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North Korea

Rayden

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset

North, South Korea exchange fire at land border: Seoul


Attacks follow release of balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets and come as Kim Jong-un misses function, fuelling rumours over his health


PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 6:08pm
UPDATED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 9:52pm

Agencies in Pyongyang, Seoul, and Beijing

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South Korean activists release balloons carrying anti-North Korea leaflets at a park near the inter-Korea border in Paju, north of Seoul, on October 10, 2014. Photo: AFP

North and South Korea exchanged heavy gun fire across their border last night just hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un failed to appear at the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party for the first time in three years.

The attacks began after the North fired at balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets launched by activists in the South, military officials said.

No casualties were reported, although some residents living nearby in the South Korean township of Hapsuri were evacuated as a precaution.

While naval confrontations along the two rivals' disputed maritime border occur from time to time, military engagement across the heavily militarised frontier is extremely rare.

It came as speculation mounted yesterday that something was amiss with the North's authoritarian leader, who has not been seen publicly in more than a month.

An official state media dispatch listed senior government, military and party officials who paid their respects at an event marking the party's 69th anniversary, but not Kim.

It said a flower basket with Kim's name on it was placed before statues of his father and grandfather, both of whom also ruled North Korea.

State media had said earlier that the might of the party was "growing stronger under the seasoned guidance of Marshal Kim Jong-un".

Kim typically visits the ex-leaders' mausoleum in Pyongyang at midnight on such occasions, accompanied by the country's top echelon officials.

The official Korean Central News Agency usually reports such meetings in the small hours of the morning.

This time, KCNA reported only that senior officials, including the head of parliament Kim Yong-nam, the Korean People's Army's top political officer Hwang Pyong-so, and Premier Pak Pong-ju visited the mausoleum.

Kim, who is thought to be 31, has not been seen performing his customary public duties since he attended a concert on September 3. He had been walking with a limp and was more overweight than usual in images that aired before that.

An official documentary from late last month described him as dealing with "discomfort", which led to international speculation that he may be ill.

This week a source said Kim was suffering an ankle and knee problem and needed 100 days to recuperate.

Yesterday's exchange of fire followed the launch from Hapsuri of a number of gas-filled balloons with attached bundles of leaflets denouncing the North Korean regime.

Two hours after the launch, rounds of heavy machine gun fire were heard from the North Korean side, lasting about 20 minutes, the ministry spokesman said.

After a number of high-calibre rounds were found to have fallen near South Korean border posts, the South retaliated by firing 40 rounds "towards the North's guard posts", he added.

"We are closely monitoring movements of the North Korean military," he said.

The balloon launch from Hapsuri followed a similar morning exercise by another group of activists in Paju, Seoul-based Fighters for a Free North Korea, who released around 200,000 leaflets condemning the "dictatorship" of Kim attached to 10 balloons.

The leaflets criticised the repressive rule of the ruling Kim family and called for a rebellion by those suffering inside a "living hell".

"Rise up against the hereditary dictatorship of Kim Jong-un," said a slogan emblazoned on one balloon.

Seoul allowed both exercises to go ahead, despite prior warnings from Pyongyang of "catastrophic" consequences.

Associated Press, Kyodo, Reuters and Agence France-Presse

 

Ultravox

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset

Overweight Kim Jong-un injured his ankle and knee, says N Korean source


Leader may make his first appearance in more than a month, ending speculation about his fate

PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 5:13am
UPDATED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 10:53am

Associated Press in Tokyo

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Kim Jong-un was last seen in public over a month ago. Photo: AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who could make his first appearance in more than a month today as the nation marks its 69th anniversary, injured his ankle and knee because he's overweight but is still in charge of the country, a source close to him said.

Kim's absence from the public eye, along with suggestions in the North Korean media that he might be ill, has sparked rumours abroad that all is not well in the secretive country.

Kim, 31, was last was seen in public attending a concert on September 3. Before that, he had been shown walking with a limp.

The leader's absence from today's event marking the founding of the ruling Korean Workers' Party would not in itself be all that unusual. Such anniversaries are generally given more weight when they are landmark years, although he attended the celebrations in the last two years.

Last night, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing and direct access to the top levels of both governments, did not give any indication as to whether Kim would appear, but did shed light on his limp.

"Kim Jong-un is in total control. There is no split in the top leadership," he said. "He injured his ankle and knee around late August or early September ... because he is overweight. He limped around in the beginning but the injury worsened."

During a surprise visit to South Korea last week to attend the closing ceremonies of the Asian Games in Incheon, three senior North Korean leaders assured their South Korean hosts that Kim was healthy.

Kim missed a meeting of the country's parliament late last month, and was absent again from a gathering this week to mark his late father's election as ruling party head.

Yesterday the party newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried three letters to Kim from overseas allies, and reported on returning athletes from Incheon thanking "the Marshal" for his support.

Additional reporting by Reuters

 

Ultravox

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset

North Korea leader Kim is still in charge, has leg injury: source


Source close to North Korea's leadership says leader Kim Jong-un remains in control of the secretive nuclear state but remains out of the public eye while recuperating from a leg injury

PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 9:52am
UPDATED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 1:08pm

Reuters in Beijing and Seoul

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was consipicuous by his absence on Friday during celebrations mark the 69th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang. Photo: AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is in firm control of his government but hurt his leg taking part in a military drill, a source with access to the secretive North’s leadership said, playing down speculation over the 31-year-old’s health and grip on power in the nuclear-capable nation.

North Korea’s state media, which usually chronicle Kim’s activities in great detail, have not mentioned any public appearances since he attended a concert with his wife on September 3, and Kim was absent from early state media coverage of an important political anniversary on Friday.

In the previous two years, Kim marked the anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s Workers’ Party with a post-midnight visit to the Pyongyang mausoleum where the bodies of his father and grandfather are interred.

Last year, that visit was covered about four hours later by the state’s KCNA news agency, and by the daily Rodong Sinmun newspaper.

As of midday on Friday, there was no KCNA report of an event at the mausoleum and a state television channel had not broadcast any new images of the young leader, instead running a documentary on his father and grandfather.

The source with access to the North’s leadership, who has close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing, said on Thursday that Kim had hurt his leg while inspecting military exercises.

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This undated file picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attending the People's Theatre in Pyongyang. Kim has not been seen in public since September 3. Photo: AFP

“He ordered all the generals to take part in drills and he took part too. They were crawling and running and rolling around, and he pulled a tendon,” the source told reporters s on condition of anonymity.

“He injured his ankle and knee around late August or early September while drilling because he is overweight. He limped around in the beginning but the injury worsened,” the source said.

Kim, who has rapidly gained weight since coming to power after his father died of a heart attack in 2011, had been seen walking with a limp since an event with important officials in July, which would imply he may have aggravated an earlier injury.

Kim needs about 100 days to recuperate, said the source, whose information could not be independently verified.

“Kim Jong-un is in total control,” said the source.

Kim’s absence from public view is fuelling speculation over the state of his health and whether he may have been sidelined in a power struggle.

“The longer he remains out of the public eye, the more uncertainty about him, and the status of his regime, will grow,” said Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the US-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.

On Friday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it believes Kim remains in charge, citing a message conveyed by him via a delegation visiting last weekend, and Pyongyang’s continued public position that Kim leads the country.

“So it appears it is being normally ruled by Kim Jong-un,” ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said.

North Korean officials have denied that Kim’s public absence since early September is health-related and a US official following North Korea said this week there were no indications he was seriously ill or in political trouble.

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Kim Jong-un watches an air show with Vice-Marshall Hwang Pyong-so, who some commentators speculate may be involved in a power struggle, in Pyongyang on May 10. Photo: Reuters

It remains unclear why a leg injury would keep Kim out of the public eye for so long, although this is not the first time he has been missing from view.

In June 2012, six months after coming to power, state media failed to report on or photograph him for 23 days.

He re-surfaced the next month at a dolphinarium.

Speculation that Kim’s unusually long absence from public view may be due to ill health was fuelled by a North Korean television report late last month that said he was suffering from “discomfort”.

Some North Korea watchers also suggest that Kim may have been sidelined in a power struggle, a scenario they say was reinforced by the unexpected visit on Saturday of a high-level delegation led by Vice-Marshall Hwang Pyong-so to the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

Another interpretation of that visit holds that it was meant to convey stability in Pyongyang.

The source with knowledge of Kim Jong-un’s health said rumours of a coup were “rubbish”.

“It would have to be a very subtle coup indeed not to disrupt international travel plans,” said Andray Abrahamian of the Choson Exchange, a Singapore-based group running a programme for North Koreans in Southeast Asia.

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Kim Jong-un did not greet North Korean athletes at the Pyongyang airport on Sunday as they returned from the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. Photo: AFP

North Korea is a hereditary dictatorship centred on the ruling Kim family. Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, is known to have an official role within the ruling party. His brother, Kim Jong-chol, and his estranged half-brother are not in the public eye.

Kim was absent from a September 25 meeting of the Supreme People’s Assembly, or parliament, the first he has not attended since coming to power three years ago.

Abrahamian said it was unlikely Kim had been usurped.

“Kim Jong-un has always shared power with other key figures and even if the internal balance of power has shifted, it is unlikely that they would want to remove him, given his unmatchable symbolic value. Again, though, everyone is guessing,” he said.


 

Ultravox

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset


情报机构:金正恩患痛风卧床 吃太多鱼子酱

2014-10-11 07:15:39

参考消息网10月10日报道 外媒称,尽管朝鲜领导人金正恩已有一个多月未公开露面,但是有很多迹象显示这个国家在正常运转。

据韩联社10月8日报道,为纪念已故朝鲜领导人金正日就任朝鲜劳动党总书记17周年,朝鲜劳动党机关报《劳动新闻》8日在头版社论中向现任最高领导人金正恩表达了忠心。

社论说,“不管面临怎样的艰险,金正恩同志领导的我党都将为完成将军(金正日)的伟业和遗训奋斗到底”,“金正恩同志是朝鲜劳动党的伟大领袖,是我们的革命百战百胜的旗帜”。《劳动新闻》还刊登了金正日的大幅彩照。

据美国《华盛顿时报》网站10月8日报道,尽管华盛顿国家安全界有人认为朝鲜领导人金正恩已被秘密政变赶下台,但是情报官员中最主要的看法是,金正恩从公众视线消失是因为他抽烟太多和吃了过多鱼子酱而得了痛风,卧床不起。

不管哪种说法,对这个世界上最不透明政权的权力转移的猜测聚焦于金正恩——已有一个多月未公开露面——10月10日是否将出现在平壤大规模集会上,参加执政的劳动党成立纪念活动。

美国一位情报官员说:“金正恩不露面未必表明他不在掌控着这个国家。尽管传言纷纷,但是有很多迹象显示这个国家在正常运转。”

据彭博新闻社网站10月9日报道,金正恩长时间地离开公众视线,包括缺席最高人民会议,已经引发了疑问,即他的消失更多是与他对拥有核武的朝鲜的权力掌控有关而不是健康问题。

社交媒体上有人认为最高军方官员已经掌握权力,但这一说法受到一位前情报官员的质疑。

“朝鲜高官最近的访问清楚地表明金正恩仍牢牢掌握着权力,”曾在韩国国家情报院任职的金正奉(音)说,“是金正恩本人派出了这些高官。没有任何迹象显示他的权力已经受到损害。”

据英国《卫报》网站10月8日报道,由于朝鲜领导人一个多月未公开露面,发生政变的传言甚嚣尘上。但是来自这个国家内部的证据显示正相反。

对很多评论家来说,黄炳誓突然出现在亚运会闭幕式上足以证明金正恩垮台了——不光因为黄炳誓级别高,而且因为他本不可能到韩国去。

报道说,但是有一个不那么富有戏剧性的解释。根据金正恩跛行的视频,人们普遍相信他正接受治疗——可能是在家族设备完善的一处别墅里。

有关朝鲜内部举行报告会的报道也不支持金正恩被推翻的说法。韩国的朝鲜新闻网报道,4日下午,朝鲜百姓在工作场所和住宅区聚集在一起听政府解释高官的韩国亚运会之行。

一位做报告者解释说:“党和军队的高级干部受委派(到亚运会)看望我们的运动员们,他们毫不例外以不屈不挠的精神为祖国争得了荣誉。”她还说:“出于伟大的关爱,金正恩元帅亲自组织派遣他们去,而且给他们提供了专机。”

听报告是朝鲜生活的常态。在缺乏可证实金正恩状况的信息的情况下,这些是了解平壤想要该国人民相信什么的重要渠道。

报道称,金正恩仍然在掌权,至少名义上是这样,这种看法得到了《朝鲜新报》佐证。这个由在日本的朝鲜侨民协会主办的网络刊物报道说,仁川之行是“金正恩下了决心促成的”。

因此尽管传言四起,但是朝鲜传出的信息仍然是金正恩是伟大亲切的。至少从舆论上看,金家王朝仍然完全掌控着国家。

据美国《外交政策》双月刊网站10月8日报道,现在距离金正恩上次在公开场合露面已经有36天了。多数朝鲜问题专家似乎相信他很快将结束自己的“失踪”,或者认为他至少会发出一个他继续掌权的信号。

报道说,可以说,有金正恩掌权,朝鲜要稳定得多。朝鲜最危险的一点是它的不可预测性。在平壤迷雾重重的“权力走廊”,金正恩是一个我们较为熟知的人物。外界对金正恩的了解要多于对其他朝鲜国内人士的了解。


 

KimJongUn

Alfrescian
Loyal

Pyongyang urges US to resume recovery of Korean war remains

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 14 October, 2014, 4:30am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 14 October, 2014, 4:30am

Agencies in Seoul

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The dog tag of Philip W. Ackley, whose body remains lost. Photo: AP

North Korea has warned that the untended remains of US servicemen killed in the Korean war were being "carried away" by giant infrastructure projects, in an apparent effort to pressure Washington to resume recovery efforts that could also lead to much-needed money for the impoverished country.

Close to 8,000 Americans remain unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean conflict.

"Many remains have been left uncared for and have been carried away en masse," said a spokesman for the North's military delegation in the border truce village of Panmunjom.

The spokesman said the displacement of the remains was largely due to construction work surrounding major development projects, including hydro-electric power stations.

From 1996 North Korean and US military teams conducted 33 joint recovery missions and recovered 225 sets of remains, but the process was halted in 2005 by then defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld amid nuclear tensions.

The two sides agreed in 2011 to resume the joint missions, but the US scrapped the plan in protest against North Korea's decision to push ahead with a space rocket launch seen as a disguised ballistic missile test.

North Korea would have received millions of dollars in compensation for helping the work.

"History will curse and condemn the US administration ... for scuttling such humanitarian work," the North Korean spokesman said.

The US war remains "now look like no better than stones as land rezoning and other gigantic nature-remaking projects made progress", the spokesman said. "The Obama administration should not forget even for a moment the proverb that even a skeleton cries out of yearning for the homeland."

A US military spokesman in South Korea dismissed the statement as "one of North Korea's usual accusations".

Pyongyang has previously used the issue of missing servicemen to try to entice Washington into talks.

Analyst Chang Yong-seok at Seoul National University said the North was trying to pressure US politicians and officials ahead of November elections to resume the recovery project, which could give the North a way to obtain foreign currency and improve ties with Washington.

The US stations about 28,000 troops in South Korea.

Agence France-Presse, Associated Press


 
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