Fatty Spoonbanger sabre rattling again - fires missile into Sea of Japan

North Korea detains third U.S. citizen.

North Korea detained a U.S. citizen on Saturday as he attempted to leave the country, bringing the total number of Americans held by the isolated country to three.

Korean-American Tony Kim had spent a month teaching an accounting course at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), the university's chancellor, Chan-Mo Park, told Reuters on Sunday.

The arrest took place on Saturday morning local time, a statement by the university said, and was "related to an investigation into matters that are not connected in any way to PUST".

Kim, who also goes by his Korean name Kim Sang-duk and is in his fifties, was detained by North Korean officials at Pyongyang International Airport as he attempted to leave the country, Park said.

"The cause of his arrest is not known but some officials at PUST told me his arrest was not related to his work at PUST. He had been involved with some other activities outside PUST such as helping an orphanage," Park said.

"I sincerely hope and pray that he will be released soon".

An official at South Korea's National Intelligence Service said it was not aware of the reported arrest.

In Washington, the State Department said it was aware of reports that a U.S. citizen was detained in North Korea but had no further comment because of privacy considerations.

Kim is listed as an accounting professor on the website of PUST's sister institution in neighboring China, the Yanbian University of Science and Technology (YUST). Calls to YUST were not answered.

PUST was founded by evangelical Christians and opened in 2010, with students generally the children of the country's elite.

Its volunteer faculty, many of whom are evangelical Christians, has a curriculum that includes subjects once considered taboo in North Korea, such as capitalism.

North Korea, which has been criticized for its human rights record, has in the past used detained Americans to extract high-profile visits from the United States, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations.

North Korea was already holding two Americans.

Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old student, was detained in January last year and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor by a North Korean court for attempting to steal a propaganda banner.

In March 2016, Kim Dong Chul, a 62-year-old Korean-American missionary, was sentenced to 10 years hard labor for subversion. There have been no public appearances of either man since.

The reclusive state is also holding Canadian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim. He was charged with subversion and given a hard labor life sentence in 2015.

Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae was arrested in 2012 and sentenced to 15 years hard labor for crimes against the state. He was released two years later.

Its volunteer faculty, many of whom are evangelical Christians, has a curriculum that includes subjects once considered taboo in North Korea, such as capitalism

Can't think why that might be a bit of a problem in NK......

The sad saga of North Korea's ATMs.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — No modern airport terminal is complete without an ATM, and Pyongyang's now has two. But they don't work — because of new Chinese sanctions, according to bank employees — and it's not clear when they will.

ATMs are an alien enough concept in North Korea that those in the capital's shiny new Sunan International Airport have a video screen near the top showing how they work and how to set up an account to use them. The explanatory video is in Korean, but the machines, which are meant primarily for Chinese businesspeople and tourists, don't give out cash in the North Korean currency.

ATMs are not entirely new to the North. Years ago, the Ryugyong Commercial Bank installed one in a midrange tourist hotel in central Pyongyang frequented by Chinese. Another ATM was spotted at the airport last year, but it never appeared to be turned on. Additionally, customers who flash the bank's gold or silver ATM cards at two upscale stores that sell a wide array of imported foods and luxury items qualify for discounts.

How much North Korea's ATMs have actually been used is a matter of debate. Booking office employees said the ATMs at the airport's international terminal were installed a few months ago but are still in a "test phase." According to tellers at the bank's small office in the hotel where it has its other ATM, none of the machines are working because of Chinese sanctions that they said kicked in last month.

The Ryugyong Commercial Bank isn't a very well-known entity outside of North Korea. According to Curtis Melvin, a senior fellow at the U.S.-Korea Institute at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a frequent contributor to the North Korea-watching "38 North" website, it is part of a larger conglomerate of entities that includes the Ryugyong Kimchi Factory, the Ryugyong Household Goods Factory and the Ryugyong Electric Appliances Factory, along with a popular fitness center and spa in Pyongyang.

China's banking regulator did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on whether China has imposed restrictions on Chinese bank users' ability to make transactions at the ATMs in Pyongyang.

If sanctions are in fact why the ATMs aren't working, that could be a sign that Beijing is squeezing Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons and long-range missile programs. China is isolated North Korea's main economic lifeline and has been under increasing pressure from President Donald Trump to do more to rein in its neighbor. The North's finance and banking sectors are major targets.

But how much Chinese policy toward North Korea has changed is hard to gauge. Though China banned coal imports from the North in February, overall trade between the two countries has grown in recent months. Trade in the first quarter was actually up 37 percent from the same period in 2016, reaching $1.2 billion. About $720 million of that were exports from China to North Korea.

In any case, there will likely soon be fewer Chinese tourists for the ATMs to serve. Several Chinese tourism companies are eliminating or offering fewer North Korea tours because of increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and sagging demand amid safety fears. Air China also announced this month that it has discontinued its underperforming Beijing-Pyongyang route.

That leaves North Korea's Air Koryo as the only airline regularly flying into and out of Pyongyang's international airport. Most foreigners arriving at the airport are whisked out of the terminal lobby before they have time to notice the ATMs anyway.

But now, at least, they're plugged in.

Very useful!  

Chinese media warn N. Korea against nuke test.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) April 25, 2017 — A ruling Chinese Communist Party newspaper is warning North Korea against conducting another nuclear test, saying that would likely propel events past the "point of no return."

In an editorial Tuesday, the Global Times says the previous day's phone conversation between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping of China showed the two countries were in close communication over the tensions.

It says China hopes for a peaceful outcome, but that Beijing has "very limited influence on the entire situation." It says: "The game of chicken between Washington and Pyongyang has come to a breaking point." The paper is known for its often stridently nationalistic views.

It says if North Korea carries out a sixth nuclear test as expected, "it is more likely than ever that the situation will cross the point of no return. All stakeholders will bear the consequences, with Pyongyang sure to suffer the greatest losses."

As a traditional ally and North Korea's chief source of trade, food and fuel aid, China has come under intense pressure to use its influence to dissuade Pyongyang from additional nuclear tests and missile launches.

However, Beijing is intensely wary of any measures that might cause the collapse of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's hard-line communist regime, fearing that could lead to a wave of refugees and a Pyongyang government beholden to Washington and Seoul.

U.S. envoy for North Korea Joseph Yun says he and his counterparts from Japan and South Korea agreed to coordinate "all actions" on North Korea.

The three envoys also agreed that China has a key role in pressuring North Korea to abandon its missile and nuclear programs.

Yun told reporters after a meeting in Tokyo that all diplomatic, military and economic actions on North Korea will be coordinated among the allies.

Yun says China especially has "a very, very important role" to play. He says U.N. Security Council resolutions and sanctions on Pyongyang must be fully implemented.

He says: "There are a number of countries who could be more proactive" in implementing the sanctions. He did not identify the countries.

South Korean newspapers are questioning whether President Donald Trump is tuning out South Korea as he shapes his North Korea strategy.

Trump skipped calling Seoul during his phone conversations with his counterparts in Beijing and Tokyo on Sunday over the growing threat posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles program.

The Maeil Business Daily said Tuesday that Trump not calling South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, the country's acting leader, showed that the relations between the allies are "not normal."

The newspaper also mentioned that Washington has yet to name its new ambassador to Seoul three months after the departure of Mark Lippert and questioned whether Trump has "entirely left out South Korea in his picture for the Korean Peninsula."

The JoongAng Ilbo daily said in an editorial that South Korea shouldn't be excluded from critical discussions surrounding North Korea, because "the destiny of our nation could be at stake."

Seoul has long worried about losing its voice in international efforts to deal with North Korea's nuclear threat — something local media have termed "Korea Passing."

Maeil Business wrote: "When a military clash happens in the Korean Peninsula, South Korea will be the first target of North Korea and its military will hold joint operations with U.S. troops to fight back. ... If there is a partner Trump needs to discuss with foremost over the North Korea problem, it's not Xi Jinping or Shinzo Abe, but the leader of South Korea."

Donald Trump summons entire Senate to White House briefing on North Korea.

Extraordinary step taken as administration pressures UN security council for full force of existing sanctions and further measures in event of nuclear test.

The entire US Senate will go to the White House on Wednesday to be briefed by senior administration officials about the brewing confrontation with North Korea.

The unusual briefing underlines the urgency with which the Trump administration is treating the threat posed by Pyongyang’s continuing development of nuclear weapons and missile technology. It follows a lunch meeting Trump held with ambassadors from UN member states on the security council on Monday where he emphasised US resolve to stop North Korea’s progress.

“The status quo in North Korea is unacceptable and the council must be prepared to impose additional and stronger sanctions on North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile programs,” Trump said at the meeting. “North Korea is a big world problem, and it’s a problem we have to finally solve.”

On Friday the US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, is due to chair a security council foreign ministers’ meeting on the issue in New York, at which the state department said he would call once more for the full implementation of existing UN sanctions or new measures in the event of further nuclear or missile tests.

“This meeting will give the security council the opportunity to discuss ways to maximise the impact of existing security council measures and to show their resolve to response further provocations with appropriate new measures,” said Mark Toner, state department spokesman.

Senators are to be briefed by the defence secretary, James Mattis, and Tillerson on Wednesday. Such briefings for the entire senate are not unprecedented but it is very rare for them to take place in the White House, which does not have large secure facilities for such classified sessions as Congress.

Officials said the briefing would take place in the auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which can be adapted for such an event.

Michael Anton, a spokesman for the national security council, said that although the Senate did have its own facilities, “the president offered this to [Senate majority leader Mitch] McConnell as a gesture and McConnell appreciated that so decided to do it here.”

“Keep in mind this is still a Senate meeting, not a White House meeting,” Anton added.

Senate aides were unsure of the purpose of using the White House as a venue, speculating it could be symbolic and intended to show Trump’s seriousness or to showcase an assertive president as he approaches 100 days in office.

The state department appeared unaware on Monday that Tillerson would be delivering the briefing.

A sixth North Korean nuclear test has been anticipated for some months now. Some observers speculated that it could be conducted on Tuesday, on the anniversary of the founding of the North Korean armed forces, but the morning came and went without one.

Instead, Pyongyang held major live-fire drills in an area around its eastern coastal town of Wonsan, South Korea’s military said.

When the US envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, was asked what the US would do if Pyongyang carried out a nuclear test, she told NBC news: “I think then the president steps in and decides what’s going to happen.”

Haley said on Monday the US was not “looking for a fight” with North Korea but warned Pyongyang should not “give us a reason” for one.

The US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and its battlegroup are due to arrive off the Korean peninsula after exercises with the Japanese navy. An Ohio-class guided missile submarine, the USS Michigan, docked at the South Korean naval base of Busan on Tuesday, the US navy reported, in what was described as “a routine visit”.

North Korea’s state-run newspaper the Rodong Sinmun declared the country’s armed forces were ready to show their strength by sinking the carrier “with a single strike”.

Meanwhile the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has called for calm in a phone call with Trump. China “hopes all parties involved will exercise restraint and avoid doing anything to exacerbate the tense situation on the peninsula”, he said according to a summary of the call released by China’s foreign ministry.

In recent days Haley and other US officials have underlined China’s helpfulness in seeking to increase pressure on the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

“Working with China for the first time — they have really been our partner in trying to make sure that we hold him at bay, and I think it’s a new day when you’ve got China and the United States working together on a statement to condemn North Korea,” Haley said.

“They put pressure on him. He feels it. That’s why he’s responding this way. And I think it is a different day.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/25/trump-summons-entire-senate-to-white-house-briefing-on-north-korea

This is interesting:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-27/trump-warns-there-chance-major-major-conflict-north-korea

Putting a somewhat human face on the North Korean leader, President Trump had an interesting response when asked by Reuters if he considered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to be rational...

"He's 27 years old. His father dies, took over a regime. So say what you want but that is not easy, especially at that age.

"I'm not giving him credit or not giving him credit, I'm just saying that's a very hard thing to do. As to whether or not he's rational, I have no opinion on it. I hope he's rational."
And that is perhaps why he stil holds out hope for a path that avoids the military option...

"We'd love to solve things diplomatically but it's very difficult,"
Emphasizing the possibility of new sanctions, and in particular leverage from China..

"I have established a very good personal relationship with President Xi"

"I believe he is trying very hard. He certainly doesn’t want to see turmoil and death. He doesn’t want to see it. He is a good man. He is a very good man and I got to know him very well."

That's at least an improvement on the bellicose sabre rattling and Armadas.

North Korea ballistic missile test fails, NBC News confirms.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile early Saturday, but a U.S. official confirmed to NBC News that the test failed.
U.S. Pacific Command said the missile did not leave North Korean territory.

North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on Saturday in local time, but the missile exploded soon after launch, U.S. officials told NBC News.

The officials said that the failed test involved a short-range, non-nuclear missile, which would be able to hit Seoul, but not Japan.
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/28/north-korea-test-fires-ballistic-missile-report.html
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North Korea test-fires ballistic missile in defiance of world pressure.

North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on Saturday shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that failure to curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programs could lead to "catastrophic consequences".

U.S. and South Korean officials said the test, from an area north of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, appeared to have failed, in what would be North Korea's fourth successive unsuccessful missile test since March.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-idUSKBN17U2XB
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North Korea 'tests ballistic missile' amid reports Pyongyang stating war 'imminent'.

"North Korea fired an unidentified missile from a site in the vicinity of Bukchang in Pyeongannam-do (South Pyeongan Province) early this morning," Yonhap reported, quoting a statement issued by South Korea's military. "It is estimated to have failed."

Donald Trump, the US president, said that North Korea "disrespected the wishes of China" with the missile test.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/28/north-korea-tests-ballistic-missile-amid-reports-pyongyang-stating/

Donald Trump, the US president, said that North Korea "disrespected the wishes of China" with the missile test.

That's actually quite a clever bit of diplomacy, as China had made it clear NK was NOT to make another missile test.

Does 4 failed missile tests in a row make NK a failed state?    Just pondering.   LL

Von Braun had a higher success rate more than 70 years ago.....

bb1 wrote:Von Braun had a higher success rate more than 70 years ago.....

Don't forget, the Nazis sent V1 rockets to bomb mainly London - noisy things, them doodlebugs!!    Von Braun's success with the V1 and V2 was why the US grabbed him after the war ended.    LL

Oh, and the V2, the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile!

Maybe, instead of shooting his hapless engineers, Fatty should tell them to google 'V2' - the engineering and chemistry involved is all online.

Inside Kim Jong-un's camps of death: Former North Korean female guard reveals the horrors she saw in secret prisons where thousands face being starved, beaten, raped and butchered
Prison guard Lim Hye-jin has revealed what she saw at a North Korean camp
She was left so traumatised after what she witnessed she could not eat for days
Lim, who 20 at the time, saw two brothers 'get beheaded in front of everyone'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4458844/Thousands-North-Korea-s-prisons-face-butchered.html#ixzz4fjO2hbbZ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Horrifying.

Donald Trump: N Korea's Kim Jong-un a 'smart cookie'.

US President Donald Trump has described North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a "pretty smart cookie".

Speaking to CBS, he noted Mr Kim had assumed power at a young age, despite dealing with "some very tough people".

Amid escalating tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme, he said he had "no idea" whether Mr Kim was sane.

The North Korean leader had his uncle executed two years after he came to power, and is suspected of ordering the recent killing of his half-brother.

President Trump, asked what he made of the North Korean leader, answered:

"People are saying: 'Is he sane?' I have no idea.... but he was a young man of 26 or 27... when his father died. He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others.

"And at a very young age, he was able to assume power. A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it. So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie."

The interview on the Face the Nation show came after North Korea's second failed ballistic missile test in two weeks, in which a missile exploded shortly after it was launched on Saturday. More at link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39764834
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McMaster says US must be prepared for military operations in North Korea.

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster attempted to make clear Sunday that President Trump is seeking international support in trying to stop North Korea’s pursuit of a nuclearize weapon, reasserting Trump’s vow that the U.S. will no longer be the world’s policeman.

“It’s an open defiance of the international community,” McMaster, a retired Army general, told “Fox News Sunday.” “It’s important for all of us to confront this regime… . None of us can accept a North Korea with a nuclear weapon.”

From essentially the start of Trump’s winning presidential campaign, he has criticized previous administrations about the financial and geo-political consequences of leading efforts to police or overthrow foreign regimes. He even threatened to resign from NATO unless other countries started paying their fair share for such efforts.

“We cannot be the policeman of the world,” Trump said in a September 2016 presidential debate. “We cannot protect countries all over the world, where they're not paying us what we need."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/30/mcmaster-says-us-must-be-prepared-for-military-operations-in-north-korea.html
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The $3 trillion ‘catastrophic’ cost of a North Korea-US war.

F A North Korea war does become a reality, one unmanageable $3 trillion consequence that hasn’t been widely acknowledged threatens to wreak havoc on the world.

The defiant nation launched another missile test today, just hours after stern warnings from Donald Trump that a “major, major conflict” was possible.

The conflict between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump could unfold in several ways, but it is the 25 million citizens of the hermit state whose fate could trigger a global catastrophe.

A thermonuclear war would be a humanitarian and ecological disaster for the entire region, with radiation causing a nuclear holocaust that tears into South Korea, China, Russia and Japan.

But if conventional weapons are used and the Kim regime collapses (a more likely scenario), we may face an alternative nightmare.

http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/the-3-trillion-catastrophic-cost-of-a-north-koreaus-war/news-story/53445b1ec1e10dd65c9a00ff2c50d8ef
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Donald Trump: North Korea could still face military action as Japan moves warship to protect US supply ship.

US President Donald Trump said he would not rule out the use of military force against North Korea, as Japan sent its biggest warship since WWII to protect a US supply ship.

When asked at during a factory tour before his rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to mark his 100th day in office what his message on North Korea is, Trump told reporters: “You’ll soon find out, won’t you?”

Asked whether that meant military action, Trump said: “You’ll soon find out.”

His comments came as Japan dispatched its biggest warship since World War II to protect a US supply ship, as tensions mount in the region over North Korea.

http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/uss-carl-vinson-in-drill-with-south-korea-after-north-fired-missile/news-story/024fcdf1484b35c7fb2885b1aee74322

I can't think of any good way out of this, LL. Fatty genuinely is a danger to neighbouring nations, and his treatment of his own people is quite unspeakable.

But how to get rid of him and his inner circle without hurting the unfortunate NKs even more, and risking a wider war?

I still think it has to come from China, not the US, not least because in the event of US meddling, China will then back NK militarily. Don't forget the bloody nose the US got in NK last time.....

It was N Korea who invaded S Korea; the United Nations/US , China and the Soviet Union got embroiled in the whole bl**dy mess.   Despite the end of the war and the setting up of the DM Zone, no peace treaty has been signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war.    Trump is just starting the whole thing back up again.   You should hear my s-in-l's opinion on Trump and his meddling in this, a matter he knows nothing about.    LL

Regardless of who invaded who, the US/UN troops got walloped when the Chinese troops poured over the border, and I can see the same thing happening again if the US does anything dumb. The US is awfully good at dropping bombs - boots on the ground, not so much.

It's a good job Xi and Putin are considerably less keen on martial exploits than Mao and Stalin were.

Now, I don't think Fatty is insane, far from it, unless you could hanging onto power and to Hell with everything else as insane. I have a very bad feeling he will try to do a Hitler if he sees himself going down, and launch a wave of destruction on NK itself, and its neighbours.

A handful of generals, and Speer, halted Hitler's scorched-earth policy - is there anyone brave enough around Fatty to do the same?

Very interesting piece of film here:

https://www.rt.com/viral/386674-virtual-tour-downtown-pyongyang/

NK as seen by a dashcam.

If I hadn't known, I couldn't have told you where that is. There are large chunks of the UK that look like that, courtesy of Brutalist architects. A few things that are noticeable - how little traffic is on the road, how little public transport there seems to be, and how many people are walking to - wherever - in the pouring rain.

If genuine democracy - as opposed to Freedumb - could somehow come to NK, I am sure it would be every bit as prosperous as the South.

It probably would and people might be happier in their lot too.

Yes, Lily, all but the Party faithful have a terrible life in North Korea - and even they are liable to be Purged at any moment.

I really don't think starting a war is the way to sort this out; apart from anything else, it would be indescribably cruel to inflict yet more suffering on ordinary NK people.

Also, remember that old saying about battle plans going out the window as soon as the first bullet is fired.

Bonny, I always feel sorry for the innocent civilians in times such as those.  I just pray all will be well.......

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-01/trump-says-he-d-meet-with-north-korea-s-kim-if-situation-s-right

President Donald Trump said he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un amid heightened tensions over his country’s nuclear weapons program if the circumstances were right.

“If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it,” Trump said Monday in an Oval Office interview with Bloomberg News. “If it’s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.”

The U.S. has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, and as recently as last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at the United Nations that the U.S. would negotiate with Kim’s regime only if it made credible steps toward giving up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

“Most political people would never say that,” Trump said of his willingness to meet with the reclusive Kim, “but I’m telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him. We have breaking news.”...more at link.

1. Only Nixon could go to China.

2. Jaw-jaw is better than war-war.

3. You don't make peace with your friends, only with your enemies.

Let's send him then.  

I remember reading Wild Swans, I think it was, years ago, Lily. The author had spent years in the Red Guards under Mao, totally brainwashed, spending hours every week sticking bayonets into stuffed sacks and shouting, Die, Yankee pig!, etc.

Then one day she got dispatched to Beijing airport, no idea why, she just knew she had to cheer loudly. To her utter astonishment, AF-1 landed and out stepped Nixon. When she saw that actually, he didn't have horns and cloven feet, it was the start of her realising that she HAD been brainwashed. He was supposed to be Satan incarnate - yet the leaders of China had invited him to her country. How could this be?

Mind you, Trump going to Pyongyang might be a bit more difficult, though I suppose he could take Dennis Rodman along.....