Tag: Kim Jong-un

Picture of the Day: Here is Where the Cheeseburgers are At

| December 29, 2015

Kim Jong-un inspects maneuvers of N.K. Army's unified units

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) talks with a senior official of the North Korean People’s Army during his inspection of actual maneuvers between the Army’s large combined units 526 and 671 in this photo released by the North’s state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Dec. 24, 2015. Kim was also quoted as saying, “Practical drills should be conducted so often to cope with the hardest and severest war.” The paper, published by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, did not report when the photo was taken. (Yonhap)

H-Bomb Claim Reportedly Led to Cancellation of North Korean Girl Band Concert In China

| December 14, 2015

We now know why Kim Jong-un’s girl band had to cancel their Beijing performance:

Hyon Song-wol (L), leader of North Korea’s all-female band, arrives at a Beijing hotel on Dec. 11, 2015. The Moranbong Band came to China the previous day for what will be its first performance abroad, a move that North Korea watchers say is a gesture by Pyongyang to mend somewhat strained ties with Beijing. Hyon was once rumored to have been executed for distributing pornographic videotapes. The Moranbong Band, formed by the North’s current leader Kim Jong-un in 2012, will perform for three days in the Chinese capital. (Yonhap)

China had decided to send officials of lower rank to a concert by the all-female North Korean propaganda band in response to the North’s leader Kim Jong-un hinting earlier last week that Pyongyang had developed a hydrogen bomb, a source in Beijing close to the situation said Sunday.

The decision might have been related to the sudden cancellation of the concert by the North Korean side, said the source, who got the information from a Chinese government official with knowledge of the situation.

The Moranbong Band, formed in 2012 following an order from leader Kim, had been scheduled to perform for three days in Beijing starting Saturday, in what was seen as a fresh sign of warming relations between the two allies.

However, the band abruptly headed home hours before the invitation-only concert began Saturday.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link.

North Korea Abruptly Cancels Tour of Kim Jong-un’s Girl Band

| December 13, 2015

Supposedly their were Internet rumors in China that Kim Jong-un had a relationship with one of the girl band members.  These rumors may be why the performance was cancelled so suddenly:

An all-female band formed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un canceled its concerts in Beijing and abruptly left the Chinese capital on Saturday for unknown reasons, possibly further cooling relations between the traditional allies.

The Moranbong Band had been scheduled to hold three concerts in Beijing beginning Saturday night in what was viewed as a visit to cultivate ties between the countries.

However, band members arrived at Beijing’s airport in North Korean Embassy vehicles on Saturday afternoon, and departed aboard a North Korean Air Koryo jet shortly after 4 p.m. following a lengthy delay, Chinese news website sina.com reported.

A staff member at the National Theater, where the band was to give the invitation-only performances, said the concerts had been canceled, but did not give a reason. An accompanying North Korean musical troupe, the State Merited Chorus, also canceled its performances.  [Associated Press]

You can read the rest at the link.

Kim Jong-un’s Aunt Sues Defectors for Defamation

| December 4, 2015

You would think she should just be happy she has refuge in the United States after being part of the Kim regime’s inner circle and would want to keep a low profile:

nk defector image

The US-based aunt of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un filed a defamation suit in South Korea on Wednesday against three defectors from her reclusive homeland.

Ko Yong-Suk, who looked after Kim for years when he was at school in Switzerland, said the three defectors, who escaped the North and settled in South Korea in the 1990s, were guilty of repeatedly “spreading false information” about her and her family.

Ko took asylum in the United States in 1998 with her husband, and the suit was filed on her behalf by her Seoul-based lawyer, Kang Yong-Seok.

The younger sister of Kim’s mother, who died in France in 2004, Ko is seeking a total of 60 million won ($51,900) for remarks the defectors made on South Korean TV talk shows between 2013 and 2014.

Kang said the defamation allegations covered claims that Ko once managed a secret fund for Kim’s late father, Kim Jong-Il, that her father collaborated during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula and that she had plastic surgery after defecting to the US.

“The defectors made groundless remarks without really knowing about her life,” the lawyer told AFP.  [AFP via reader tip]

You can read the rest at the link.

North Korea Enforcing Kim Jong-un Inspired Hair Style

| December 1, 2015

Can you imagine a whole country of people with Kim Jong-un haircuts?  Well that is reportedly what the Kim regime is trying to do:

North Korean officials are ordering young men to keep their hair short and are enforcing their tonsorial diktat if they find anyone who fails to comply.

A source in Pyongyang last week said authorities have issued an order requiring men to keep their hair no longer than 2 cm, while women are required to keep their hair bobbed. “University student monitors are walking around with scissors and cutting off the hair of offenders,” the source said.

Young men have been told to model their hairstyle on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whose eccentric hairdo is known in the North as the “ambitious” style, where the sides and back of the head are almost clean shaven and only the top is left. [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.

Picture of the Day: Kim Jong-un Attends Moranbong Band Performance

| October 20, 2015

N. Korea marks anniv. of ruling party's foundation

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) and his wife Ri Sol-ju view a joint performance given by the State Merited Chorus and the Moranbong Band, a popular all-female music band, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, in this photo released by the North’s state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Oct. 19, 2015. (Yonhap)