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Radio Free Asia reported that one student who bought a copy of the drive has since received a life sentence, while six others who watched the show have been sentenced to five years hard labor. Some teachers will also be fired etc etc

Despite the U.N. sanctions banning luxury goods from entering North Korea, the country's leader, Kim Jong-un can still be seen traveling around the world in high-end armoured luxury vehicles. Associated Press contacted Daimler early this year with regards to how Kim Jong-un got his various S-Classes after they were spotted at a number of important meetings. Daimler had no idea too but thanks to the people from The New York Times, we know can have a slightly clearer picture of how the cars arrive in his hands... Having realised how the leader gets his imported goods, it is now a bigger concern for everyone as the country could be using similar means to import fuel sources and technologies it needs for its nuclear weapons program.

SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has had his defence minister executed with anti-aircraft fire for insubordination and dozing off during formal military rallies, South Korean intelligence said Wednesday, hinting at possible instability in the Pyongyang leadership. If confirmed, it marks another demonstration of Kim's ruthlessness in dealing with even the most senior officials suspected of disloyalty, following the execution of his uncle and one-time political mentor Jang Song-Thaek in 2013. It also points to possible power struggles within the top leadership, following Kim Jong-Un's decision to cancel a scheduled visit to Moscow last week in order to deal with "internal issues". Late last month, the NIS reported that Kim had ordered the execution of 15 senior officials so far this year, including two vice ministers, for questioning his authority. In a briefing Wednesday to a parliamentary committee, Han Ki-Beom, the deputy director of the South's National Intelligence Agency (NIS) said hundreds of people witnessed the execution of minister Hyon Yong-Chol, which was believed to have been carried out with an anti-aircraft gun around April 30 at a military academy in northern Pyongyang. - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/s-korea-says-north-executed-defence-minister-anti-aircraft-gun#sthash.9S6XTa3e.dpuf

Was thinking of visiting NK previously with the wife, guess this is another example of how touchy the regime is. Guess this guy is screwed big time http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/16/asia/north-korea-warmbier-sentenced/index.html (CNN)North Korea has sentenced American student Otto Frederick Warmbier to 15 years hard labor for crimes against the state, a North Korean official confirmed to CNN Wednesday. Warmbier had traveled to Pyongyang on a trip organized by Young Pioneer Tours, a China-based travel company. He was arrested on January 2, 2016, as he was about to board a plane to leave the country. Warmbier is escorted at the North Korean Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 16, 2016. In an emotional press conference last month, the 21-year-old student at the University of Virginia admitted to attempting to steal a banner with a political slogan from his hotel in the North Korean capital. It is not known whether Warmbier made the admission under duress. Appearing to read from a statement, he said: "I committed the crime of taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel." "I never, never should have allowed myself to be lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country," he said tearfully, as he begged for forgiveness. "I wish that the United States administration never manipulate people like myself in the future to commit crimes against foreign countries. I entirely beg you, the people and government of the DPRK, for your forgiveness. Please! I made the worst mistake of my life!" Warmbier tearfully confessed to "hostile acts" against the DPRK The North Korean government alleges Warmbier was encouraged to commit the "hostile act" by a purported member of an Ohio church, a secretive university organization and even the CIA. The tour company he traveled with said on its website it is aware of his sentencing and that it should "be viewed in similar context of previous cases of Americans being sentenced in the DPRK." Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller are the most recentAmerican detainees who have been released by North Korea. Both were accused of perpetrating "hostile acts" against North Korea; Miller spent less than a year in custody after being sentenced to six years hard labor, and Bae, facing a 15-year sentence, was held for nearly two years. The pair secured their freedom in late 2014. Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson told The New York Times he met with two North Korean diplomats on Tuesday to lobby for Warmbier's release. Richardson is a veteran diplomat and a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Any thoughts on this? 27kg of gold is a lot. Shouldn't there be a limit here? If you have to declare how much money you have, then why not gold? http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/04/nk-envoys-gold-smuggling-no-lapse-at-changi-airport-says-minister/ NK envoy’s gold smuggling – no lapse at Changi Airport, says minister April 15, 2015by andrewlow in News · 3 Comments Second Minister for Home Affairs S. Iswaran told Parliament on Tuesday that there were no security lapses in the case of a North Korean diplomat who had apparently carried some 27kg of gold bars through Changi Airport and onto a flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh. The incident took place in March this year. Mr Iswaran was replying to a question posed by non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), Gerald Giam, of the Workers’ Party (WP). Mr Giam had asked what was the weight limit on the transport of gold and other precious metals in and out of Singapore by individual travellers, and if diplomats are exempt from this limit. And referring to the case of the diplomat, Mr Giam asked what measures are in place to ensure that diplomats do not abuse their diplomatic immunity to carry precious metals, drugs or weapons in and out of Singapore in their luggage. Son Young-Nam, the first secretary at the North Korean embassy in Dhaka, had departed on a flight from Changi, where he was screened before boarding. “No security threat items were found on him,” local news in Singapore reported. Mr Son was stopped when he arrived at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalam International Airport. Rashidul Islam Khan, commanding officer of the airport’s armed police battalion, said the diplomat was passing through the “nothing to declare” channel in customs when an official asked to scan his carry-on luggage. But Mr Son refused to allow customs officers and police to examine his bags. “He insisted that his bags cannot be scanned because he’s carrying a red passport and he enjoys diplomatic immunity,” Moinul Khan, head of Bangladesh’s customs intelligence department told AFP. “After more than four hours of drama, he gave in and we found gold bars and gold ornaments weighing 26.795kg (59lb), which is worth 130 million taka ($1.67m, £1.1m),” he added. Mr Khan said the diplomat admitted under questioning that he was carrying the gold illegally. The gold is reported to be worth some US$1.4 million. Bangladesh has a limit of 2kg which can be allowed into the country by individuals. Mr Khan added: “It’s a clear case of smuggling. We believe he would have sold the gold to a local criminal racket. He is being used as a carrier.” The Bangladesh government summoned North Korean Ambassador Ri Song Hyon on Monday and gave him a 72-hour deadline to send the diplomat home, the Associated Press news agency reported. “We told the ambassador to prosecute him in North Korea and update us about the action to be taken against him,” Mohammad Shahidul Haque, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry secretary, told Reuters. “We conveyed to him that the government would take serious action if any embassy official is found to be involved in any crimes in future.” IswaranMr Iswaran said diplomats, just like other travellers, are screened before they board the planes at Singapore’s Changi Airport. “This involves the use of metal detectors for checks on persons and X-ray screening for their belongings,” the Straits Times reported Mr Iswaran as having said. In the event of a suspicion of a security threat, the authorities “are not constrained from making the appropriate checks on the items a diplomat carries.” As for Mr Giam’s question about limits to the amount of gold and precious metals allowed to be transport in and out of Singapore, Mr Iswaran said there are no weight limits on these. Straits Times“The member should also be aware that it is not uncommon, especially for travellers to certain parts of the world, to carry what you and I might consider not insignificant amounts of gold on their person or in their personal baggage,” the minister said. “If they are able to give a clear explanation that these are their personal effects or for personal consumption purposes, generally they would be allowed to carry on with their travel with those items.” In the meantime, sources have said Mr Son was released by the Bangladesh authorities under the Vienna Convention which grants immunity to diplomats. He is also reported to have left Bangladesh for North Korea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j8_X-9AIG-c Wah.. best new game coming out in November... Who want to be glorious leader??

Seems to be the trendy word nowsadays..... North Korea rescinds US envoy's invitation WASHINGTON: North Korea has cancelled a US envoy's visit to seek the release of imprisoned US missionary Kenneth Bae, adding civil rights activist Jesse Jackson had offered to go to Pyongyang instead, American officials said Sunday. No reason was given for Pyongyang's decision to rescind Ambassador Robert King's invitation. But State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki stressed that North Korea had promised last year it would not use jailed Christian missionary Kenneth Bae as a "political bargaining chip." Bae, a US citizen and tour operator described by a North Korean court as a militant Christian evangelist, was arrested in November 2012 and later sentenced to 15 years' hard labor on charges of seeking to topple the government. US officials say Pyongyang has moved him from hospital back to a labor camp, saying they were "deeply concerned" for the health of the 45-year-old Korean American, who has been detained for more than 15 months. "We are deeply disappointed by the DPRK decision -- for a second time -- to rescind its invitation for Ambassador King to travel to Pyongyang to discuss Kenneth Bae's release," Psaki said, using North Korea's formal acronym. "We again call on the DPRK to grant Bae special amnesty and immediate release as a humanitarian gesture so he may reunite with his family and seek medical care. We will continue to work actively to secure Mr. Bae's release." South Korea and the United States meanwhile announced they would begin joint military drills on February 24 but Psaki insisted that this was not intended to pressure Pyongyang to release Bae. "We remind the DPRK that the US-ROK military exercises are transparent, regularly-scheduled and defense-oriented," she said. "These exercises are in no way linked to Mr Bae's case." Washington and Pyongyang have no diplomatic ties. But Psaki said Washington stood ready to send King, the special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, to North Korea for talks on Bae's release. She also expressed support for efforts by Jackson, a Baptist minister, to press Bae's case. "At the request of the Bae family, Reverend Jackson offered to travel to Pyongyang on a humanitarian mission focused on Bae's release," she said. "We support the efforts of the Bae family and Reverend Jackson to bring Bae home." Bae, who is also known as Pae Jun-ho, was detained as he entered North Korea's northeastern port city of Rason. He began serving his jail sentence in a prison camp in May 2013. But in August, he was admitted to hospital after he lost more than 50 pounds (23 kilogrammes) and began having kidney and liver problems. - AFP/nf

It's out of the question that we would normally use a sedan to carry four to five passengers altogether, probably with some goods in the trunk. However, this isn't the case this time. Instead of carrying passengers and 'some' goods, this sedan - which I think is a Hyundai Accent or Verna - was forced to carry a massive amount of goods. This sedan was seen being a carrier for massive goods last weekend on the Korean border, near Panmunjom, Paju. It was driven by a South Korean citizen trying to go back to his home country. As you can see from the images, the goods nearly covered all parts of the sedan. The goods even nearly, if not completely, covered the rear windshield. How was the driver supposed to see when he needed to reverse the car then? The driver was reported to be previously working in North Korea. However, as we know, the rising tension between the two countries has forced all workers from South Korea to return home. In total, there are 175 South Korean citizens that have been asked to leave North Korea. Most of those asked to leave previously worked in joint ventures of North and South Korea. Since they have to evacuate immediately, they have had to make do with whatever transport they can find. Well, it seems that the Hyundai in the image was just unlucky enough. However, it wasn't alone as there were also other sedans which received the very same fate. I wonder, though, if the suspensions of those sedans received any damage at all. You see, if the suspensions retain their good working conditions after reaching their destinations, these sedans might in fact be some of the strongest sedans automakers have ever built!

As a result of the rising tension in the Korean Peninsula, GM is making contingency plans to move workers and shift production out of the country. Speaking in an interview on CNBC's Squawk Box, GM CEO Dan Akerson said, "We are making contingency plans for the safety of our employees to the extent that we can." GM is the third largest carmaker in South Korea employing 17,000 people with an annual output of 1.4 million vehicles. About 1.3 million units are exported to Europe and the U.S. One of these models exported is the Chevrolet Spark subcompact (above). Akerson added that it is difficult to shift production out of South Korea but may have to do so if the region continues to destabilise as part of long term planning. However, according to a report on Wall Street Journal, Akerson has already decided to move production to other plants. Should a war take place, Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fourth largest auto maker after General Motors, Volkswagen Group, and Toyota, is definitely going to be affected as well. This could result in wide ranging impact on the global automotive industry. At the time of writing this article, North Korea has moved a second mid range missile to its east coast and loaded both on mobile launchers, fueling fears of an imminent firing. Let there be peace on Earth.