8 April 2010

You know, until I was introduced to KCNA, I did not fully realize that living under the “dignified” Juche system was the human right that replaced all the rest of them:

There exists no such issue as “human rights issue” in the DPRK nor can it exist there as it provides full legal and institutional guarantees to the independence of human being and the equal rights of the popular masses guided by the Juche idea.

The south Korean puppet group rolled up its sleeves to support foreign forces’ anti-DPRK “human rights” racket, a vivid manifestation of its deep-seated confrontational concept and bitterness toward fellow countrymen.

The group has become frantic in staging absurd “human rights” smear campaign aimed at slandering fellow countrymen in collusion with foreign forces, not content with having blocked the inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation and escalated the anti-reunification oppression. This shows what a reckless level their moves to bedevil the inter-Korean relations and escalate the confrontation of system have reached.

It is as foolish and silly an act as running one’s head against a hard wall to try to do harm to the dignified system of the DPRK.

So there you have it. My work here is done.

South Korea’s leftist unions are going to send delegations to North Korea, to plan a big Labor Day celebration at Kaesong … where the gulag awaits any worker who so much as suggests forming a union. Talk among yourselves about that one.

The BBC talks about North Korea’s Red Star operating system, which makes Green Dam look like San Francisco in the early 60’s.

North Korea, which President Bush removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism on October 11, 2008, has threatened to kill Hwang Jang Yop for criticizing the regime.

The L.A. Times’s John M. Glionna profiles gulag survivor and journalist Kang Chol Hwan:

In 1987, Kang and his family were suddenly released from the gulag. No explanation was given. Five years later, Kang defected, bribing a guard so he could cross a river border into China. Once on the other side, he stopped for one final gesture of spite and rebellion: He produced a badge honoring then-North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and smashed it on a rock.

“It was exhilarating,” he said. “That badge was a symbol of the regime. Destroying it was my way of saying I was leaving forever.”

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It’s a year old, but if you haven’t seen it yet, from North Korea is definitely worth a look. I don’t remember having seen it myself, and I particularly did not know that K-Swiss manufactured shirts at Kaesong. I suspect I’ll have much more to say about that later, after I do some checking.

Congratulations to Open News for making Page One of the New York Times.