Word: pyongyang
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...Pyongyang TAKING THE GLOVES OFF In a meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, President Obama pledged to "break the pattern" of rewarding North Korea with aid only to have the country later renege on its promises to halt nuclear proliferation. On June 15, thousands of North Koreans gathered in Pyongyang for a demonstration against U.S.-led sanctions, which include the inspection of North Korean ships in an effort to block the transport of nuclear materials. The inspections are still voluntary, and most experts believe that North Korean vessels most likely would not agree to them. Pyongyang has threatened...
...Almost all of the 2,550 seats have been sold for the day's matinee. The ensuing spectacle of song and dance looks like it was put together by Las Vegas choreographers and drill instructors from Pyongyang. It's a mix of high kitsch, discipline and idealism, driving home a singular message: love endures. The three-hour show has about 120 actors, begins with a musical play (Raindrops Fall on Roses) and ends with a song-and-dance revue (Amour, It's Something Like ...). The costumes are adorned with enough glitter to make Liberace's eyes water. (See pictures...
What it does export is invariably shrouded in mystery. Pyongyang exists frozen outside the global economy and raises funds through a host of backdoor activities, including the manufacture of counterfeit money and dissemination of its military secrets and technological capabilities to a whole network of dubious customers. As a consequence of Pyongyang's recent bellicose behavior, a new U.N. resolution passed this June forbids the country from exporting arms and authorizes member states to search North Korean vessels suspected to be carrying them, though they must first seek Pyongyang's legal consent - effectively, a non-starter. Nevertheless, the U.S.S. John...
...Burmese and North Koreans were not always this close. In 1983, North Korean agents bombed a South Korean delegation visiting a monument in Rangoon. More than 20 people died and Burma severed relations with Pyongyang. But the two nations held secret talks during the 1990s and restored formal ties in 2007. Soon thereafter, North Korean vessels started docking at Burmese ports, reportedly unloading heavy equipment and weapons parts. It is suspected that resource-rich Burma sends minerals, rubber and foodstuffs to North Korea in return for such assistance...
...tense standoff between U.S. ships and the Kang Nam 1 would hardly upset Pyongyang; the Burmese junta has proven to be wholly insensitive to criticism and protest from the outside world. Watchers of both isolated states see a joint circling of wagons in the face of a hostile international community. With many policy makers already tearing at their hair over North Korea's nuclear intransigence, it's a state of affairs that can only deepen global concern...