed Tuesday's announcement that it would resume operations to produce weapons-grade plutonium by barring South Korean workers from entering a jointly-run industrial complex.
The Kaesong industrial complex, six miles north of the heavily fortified border that has separated the two countries for six decades, is viewed as the last remaining symbol of co-operation.
The North has disrupted operations at Kaesong before, but Wednesday's move caused particular concern as South Korea and the US attempt to respond to a catalogue of provocations by Pyongyang.
The disruption at Kaesong, which draws on investment from more than 100 South Korean firms and employs workers from both countries, was seen by some experts as a sign of a swift deterioration in an already tense situation.
In recent weeks, North Korea has threatened a nuclear attack against the US and its overseas bases – a hollow threat, experts say, given the regime's relatively primitive nuclear and missile technology – and declared a "state of war" with South Korea.
China is North Korea's only remaining ally and its biggest aid donor. Its description of the situation in such bleak terms is being interpreted as a sign of growing frustration with the unpredictable behaviour of the 30-year-old North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. |
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/04/north-korea-moves-missile-coast |
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gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13555 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 04-04-2013 18:09 Post subject: |
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| This is sounding more and more like one of those gung ho Hollywood movies where North Korea is the villain (there's at least two around at the moment) and neither side will back down without a fight. And I don't mean in an entertaining way. |
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| escargot1 Joined: 24 Aug 2001 Total posts: 17895 Location: Farkham Hall Age: 4 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 04-04-2013 19:35 Post subject: |
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Watched this today -
Hyeonseo Lee: My escape from North Korea
| Quote: | As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee thought her country was “the best on the planet.” It wasn't until the famine of the 90s that she began to wonder. She escaped the country at 14, to begin a life in hiding, as a refugee in China. Hers is a harrowing, personal tale of survival and hope -- and a powerful reminder of those who face constant danger, even when the border is far behind.
Born in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee left for China in 1997. Now living in South Korea, she has become an activist for fellow refugees... |
Well worth watching. At one point you see a satellite photo of the Korea region at night. North Korea is more or less blacked out compared to surrounding countries. No street lights and little other illumination. |
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| Kondoru Unfeathered Biped Joined: 05 Dec 2003 Total posts: 5788 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 04-04-2013 22:45 Post subject: |
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They don't know how lucky they are to be able to see the stars.
I'm sure they would count themselves even more fortunate if they had light pollution to moan about.
Nothing like a good moan to keep people happy. |
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| Zilch5 Vogon Poet
Great Old One Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Total posts: 1527 Location: Western Sydney, Australia Gender: Male |
| Posted: 11-04-2013 03:33 Post subject: |
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It all seems to point towards "something" happening on April 15 - Kim il-Sung's 101st Birthday. Just what that "something" will be, is anyone's guess. I think it will be another missile test and then things go back to "normal" - whatever normal there is...
| Quote: | North Korea closes China border to tourists
The biggest border crossing between North Korea and China has been closed to tourist groups, a Chinese official says, as nuclear tensions mounted, but business travel was allowed to continue.
"Travel agencies are not allowed to take tourist groups to go there, since the North Korean government is now asking foreign people to leave," the official at the Dandong Border Office said.
"As far as I know, business people can enter and leave North Korea freely," added the official, who declined to give his name, without making clear which country had ordered the move.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/north-korea-closes-china-border-to-tourists-20130410-2hkpv.html#ixzz2Q7OUrxBJ |
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| skinny Roaring Fortean
Great Old One Joined: 30 May 2010 Total posts: 215 Location: Adelaide Age: 42 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 11-04-2013 04:17 Post subject: |
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| Zilch5 wrote: | I think it will be another missile test and then things go back to "normal" - whatever normal there is...
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We have a winner. This is an annual posturing by the North during the spring carnival of union demonstrations in the south. The Norks time their run to coincide with these political disruptions because it places highest pressure on the south's government. They yap like a chihuaha until someone gives them a bone and then scuttle back to the kennel for the next 11 months.
The media hots it all up because they can get some mileage from it too - the taunting from public cyberspace might irritate them a bit tho. I wish people posting inflammatory drivel would just shut up. There is a very real hornet's nest up there, and they can sting if they're pushed too far. The big dogs outisde the fence are wise enough to ignore the noise and it'll all be quiet again soon if bored netizens desist from poking at it all.
IMHO  |
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| MercuryCrest The Severed Head Of A
Great Old One Joined: 24 Mar 2003 Total posts: 753 Location: Floating down the Ganges Age: 33 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 11-04-2013 06:47 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | I wish people posting inflammatory drivel would just shut up. There is a very real hornet's nest up there, and they can sting if they're pushed too far. |
But who in North Korea -who matters- will ever see it? |
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| skinny Roaring Fortean
Great Old One Joined: 30 May 2010 Total posts: 215 Location: Adelaide Age: 42 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 11-04-2013 11:14 Post subject: |
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I nunno. Surveillance Division? Ministry of Big Brotherhood?
Leave 'em be so we can continue to ignore 'em in peace, I say. |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13555 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 11-04-2013 18:25 Post subject: |
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| Surprisingly interesting bit on The One Show last night (no, honestly) where Andy Kershaw said similar things. He has gone on holiday to North Korea, and said it's like hallucinating without drugs for a Westerner to visit. |
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