Tag: Kim Jong-un

NIS Says Kim Jong-un Has Insomnia and Has Gained 40 Kilograms

| July 3, 2016

In the least surprising news of the day, the spies over at the NIS have disclosed that Kim Jong-un is fat and out of shape:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is currently suffering from insomnia, as well as diseases caused by obesity, South Korea’s intelligence agency said Friday, adding he has gained 40 kilograms over the past four years.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in its report to a meeting of the parliament’s intelligence committee that Kim is presumed to weigh 130 kilograms, a jump from 90 kilograms when he took office in 2012.

Rep. Lee Cheol-woo of the ruling Saenuri Party, who chairs the committee, said Kim is currently under great stress due to his safety, which has led to excessive binge eating and drinking.

Kim also fears that overseas media reports on his childhood may spread throughout Pyongyang, which may hurt his legitimacy as the leader of North Korea.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Picture of the Day: How Many Titles Does Kim Jong-un Have?

| July 1, 2016

N.K. leader given new state title

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un receives an applause at a meeting of the country’s parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), in Pyongyang on June 29, 2016, in this photo captured from the North’s Korean Central TV. The SPA newly created the “commission on state affairs” and appointed Kim as its chairman, strengthening his one-man rule. (Yonhap)

Picture of the Day: Kim Jong-un Cheers After Successful Musudan Launch

| June 24, 2016

N.K. claims success in missile launch

North Korea’s top leader Kim Jong-un (seated) and military officials are elated after watching what the country claimed as a successful launch of its ballistic missile Hwasong-10 in this photo released by the North’s ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun on June 23, 2016. The North claimed success in the June 22 launch of the missile, known as the intermediate-range Musudan in the outside world, saying it flew the targeted 400 km and re-entered the atmosphere after soaring to an altitude of 1,413.6 km. If true, it would mark significant progress in the North’s missile technology. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Kim Jong-un Threatens To Attack Bases of “American Bastards” In the Pacific

| June 24, 2016

I would like to see him try because Japan and Okinawa already have Patriot and Aegis missile defenses while THAAD was deployed to Guam specifically to defend against the Musudan missile threat.  I will be more concerned if they successfully develop an submarine launched ballistic missile capability:

Leader Kim Jong-Un threatened US military bases across the Pacific after North Korea’s test of a powerful new missile triggered emergency UN Security Council talks on curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.

Kim, who personally monitored Wednesday’s Musudan missile test, applauded a “great event” that significantly bolstered the North’s pre-emptive nuclear attack capability, the official KCNA news agency reported.

“We have the sure capability to attack in an overall and practical way the Americans in the Pacific operation theatre,” Kim was quoted as saying.

A Korean-language version of the same report had Kim referring to “the American bastards.”

The Musudan has a theoretical range of anywhere between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometres (1,550 to 2,500 miles), with the upper estimate covering US military bases as far away as Guam.

After a string of failures in recent months, North Korea tested two Musudans on Wednesday, one of which flew 400 kilometres into the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

KCNA said the missile had been fired at a high angle to simulate its full range, and had reached a maximum height of more than 1,400 kilometres.

The test “marked an important occasion in further strengthening the nuclear attack capacity of our state,” Kim said.  [AFP]

You can read more at the link, but this picture released by North Korea shows how much Kim Jong-un had invested in the successful development of the Musudan:

North Korea’s top leader Kim Jong-un (R) and Ri Pyong-chol, a member of the ruling Workers’ Party central committee, hug each other in joy after the North’s self-claimed successful launch of its ballistic missile Hwasong-10 on June 22, 2016. Ri is a former chief of the North’s air force and had accompanied the leader on most of the previous missile tests. This and other photos released by the party’s newspaper Rodong Sinmun on June 23 showed that Gen. Kim Rak-gyom was still the head commander of the North Korean military strategic forces in charge of missile operations. He was rumored to have been demoted for failed previous launches. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution)

These two looked happier than Lebron James winning the NBA Championship.

False News Story About Kim Jong-un Death Causes Impact of Korean Stock Market

| June 19, 2016

It is amazing how gullible people keep falling for these fake news stories they see pop up in their social media feeds and don’t bother to read the article.  This recent example of a false news story saying Kim Jong-un was killed by a suicide bomber even impacted the Korean stock market:

A false news story that claimed Kim Jong Un was assassinated caused tremors in South Korea’s foreign exchange market on Friday.

The story published on fake news outlet East Asia Tribune alleged the North Korean leader was attacked by a female suicide bomber and killed in an explosion in Pyongyang.

The article also claimed the report was from Pyongyang’s state television network KCTV.

While the report was quickly dismissed on social media, on Friday morning in Seoul the story affected movements in the currency market, local news service Financial News reported.

The exchange rate for the South Korean won spiked to 1178 won to the U.S. dollar, before closing at 1172.7 won.

Defense stocks also rose momentarily on Friday but once rumors were dispelled trading resumed normal levels, according to local press.  [UPI]

You can read the rest at the link.

Is North Korea Building Up Its Conventional Military Strength?

| June 12, 2016

It just makes me wonder where all the money is coming from for the Kim regime to build up their nuclear, ballistic missile and conventional military strength like this?  Here may be the most important modernization that did not require any money to get:

Additionally, there is reason to believe that Kim Jung Un has had some success in revitalizing the military by instituting new military leadershipafter a rash of executions removed some of the old brass.

Joseph S. Bermudez, an expert on North Korea’s military, told The Washington Post: “I get a sense that when Kim Jong Un came to power, he looked around and said, ‘We have all these old guys running things who haven’t been in the field for 15 or 20 years. We need people who know what they’re talking about.'”

“Before, you had leaders of special forces who couldn’t run a mile. Now, we see artillery division commanders that actually have an artillery background,” Bermudez continued.  [Business Insider]

You can read more at the link.