country:north korea

As Trump warned North Korea, his ’armada’ was headed toward Australia | Reuters
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-carrier-idUSKBN17L03J

When U.S. President Donald Trump boasted early last week that he had sent an “armada” as a warning to North Korea, the aircraft carrier strike group he spoke of was still far from the Korean peninsula, and headed in the opposite direction.

It was even farther away over the weekend, moving through the Sunda Strait and then into the Indian Ocean, as North Korea displayed what appeared to be new missiles at a parade and staged a failed missile test.

The U.S. military’s Pacific Command explained on Tuesday that the strike group first had to complete a shorter-than-initially planned period of training with Australia. But it was now “proceeding to the Western Pacific as ordered,” it said.

The perceived communications mix-up has raised eyebrows among Korea experts, who wonder whether it erodes the Trump administration’s credibility at a time when U.S. rhetoric about the North’s advancing nuclear and missile capabilities are raising concerns about a potential conflict.

“If you threaten them and your threat is not credible, it’s only going to undermine whatever your policy toward them is. And that could be a logical conclusion from what’s just happened,” said North Korea expert Joel Wit at the 38 North monitoring group, run by Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.

Washington pushes world to brink of nuclear war - World Socialist Web Site

▻http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/04/18/pers-a18.html

Washington pushes world to brink of nuclear war
18 April 2017

The repeated statements by US Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump administration officials Monday that the “era of strategic patience” with North Korea is over and “all options are on the table” have laid bare the mounting threat that Washington will provoke a war on the Korean peninsula involving the use of nuclear weapons and the deaths of millions.

“Just in the past two weeks, the world witnessed the strength and resolve of our new president in actions taken in Syria and Afghanistan,” Pence declared during a provocative visit to South Korea that brought him to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) on the North Korean border. “North Korea would do well not to test his resolve or the strength of the armed forces of the United States in this region,” Pence said.

#trump #it_has_begun #guerre_thermo_nucléaire (new tag...)

Japanese imperialism rearms - World Socialist Web Site

▻http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/03/24/japa-m24.html

Japanese imperialism rearms
24 March 2017

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is exploiting the extremely tense situation on the Korean Peninsula to push for its military to be able to carry out “pre-emptive” strikes on an enemy such as North Korea. The acquisition of offensive weapons, such as cruise missiles, for the first time since the end of World War II would be another major step by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government to rearm Japan, heightening the danger of war.

Commenting on North Korean missile tests, Defence Minister Tomomi Inada suggested on March 9 that Japan could acquire the capacity for “pre-emptive” attacks. “I do not rule out any method and we consider various options, consistent of course with international law and the constitution of our country,” she said.

#japon #armement #impérialisme

Japan expands military operations in Asia - World Socialist Web Site
▻http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/03/15/japa-m15.html

Japan expands military operations in Asia
By Peter Symonds
15 March 2017

As the Trump administration ramps up its confrontation with North Korea and heightens tensions, especially with China, throughout the region, the Japanese government is significantly extending the activities of its military. While operating under the umbrella of its strategic alliance with the US, Tokyo is exploiting the opportunity to rearm militarily so as to pursue its own imperialist ambitions.

In another menacing warning to Pyongyang, a Japanese guided-missile destroyer yesterday began two days of joint exercises with similar vessels from South Korea and the US. The warships, all equipped with Aegis anti-ballistic missile systems, are operating in the area where four North Korean test missiles landed last week.

#japon #conflit #asie #stabilité_régionale #Militarisation

South Korean court throws president out of office, 2 dead in protest | Reuters
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-politics-idUSKBN16H066

South Korea’s Constitutional Court removed President Park Geun-hye from office on Friday over a graft scandal involving the country’s conglomerates at a time of rising tensions with North Korea and China.

The ruling sparked protests from hundreds of her supporters, two of whom were killed in clashes with police outside the court.

Park becomes South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be forced from office, capping months of paralysis and turmoil over a corruption scandal that also landed the head of the Samsung conglomerate in jail.

A snap presidential election will be held within 60 days.

How to cover Eritrea
▻http://africasacountry.com/2017/03/how-to-cover-eritrea

Eritrea has expelled all international correspondents and banned local private newspapers since 2001. One consequence is that Western #Media have had to play up their “unique” or “rare” access to “the North Korea of Africa.” Over the last two years, some leading media–having gone through endless bureaucratic hassles and rejections–such as the BBC, France 24,…

#ESSAYS #Dictatorship #Eritirea #Journalism

“North #Korea occasionally threatens to “turn Seoul into a Sea of Fire”. The South Korean, U.S. and other international media often relay this statement, amplifying its effect. But can North Korea really do this ? Does it matter if they can ? The short answer is they can’t; but they can kill many tens of thousands of people, start a larger war and cause a tremendous amount of damage before ultimately losing their regime”
▻http://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-special-reports/mind-the-gap-between-rhetoric-and-reality #Corée #Séoul #artillerie #artillery

41 uncensored instagrams from North Korea by David Guttenfelder - Page 3 of 5

▻http://justsomething.co/41-uncensored-instagrams-from-north-korea-by-david-guttenfelder/3

http://justsomething.co/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/north-korea-instagram-21.jpg http://justsomething.co/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/north-korea-instagram-29.jpg http://justsomething.co/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/north-korea-instagram-30.jpg

41 uncensored instagrams from North Korea by David Guttenfelder

#corée_du_nord

Black market helped NK weather sanctions last year: researcher

North Korea’s black economy, which is believed to have grown as a market force in recent years, helped the isolated country weather international sanctions last year, according to a researcher at South Korea’s state-run think tank on Sunday.

North Korea, which has been under layers of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile program, is expected to focus on stimulating its domestic consumption this year, said Lee Jong-kyu, a researcher at the Korean Development Institute, in a recent report.

Last year, North Korea mobilized its people for large-scale construction projects under the “70-day” and “200-day” campaigns.

Lee said North Korea had no choice but to press its own people to navigate themselves through the economic hardship as international sanctions strengthened.

▻http://m.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170205000100#cb
#Corée_du_Nord #économie

How to fuck up America :
#Trump has a brilliant plan to turn Silicon Valley into a desert.
(by a sarcastic Kevin Maney)

▻http://europe.newsweek.com/donald-trump-trolls-silicon-valley-543327

1. Humble the Technology Industry

Well, apparently we need to stop immigrants from coming here so there’s more room for Americans to start tech companies. That’s how it works, right? Why would we want people with good ideas from India or Ireland or Israel coming over to build tech companies? Let them do it at home.

2. Dismiss Alternative Energy

In the new regime, oil is better. So is coal. There’s no global warming. No carbon-burning problem. That’s why it’s brilliant to make Rex Tillerson the secretary of state, so he can negotiate better oil deals for us, and give the Department of Energy to Rick Perry, who would like to kill it. You can’t spell America without carbon—or at least some of it.

3. Derail Health Care

New artificial intelligence technology can help doctors sift through millions of pages of medical research and match it to data about a patient to diagnose diseases way better than ever. If U.S. companies get this stuff right and lead such tech advances, they will drive the economy for years.

But that seems to weird out the new regime. Better to preserve traditions: the swamped family doctor, the half-day sitting in waiting rooms reading old copies of O magazine, the prostate exam.
[...]
If millennials want to stay healthy, the new regime is singling, they can abandon the uninsured path of entrepreneurship and instead work at a company that offers health benefits

4. Ignore Russian Hacking

the Russians are now our friends. They wouldn’t steal our data or harm our systems. And other countries like North Korea or Iran can’t possibly be smart enough to follow Russia’s lead and do damage. So there’s no data security threat to address. We’ll be fine.

5. Shift Resources From Cities to Small Towns and Rural Areas

Cities have a lot of wealthy folks and artists and people who were born in other countries. The trend is toward moving to cities
[...]
But the new regime doesn’t want the future. It won by promising the past.

So too bad, cities. Rural and small town America kicked your butts this time. Cities can bend over and kiss their federal resources goodbye.

À propos de propagande, ça fait un an qu’Otto Warmbier est prisonnier en #Corée_du_Nord

American student stuck in North Korea because Kim Jong-un is unwilling to make deals | Daily Mail Online
▻http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4064558/Little-progress-case-American-college-student-22-nearly-one-year-detain

American student, 22, is still stuck in North Korea after a year because Kim Jong-un is unwilling to make deals like his father
• Otto Warmbier, 22, was sentenced in March to 15 years of hard labor after he confessed he had tried to steal a propaganda banner from a Pyongyang hotel
• Warmbier, of Wyoming, Ohio, was arrested on January 2 as he was departing the East Asian country
• He told a North Korean court he tried to steal the banner as a trophy for an acquaintance who wanted to hang it in her church
• Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson says that North Korea has accepted a delegation from his foundation
• According to Richardson, ’We’re trying to do this on a humanitarian basis, not a government-to-government basis’
• State Department spokeswoman says the US is urging North ’to pardon him and grant him special amnesty and immediate release on humanitarian grounds’

▻https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Warmbier

On February 29, 2016, he confessed to stealing a piece of North Korean propaganda to take back to the United States as a “trophy” for someone from his home-town church who offered to pay him for it with the gift of a car worth $10,000. The poster said, “Let’s arm ourselves strongly with Kim Jong-il’s patriotism!” Harming such items with the name or image of one of their leaders is considered a serious crime in North Korea.

#Made_in_america (compilation uniquement à partir de sources MSM)

The world’s best cyber army doesn’t belong to Russia
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/515937

The long history of the U.S. interfering with elections elsewhere
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/532933

Pour rappel : ficher les musulmans aux États-Unis, ça a déjà été fait : National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS)
▻https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Entry-Exit_Registration_System

Certain non-citizens who were in the United States prior to September 10, 2002, have been required to register in person at an INS office.[3] This procedure is required of males over the age of sixteen who entered the United States legally on particular types of visa (primarily student, work, and tourist) from certain countries. Countries were named on four occasions:

Group 1: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan or Syria
Group 2: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen
Group 3: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia
Group 4: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait

[…]

Immigrant rights advocates criticized the program, particularly the domestic portion of it, for profiling on the basis of ethnicity and religion as well as generally undermining immigrants’ rights. They noted that 24 of the 25 countries included on the list are predominantly Muslim, while all of the countries are in Asia or Africa. Some national security experts said that the program was likely to be ineffective.[citation needed] Given the large numbers involved and the nature of the requirements, they argued, it was unlikely to find any members of Al Qaeda. NSEERS was probed in the documentary film “Aliens Among Us” by Martina Radwan, for the devastating effect it had on immigrant families of Arab origin.[4]

Unfinished bridge reveals broken state of North Korea’s alliance with China | Cities | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/nov/14/dandong-sinuiju-unfinished-bridge-reveals-broken-state-north-korea-alli

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/de7383bbfa036cb5fa4affd2051090909a9b528c/0_233_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?w=1200&h=630&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=crop&bm=normal&ba=bottom%2Cleft&blend64=aHR0cHM6Ly91cGxvYWRzLmd1aW0uY28udWsvMjAxNi8wNS8yNS9vdmVybGF5LWxvZ28tMTIwMC05MF9vcHQucG5n&s=faa80e45a6885ed16bf7702db31ca2a4

From Dandong, the largest Chinese city on the border with North Korea, it’s just a short hop to the Hermit Kingdom – or rather, a short swim. In summer, bronzed Chinese bathers wade into the Yalu River and paddle 400 metres to the opposite bank, where armed North Korean soldiers watch from turquoise guard towers over women washing clothes along the muddy bank. The North Koreans don’t dare swim.

“There are North Korean soldiers hiding in the long grass,” says one elderly Chinese woman swimming by the bank. “They will catch you and charge a ransom if you get too close.”

#corée_du_nord #chine

Eight countries. 2,056 nuclear tests. 71 years – mapped - Washington Post

►https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/world/nuclear-tests

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/world/nuclear-tests/img/nuclear-tests-promo-v2.jpg

Eight countries. 2,056 nuclear tests. 71 years.

In the name of national security, eight countries have tested nuclear weapons all over the world since 1945, frequently near populated places. Related: North Korea conducts fifth nuclear test, claims it has made warheads with ‘higher strike power’.

#nucléaire #cartographie #bombe_atomique

South Korea provides over 376 billion won in Kaesong compensation | NK News - North Korea News

▻https://www.nknews.org/2016/09/south-korea-provides-over-376-billion-won-in-kaesong-compensation

Après la fermeture de la zone franche de Kaesong

https://www.nknews.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/5015883510_2110e9424e_b_Kaesong-540x360.jpg

South Korean firms previously operating in the Kaesong Industrial Complex have received over 376 billion won in compensation from the government since the sites closure closure, the Ministry of Unification (MoU) announced on Monday.

The compensation, which is the equivalent of over 340 million U.S. dollars, follows the February 10 closure of the joint North-South run complex at which 124 South Korean companies were active.

“As of yesterday (9.4), a total of 376.7 billion won has been delivered to the GIC companies, which is a 74 percent execution rate out of the total budget scale,” MoU Spokesperson Jeong Joon-Hee said, according to the ministry’s website on Monday.

#kaesong #corée_du_nord #corée_du_sud

Seoul shuts down joint North-South Korea industrial complex | World news | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/10/seoul-shuts-down-joint-north-south-korea-industrial-complex-kaesong

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/683e883bd14b32d249f2976bd8876550dbb83c2f/0_124_1936_1162/master/1936.jpg?w=1200&h=630&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=crop&bm=normal&ba=bottom%2Cleft&blend64=aHR0cHM6Ly91cGxvYWRzLmd1aW0uY28udWsvMjAxNi8wNS8yNS9vdmVybGF5LWxvZ28tMTIwMC05MF9vcHQucG5n&s=0ce0f79641eb2ce2706af4671fefa482

South Korea is to close an industrial complex it operates with North Korea in retaliation for Pyongyang’s rocket launch last weekend, bringing to a sudden halt one of the last symbols of cooperation between the two countries.

Officials in Seoul said the decision to shut down the Kaesong complex was intended to prevent the regime of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, from using hard currency earned through the venture to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

#kaesong #corée_du_nord #corée_du_sud

North Korean Economy Watch » Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC)
▻http://www.nkeconwatch.com/category/economic-reform/special-economic-zones/kaesong-industrial-park

How bad is the Kaesong shutdown for the North Korean Economy?
Wednesday, February 10th, 2016

By Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein

The Ministry of Unification in Seoul announced today that the industrial park in Kaesong be closed as a form of retaliation for North Korea’s recent rocket launch, alleging that funds from the park have been used to finance the north’s arms buildup. Wall Street Journal (with my emphasis):

#kaesong #corée_du_nord #corée_du_sud

North Korea has 28 web servers

▻http://motherboard.vice.com/read/north-korea-has-just-28-websites

On Tuesday, apparently by mistake, North Korea misconfigured its nameserver, essentially a list that holds information on all of the domains that exist for .kp, allowing anyone to query it and get the list.

In other words, a snafu by North Korea’s system administrators allowed anyone to ask the country’s nameserver: “can I have all of your information on this domain?" and get an answer, giving everyone a peek into the strange world of North Korea’s web.

“Now we have a complete list of domain names for the country and it’s surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly) very small,” Matt Bryant, a security engineer who found out about the mistake, told Motherboard in an email.

North Korea has only 28 registered domains, according to the leaked data.

#North_Korea #Corée_du_Nord

COLIN POWELL IN LEAKED EMAIL SAYS #ISRAEL HAS 200 NUKES
▻http://europe.newsweek.com/colin-powell-says-israel-has-200-nukes-leaked-email-499192

Hacker group DCLeaks, which has reported links to Russian intelligence, released a slew of emails from #Powell Wednesday, which were subsequently reviewed by U.S. foreign policy blog LobeLog. Powell’s aides have confirmed the veracity of the leaked emails. The four-star U.S. general went on to publicly support the Iranian nuclear deal, saying that “it’s a pretty good deal.”

#nucléaire

North Korea bans sarcasm because Kim Jong-un fears people only agree with him ‘ironically’ | The Independent
▻http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korea-bans-sarcasm-kim-jong-un-freedom-speech-a7231461.html

https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2016/08/26/18/kim-jong-un.jpg

North Korea has forbidden people from making sarcastic comments about Kim Jong-un or his totalitarian regime in their everyday conversations.

Even indirect criticism of the authoritarian government has been banned, Asian media reported.

Residents were warned against criticising the state in a series of mass meetings held by functionaries across the country.

#corée_du_nord

N. Korea confirms 5th nuke test, claims nuclear missile capability — RT News
▻https://www.rt.com/news/358730-north-korea-nuke-test-blast

North Korea has confirmed it has conducted its fifth nuclear test, announcing it is now capable of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets. The statement came just hours after a powerful explosion was reported near the country’s secretive nuclear test site.
[…]
Earlier, a powerful explosion measured 5.3 in magnitude was reported at the site of North Korea’s bomb tests by the US Geological Survey (USGS), triggering reports of an apparent nuclear test.

North Korea Successfully Launches Ballistic Missile From Sub - Bloomberg
▻http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-23/north-korea-successfully-launches-ballistic-missile-from-sub

https://i2.wp.com/gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1x-1-4.jpg

North Korea launched a ballistic missile from a submarine off its east coast early Wednesday, in a move that showcases its technological improvements as South Korea conducts military drills with the U.S.

The missile flew about 500 kilometers, suggesting the nation’s missile technology has improved from previous launches, a South Korean defense ministry official said. The projectile was fired at about 5:30 a.m. from waters near the city of Sinpo where North Korea has previously conducted test-firings of ballistic missiles.

The submarine-launched missiles may have the capacity fly more than 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), Yonhap News said, citing South Korea’s military. Japanese officials said the missile flew into Japan’s air defense perimeter, marking the first time that a North Korean device had fallen into the zone.

US-South Korean war games inflame Asian tensions - World Socialist Web Site

▻http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/08/23/uskr-a23.html

US-South Korean war games inflame Asian tensions
By Peter Symonds
23 August 2016

The annual joint US-South Korean military exercises known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) began yesterday amid rising tensions in Asia fuelled by the American military build-up throughout the region. While nominally aimed against North Korea, the war games consolidate Washington’s military alliance with Seoul as it makes preparations for conflict with China.

The military drills involve around 25,000 US military personnel, of which 2,500 will come from outside South Korea, operating alongside 75,000 South Korean troops. The US has 28,500 troops stationed permanently in South Korea and is currently restructuring its bases in the country as part of its broader reorganisation of American military forces in the Asia Pacific.

#corée_du_sud #états-unis #chine #nucléaire

Where North Koreans really live. Propaganda photos obscure the variety of housing across the country

The glossy pictures of North Korean propaganda magazines leave no doubt about how North Korea’s power elite would like their cities to appear to the eyes of outsiders. Such pictures nearly always depict large, multi-story apartment buildings (the higher the better) standing in rows along impossibly broad streets that are more or less devoid of traffic. This is the picture of Pyongyang that North Korea’s agitprop has peddled for decades, and this was presented as the sole type of dwelling worthy of Juche-style socialism.

https://www.nknews.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/countryhousing.jpg https://www.nknews.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/housespyongyang.jpg https://www.nknews.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/elite-housing.jpg

#Corée_du_Nord #propagande #photographie #architecture #urbanisme
cc @reka