Kim Jong-il
North Korea’s Troll Army? The Sinophone Internet Debate Over Kim Jong Un’s On-Site Inspection
In the endeavor to follow news coming out of Pyongyang since January 1, it has been occasionally difficult to follow Chinese news threads about Kim Jong Un. Something suprising appears to be happening on the Chinese internet in the Kim Jong Un era, at least on the Huanqiu Shibao/Global Times comment boards, which, associated with […]
‘Distorting and Speaking Ill of the Reality of the DPRK’: KCNA China File No. 4
The first week of January was a peculiar time in North Korea and for Sino-North Korean relations in particular. Kim Jong Un emerged in full, leading up to his January 8 birthday close-up, doing on-site inspections, attending concerts of canatas praising Kim Jong Il with the old generals, generally coddling the military, and paying no […]
Hostage Princes and Shadow Reformers: Kim Jong Nam
We recently learned that Kim Jong Nam [金正男], the eldest son of Kim Jong Il, had struck up a friendship with Japanese reporter, Yoji Komi [五味洋治], in the Beijing Capital Airport in 2004 and has corresponded with him frequently since by e-mail. Recently, Kim instructed Yoji to collate all the materials, over 100 e-mails and […]
Poetry from Pyongyang // 平壤诗歌
Rodong Sinmun yesterday carried a number of foreign language items, as well as a plug (in Korean) for foreign language education in the DPRK. A positive sign? At the very least, an opportunity for two English-language students at Kim Il Sung University to get an important translation on their respective resumes of a collectively-composed poem, […]
Songun, Tangun, Son of Paektu, etc.: Kim Jong Un Documentary
With thanks to Rue89 Chinatown in Paris for the tip, a one-hour special on (North) Korean Central TV about Kim Jong Un and, among other things, his links to the Mount Paektu legend and his military bona fides. Songun policy references abound. The young Kim is, in the eyes of KCNA, nothing less than the […]
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