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NEWS ABOUT: Pyongyang

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Giant Hotel Opening in North Korea, 23 Years Late

Ryugyong Hotel a longtime laughingstock

(Newser) - More than two decades ago, North Korea began work on a hotel taller than the Chrysler Building. This spring, after years of ridicule, a portion of Pyongyang's Ryugyong Hotel is set to open, the Washington Post reports. The 105-story building made of concrete still isn't ready for tourists,... More »

Kim's 2-Day Funeral Begins

Kim Jong Un walks alongside father's hearse

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of soldiers lined the snowy streets of Pyongyang today as North Korea began two days of funeral services for Kim Jong Il. Successor Kim Jong Un walked alongside the hearse, followed by other senior officials who included his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, the AP reports. State television,... More »

Pyongyang May Be Too Poor to Pickle Kim

Unlike his father, late leader likely to be buried

(Newser) - Kim Jong Il is currently lying in state in Pyongyang, but North Koreans may not have much longer to view him: A shortage of skills and cold hard cash means the late Dear Leader will likely be buried instead of being preserved for display like his father, Kim Il Sung,... More »

North Koreans Mourn 'Dear Leader'

Weeping crowds fill streets of Pyongyang

(Newser) - North Korea's propaganda machine gave Kim Jong Il the status of a demigod—one that the totalitarian state is now mourning. Video aired on Chinese TV shows throngs of people in Pyongyang weeping at news of the leader's sudden death , reports Reuters , and state TV reports that people... More »

US to North Korea: Help Us Find Fallen Soldiers

Remains of 5,500 servicemen are believed to be located there

(Newser) - The US recovered the remains of some 220 US troops killed in the Korean War when recovery teams were allowed access to North Korea from 1996 to 2005, but the Bush administration then ended the program over fears for the teams’ safety. Now, for the first time in six years,... More »

North Korea: Those Artillery Rounds Just 'Construction'

South Korea calls North's explanation 'a usual nonsensical claim'

(Newser) - South Korea says the North's explanation for yesterday's exchange of fire along the Northern Limit Line is a bunch of malarkey, reports the Wall Street Journal . The North claims that it didn't fire any weapons, but in fact the South simply mistook "normal blasting" from construction... More »

North Korea Frees American

Eddie Jun had been detained for six months

(AP) - North Korea freed an American it held for a half year for reportedly proselytizing, handing him today to a US envoy who said Washington had not promised to provide aid in exchange for the man's release. The envoy, Robert King, accompanied Eddie Jun on a flight from Pyongyang, and... More »

North Korea to Release American

News of Eddie Jun comes as Pyongyang seeks new food aid

(Newser) - North Korea is set to release an American held since last November, state media reported after a US diplomat visited Pyongyang. The American envoy for human rights in North Korea, Robert King, headed to the country to examine its request that the US resume food aid, which Pyongyang halted in... More »

N. Korea Confirms American Being Held

Pyongyang 'plans to use missionary as bargaining chip'

(Newser) - North Korea has confirmed that it has been holding an American citizen in detention since last November, the AP reports, and is preparing to bring charges against him. Pyongyang names the man as Jun Young Su, and says he was arrested for committing a crime against the country and he... More »

US Pleads With North Korea to Free American

US citizen has been detained for several months

(Newser) - The US is urging North Korea to free an American citizen who was arrested and detained there several months ago, AP reports. "This individual has been detained. I don't have any details of what this individual was doing in North Korea," said a State Department spokesman. "We... 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 »

South Korea Launches In-Your-Face Military Exercise

Unofficial envoy fears 'crisis'

(Newser) - Despite global fears of a violent confrontation, South Korea launched fighter jets and fired live artillery in a military exercise close to the North Korea border. But the two-hour operation ended without incident, and Pyongyang officials promised not to retaliate, reversing earlier threats of a "deadly" response. Residents of... More »

South Korea: We Will Bomb North if Attacked Again

But some still question the president's willingness to attack

(Newser) - South Korea is done taking crap from the North: It will deploy jets to bomb North Korea if Pyongyang attacks it again, said President Lee Myung-bak's newly appointed defense minister today. "In case the enemy attacks our territory and people again, we will thoroughly retaliate to ensure that the... More »

South Korea Eases Retaliation Rules

President walks tightrope over response to attacks

(Newser) - After declaring plans to boost defenses , South Korea announced a shift in military policy to make retaliation easier, the New York Times reports. New rules will allow South Korea’s military a more forceful response to any attack from Pyongyang. But with the public largely opposed to a military response,... More »

South Korea Defense Minister Resigns

Meanwhile, president vows to boost defenses

(Newser) - South Korea promised today to boost defenses on the island North Korea attacked, as the country’s defense minister resigned and China offered an official response to the incident. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held a security meeting today to draft new defense strategies and rules of engagement including increasing... More »

Jimmy Carter: It's Time for Direct Talks With N. Korea

Pyongyang keeps sending us the same message

(Newser) - Time after time, North Korea has relayed the same message: if the US will hold direct talks with Pyongyang, North Korea is “ready to conclude an agreement to end its nuclear programs, put them all under IAEA inspection and conclude a permanent peace treaty,” writes Jimmy Carter in... More »

Satellite Reveals N. Korea Nuke Building

Reactor would give country cause to enrich uranium

(Newser) - Satellite photos reveal construction at North Korea’s main atomic complex, suggesting the country is fulfilling its plans to build a light-water nuclear reactor, the AP reports. The images, from a private Washington institute, show at least two cranes and an under-construction rectangular structure, and come amid reports that work... More »

N. Korea Attack on G20 Feared

Diplomats fear bizarre balloon assault from Pyongyang

(Newser) - As the G20 summit in South Korea enters its second day, British diplomats fear that North Korea is planning to grab the spotlight with military action or even an attack on the summit. The summit is taking place just 50 miles from the border, and diplomats worry that the North... 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 »

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