bringing in 2019 in Pyongyang

best wishes to the people of North Korea
may north and south become much closer in unification in 2019

the fireworks display was launched at Kim Il Sung square

A ceremony was held at Panmun station to start to connect rail ways between South Korea and North Korea.

A ceremony was held at Panmun station to start to connect rail ways between South Korea and North Korea.
In the very near future South Korean people can travel by train to North Korea and export goods to China via North Korea by train.

https://news.naver.com/main/hotissue/read.nhn?mid=hot&sid1=100&cid=1079165&iid=5137705&oid=001&aid=0010545179&ptype=052

USA considers allowing USA citizens to travel North Korea.

USA considers allowing USA citizens to travel North Korea.
US Secretary of State says it would be a kind of humanitarian needs to North Korea.

I hope no more American hostages are held by force  in North Korea.

https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20181222011400071?input=1195m

blunt statement from the North

the North states they will not denuclearize unless the united states does.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/nkorea-says-wont-denuclearize-unless-us-removes-threat-053753480.html

North and South Korean soldiers shaking hands at the DMZ

came across this today. posted last month.
something to behold. north and south shaking hands. the way it should be. one Korea

the guy has valid points in regards to the nuclear issue too.

tickets for Voices of North Korean Refugees event on sale...

just got an email stating that the event is happening and tickets are on sale for a very reasonable $20

so if you are in the Boston area, stop by Cambridge on saturday, january, 19, 2019

 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/voices-of-north-korean-refugees-stranger-tickets-52607324925?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=escb&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing

Magic is reunifying Korea

   There are many ways to reunify Korea, and one of them is Magic.
I'm not talking about imaginations and fantasies, but the magic performed by down-to earth-humans.
 

   This photo was taken at the inter-Korean summit banquet.
The man standing at front left corner appeared to be the most prominent magician in NK, "Kim Guan Chol".
   During the banquet, he performed 2 magic shows which symbolized peace, reunification, and the harmonious relation with USA.

In the 1st one, he asked President Moon for a 50,000 won note, and changed into 50 USD in his hand.
In the 2nd show, he used "trump card"(also pronounced like that in Korean) made in USA, and asked both Korean leaders to pick 1 for each. Then he asked both of them to sign a word on the cards. Mr. Moon wrote "Peace" and Mr. Kim "Reunification". Then, the magician put the 2 cards in their hands, each card's back side facing each other, and the leaders shook hands with the 2 cards. Later, when they pulled out the card, it became 1 single card! (In this way, "Peaceful Reunification" is realized!)

Later, in September, at the 2nd inter-Korean summit, famous South Korean magician Choi Hyun woo also performed shows with magic Rubik's cube, bringing up cheer and harmony for all the people.

Real artists and agents of peace may not perform the shows with most dazzling techniques, but those at the right time and right occasions.

K-Pop catching on in North Korea

report by daily NK states that there are private academies in NK for KPop dancing.

https://www.dailynk.com/english/k-pop-dance-moves-all-the-rage-in-north-korea/

North Korea continuing nuclear program

this article was originally posted at zerohedge website.

http://alt-market.com/articles/3571-north-korea-expands-qsecretq-missile-bases-as-peace-talks-stall

the editors note at the very end makes sense. i think the u.s. is leaving the door open to potential war with NK.
as the editor notes, there was no agreement signed in the first place so NK hasn't violated anything.
this is how the public mind is moulded. the mainstream (corporate) media will conveniently leave that part out.

again. the NK regime is a lousy regime but they are only doing what they have to do to guard against a known aggressor. Surely South Korea knows this too

North Korea should prepare for the safe investment from South Korea.

If North Korea does not protect private properties of investors to North Korea, South Korea can not do business in North Korea.

North Korea should prepare reasonable and trustworthy system for investment from South Korea.

South Korean business investors are afraid of losing their properties without any legal procedures after they invest money to North Korea.

https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=shm&sid1=100&oid=119&aid=0002292016

No more weapons inside the JSA

No more weapons inside the JSA (Joint Security Area) from November, 2018.
You can also walk across the border between South Korea and North Korea within the JSA.

https://news.v.daum.net/v/20181028151004636

124 foreign people with 15 nationalities live in Pyongyang.

124 foreign people with 15 nationalities live in Pyongyang.
Some young Americans are attending universities at Pyongyang.
I wonder what they are majoring in at those universities.

http://weekly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?ctcd=c01&nNewsNumb=002180100002

Update on North Korea's economy

found this article on the ENoK website.

some good reading and good news about the state of the economy.
the regime has had to change with the times and it looks like our dvds and usb sticks are making a difference.

http://enok.org/news/north-korea

unexpected benefit to the north from U.N. sanctions..

DailyNK article reports that internal coal supply is more plentiful since the north is not exporting it's coal.
as a result, north Korean power plants in the Pyongyang area are running at full capacity.

if you live in the outer regions, i guess you are out of luck. so what's new hey?

https://www.dailynk.com/english/sanctions-on-coal-exports-lead-to-improvements-in-electricity-supply/

Mixed views from the average North Korean regarding the Inter Korean Summit

here is a short article from the DailyNK covering the average north Korean.

from reading the article, it looks like not many see a direct benefit to their day to day lives.

from where we sit though, it's just a great thing that the two heads of state are on good terms. nothing bad about that and i hope they tell the united states and united nations to keep their noses out of Korea's business.

https://www.dailynk.com/english/regional-differences-highlight-mixed-views-on-inter-korean-summit/

Thousand of North Korean people welcome President Moon and shout for the unification of Korea

Thousand of North Korean people welcome President Moon and shout for the unification of Korea in the streets of Pyongyang.

Most of them wear Korean traditional dresses, Hanbok with North Korean flags.

I wonder if they really want the unification of Korea or they are just ordered to shout "the Unification of Korea."
I think North Korean government planed this performance, but I hope their message will come true sooner or later.

Third summit meeting between South Korea and North Korea for the denuclearization in Korean Peninsula

President Moon and First Lady are leaving Blue House with high rank government officials

President Moon and First Lady are getting on board

Kim Jong Un and First Lady of North Korea welcome President Moon and First Lady.
I hope their meeting will lead toward the denuclearization in Korean Peninsula.

First Lady of South Korea visits children hospital and music college in North Korea.

Welcome reception

short video on Kim Jong-Un specifically

came across this today and thought it was worth posting.
doesn't say much about the gulags though.

united nations command blocks North and South Korean train project

it's pretty obvious the u.s. dosn't really want peace on the peninsula.
they are using the north Korean nuclear process as an excuse.
boggles the mind to think that a foreign country can step between north and south peace process.

the united states does not have the right to dictate who has nukes when it's the ONLY country that has dropped nukes on a civilian population. also the deployment of depleted uranium in the illegal gulf war. (translated: invasion and occupation of Iraq)
i call that hypocrisy and i'll say it again, it's because of the united states that the north started developing them in the first place. it's the only thing between them and a known aggessor.

here is the story

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/31/north-south-korea-train-project-halted-us

The Emory Wheel interviewed Jinhye Jo, President of NKinUSA

The first time Jinhye Jo tried to escape North Korea, she and her family turned back because her mother was too weak to walk any further. An open wound on her skull become so infected that bugs were beginning to crawl around it, Jinhye Jo said.

Jinhye Jo’s mother received the injury from North Korea’s State Security Department (SSD) officers, who beat her with wooden rods and forced her family to watch.

The SSD imprisoned Jinhye Jo’s mother for treason, but she escaped several days later, determined to leave the country with her family. The baby was not the family’s first loss; the family lost a 16-year-old daughter to sex trafficking in China and a father to torture.

Jinhye Jo, who founded the off-campus nonprofit organization North Korean Refugees in the United States (NKinUSA) in 2011, recounted her escape from North Korea at the Oxford Road Building Presentation Room at 4 p.m. on April 22. The event, titled “Voice of a North Korean Refugee: The Story of Jinhye Jo” and hosted by four organizations — NKinUSA, Liberty in North Korea at Emory University (LiNK Emory), Emory East Asia Collective (EAC) and off-campus organization Re’Generation Movement (Re’Gen) — drew an audience of about 30 members.

By the time Jinhye Jo’s mother was healthy enough for a second escape attempt, Jo’s grandmother had grown weak from starvation. When Jo’s grandmother passed away two months later, the family began their second journey to the border, Jo said. Though Jo, her mother and her seven-year-old sister could walk without shoes, they had not eaten for two weeks and were too weak to carry Jo’s five-year-old brother. They left him with friends before crossing the border and promised to return with food. They never saw him again.

Now 30 years old, Jinhye Jo has resided in Duluth, Ga. with her mother and younger sister for the last 10 years. Jo said she spent the first 10 years of her life in North Korea before escaping to China, where she lived in hiding for 10 more years.

Unable to legally attend school in China due to the threat of deportation, Jinhye Jo said she received much of her education from a pastor named Yo-Han Yoon at a nearby Christian school. Meanwhile, she worked as a waitress to provide for her family. She was deported from China to North Korea four separate times, but was able to escape each time. Her family came to the United States in 2008 after seven months in North Korean prison. Yoon, who had returned to the U.S., bought the family’s release with a fundraised sum of $10,000.

Jinhye Jo said that she is glad she settled in the U.S. rather than in South Korea, and cited the United States’ educational opportunities and ease of social assimilation.

In July 2008, shortly after Jinhye Jo came to the U.S. with Yoon, former U.S. President George W. Bush invited Jo and eight other refugees from different foreign countries to the White House. Though Jo said she was reluctant to attend the event, a member of her church convinced her and paid for her ticket.

Since refugees were allotted just two minutes each to speak to Bush, Jo typed up a thick pamphlet to give him.

Though the meeting ended abruptly, Bush accepted Jo’s pamphlet. Determined to bring attention to her cause, Jo travelled to China during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and held a 16-day hunger strike at the Chinese embassy.

After the Olympics, Bush travelled to South Korea and Thailand and made the news with mentions of the North Korean refugee crisis. Inspired by the results, Jo founded NKinUSA with support from her church members.

Based in Washington, D.C., NKinUSA works to raise funds to support increasingly expensive rescue efforts. The organization works to rescue refugees from China and North Korea, and aims to provide food, housing, employment, education and translation services for refugees living in the U.S.

Jinhye Jo said she was able to overcome obstacles with the help of friends and mutual friends. Nowadays, she gives more help than she receives. One frequent recipient of Jo’s assistance is her mother, who had the most difficulty of Jo’s family adjusting to life in the U.S.

When Jinhye Jo’s mother faced difficulties with her bank, Jo had to translate her mother’s North Korean to South Korean, so that an official South Korean translator could relay the meaning to the bank representative. People who have lived in the U.S. their whole lives often struggle to understand how North Koreans’ needs differ from those of South Koreans, Jo said.

Despite the difficulties she has faced while adapting to life in the U.S., Jo said that she believes refugees can be happiest here. Currently, about 220 North Korean documented defectors and over 600 undocumented refugees reside in the U.S., according to Jo. Over 10 of those defectors live in Georgia.

http://emorywheel.com/jinhye-jo/

Grace Jo, Vice President of NKinUSA received a scholarship from Bush Institute

The George W. Bush Institute announced 10 new recipients of the North Korea Freedom Scholarship. The annual award was established in 2017 to help North Korean escapees living in the United States build productive, prosperous lives as Americans.

The scholarships of  $26,000 will help escapees pursue a range of educational opportunities at post-secondary institutions including traditional four-year universities, community colleges, and graduate schools.

This year, the Bush Institute will implement a pilot mentorship program for scholarship recipients, pairing recipients with mentors who have expertise in their field of study or can address other needs of the students. The goal is to eventually offer a mentor pairing to all applicants, whether or not they receive funding.

2018 North Korea Freedom Scholarship recipients include:

O.S.H., who is enrolled in a Masters of Divinity program at an Illinois theological seminary.
Johnny Han, who is studying political science and accounting at Los Angeles City College. He escaped to China in 2005 to find his mother, who had fled months earlier to earn money for the family. Johnny became a U.S. citizen in 2012 and is “still in awe of this country’s generosity.”

Grace Jo, who studies biology at Montgomery College in Maryland while working as a dental assistant and serving as Vice President of NKinUSA, a nonprofit that supports North Korean refugees. She came to the United States with her mother and sister in 2008 and became a citizen in 2013.

A.J., who recently completed her associate’s degree and transferred to the University of South Florida as a finance major. Her goal is to become a financial advisor after she graduates from college.
C.K., who is studying political science and public policy at a community college.
S.J.K., a recent high school graduate who will study X-Ray Tech at a community college in California.
S.K., who is a community college student in Maryland.
Debby Kim, who is studying biochemistry at Elmhurst College in Illinois and wants to become a doctor.
Seongmin Lee, who is a political science major at Columbia University. He fled North Korea with his mother in 2009 and originally settled in South Korea. He deferred his initial acceptance to Columbia due to lack of funds, then crowdfunded one year’s worth of tuition to attend a semester later.
H.S., who will soon be a freshman communications major at the University of Southern California.

Foreign Policy interviewed Grace Jo, Vice President of NKinUSA

Foreign Policy interviewed Grace Jo, Vice President of NKinUSA

In the interview with Foreign Policy, Grace Jo said “I want Kim Jong Un to know about the truth: that he is nothing, that he doesn’t have the power to fight with another country.”

Grace jo heads a support group for North Korean refugees, NKinUSA.

Grace Jo lost her grandmother, father, a sister, and two brothers to the famine and to government persecution before she escaped North Korea almost two decades ago.

the human rights of North Korean people after the North Korea's denuclearization

President Trump missed a chance to discuss human rights of North Korean people and North Korean refugees.
I hope President Trump will discuss about the human rights of North Korean people after the North Korea's denuclearization.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44447695

Spanish Daily Newspaper interviewed Grace Jo, Vice President of NKinUSA

Spanish Daily Newspaper interviewed Grace Jo, Vice President of NKinUSA



Grace Jo pertenece, a su pesar, a un club muy exclusivo. Hay cerca de 5.000 norcoreanos entre los 325 millones de estadounidenses, una comunidad mínima, si se compara con casi cualquier país del mundo. Ella es una de las 214 personas que tienen estatus de refugiado en EE.UU. Y una de las pocas que puede hablar sin tapujos y sin esconderse en el anonimato: no le queda familia en Corea del Norte, así que nadie sufrirá represalias por lo que diga.

Jo tiene 26 años y vive en Maryland, después de haber escapado en 2008 junto a parte de su familia de las torturas, la persecución y el «gulag» de Corea del Norte. Habla por teléfono con ABC casi a la vez que Donald Trump y Kim Jong-un aparecen ante las cámaras y se dan un apretón de manos. Es un momento histórico para su país de origen y para el que le ha acogido, pero Jo lo vive con un optimismo «a medias».

«Es bueno que Kim se abra a hablar con el presidente de EE.UU. Lo malo es que sabemos que el Gobierno de Corea del Norte nunca abandonará las armas nucleares. Solo tratan de ganar tiempo y dinero. Necesitan que se suavicen las sanciones internacionales», asegura.

Jo considera que en antes Trump estaba haciendo un buen trabajo con su posición de fuerza frente a Pyongyang. Ahora no le gusta escucharle decir que Kim «hará algo grande para su pueblo», en un país descosido por la pobreza y la represión, en el que han muerto millones de personas por las hambrunas en las últimas décadas. Para todo aquel que sufre al régimen norcoreano, la cumbre no servirá de mucho porque se ha dejado fuera los derechos humanos, asegura. «La desnuclearización es muy importante, claro. Pero también lo son los derechos humanos», exige. «¿Para qué se celebra una cumbre si no se habla de derechos humanos?»

Para Jo, la comunidad norcoreana comparte la idea de que Pyongyang no renunciará a las armas nucleares, porque es la único que les da una posición de fuerza en cualquier negociación. Conoce bien esa postura como vicepresidenta de la organización Norcoreanos en EE.UU. «Todos pensamos de forma similar al respecto» asegura. Lo mismo dice de la estrategia de Corea del Norte de limpiar la imagen de Kim, que ha pasado de ser un excéntrico y peligroso dictador a un avezado diplomático. Parte de ello, según Jo, se debe también al nuevo Gobierno de Corea del Sur, liderado por Moon Jae-in, cuyos encuentros con Kim en la frontera de ambos países contribuyeron al cambio en la percepción del dictador. «Es una operación propagandística», asegura. «Quizá Kim tenga sus propios planes y su mentalidad haya cambiado, pero el régimen y la elite de Corea del Norte nunca permitirá un cambio político de forma pacífica».

Bonchon Chicken Arlington donated for NKinUSA's 30th Anniversay and for rescuing North Korean refugees

Happy Anniversary Event of NKinUSA was held on May 30th.

Thank you to those who attended Happy Anniversary Event. Your donations are greatly appreciated.
Your donation will be used to continue our efforts of rescue and resettlement.

A big thank you to Bonchon Chicken Arlington for their generous $500 donation!

Israel's Keshnet Channel 12 interviewed Jinhye Jo, President of NKinUSA

Israel's Keshnet Channel 12 interviewed Jinhye Jo, President of NKinUSA (North Korean Refugees in the United States) for a documentary on North Korea.

President of NKinUSA, Jinhye shared her experiences living in North Korea, noting the human rights abuses perpetrated by North Korean regime.

Grace Jo, Vice President of NKinUSA, was interviewed by CNN Reporter Ana Cabrera

On June 16th, 2018 following the June 12th summit between Kim Jong Un and President Trump, Grace Jo, Vice President of NKinUSA (North Korean Refugees in the United States) was interviewed by CNN reporter Ana Cabrera to discuss Grace's perspective on the Kim regime and her experience living in North Korea.