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NEWS ABOUT: Kim Jong Il

N. Korea on Kim's Birthday: Let People Eat, Um, Nothing

Dear Leader parties; no 'gifts' for Koreans

(Newser) - North Korea held its usual lavish celebration to mark Kim Jong Il’s 69th birthday today—even though the desperately poor country couldn’t afford to hand out its usual “birthday gift” of food rations to the people. In one northeastern province, even ruling party officials haven’t gotten... More »

Isolated and Destitute, North Korea Limps On

Reporters granted rare visit with Richardson

(Newser) - North Korea has a deadline: For years, it's promised that an age of prosperity will begin in 2012, the 100th anniversary of Kim Il-Sung's birth. With 18 months to go, two journalists accompanying Bill Richardson on an unprecedented trip to North Korea found that the government will be hard-pressed to... More »

Sabotage? Derailed Train Carried Gifts for Kim Jong Un

Seoul radio cites suspicion of foul play

(Newser) - A train full of birthday presents en route to North Korea’s heir derailed this month—but was it a simple accident, or sabotage? A South Korean radio station that often cites Northern sources reports that a train departing from Sinuiju and headed for Pyongyang derailed on Dec. 11, creating... More »

Leaks Bare What Envoys Really Think of Leaders

Painful insults abound in leaked cables

(Newser) - The fallout from the WikiLeaks release of US embassy cables is only just beginning, but one thing is clear: there are going to be some seriously embarrassed diplomats. Some insults to world leaders, as collected by the Telegraph:
  • Nicolas Sarkozy: The French president is an "emperor with no clothes,
... More »

N. Korea Warns of More Strikes

North says US to blame for attack on South

(Newser) - North Korea has warned it will attack the South again if it carries out any "reckless military provocations." The statement from a North Korean military delegation—which promised "second and third strong physical retaliations without hesitation"—didn't specifically mention the US-South Korea joint military exercises set... More »

South Korea Threatens 'Enormous Retaliation'

Lee: Deadly attack 'completely unforgivable'

(Newser) - Talk of all-out war is coming from both Koreas after yesterday's attack on a South Korean island by the north . South Korean President Lee Myung-bakhas put the country's military on its highest alert level and warned that the shelling is a "completely unforgivable" attack on civilians that cannot go... More »

Kim Jong Il Tours Soy Sauce Factory

US, meanwhile, says it isn't planning any military response

(Newser) - With North Korea and South Korea teetering on the edge of war , what did Kim Jong Il and his heir apparent, Kim Jong Un, spend the day doing? They visited a soy sauce factory, reports Aol News , via a dispatch from the state news agency. The father-son duo also visited... More »

Why North Korea Attacked the South

Many believe it is an attempt to force negotiations

(Newser) - Following North Korea's artillery attack on South Korea, the Los Angeles Times , reporting from Seoul, and Reuters gather early theories for what is behind the attack:
  • Forcing negotiations: A former negotiator and South Korean lawmaker calls it a "berserk" and "last-ditch" attempt "to engage Washington and Seoul"
... More »

Kim Jong Il's Other Son Down on Succession

But will support his brother from afar

(Newser) - Kim Jong Nam, the wayward eldest son of Kim Jong Il, isn't keen on half-brother Kim Jong Un becoming North Korea’s next ruler. But not because of why you'd think: “Personally, I am opposed to the hereditary transfer to a third generation of the family,” the elder... More »

Korea Fetes Heir With Massive Parade

Kims in attendance at huge celebration of Workers' Party

(Newser) - With its Dear Leader and Dear Leader-apparent in attendance, North Korea celebrated the 65th anniversary of its ruling Workers Party with a huge military parade today, broadcasting the event live and even letting foreign media in to give the country and the world the first public look at Kim Jong... More »

Kim Jong Un Confirmed as North Korean Leader

Kim Jong Il's youngest son will succeed him

(AP) - A top North Korean official confirmed today that Kim Jong Il's youngest son will succeed him as the next leader of the reclusive communist nation. In the first public confirmation of the succession plan, Yang Hyong Sop, a top official in North Korea's ruling party, referred to Kim Jong Un... More »

Kim Jong Un May Have Had Surgery to Look Like Gramps

In older images, he looked skinny, had different chin

(Newser) - Did Kim Jong Un, the son and anointed successor of Kim Jong Il, have plastic surgery to look like his grandfather? That’s what South Korean newspapers are speculating after North Korea released the first official shots of Kim Jong Un last week. In them, he looked like the spitting... More »

Kim Jong Il's Sister Is 'Evil'

The wacko family gets wackier

(Newser) - North Korea's crazy dictator Kim Jong Il and mysterious-and-chubby heir Kim Jong Un aren't quite the Brady Bunch, so why shouldn't the elder Kim's sister turn out to be a raging alcoholic who orchestrated a fatal car accident to bump off a rival and drove her own daughter to suicide?... More »

N. Korea Prints Photos of Chubby Heir Apparent

Kim Jong Un gets a close up

(Newser) - North Korea introduced its chubby-faced heir apparent to the world today by way of official photos released by the country's state media. An unsmiling Kim Jong Un sports combed-back hair cut high on the sides and a communist-style black suit in the still and video images, which show the twentysomething... More »

Kim Jong-Il Promotes Son to Apparent Next-in-Line

Leader makes sister, youngest son 4-star generals as party meets

(Newser) - North Korea-watchers say Kim Jong Il has sent his clearest signal yet that he intends for his youngest son to lead the country after his death. State media announced the promotion of Kim Jong Un to four-star general today as the country's biggest political summit in 30 years began, the... More »

N. Korean Army Gives Kim's Son Tentative Nod

Succession plans progress with his election as delegate

(Newser) - The North Korean military has given Kim Jong-Un its tacit blessing to take over for his father as the country’s dictator. The military elected the younger Kim to serve as a delegate at today’s ruling party meeting, essentially giving him their backing, sources tell the Daily Telegraph . The... More »

North Korea Is Talking: Let's Listen

Pyongyang sending 'strong signals' it wants to deal

(Newser) - Now that he's back from North Korea, Jimmy Carter says Kim Jong Il is showing "clear, strong signals" that he's ready to deal (again) on his nuclear arsenal. Kim delivered the same message to Beijing, writes Carter, which is why China is pushing for the resumption of six-party talks.... More »

Kim Jong Il's Transfer of Power May Be Near

Big party gathering in the works; youngest son in line

(Newser) - North Korea is planning a huge political summit amid rumors that Kim Jong Il will designate his youngest son as successor, Bloomberg reports. Soldiers and tanks have been dispatched to the capital for military parades, and Kim's Workers' Party of Korea has prepared pledges of loyalty for the summit, expected... More »

Behind Secret Global Arms Trade, a North Korean Duo

Ship weapons to Iran, Syria, Myanmar

(Newser) - North Korea operates a vast global arms and nuclear materials trading network, and two men related by marriage largely control this expanding operation. In announcing economic sanctions yesterday, the Obama administration named Chun Byung-ho and Yun Ho-jin—likely Chun's son-in-law—who have shipped components for nuclear reactors, long-range missiles, and... More »

China, North Korea Pump Up Ties During Kim's Visit

North Korean leader says he's rejoin nuclear talks

(Newser) - Kim Jong-Il and Hu Jintao cozied up during their secretive five-day meeting in China, with Hu using economic development aid for the impoverished North to prod Pyongyang into a return to six-party talks on nuclear disarmament. As the LA Times reports, Kim's trip clearly snubbed Jimmy Carter, seeming to indicate... More »

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