VICE - North Korean Film Madness documentary

Did North Korea Really Publish Pictures of a Biological Weapons Facility? | VICE

North Korea might have just revealed that it has the capability to produce massive quantities of biological weapons.

On June 6, a North Korean scientist defected to Finland with 15 gigabytes of electronic evidence that he claims documents how the country is testing chemical and biological agents on its own citizens.

That same day, North Korea's state media released photos of Kim Jong-un touring what it described as a pesticide factory called the Pyongyang Bio-technical Institute — but experts tell VICE News that that same facility is likely intended to produce massive quantities of weaponized anthrax.

Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, first discovered the significance of the photos. She provided VICE News with an advance copy of her analysis of the images, released today, in which she concludes that, "given North Korea's known history of interest in biological weapons, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the Institute is intended to produce military-size batches of anthrax."

Continued here:
https://news.vice.com/article/did-n...ish-pictures-of-a-biological-weapons-facility

Escaping From a North Korean Concentration Camp: VICE Meets Kim Hye-sook



Published by VICE on July 13, 2015

Kim Hye-sook was born in North Korea, and at the age of 13, along with her family, was sent to Bukchang concentration camp (also known as Camp 18) as a punishment for her grandfather's attempt to escape North Korea.

She spent 28 years as a prisoner at the camp and eventually managed to run away and defect to South Korea. Since her escape, she drew maps and pictures of her experience at Bukchang that were used by UN investigators to identify and prove the existence the camp from satellite images.

Ben Makuch met up with Kim Hye-sook in Seoul, where she currently resides, to talk about her pictures and experiences from her 28 years at Bukchang labour camp.

North, South Korea officials meet at DMZ in bid to ease tension | Reuters

Top aides to the leaders of North and South Korea held talks at the Panmunjom truce village straddling their border late on Saturday, raising hopes for an end to a standoff that put the rivals on the brink of armed conflict.

The meeting at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) village, known for its sky-blue huts and grim-faced soldiers, began soon after the deadline for North Korea's previously set ultimatum demanding that the South halt its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border or face military action. That deadline passed without any reported incidents. The negotiations continued after roughly three hours, according to the South's Unification Ministry.

An exchange of artillery fire on Thursday prompted calls for calm from the United Nations, the United States and the North's lone major ally, China. South Korea's military remained on high alert despite the announced talks, a defence official said.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye's national security adviser and her unification minister met with Hwang Pyong So, the top military aide to the North's leader Kim Jong Un, and Kim Yang Gon, a veteran official in inter-Korean affairs.

"The South and the North agreed to hold contact related to the ongoing situation in South-North relations," Kim Kyou-hyun, the presidential Blue House's deputy national security adviser, said earlier in a televised briefing.

Continued here:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/08/22/uk-northkorea-southkorea-idUKKCN0QR02F20150822

Jake Davis ‏@DoubleJake Aug 21
It would seem somebody tagged the outside of the @VICEUK building




They must be doing something right. Me thinks they hit a truthful raw nerve along the way.

South and North Korea adjourn talks after night-long session fails to end crisis | The Guardian

North and South Korea have agreed to a second round of talks after marathon, night-long negotiations fell short of resolving a crisis that has pushed them to the brink of armed conflict.

The two sides called a recess in the early hours of the morning after nearly 10 hours of discussions and agreed to meet again at 3pm (6am GMT) on Sunday to “narrow down differences”, said South Korea’s presidential spokesman, Min Kyung-wook.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-after-night-long-session-fails-to-end-crisis

South Korea stands firm on border broadcasts into North | BBC News

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has said its cross-border propaganda broadcasts will continue until Pyongyang apologises for landmines that injured two South Korean soldiers. North Korea has threatened to use force to stop the broadcasts, ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula. High-level talks to resolve the issue went through a second night on Sunday. Both country's militaries are on alert after a brief exchange of fire at the border on Thursday.

North Korea denies laying the landmines which maimed the soldiers earlier this month as they were patrolling the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified border. It also denies shelling the South on Thursday, an incident which prompted return artillery fire from the South.

Continued here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34037275

Here's the giggly K-pop hit South Korea is tormenting North Korea with | Boing Boing

http://boingboing.net/2015/08/24/heres-the-giggly-k-pop-hit-s.html

North, South Korea reach agreement to ease tensions | Reuters

North and South Korea agreed early on Tuesday to end a military standoff that sparked an exchange of artillery fire and had ratcheted up tension on one of the world's most heavily-fortified borders.

Under an accord reached in the early hours, following more than two days of talks, North Korea expressed regret over the recent wounding of South Korean soldiers in landmine blasts and Seoul agreed to halt anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts.

North Korea also agreed to end the "semi" state of war it had declared. The two sides will hold follow-up talks to discuss a range of issues on improving ties, the joint statement said.

Continued here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/25/us-northkorea-southkorea-idUSKCN0QR02D20150825

My Instagram tour of North Korea | BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34021128/my-instagram-tour-of-north-korea

Tourist's Instagram photos reveal rare glimpse into everyday life in secretive North Korea | Daily Express

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world...tagram-rare-glimpse-everyday-life-North-Korea

Taylor Pemberton | Instagram

https://instagram.com/pemberton/

New airport's Internet room a closed window on North Korea | The Associated Press

On two recent trips through the airport by The Associated Press, the room's three terminals were either occupied by North Korean airport employees, making it impossible for others to use them, or were completely empty, with their keyboards removed. Attempts to open any browser with a mouse resulted in a failure to connect.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1569...ports-internet-room-closed-window-north-korea

North Korea has a crystal meth problem | Business Insider

Excerpt:

According to reporting done by a number of international news organizations, the movement of crystal meth over the country’s northern border and into China reached epidemic levels earlier this year, causing a brutal crackdown by the government on one of the very few elements of the nation’s economy that the government doesn’t control.

The official response was not widely advertised, no doubt because the official line out of leader Kim Jong Un’s government is that there is absolutely no drug use in North Korea.

Reports in South Korean media, however, relying largely on the stories of defectors, tell a very different story. In a country where food is often scarce, crystal meth has in recent years become so abundant that a serious addiction problem has taken hold.

The crackdown is a recent phenomenon, but the production of crystal meth in North Korea has been known, if not widely discussed, for years. Last year, Vice News highlighted the country’s struggle with the problem, which apparently emerged from the government’s attempt to find new ways of raising funds in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-has-a-crystal-meth-problem-2015-8

Glenn Greenwald ‏@ggreenwald 3 minutes ago
Watch @matthewacole with @jaketapper at 4:30 pm ET talking about his big story on US misuse of NGOs to spy.

U.S. Military Used Christian NGO as Front for North Korea Espionage

https://theintercept.com/2015/10/26...hristian-ngo-front-for-north-korea-espionage/

North Korea builds replica of South’s presidential ‘Blue House’ for target practice | South China Morning Post

North Korea is preparing to blow apart a replica of South Korea’s presidential Blue House on an artillery range outside Pyongyang, in an apparent propaganda exercise, the South’s military said on Wednesday.

An official with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said the North’s military had been detected building the half-sized replica at the Daiwonri range near the capital earlier this month.

“The North is apparently preparing to showcase a mock attack on the Blue House using the replica as a target,” the official said. Around 30 artillery pieces, hidden under coverings, have been brought to the range.

“The exercise is believed to be aimed at stirring up hostility against the South, summoning up loyalty (to leader Kim Jong-un) and fuelling security concerns in the South,” the official said.

North Korea is currently stoking nationalist sentiment as it gears up for a landmark ruling party congress – the first of its kind for nearly 40 years. The key gathering will open on May 6 and there is growing concern that it may be preceded by a fresh nuclear test.

Continued here:
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-...replica-souths-presidential-blue-house-target

Japan military on alert for possible North Korean ballistic missile launch | Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missile-idUSKCN0Z70AF

North Korea launches two missiles capable of reaching US territory

North Korea has launched two ballistic missiles capable of reaching US territory – sparking fears of World War 3.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/lat...iate-range-ballistic-missiles-world-war-3-ww3

North Korea 'tests banned missiles' | BBC News

Reports from South Korea say the North has tested two banned missiles, with the first launch ending in failure.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36593321

Pyongyang test of Guam-reachable missile fails over Sea of Japan so it launches another one

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...m-reachable-medium-range-missile-fails-seoul/

Kim's last moments: Shocking footage shows a 'female hit squad spray North Korean leader's brother in the face with poison' before he drops dead at a Malaysian airport

• The CCTV footage, from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, allegedly shows the moment which led to the assassination of Kim Jong-nam - Kim Jong-un's brother
• Woman in a white top and jeans is seen grabbing the man and holding him back
• Another woman appears to spray a toxic substance in the helpless man's face
• Later in the leaked footage, he's seen telling security guards what happened
• Kim Jong Nam was murdered on Monday using a fast-acting liquid poison
• Malaysian police believe he was assassinated on the orders of Kim Jong-un

Quote:

This shocking footage appears to show a female hit squad spray Kim Jong-un's brother in the face with poison just moments before he drops dead at a Malaysian Airport.

The CCTV video, from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, allegedly shows the moment which led to the assassination of Kim Jong-nam - the half-brother of the North Korean leader.

A woman in a while top and jeans is seen grabbing the man and holding him back, while another woman sprays a toxic substance in his face.

Later in the leaked footage, he appears to be telling security guards that he had been sprayed in the face.

Jong-nam, who often spoke out against his brother's regime, was found dead at the Malaysian airport.

Continued at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ent-leading-Kim-Jong-nam-s-assassination.html

Malaysia Can’t Say If Kim Jong-nam Was Poisoned

Quote:

The case surrounding the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s older half-brother keeps getting weirder. The preliminary autopsy of Kim Jong-nam, who died after allegedly being attacked with an unknown substance at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is inconclusive, authorities say. South Korean intelligence officials believe Jong-nam had been poisoned as part of an assassination plot cooked up by his paranoid sibling, but so far, an examination hasn’t shown any evidence of cardiac arrest or a puncture wound — which would indicate Jong-nam’s assailants had injected him with a deadly toxin, reports the Washington Post. The Malaysian director of General Health Noor Hisham Abdullah, didn’t rule out death by poisoning, and are awaiting the findings of lab tests. Authorities didn’t give a timeline for those results, but the director of Malaysia’s National Poison Centre said his lab had yet to receive specimens for testing. They were reportedly supposed to arrive two days ago.

Two women — one wearing an “LOL” shirt, and the other who claimed she thought she was participating in a reality-TV stunt — ambushed Jong-nam in the airport and misted him with a mysterious liquid. But experts told the Associated Press that it is strange that both women appeared to walk away just fine from the incident, which left Jong-nam dead before he could make it to the hospital. In addition to the two women, four other men were arrested in connection to Jong-nam’s death.

Meanwhile, North Korea is picking a fight with Malaysia over the country’s decision to perform an autopsy on the body, accusing it of “mangling” Jong-nam’s body — even though the country has not yet confirmed that the dead man is a member of the North Korean ruler’s family. Kang Chol, North Korea’s ambassador to Malaysia, also blamed that country of working with South Korea to try to make Pyongyang look bad, saying in a statement that not releasing the body back to North Korea is “the culmination of human rights abuse and shows once again how they are desperate to shift blame on us.”

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak fired back, calling North Korea’s comments “diplomatically rude.”

Source: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligence...f-kim-jong-uns-half-brother-was-poisoned.html

VX nerve agent used to kill Kim Jong Nam, police say | CNN

Quote:

The chemical substance used to kill Kim Jong Nam was a VX nerve agent, an internationally-banned chemical weapon that can kill within minutes, according to a preliminary report by the Chemistry Department of Malaysia.

Malaysian police said in a statement Friday that tests on Kim's eyes and face revealed the presence of the substance.

Nerve agents are the most toxic and fast-acting substance known in chemical warfare -- and VX is the most potent of all of them, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Kim, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, died on February 13 before he was scheduled to board a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Macau.

Malaysian police claim two women wiped his face with some sort of liquid at the instruction of four North Koreans. He started to feel dizzy minutes later and died shortly after on his way to the hospital.

North Korea rejects that version of events, saying that the women would be dead if they had put a lethal chemical on their hands. It vehemently denies any involvement in Kim's death.

Continued at http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/asia/kim-jong-nam-vx-nerve-agent/

Suspect thought she was playing a prank | The Associated Press

Quote:

Vietnam says the Vietnamese woman under arrest in Malaysia for allegedly helping to carry out the deadly attack on North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un's half brother thought she was taking part in a prank.

Doan Thi Huong is among two women arrested for the Feb. 13 airport attack on Kim Jong Nam, which Malaysian police say was carried out with the banned chemical weapon VX nerve agent.

Vietnam's foreign ministry said in a statement posted on its website that a representative from the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia met with Huong on Saturday and confirmed that she is Vietnamese citizen. She is in stable health.

According to the statement, Huong said she was tricked and thought she was playing a prank. The other woman arrested over the attack, an Indonesian, also says she thought she was taking part in a prank.

Source: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8f3e...test-indonesia-suspect-was-paid-90-attack-kim

Malaysia warns North Korea to cooperate with investigation | The Associated Press

Quote:

Malaysian police said Saturday that they would issue an arrest warrant for a North Korean diplomat if he refuses to cooperate with the investigation into the deadly attack on North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un's exiled half brother.

The investigation has unleashed a serious diplomatic fight between Malaysia and North Korea, a prime suspect in the Feb. 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur's airport. Friday's revelation by Malaysian police that the banned chemical weapon VX nerve agent was used to kill Kim raised the stakes significantly in a case that has broad geopolitical implications.

Police said Saturday that they would conduct a sweep of the airport terminal where Kim was killed to check for possible traces of VX.

Experts say the nerve agent used in the attack was almost certainly produced in a sophisticated state weapons laboratory and is banned under an international treaty. But North Korea never signed that treaty, and has spent decades developing a complex chemical weapons program.

Kim was not an obvious political threat to his estranged half brother, Kim Jong Un. But he may have been seen as a potential rival in North Korea's dynastic dictatorship, even though he had lived in exile for years. North Korea has denied any role in the attack.

Malaysia said earlier in the week that Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, was wanted for questioning. But authorities acknowledged at the time that he has diplomatic immunity and that they couldn't compel him to appear.

On Saturday, Malaysia's tone changed.

Abdul Samah Mat, the police chief leading the investigation, said authorities would give the diplomat "reasonable" time to come forward. If he doesn't, he said, police will issue a notice compelling him to do so.

"And if he failed to turn up ... then we will go to the next step by getting a warrant of arrest from the court," Abdul Samah told reporters.

Lawyer Sankara Nair, however, noted that diplomats have immunity privileges even in criminal cases.

"If he is a Korean diplomat with a diplomatic passport, then he has immunity no matter a criminal case or otherwise," he said. "Police can apply for a warrant, but it can easily be set aside by the embassy."

Malaysia hasn't directly accused the North Korean government of being behind the attack, but officials have said four North Korean men provided two women with poison to carry it out.

The four men fled Malaysia shortly after the killing, while the women — one from Indonesia and the other Vietnamese — were arrested.

On Saturday, the Indonesian suspect, Siti Aisyah, met with her country's deputy ambassador to Malaysia, saying she had been paid the equivalent of $90 for what she believed was a harmless prank.

Aisyah, 25, said she had been introduced to people who looked like Japanese or Koreans who asked her to play a prank for a reality show, Deputy Ambassador Andriano Erwin said.

Asked about whether she knew what was on her hands at the time of the attack, Erwin said: "She didn't tell us about that. She only said that it's a kind of oil, baby oil, something like that."

The Vietnamese woman who was arrested, Doan Thi Huong, also thought she was taking part in a prank, Vietnam's foreign ministry said Saturday, after a representative from the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia met with Huong.

An odorless chemical with the consistency of motor oil, VX is an extremely powerful poison, with an amount no larger than a few grains of salt enough to kill. It can be inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin. Then, in anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours, it can cause a range of symptoms, from blurred vision to a headache. Enough exposure leads to convulsions, paralysis, respiratory failure and death.

The killing of Kim Jong Nam took place amid crowds of travelers at Kuala Lumpur's airport and appeared to be a well-planned hit. Kim died on the way to a hospital, within hours of the attack.

In grainy surveillance footage, the women appear to smear something onto Kim's face before walking away in separate directions. Malaysian police said the attackers had been trained to go immediately to the bathroom and clean their hands.

Aisyah has said previously that she was duped into the attack, but Malaysian police say the suspects knew what they were doing. Experts say the women must have taken precautions so the nerve agent wouldn't kill them.

An antidote, atropine, can be injected after exposure and is carried by medics in war zones where weapons of mass destruction are suspected.

Tens of thousands of passengers have passed through Kuala Lumpur's airport since the apparent assassination was carried out. No areas were cordoned off and protective measures were not taken.

Late Saturday, however, police said they would begin a sweep of the budget terminal where Kim was attacked to check for traces of VX.

Continued at http://bigstory.ap.org/article/325a...aits-lab-tests-after-nerve-agent-used-airport

North Korea fires four missiles into Sea of Japan | The Guardian

Move comes after the US and South Korea staged annual joint military exercises last week, infuriating Pyongyang.

Quote:

North Korea has fired four missiles into the Sea of Japan, South Korea’s military has said. The missiles were launched from the Tongchang-ri region, where a missile base is located, and flew about 1,000 km (620 miles).

It was not immediately clear what type of missile was fired. Pyongyang has staged a series of missile test-launches of various ranges in recent months.

Earlier, the South’s Yonhap news agency cited an unnamed ministry official as saying one of the projectiles could be an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the US mainland.

Three of the missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, said Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Japanese officials described the launches as a grave threat and said they lodged “strong protests” with nuclear-armed North Korea.

“The launches are clearly in violation of Security Council resolutions. It is an extremely dangerous action,” Abe said during questions in parliament.

Continued at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...res-unidentified-projectile-into-sea-of-japan

N. Korea assassination: N. Koreans released | CNN



North Korea secured both the body of Kim Jong Nam from Malaysia, and the three North Korean nationals who were questioned and released.

North Korea-linked hackers are attacking banks worldwide | CNN



North Korea's hacking operations are growing and getting more bold -- and increasingly targeting financial institutions worldwide.

North Korea is now being linked to attacks on banks in 18 countries, according to a new report from Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.

And the stolen money is likely being spent advancing North Korea's development of nuclear weapons, according to two international security experts.

Banks and security researchers have previously identified four similar cyber-heists attempted on financial institutions in Bangladesh, Ecuador, the Philippines and Vietnam.

But researchers at Kaspersky now say the same hacking operation -- known as "Lazarus" -- also attacked financial institutions in Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Poland, Taiwan, Thailand, and Uruguay.

North Korea's mysterious Lazarus hacking operation has been blamed for several large international cyberattacks in recent years.

The hackers can be traced back to North Korea, according to Kaspersky researchers.

To hide their location, hackers typically launch cyberattacks from computer servers far from home. According to Kaspersky, the Lazarus hackers carefully routed their signal through France, South Korea and Taiwan to setup that attack server.But there was apparently one mistake spotted by Kaspersky: A connection that briefly came from North Korea.

"North Korea is a very important part of this equation," said Vitaly Kamluk, who leads Kaspersky's Asia-Pacific research team.

Continued at http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/03/world/north-korea-hackers-banks/

North Korea 'ready for war' after US redeploys navy strike team | The Guardian

Pyongyang cites ‘reckless moves’ by US as Donald Trump repeats threat of unilateral action if China does not put pressure on its neighbour

Quote:

North Korea has warned of “catastrophic consequences” in response to any further provocations by the US, days after a US navy battle group was sent to waters off the Korean peninsula, and was met by Donald Trump with a repeated threat of unspecified unilateral action.

The US president said on Twitter that he would “solve the problem” of North Korea if China did not provide greater help in exerting pressure on its neighbour.

The shrill rhetoric has been matched by a military build-up.

The decision to divert the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and other battleships from a planned visit to Australia to the western Pacific came after tensions increased over ongoing military drills involving American and South Korean forces that Pyongyang regards as a dress rehearsal for an invasion.

“We will hold the US wholly accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its outrageous actions,” North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying. “(North Korea) is ready to react to any mode of war desired by the US.”

The spokesman cited Washington’s refusal to rule out a pre-emptive strike against North Korean missile sites as justification for its nuclear programme.

“The prevailing grave situation proves once again that (North Korea) was entirely just when it increased in every way its military capabilities for self-defence and pre-emptive attack with a nuclear force as a pivot,” the spokesman said, according to KCNA.

“We will take the toughest counteraction against the provocateurs in order to defend ourselves by powerful force of arms.”

Meanwhile, Donald Trump took to Twitter to deliver his latest threat aimed at the Pyongyang regime.

Continued at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/11/north-korea-ready-for-war-us-navy-redeploys

North Korea sees Trump's sabre-rattling as propaganda come true | CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/12/asia/north-korea-trump-propaganda-syria/

North Korea: Pyongyang preparing for nuclear test, satellite images suggest | The Guardian

North’s Punggye-ri site appears to be ready for what would be the country’s sixth nuclear test since 2006

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ing-for-nuclear-test-satellite-images-suggest

North Korea apparently fires missile: Japan's NHK | Reuters

Quote:

North Korea fired a projectile that appeared to be a missile shortly before midnight Japan time (1500 GMT) on Friday, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said, citing government officials.

The apparent missile may have landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone, NHK said.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-idUSKBN1AD1ZB

U.S. to Test ICBM as Tensions Rise With North Korea | NBC News

Quote:

The U.S. military is poised to test launch an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile from California early Wednesday morning — just days after North Korea’s second test of an ICBM.

The 576th Flight Test Squadron will conduct the test between 12:01 a.m. and 6:01 a.m. PT from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command has tested 299 Minuteman III ICBMs over the program’s history. In a statement, the command said the test launch program is meant "to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system."

Last week, North Korea tested an ICBM for the second time. The missile flew for 45 minutes and traveled more than 1,000 kilometers laterally. U.S. officials believe the missile broke up upon re-entering the atmosphere.

The United States and its allies flew supersonic bombers and fighter jets over the Korea Peninsula on Sunday in a 10-hour show of force against North Korea following the country's latest ICBM launch.

The U.S. B-1 bombers first flew over Japanese airspace, where they were joined by two Japanese F-2 fighter jets, before flying over the Korean Peninsula with four South Korean F-15 fighter jets, U.S. Pacific Air Forces said in a statement.

The Air Force said the 10-hour mission was a direct response to North Korea's two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests this month, the latest of which occurred Friday.

Analysts say the North's test Friday showed that a broader part of the mainland United States, including Los Angeles and Chicago, is now in range of Pyongyang's weapons.

Asked about possible U.S. military action against North Korea, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders reiterated on Tuesday that "all options are on the table" but the administration would not "broadcast what we're going to do."

The focus for the administration remains on stopping North Korea's nuclear program and halting their aggression, Sanders said.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-test-icbm-tensions-rise-north-korea-n788481

U.S. Test-Launches ICBM as Tensions Rise With North Korea | NBC News

Quote:

The U.S. military successfully test-launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile from California early Wednesday, according to an Air Force spokesman — just days after North Korea’s second test of an ICBM.

The Air Force launched the Minuteman III missile at 2:10 a.m. PT from Vandenberg Air Force Base, about 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Continued at http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-test-icbm-tensions-rise-north-korea-n788481

North Korea now making missile-ready nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts say

By Joby Warrick, Ellen Nakashima and Anna Fifield, The Washington Post

Quote:

North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in a confidential assessment.

The new analysis completed last month by the Defense Intelligence Agency comes on the heels of another intelligence assessment that sharply raises the official estimate for the total number of bombs in the communist country’s atomic arsenal. The U.S. calculated last month that up to 60 nuclear weapons are now controlled by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Some independent experts believe the number of bombs is much smaller.

The findings are likely to deepen concerns about an evolving North Korean military threat that appears to be advancing far more rapidly than many experts had predicted. U.S. officials last month concluded that Pyongyang is also outpacing expectations in its effort to build an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking cities on the American mainland.

Continued at https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...4b882a-7b6b-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html

People have been trolling NK launch sites on Google Maps.

I checked what South Koreans are saying about the threat of war with NK. I thought this was a good summary of the mood I was seeing.

I admire that last bit. I wish I could maintain that kind of calm and acceptance in the face of danger. But I am prone to worry.

"Likewise, no one will enter a catastrophic confrontation without exerting all effort to avoid it, and then without counting all the costs as thoroughly as humanly possible."

haha

From "Weird Al" Yankovic on Facebook:

John Oliver decided I was the only human who could successfully de-escalate the nuclear crisis, so I wrote "The North Korea Polka (Please Don't Nuke Us)" and performed it on his HBO show last night. Huge thanks to John and his entire wonderful Last Week Tonight team for making this happen.

North Korea: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) | LastWeekTonight



As nuclear tensions continue to escalate between the United States and North Korea, John Oliver enlists "Weird Al" Yankovic to perform some accordion-based diplomacy.

Next target Guam, North Korea says | CNN

North Korea's launch of a missile over Japan was a prelude to more military operations directed at the American territory of Guam, North Korean state media warned Wednesday.

www.cnn.com/2017/08/29/asia/north-korea-missile-launch-guam-threat/

North Korea: Kim Jong Un observes missile-ready H-bomb | CNN

Quote:

North Korea's regime has "succeeded in making a more developed nuke," according to the country's state news agency.

During a visit to the country's Nuclear Weapons Institute, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "watched an H-bomb to be loaded into new ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile)," the Korean Central News Agency reported.

There was no independent confirmation of the claims.

"The H-bomb, the explosive power of which is adjustable from tens kiloton to hundreds kiloton, is a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack according to strategic goals," KCNA reported in English.

Electromagnetic pulse is an intense wave of electrical energy generated by the detonation of a nuclear weapon.

"Nuclear EMP has the demonstrated potential to disrupt, damage, or destroy a wide variety of electrical and electronic equipment," according to the US Department of Energy.

EMP waves can disable all sorts of electrical devices, but their biggest threat is to the electrical grid and long-haul communications, an Energy Department report says. One blast could knock out power and communications over hundreds or even thousands of kilometers, the report says.

Continued at www.cnn.com/2017/09/02/asia/north-korea-kim-jong-un-nuke-lab-visit/

North Korea appears to have conducted sixth nuclear test | CNN

Seismological data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) showed that an explosion caused a 6.3-magnitude tremor in the country's northeast, not far from the country's Punggey-ri nuclear test site.

South Korea's Meteorological Administration called it a "man-made" earthquake.

www.cnn.com/2017/09/03/asia/north-korea-nuclear-test/

North Korean specialty: gasoline clams.

I've been watching short, recent tourist videos of North Korea. Many have people leaving comments around a theme: "North Korea in reality is not like it seems in the media." So somebody is paying for propaganda aimed at discrediting the news media and humanizing North Koreans and normalizing their way of life. Pepe below is an example:



I interpret the effort to normalize NK as some indication that NK is actually alarmed by the possibility the US may soon bomb something over there.

It's curious that an NK bot uses a Pepe avatar like a MAGA bot.