News Nov 13.: North Korean soldier defecting to South

  According to news agency AFP, a North Korean soldier was shot and injured by his own side while successfully defecting to South Korea at the border truce village of Panmunjom.

"Our military has taken in a North Korean soldier after he crossed from a North Korea post towards our Freedom House," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.

An JCS official said the soldier was evacuated to a private hospital by a UN helicopter. The official said the South's soldiers heard a gunshot and then retrieved the unarmed soldier in the mid-afternoon.

Military officials from the two sides have used Panmunjom frequently in the past for talks. Unlike the rest of the frontier, Panmunjom is not fortified and the border is marked only by a low concrete divider.

Over the decades since the peninsula was divided, dozens of North Korean soldiers have fled to the South through the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) along the rest of the border.

According to the news, more than 30,000 North Korean civilians have fled their homeland since the two nations were separated in 1948. But it is very rare for civilians to cross the closely guarded border with the South, which is fortified with minefields and barbed wire.

Most flee across the North's frontier with China and then move on to a third country to seek passage to South Korea.

 

 

SENTINAL, Montgomery County published an interview with Grace Jo, Vice-present of NKinUSA

SENTINAL, Montgomery County published an interview with Grace Jo, Vice-present of NKinUSA (North Korea in the United States)

Grace Jo had to suffer from hunger for 10 days without foods. She had consumed for the past nine days was cold water from a nearby river near her home in North Korea. She felt certain death was near with a high fever without any medicine.

Her parents went to China to find foods for their six children. While her parents were away, Grace Jo and her siblings scouted the area, finding potatoes, peas, and corn that had not made it to harvest.

She had lived in Virgina since 2008. Her world has taken an amazing turn since fleeing North Korea.

http://thesentinel.com/mont/news/local/item/6003-all-i-have-of-my-family-is-only-memory

Grace Jo, Vice-president of NKinUSA talked to Rose Tennent

Grace Jo, Vice-president of NKinUSA (North Korea in the United States) talked to Rose Tennent, host of the morning show Rose Unplugged, about what it was like growing up in North Korea and her experience of freedom for the first time after she came to the United States.

https://soundcloud.com/roseunplugged/wed-102517-rose-speaks-with-grace-jo

President of NKinUSA, Jinhye Jo had an interview with W Radio

President of NKinUSA (North Korea in the United States), Jinhye Jo had an interview with W Radio, based in Colombia with a wide listenership in Latin America, Spain, Florida, and New York.

Desertora de Corea del Norte y fundadora y presidente de la ONG Norcoreanos en América habla en La W de su vida en el régimen y de su salida del país cuando tenía 10 años.

http://www.wradio.com.co/escucha/archivo_de_audio/el-regimen-norcoreano-es-egocentrico-y-cree-que-puede-controlar-todo-y-a-todos-jinhye-jo/20171023/oir/3616321.aspx

ARD German TV featured an interview and a discussion with Jinhye Jo, President of NKinUSA

ARD German TV featured an interview and a discussion with Jinhye Jo, President of NKinUSA (North Korea in the United States).

http://www.daserste.de/information/politik-weltgeschehen/weltspiegel/videos/usa-saebelrasseln-oder-showdown-mit-nordkorea-video-100.html

US Department of State published a report about the violation of human rights in North Korea.

US Department of State published a report about the violation of human rights in North Korea.

Those who are responsible for the violation of human rights in North Korea will face consequences someday. Those who have sent slavery labor to overseas, forcible expatriation of North Korean refugees to North Korea must take the responsibility for their crimes.

US Department of State will keep watching who is responsible for the crimes.

https://www.voakorea.com/a/4087977.html

The orphanage facilities in North Korea are like a prison.

The orphanage facilities in North Korea are like a prison. The sanitation of the orphanage facilities is very dirty. They are not allowed to look outside through windows. They are prohibited to touch toys displayed in the room. All the toys and comic books are displayed to show foreign visitors to the orphanage facilities.

Orphans in North Korea are also suffering from human rights violations.

http://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/human_rights_defector/nkorphanage-10122017091402.html

Found another blog about North Korea

https://mynorthkorea.blogspot.com/

Some good stuff posted here.

Understanding the North Korean paranoia

I stumbled on this article this morning. it's regarding the United Nations bombing campaign of the Korean war that lasted 3 years.
The author Mehdi Hasan conveys that the bombing of mainly the North as so severe and constant that almost everything was destroyed or damaged.and if the 3 million estimated civilian casualties is correct then that is a staggering number, especially back in 1950 with a much smaller population.

So although the regime targets Americans as the devil for propaganda purposes, there is a great deal of justification in it too.
A bombing campaign like that would absolutely not be forgotten by those old enough to remember and so a certain amount of paranoia is justified.

The first article is by Mehdi Hasan and the second one is by Blaine Harden who co-wrote "escape from camp 14". the book that got me interested in North Korea in the first place.
Blaine Harden goes as far as to call it a war crime and I would agree. I would also venture that the military industrial complex had a big say in it as well.

By the way, if you want to learn how the war racket works, you can read a book by Smedley Butler. an American marine general who eventually realized that war was just a money making business.
I've read it and it is very interesting. it's only 58 pages long.

You can buy it for a buck or two on Amazon or you can read it online here.

https://archive.org/details/WarIsARacket

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1523758325/ref=rdr_ext_tmb#reader_1523758325

https://theintercept.com/2017/05/03/why-do-north-koreans-hate-us-one-reason-they-remember-the-korean-war/

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-us-war-crime-north-korea-wont-forget/2015/03/20/fb525694-ce80-11e4-8c54-ffb5ba6f2f69_story.html?utm_term=.27e02c029e88

It shows you things are bad when the army is raiding crops to feed themselves

I've also heard that the North Korean army is the only one that doesn't get issued socks.

The article states that discipline in the ranks is deteriorating due to lack of respect for the regime.
If you were a soldier and you found yourself having to pillage fields to feed yourself, it might occur to you that something is very wrong with the system. you might then start questioning things.

Although it is bad that soldiers are going hungry, it is good in that the regime might start to get some resistance which might lead to something else

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=14807

Prison camp turned in to child labor camp

This also from the DailyNK site.

These so-called orphanages are more like prisons as explained by Joseph Kim. author of "under the same sky"

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=14808

Here is approximately where the camp is located

Some pictures of the Korean war

It's interesting to look back years ago and get a glimpse of what Korea was like. especially the contrast from South Korea then to now.
There is also some video footage on this page

https://pictureshistory.blogspot.com/2010/07/images-tell-story-korean-war.html

There is also this page with more pictures but more commentary. very interesting.
http://poisonpage.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-korean-war-1950-53-some-rare-images.html

Notice the picture of Stalin on the building.

Travelers cannot see the true North Korea

  You can travel to North Korea. But you cannot see North Korea there.
Once arriving the country, there will be guides from the government to serve you as tour guide.
They show you what you can see and cannot see, and are often "broadcasting" the heroic Communist history from the era of Kim Il Sung's guerilla war and Korean War.

  The guides do their best to make you believe that North Korea is the happiest country in the world. Poor, disabled, and homeless people are banned to exist in big cities and where tourist often visit. In Pyongyang, there are many tall and modern buildings, but most of them are empty and even have no electricity. Local people are very kind and welcome tourists, but they are unable to reveal their true life in front of the guide from North Korean regime.

A former Russian Ambassador to North Korea expected Korea would be unified soon.

A former Russian Ambassador to North Korea expected Korea would be unified soon.
He expected the collapse of Kim Jong Un by cabinet coup, military Coup or resistance from elite groups connected with civilians.

He said "North Korea is facing new irresistible reform of economy in North Korea".

I hope North Korean people should be free from the human rights persecution from North Korean regime as soon as possible. The sooner the better.

http://konas.net/article/article.asp?idx=50054

New York Media reported Grace Jo's life in North Korea and in the USA

New York Media reported Grace Jo's life in North Korea and in the USA

Grace Jo, Vice-president of NKinUSA grew up in North Korea with her mother, father, maternal grandmother, and five siblings.

Her father died while he was transferred to a prison camp. Her grandmother, older brother, and youngest brother died of starvation.  her older sister disappeared attempting to cross into China, Grace Jo's mother decided to flee with Grace Jo, her sister, and her last surviving brother to China.

Her mother could not manage three kids crossing the river, so she left Grace Jo's brother behind with friends, planning to retrieve him in North Korea days later. Grace Jo's mother could not make it back in time, and her family found out that Grace Jo's brother had also died.

Grace Jo was captured and repatriated to North Korea twice.  On  the third attempt, with the help of a Korean-American pastor, her mother and older sister came to the United States in 2008.

Grace Jo is now vice-president of the North Korean refugees in the United States (www.nkinusa.org), a non-profit organization.,  based in Washington, DC, which aims to help North Korean refugees escape safely from North Korea through China, assist with their resettlement in America, and spread awareness about persecution and severe human rights crisis of North Korean refugees.

https://www.nkinusa.org/updates/2017/10/what-its-like-to-escape-from-north-korea/

Fox News introduced the story of Grace Jo, Vice-president of NKinUSA.

Fox News introduced the story of Grace Jo, Vice-president of NKinUSA.

Grace Jo and her family escaped three times to China, but they were caught and sent back to Nroth Korea.  Her two younger brothers died of starvation and her father died from being tortured while he was in North Korean police custody for sneaking a bag of rice back from China.

Grace Jo is attending Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland.

She is a recipient of the North Korean Freedom Scholarship program run by the President George W. Bush Institute. President George W. Bush and the Institute established a USD 25,000 to help the first eight North Korean escapees to pursue higher education and build productive, prosperous lives as new Americans.

https://www.nkinusa.org/updates/2017/10/from-terrors-of-north-korea-to-us-college-student-one-womans-amazing-journey/

North Korea must be changed by information flow from the outside world as well as by raising the issue of human rights violations in North Korea.

North Korea must be changed by information flow from the outside world as well as by raising the issue of human rights violations in North Korea.

North Korean people consider labor slavery for Kim Jong Un and sex slavery for North Korean regime as the honor of their families.
North Korean people should know what human rights are and how their human rights are persecuted in North Korea by such information flow into North Korea.

http://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/human_rights_defector/taecsis-10312017161150.html

Kim Jong Un's New Year speech.

I am not sure how long this story has been up but I just saw it today. better late than never though.

There was nothing really worthwhile in this speech but surprisingly there was a bit of mild self -criticism from him.

The best message about this article is that the people do not respect this guy.
It mentions that it is the people themselves who are holding up the economy, not the government and they know it.

http://www.asiapress.org/rimjin-gang/report/20170110-kim-jong-un-celebration-rally-gasoline/

What's up with this? North Korea has an all female pop band wearing glitsy skirts.

I didn't know about this until I went to the website of Asiapress today.

 

http://www.asiapress.org/rimjin-gang/report/photo-report/

Here is a little girl dancing with a mickey mouse mural on her sweater

This is a joke..

The North Korean regime educating people on their human rights. 😼😼

Who do they think they are fooling?

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=14798&cataId=nk01500