| NorthKoreaCentral Blog is designed to help you find out information about North Korea such as North Korea business, economy, education, health, entertainment, transportation, news, events & society. |
Posted on February 23rd, 2009 by BobFaul
Both China and Japan have agreed that six party talks are not working with North Korea’s nuclear weapons manufacturing and it is now estimated that North Korea has enough enriched plutonium to make 5 nuclear bombs. Since North Korea claims to have detonated a large nuclear bomb in a test underground it has alarmed the nations of that region. There was a huge seismic event of 3.5 Magnitude on the Richter Scale in Northern North Korea.
Now China is upset because North Korea has defied their requests and tested a so-called nuclear weapon underground. Japan has already applied trade sanctions on North Korea and has no other options in that arena. The United States has some options such as a Naval Blockage, but that would only hurt the people of North Korea who live under that dictator.
China is all about business and trade and is not so particular with who it sells too; example being Iran, which sponsors international terrorism. Will China actually do sanctions on North Korea or does it just like talk tough? Will China flex its military muscle and take over North Korea, it could use some extra growing room. North Korea has significant assets and that is some nice real estate? No one is going to help North Korea and it would be a slam-dunk for China.
Either way a conflict may not be likely and sanctions will not work and if North Korea insists on manufacturing nuclear weapons and exporting them as an Industry then the whole world has a problem. It is well-known that Iran has already met with North Korea and it is quite possible that they could be North Korea’s first customer if North Korea has made nuclear weapons.
Filed under: Business & Economy | No Comments »
Posted on February 5th, 2009 by Parvati
North Korea may soon test its first nuclear missiles. American spy satellites show photos of tunnels that look very similar to an underground test site. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimates that North Korea may have six nuclear weapons. IAEA boss Mohamed ElBaradei said North Korea has the plutonium and the technology to make five or six weapons. North Korea itself declared in February that it has nuclear weapons. American intelligence reports that Pyongyang already has one or two crude nuclear bombs.
So, what can be done to confront this nuclear threat? The current situation can not be addressed by the United States alone. It is my fear that the Republican majority in all branches of U.S. government will continue with the typical and ineffective go-it-alone strategy that has not won us the key support needed in protect our international interests. The international community is the only body capable of effectively handling the North Korean situation which has now developed into a global problem.
First, in a global economy, it is necessary for voters in the upcoming election to cast their votes to bring a more Democratic balance into the make-up of our current govenment. Democrats would be more effective in diplomacy and can speak the international tongue. Whether you agree with their policies and beliefs or not, they are more likely to restore trust and a sense of humanity to our foreign agenda.
Second, if the international community is the channel of tough sanctions, China is the key. The country of China is an emerging dominate player in the Asian region and is also responsible for trade that equates to roughly 50% of North Korea’s energy and food imports. If China does not accept its new international role in a responsible fashion, then the world will continue in its struggle to suppress renegade dictatorships.
Finally, North Korea has already been warned in their efforts to develop nuclear capabilities, but apparently decided not to listen. I believe we should impose the toughest of sanctions and work with our allies to allow for massive refugee transportation out of North Korea. At this point, deadlines should be drawn up for an international force to work together in removing this dictator from power if president Kim Jong-il does not comply and agree to dismantle his nuclear program.
In regards to a potential North Korean attack on South Korea, we already know that underground tunnels have been discovered to be dug deep into South Korean territory. The scary thing to note is that millions of people live in the capital of Seoul, South Korea, which is not very from the border with the north. If it is already assumed that some tunnels have not yet been discovered, what is to stop North Korea from detonating a nuclear weapon right under the heels of a major South Korean city such as Seoul? This would cause millions of people to suffer a horrific death. Another possibility to ponder is North Korea’s capability to transport weapons of mass destruction to our enemies whether it is Al Qaeda, Iran, Syria, etc.
Filed under: News & Events | No Comments »
Posted on January 6th, 2009 by Vasilisa
North Korea allows limited number of tourists groups to visit it, considered as one of the reclusive part in the world. Tough some selected Koreans are allowed to visit their families in the South; this country requires people to have an organized touring operation to visit it. Since many people access to North Korea via China, the visits are tacked on to China tours.
North Korea is a population of more than 23 millions. North Korea is bigger in area than South Korea and slightly smaller than England. Most of the areas are occupied by military people where one is not supposed to enter. On the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea is situated. Demilitarized zone in south, japan in the east, china in the North and yellow sea in the west flank North Korea. You will find this country a happening place the dark in contrast to South Korea.
This country is ruled by Kim Chong II after his father and the founder president died in 1994. Since most of the land consists of rugged mountains, the grain productivity is very less and the country has to depend upon the International food aid to feed its population. Decades of mismanagement are also responsible for this fact. Only a small is cultivable. The eastern part is rocky and western part has the coastal plains. North Korea’s climate is temperate. It is slightly colder and drier than South Korea in winter. Summer is hot, rainy and humid. May, June, September and October are the best months to visit this country.
Filed under: Entertainment & Transportation | No Comments »
Posted on December 8th, 2008 by IanFord
The family was among the many that had, a generation earlier, relocated in Japan and become strong supporters there of Socialism, Communism, and North Korea . With the rise of Kim Il Sung, the family was enticed to come back to the fatherland and complete the reforms so badly needed there. This very rich but very dedicated family moved back to a near hero’s welcome. But growing suspicions about their wealth and their connection to the traditional foe of Korea slowly led the family from fame to ghastly impoverishment. The entire family was arrested and a new life begun in one of Kim’s infamous reeducation centers.
How does one wind up in jail with all these credentials? To get to a North Korean Camp, one must be either “a land-holder, a capitalist, a U.S. or South Korean agent, a Christian, or members of purged Party circles deemed noxious to the state.” Division is made then between “redeemable” and “unredeemable” prisoners. Once classed unredeemable, life is over. Your only worth to the state is hard labor. You will be taken to work at secret sites since there is no hope of you taking those secrets anywhere but to the grave. You will work until you drop dead. Redeemables, like the author of this book, have a chance. They are taught Kim propaganda. They are thoroughly redone in their thinking processes, and after a number of years, released to live their new life as a trusted member of society.
Filed under: Society & Culture | No Comments »
Posted on November 1st, 2008 by Aston
The people of both North and South Korea are overwhelmingly of a homogeneous Korean background. The evolution of the Korean people goes back more 9000 year with little input from other racial and cultural groupings. The strongest influence came from the Chinese and the Mongols, both of whom held sway over the Korean peninsula at various times over centuries. While there was a strong ethnic Japanese population in Korea during Japan´s occupation from 1910 to 1945, this had minimal effect on Korean culture. Nobody knows for certain how the Korean language, which is unique to the Korean peninsula, evolved. Spoken Korean is most closely related to Japanese, although even then is has many distinct differences. The syntax is similar to Chinese: however, it does not use tones to discern meanings a Chinese does. Korean writings began 13000 years ago, but initially used Chinese rather than a distinctive Korean style. Hangul, the Korean phonetic alphabet, was devised around 500 years ago. For an outside observer Korean script tends to be less complicated than that of Japan or China.
Daily life varies enormously for Koreans depending on which side of the 38th parallel they live. The average North Korean lives a fairly bleak life under an unrelenting communist dictatorship. Where once North Korea was fairly self-sufficient, today it is widespread starvation and malnutrition. Agricultural workers live in communities of collectivised farms. Everyone works to produce food for the rest of the population. Non agricultural work centres primarily on heavy industry, mineral extraction and military service. The state controls all aspects of life. South Korea is vastly different, having a private-enterprise economy, although with some state intervention at various levels. The average South Korean works a full day Monday to Friday and half day on Saturday.
Filed under: Society & Culture | No Comments »
Posted on September 30th, 2008 by Gerald
North Korea is the land of the unexpected, for sure. Who would ever expect that the Gospel would be preached in this land from the sky? It went on for many years. Bright orange balloons bearing Scriptures in the Korean language floated over the northern border of South Korea into the southern section of North Korea. No DMZ mine field could stop them. Kim Jong Il’s 1 million man army never shot them down. Angry-faced soldiers couldn’t stare them away. They glided for miles at a time filled with helium and punctured by an ever-so-small opening that guided them almost scientifically to designated portions of the Hermit Kingdom.
Delighted children found them in a field and ran them home to aging grandmas and grandpas who wept over them, if they were of the remnant church still surviving in this scary land. Or they puzzled over them if they were of the great majority who have been brainwashed and totally uninformed about the outside world and its religious side. Hundreds of thousands of these plastic missionaries were sent out by dedicated South Koreans and their missionary cohorts . No one knows the full effect of their flights, but reports confirm that many of the missiles found their mark. Lives have been touched forever! Mr. Kim simply cannot keep the Word of God out. It is not bound. A little comes in on airwaves. A little on tapes. A few Bibles get where they were intended to go. Oh the precious life-giving Word of God!
Filed under: News & Events | No Comments »
Posted on August 27th, 2008 by Bence
“A country that is so deeply rooted in history is a place that all of us want to visit at some point during our lives. North Korea, the other name for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is situated in East Asia and its capital is Pyongyang. South Korea, which has been separated from North Korea by the Demilitarized zone, is a country formed post the World War II. The closest neighbour to North Korea is Japan and China.
This is a country that grew tremendously post the World war and has not stopped in its efforts. It continues to dazzle the visitors with their culture and local traditions. Among the various things to see, here is a list of five things one should not miss while travelling in this part of the world. Take a plane from the capital city of Pyongyang to reach Paekdusan, which is a place of great spiritual and religious significance. Paekdu, which is the highest mountain in North Korea, is also where the volcano with the largest crater lies. Called as Chonji, or Lake of Heaven, this crater is surrounded by various lakes. This place is very sacred to the locals, merely because it is here that the Son of Lord of heaven is said to have landed and where the first Korean Kingdom started.”
Filed under: Entertainment & Transportation | No Comments »
Posted on July 17th, 2008 by Jhonson
North Korea (officially Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK) is a country in East Asia. It occupies the northern half of the Korean Peninsula that lies between Korea Bay and the East Sea, also called the Sea of Japan. It borders China to the north, Russia to the northeast and South Korea to the south. This is a country that grew tremendously post the World war and has not stopped in its efforts. It continues to dazzle the visitors with their culture and local traditions. Among the various things to see, here is a list of five things one should not miss while travelling in this part of the world.
Take a plane from the capital city of Pyongyang to reach Paekdusan, which is a place of great spiritual and religious significance. Paekdu, which is the highest mountain in North Korea, is also where the volcano with the largest crater lies. Called as Chonji, or Lake of Heaven, this crater is surrounded by various lakes. This place is very sacred to the locals, merely because it is here that the Son of Lord of heaven is said to have landed and where the first Korean Kingdom started.
Filed under: Entertainment & Transportation | No Comments »
Posted on June 16th, 2008 by Nilson
The very fact that there are any North Korea casinos will probably come as something of a surprise to most people. The Hermit Kingdom, as it is sometimes known (this is actually a much older name for the whole of Korea, now usually applied only to the North), is the last Stalinist dictatorship left on the planet. The regime is so restrictive that mobile phones are not allowed at all. When they were handed out to regional officals, they were then confiscated again as they had become an alternative method of communication, outside the State structures.
Even the radios are permanently soldered to receive only the State radio channels, so that no one ever gets tempted to listen to South Korean stations. North Korea really is the most oppressive country currently extant. Another claim to fame is that it is the first hereditary Communist dictatorship, something that not all that many old style Communists would actually think was a good idea. What with all that repression (yes, they have an extensive network of gulags, work camps for those who have displeased the leadership) and the pure idiocy of their economic system (they cannot actually feed their own population), it would be something of a surprise to find any North Korea casinos at all.
Filed under: Entertainment & Transportation | No Comments »
Posted on May 13th, 2008 by Alex Smith
The Korean language is spoken by more than 70 million people, primarily in North and South Korea. There are a number of native Korean language speakers in several countries, including the United States Australia, Canada, and Japan. The Korean language is made up of an alphabet of 28 characters that have been in used for hundreds of years. These characters are in no way similar the western alphabet that makes up the English, French, Spanish, and other languages. This can prove to be intimidating for someone interested in learning the Korean language. If you are a soldier, a diplomat, or just someone planning a trip to South Korea, learning the language will help you to break down cultural and communication barriers.
There are several ways you can learn the Korean language, to varying degrees. If you study Korean at a college or University, you will receive an intensive education on the alphabet, reading, writing, and speaking the language that will give you a leg up on communicating with Korean citizens and work associates. If you are planning a career in as a United States diplomat, for example, there is a chance that your job will take you to Korea. Being able to communicate with native Koreans will help you make the most of your job and experience in a new land. You will be a better representative of your country if you are able to demonstrate your willingness to learn the indigenous language. Your cultural sensitivity will be appreciated. Also, if you plan to be a teacher of English as a second language, being fluent in Korean will make your experience living there more pleasant. As an instructor of English, you will be teaching Korean students, but you will also be learning from them.
Filed under: Education & Health | No Comments »
|
|