North Korea

Stories 1261 - 1280 | << Prev   Next >>

UN Details 'Unspeakable Atrocities' in North Korea

Inquiry chief urges world to take action against human rights abuses

(Newser) - With the world's attention currently focused on human rights abuses in Syria, the results of a UN inquiry is set to pull North Korea back into the spotlight, via a new report detailing the country's "systematic, widespread, and grave violations of human rights." The report is...

South Korea Kills Man Trying to Sneak Into North

...by floating across a river

(Newser) - Last week came the news that a South Korean who had been kidnapped by the North 41 years ago had managed to escape in a rare feat. Today brings an even rarer story, albeit with a worse ending: A man who was attempting to sneak into North Korea by floating...

South Koreans Once Again Commuting to North

Workers return to Kaesong industrial park, which has sat idle for 5 months

(Newser) - Five months after it was shut down amid increasing tension between the two Koreas, the Kaesong Industrial Complex has re-opened. Hundreds of South Korean workers crossed the border today to resume operations at the factory park, one of the only symbols of cooperation between North and South Korea and their...

Rarity in North Korea: South's Anthem Is Played

Weightlifter from South Korea wins gold at Pyongyang competition

(Newser) - A South Korean weightlifter heard his national anthem played today after winning gold in an international competition in North Korea, an unusual development between the bitter rivals and a vivid sign of the Koreas' easing tensions after a spring of war threats. Two South Koreans were the only competitors in...

After 41 Years, Kidnapped S. Korean Escapes North

Chun Wook-pyo was one of 25 fishermen captured in 1972

(Newser) - In 1972, more than two dozen South Korean fisherman were kidnapped by the North while sailing the Yellow Sea. Forty-one years later, Chun Wook-pyo, 68, has made it back home, South Korea today confirmed. He's "the only crewman from those two boats to have escaped," says a...

White Steam Spotted at N. Korea Reactor

Satellite image suggests Pyongyang is probably restarting reactor

(Newser) - A fresh satellite image shows white steam coming from a building in North Korea, and a US research group says that likely means the country is nearly ready to restart a reactor capable of producing plutonium—or may have already started it. "The white coloration and volume are consistent...

Dennis Rodman Is a Joke
 Dennis Rodman Is a Joke 
OPINION
Sep 10, 2013 1:39 PM CDT

Dennis Rodman Is a Joke

His North Korea trips are an 'outrage': Michael Moynihan

(Newser) - Dennis Rodman's old stunts, like wearing a wedding dress to a book signing, were mostly unimaginative ones designed to distract us from the fact that he's a washed-up former athlete without much to say, writes Michael Moynihan at the Daily Beast . The media fawned over him: Oh, that...

Rodman Reveals Name of Kim's Secret Baby

Leader's daughter is called Ju-ae, he says

(Newser) - Dennis Rodman is continuing his habit of yakking about Kim Jong Un, revealing yet more details about the North Korean dictator's daughter. The former NBA star, who wrapped up his second visit to Pyongyang over the weekend, says he held the baby and her name is Ju-ae. Kim's...

Rodman Leaves N. Korea, Curses Obama, Clinton

Says it's 'not my job' to get US citizen out

(Newser) - Dennis Rodman wrapped up his second visit to North Korea today, and, no, he didn't secure the release of a detained US citizen. "Guess what? That's not my job to ask about Kenneth Bae ," he testily told reporters at the Beijing airport, reports AP and CNN...

One Weird Thing North Korea Does Better Than the West

Pour a glass of its Asian pear juice, say 2 samplers

(Newser) - Is there anything North Korea can teach the US? Turns out ... juice drinks? At Foreign Policy , Justin Rohrlich got his hands on snacks and drinks from nations cut off from American junk food—North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Cuba. He enlisted food writer Mark Bittman to help him sample the...

Rodman Returns to N. Korea to Hang With the 'Marshal'

Jailed American won't be discussed, he says

(Newser) - Dennis Rodman is back in Pyongyang, but the family of imprisoned American Kenneth Bae shouldn't get their hopes up: The former NBA star says the five-day visit is about basketball and hanging out with his "awesome" buddy Kim Jong Un, not diplomacy. "I'm not going to...

N. Korea Axes Talks on US Prisoner Over 'Blackmail'

US envoy's trip called off

(Newser) - North Korea has withdrawn its invitation to a US envoy to visit the country over a detained American because Washington perpetrated a "grave provocation" by allegedly mobilizing nuclear-capable bombers during military drills with Seoul that ended Friday. Analysts say the move signals that possible informal negotiations between the two...

Kim Jong Un's Ex-Girlfriend Executed: Report

Hyon Song Wol said to be killed by firing squad on Aug. 20

(Newser) - A pretty jarring report out of North Korea, which claims that Kim Jong Un's former girlfriend was executed by a machine gun-toting firing squad last week. Chosun Ilbo reports by way of sources in China that Hyon Song Wol (of "Electric Horse-Lady" fame ) was arrested on Aug....

US Will Try to Get Ailing Citizen Out of North Korea

Envoy will ask for Kenneth Bae to be pardoned

(Newser) - A US envoy is headed to North Korea this week in an attempt to secure the release of Kenneth Bae , the American sentenced to 15 years of hard labor there. Robert King, special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, will fly to Pyongyang Friday at the government's invitation....

N. Korea Tried to Ship Gas Masks to Syria: Report

Turkey intercepted them, says Japan newspaper

(Newser) - One of the world's veteran pariah nations reportedly tried to help out one of its newer ones: A Japanese newspaper says North Korea got caught trying to ship gas masks to Syria this spring. The report in the Sankei Shimbun says Turkish officials acting on a tip from the...

N. Korea&#39;s Latest Demon: Meth

 N. Korea's Latest 
 Demon: Crystal Meth 
in case you missed it
Aug 24, 2013 7:00 PM CDT

N. Korea's Latest Demon: Crystal Meth

Country is in throes of 'drug epidemic,' says journal

(Newser) - Illegal drugs are a growing problem in North Korea—and some users are turning to the substances to cure common illnesses, the BBC reports. "The whole of North Korean society is being affected by illegal drugs," a defector tells South Korea's Chosun Ilbo . "Some wealthy people...

N. Korea Guards Forced Woman to Drown Her Baby

Defectors tell their stories to UN panel

(Newser) - What's new are not the stories but the audience: Two North Korean defectors yesterday shared wrenching stories with the first UN panel assembled for the purpose of looking into human-rights violations in the country, reports the New York Times . The Commission of Inquiry's three members will spend a...

N. Korea Tries to Woo Back Defectors With ... TV Fame?

Returnees supposedly offered money, TV appearances

(Newser) - North Korea is trying to woo back defectors with promises of cash rewards and TV appearances instead of one-way tickets to the gulags where an estimated 200,000 of their countrymen languish, defectors in Seoul tell Reuters . Around 25,000 defectors live in South Korea and some of them say...

Koreas Agree to 1st Reunions Since 2010

But Pyongyang wants a carrot

(Newser) - North Korea today accepted a South Korean offer for talks on reuniting families separated by war, but proposed separate talks on resuming lucrative tours to a scenic North Korean mountain in an apparent effort to link the two discussions. Last week, the two Koreas agreed to work toward a resumption...

N. Korea's First Smartphone Is Illegal to Use in N. Korea

Also, probably not actually made in N. Korea

(Newser) - North Korea has launched its first smartphone. Just one catch: data services are illegal in the Hermit Kingdom, so it's likely not much more useful than a regular cellphone, the Washington Post reports. The phones also probably aren't made in North Korea. Though a new report by state-run...

Stories 1261 - 1280 | << Prev   Next >>