Things that Kim Jong Il is buying that you can’t eat, Part 1: As Allison Kilkenny once learned the hard way, John Bolton has a pretty good track record for predicting North Korean nuclear tests. He’s predicting another one soon, and I suppose it’s about time for one. Along with this, Bolton criticizes President Obama for his public silence on North Korea. But as we learned from George W. Bush, strident rhetoric is no substitute for a not-half-bad policy. This...

Defenders Song Jong Sun and Jong Pok Sim tested positive after North Korea’s first two group games and were suspended for Wednesday’s match against Colombia that ended in a 0-0 draw. Both teams were eliminated. FIFA’s medical director Jiri Dvorak didn’t identify the substance involved. [AP] Would it be an understatement to say that this year’s Womens’ World Cup hasn’t been a net positive for North Korea’s image? Here’s a satirical view that expresses it rather well. I’m still waiting...

North Korea, which was removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism on October 11, 2008, has again threatened war against South Korea for its refusal to pay extortion money: North Koreans gathered Monday at a massive rally in Pyongyang to denounce the conservative government of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak as a “group of unparalleled traitors.” More than 100,000 citizens, soldiers and senior government and army officials flocked to Kim Il Sung Square, according to footage from Associated...

Reports in South Korea indicated that the government in Pyongyang on Monday ordered all universities to cancel classes until April of next year. The only exemptions are for students who will be graduating in the next few months and foreign students. The reports suggested that the students will be put to work on construction projects in major cities while there are also indications that repair work may be needed in agricultural regions that were affected by a major typhoon recently....

President Obama has extended sanctions against North Korea, but still hasn’t re-added it to the list of state sponsors of terrorism, despite its extensive and recent use of its state media, its spies, and its military to commit acts that meet the statutory definition of international terrorism. ______________________________________ Treasury moves to cut Kaesong out of American markets: The Executive Order and by extension the new regulations contain the troublingly vague prohibition on “the importation into the United States, directly or...