Nov 05 2009
Walter sent me this via E-Mail quite some time ago, and I think it is time to post it. Not only because it is interesting, but because I like this kind of thing. Enjoy!
With a degenerating itinerary our group of seven veterans of the DPRK lobbied the guides to take us to Pyongyang’s Italian Restaurant, [...]
Oct 09 2009
(Hat Tip: Walter) I think it is about time to post another oddity. I have been looking for information on this Italian Food Restaurant in Pyongyang, and it seems somebody has the goods. Enjoy the pics first, then see the commentary after. (Original set here)
Oct 08 2009
A big thank you to Walter for the E-mail containing some really neat pictures and DPRK footage. There are so many pictures and goodies, I do not know where to begin to comment on some of them. After this posting, they will be added to the “North Korea in Pictures” section. Again, I appreciate the [...]
Sep 30 2009
Alright, first things first. I found out from North Korean Economy Watch the name is Kim Jong Eun, not Kim Jong Un. This is important to know, and the correction is well-taken. The author of the post is rightfully reluctant to post things about the succession, because, (again rightfully so) is filled with speculation.
The song [...]
Sep 11 2009
It is most likely most DPRK watchers know of Lankov’s work, and this PDF is probably no exception. This paper argues North Korea’s Stalinist style regime is falling apart, which is probably dead on. This also agrees with the bottom-up process of marketization, futile attempts at reforms, and a people more interested in survival rather [...]
Sep 06 2009
I was looking up the status of North Korea’s debt, and to see how others rate the state. Then I ran into an interesting article about North Korean Debt Certificates. This thing is probably worth contemplating. As most North Korea watchers know, North Korea’s debt defaulted quite a while ago, and some of the debt [...]
Sep 05 2009
It appears the Ryugyong Hotel is making some progress, at least on the outside. When construction resumed sometime last year, I almost fell out of my chair. I could not believe such a project would ever resume with the many serious problems this thing obviously has. So I open Google News this morning, and see [...]
Sep 02 2009
Some details are starting to emerge about how Euna Lee and Laura Ling crossed the border. According to Bloomberg:
Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) — Two U.S. journalists detained in North Korea and released after a visit by former U.S. President Bill Clinton said soldiers from the communist nation “violently dragged” them back across the border from China.
[...]
“We [...]
Aug 30 2009
One of the last hard-line communist-based societies on the planet, North Korea steadfastly holds on to power despite the zombie like status of the economy and unsure status of the regime’s hold on power. For about a decade or so, predictions of the regime’s collapse have been discussed, and for a while, there was a [...]
Aug 29 2009
It has been very slow posting as of late, and I would like to apologize for that.
An ROK fishing boat has been released in a “goodwill measure” from the DPRK. The four man crew has been released along with the boat, and according to the article:
The North’s recent barrage of conciliatory gestures has been surprising, [...]