China’s Naval Maneuvering in the Pacific
Midway through the first act of John Adam’s Nixon in China, the eponymous statesman enters into a rare lyricism to evoke the historical resonances of his journey to China, island-hopping across the Pacific via Hawaii and Guam: On our flight over from Shanghai the countryside Looked drab and grey… “We came in peace for all […]
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, […]
Revisiting Wen Jiabao in Pyongyang, October 2009
Editor’s Note: In 2010 and 2011, China’s relations with North Korea had reached a point of extensive and expanding connectivity. Much of the foundation of these ties lies in the agreements signed in Pyongyang during the visit of PRC Premier Wen Jiabao in early October 2009. As North Korea starts a crucial new year and […]
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 […]
Sunday Reads, Chinese Audibles
– This rather slight yet nevertheless astonishing shift in emphasis on nothing less than Kim Jong Il’s last on-site inspection: the supermarket visited on December 15 was in fact a joint venture with China. A blockade on this particular fact had existed since the Dear Leader’s death, with nothing less than a CCTV crew going […]
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