Kim Jong-un Preps for Dialogue & Confrontation With US
 

Kim Jong-un 'Executes General by Throwing Him in Piranha-Filled Fish Tank'

The North Korea leader was said to have tested his latest method of execution by throwing a general into a piranha-filled fish tank

Daily Mirror UK, 9 JUNE 2019.


The general, whose name has not been named, was accused of planning a coup but ended up as the latest victim of the newly developed execution method, according to the Daily Star.

It is reported that the giant fish tank was built inside Kim's Ryongsong Residence.

The victim had his arms and torso cut open with knives before he was thrown into the tank, it is alleged.

Sources claim that it was unclear whether the general was killed by the fish, died from his wounds or drowned.


The North Korean leader was said to have taken the inspiration from the 1977 James Bond movie 'The Spy Who Loved Me', stated the report.


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The general allegedly had his torso and arms cut before being thrown into the fish tank (Image: Mirror Screen Grab)


The movie showed villain Karl Stromberg executed his opponents by throwing them into a shark-filled aquarmium.

Kim's aquarium is believed to be filled with several hundred piranhas imported from Brazil, it is reported.

The flesh-eating fish have razor-sharp teeth that could tear the flesh from a corpse in a matter of minutes.

Kim has allegedly bumped off 16 senior since he came to power in 2011.


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Karl Stromberg with James Bond in the film The Spy Who Loved Me (Image: MGM)


He has previously executed his army chief, the CEO of North Korea's Central Bank and the ambassadors in Cuba and Malaysia.

A UK intelligence force told Daily Star: "Kim rules by fear.

"Many enemies of the state are executed in public.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Image: REUTERS)


"He wants everyone to know, including his most trusted aides, that they are at risk of suffering a very unpleasant death if he suspects they are treasonous.

"The use of piranha is classic Kim.

"He is all about using fear and terror as a political tool. Whether or not the use of piranhas is an efficient way of killing someone won't bother him."

re: Kim Jong-un Preps for Dialogue & Confrontation With US
 

Is Kim Jong Un in Critical Condition? Dictator, 36, is 'In Grave Danger After Heart Surgery' as North Korea Fights Coronavirus - His Sister Could be Next in Line to Take Control

Speculation about health builds after Kim misses key event honouring country’s founder, Kim Il-sung

• Washington is monitoring intelligence that Kim is in grave danger, CNN reported
• Kim unusually missed the celebration of his grandfather's birthday on April 15
• An outlet run by North Korean defectors said he was recovering from surgery
• South Korea & China downplayed the reports and said there was no 'unusual movement'
  

The Guardian UK, 21 APR 2020


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Fat Unhealthy & Unstable


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The COLD UNFEELING sister of Kim Jong-un, is fast 'becoming his alter ego'...


Kim Jong-un underwent heart surgery earlier this month and is recovering at his private villa, according to a South Korean report, with US media citing officials as saying the North Korean leader was in “grave danger” after the procedure.

If accurate, the surgery claim, made by the Daily NK website, would explain Kim’s absence from an event to mark the anniversary of the birth of his grandfather – and the country’s founder – Kim Il-sung.

Kim Jong-un underwent the procedure at a hospital in the county of Hyangsan on the country’s east coast on 12 April, according to the Seoul-based Daily NK, which is run mostly by North Korean defectors.

The 36-year-old was continuing to receive treatment at a villa at the Mount Kumgang resort, the website added.

The report cited unnamed sources, and there has been no official comment from North Korean state media. South Korea’s unification ministry, which handles cross-border issues, has declined to comment on the report.

CNN, citing a US official with direct knowledge of the matter, said Washington was monitoring intelligence that Kim was in “grave danger” following the surgery.

But a South Korean official familiar with North Korean affairs played down the CNN report, telling the Yonhap news agency that Kim had made several public appearances recently and that “nothing in particular” indicated that he was in poor health.

The South’s presidential Blue House said it had not observed any unusual movements in the North.

Kim’s health had deteriorated in recent months due to heavy smoking, obesity and overwork, the Daily NK report said.

“My understanding is that he had been struggling [with cardiovascular problems] since last August but it worsened after repeated visits to Mount Paektu,” a source was quoted as saying, referring to the country’s sacred mountain.

State news agency KCNA released photos of Kim riding a large white horse through snowy fields and woods on Mount Paektu, the spiritual homeland of the Kim dynasty, in October last year.

Kim was reportedly admitted to hospital after chairing a meeting of the ruling workers’ party’s politburo on 11 April and has not been seen in public since.

He was absent when Pyongyang fired multiple short-range missiles last week and did not take part in low-key commemorations for Kim Il-sung’s anniversary, a national holiday known as the Day of the Sun, on 15 April.

It is not the first time that Kim’s failure to appear in public has triggered speculation about his health.

In 2014, state media took the rare step of admitting that he was suffering from an “uncomfortable physical condition”, after TV footage showed him with a pronounced limp and he failed to attend an important parliamentary session.

But the report did not address rumours that he was suffering from debilitating attacks of gout.

Some observers speculated that Kim had been limiting his public appearances this month as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic.

North Korea continues to insist that it has not discovered a single case of Covid-19, but experts and defectors have challenged those claims.

The North has quarantined tens of thousands and delayed the school year as precautionary steps, and sealed its border with China in January. But activist groups in Seoul said they had been told by contacts in that people had died of the virus, although those claims could not be independently verified.

re: Kim Jong-un Preps for Dialogue & Confrontation With US
 

Kim Jong-un Makes Rare Appearance After Five of His Critics Executed

Kim said the North Korean economy 'has faced great damage caused by the recent series of heavy rain and typhoons'. He expressed satisfaction on the progress of the reconstruction of a village

Daily Mirror UK, 12 SEP 2020.


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Kim Jong Un inspects a flood-hit site in Taechong-ri (Image: via REUTERS)


Kim Jong Un has made a rare public appearance after five government officials who spoke out against the regime's economic policies were reportedly executed.

The North Korean leader inspected reconstruction work in a flood-hit area in Unpha County, North Hwanghae Province, state media KCNA reported on Saturday.

A series of typhoons and the wettest monsoon battered several parts of the country in recent weeks.

Kim said the North Korean economy “has faced trouble and distress at the great damage caused by the recent series of heavy rain and typhoons,” according to KCNA.


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The leader expressed satisfaction on the progress of the reconstruction in Taechong-ri, a village in North Hwanghae province, the report said.

After surveying typhoon damage earlier this week in his impoverished country, Kim told Workers’ Party loyalists they would have to rethink plans for an economy already hobbled by sanctions and more recently restrictions designed to contain the novel coronavirus.

It comes as five Economic Ministry employees were shot by firing squad on July 30 after details of their conversations emerged at a dinner party and were reported back to their bosses, according to DailyNK.


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The men had openly discussed the need for industrial reform in the militarised nation state which produces few consumer goods for its impoverished citizens.

The officials had also apparently discussed the need for North Korea to seek foreign cooperation to help overcome devastating trade sanctions.

They also expressed fears that the stagnant economy would get even worse if improvements were not made quickly.


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The men, who were considered highly competent officials within the ministry, were summoned to a meeting where they were arrested by the secret police and forced to confess to undermining the regime.

The executions have concerned Communist Party officials who fear a return to the purges which hit the country following former the death of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il in 2011.

Last week, a think tank warned Kim could be preparing the launch of a submarine ballistic missile.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies said satellite images it published on its website of North Korea's Sinpo shipyard showed several vessels within a secure boat basin.

It said one of the boats resembled vessels previously used to tow a submersible test stand barge out to sea.

The think tank said the activity was "suggestive, but not conclusive, of preparations for an upcoming test of a Pukguksong-3 submarine launched ballistic missile from the submersible test stand barge."

Re: Kim Jong-un Preps for Dialogue & Confrontation With US
 

Kim Jong-un Prepares for Dialogue and Confrontation'With The US

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said his country needs to prepare for both "dialogue and confrontation" with the US, and "especially to get fully prepared for confrontation".

BBC UK, 18 JUN 2021.


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This marks the first time Mr Kim has directly commented on President Joe Biden's administration.


North Korea had earlier snubbed efforts by the new US government to establish diplomatic communication.

The US has been calling for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

But Pyongyang has repeatedly refused, and the United Nations Security Council has imposed strict economic sanctions on the East Asian state for its nuclear tests.

Mr Kim made his latest remarks at a meeting of senior leaders which started this week in the capital Pyongyang.

He said they needed "especially to get fully prepared for confrontation in order to protect the dignity of our state and its interests for independent development", as well as to guarantee a peaceful environment and North Korea's security, according to state media outlet KCNA.

He also said North Korea would "sharply and promptly" react to any developments and "concentrate efforts on taking stable control of the situation on the Korean peninsula".

His latest comments come days after he formally acknowledged that North Korea was facing concerns over food shortages.

Earlier this week leaders from the G7 nations, including Mr Biden, called on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programme and resume dialogue.


A fraught relationship

Mr Kim's relationship with Mr Biden's administration has so far been fraught with tension.

Prior to the US election, Mr Biden had called Mr Kim a "thug", and days before Mr Biden's inauguration, North Korea put on a show of force with a massive military parade that showcased a new missile.

In April Mr Biden referred to North Korea as a "serious threat" to global security, prompting an angry response from Pyongyang which said the statement reflected Mr Biden's intent to "keep enforcing the hostile policy" towards the country.

Washington also recently completed a review of its North Korea policy and said that the US would continue to aim for the eventual complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Mr Biden has promised an approach marked by diplomacy and "stern deterrence".

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that "our policy will not focus on achieving a grand bargain, nor will it rely on strategic patience".

The US would instead pursue a "calibrated practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with" North Korea, she said, adding it would focus on making "practical progress".

Mr Kim had previously met Mr Biden's predecessor Donald Trump on three occasions, but talks on denuclearisation eventually stalled.

Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, summarised Mr Biden's approach as one that coordinates North Korea policy decisions with allies, while conducting "step-by-step diplomatic engagement".

"The administration has not offered a detailed roadmap because it wants flexibility to engage Pyongyang when and where progress can be made," he said.

"Meanwhile, Washington will strengthen deterrence by coordinating strategies, military training, and missile defences with allies."
presentational grey line


Analysis by Nari Kim, BBC Korean Service

Kim Jong Un's seemingly mixed message of preparing for "dialogue and confrontation" mirrors remarks by President Biden, who characterised the US approach to North Korea as "diplomacy and stern deterrence".

By sending out both messages, North Korea is sticking to a kind of wait-and-see strategy with regard to the new US administration. But behind the ambiguity of Kim's message is also a signal that North Korea is willing to return to talks.

And although Kim stressed preparation for "confrontation", he refrained from direct criticism of the US or other provocative remarks.

One key factor behind that might be North Korea's domestic food insecurity and concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The country's economy has been battered by tough international sanctions over its nuclear programme and strict border closures against the spread of the pandemic.

So the message here is really the status quo - North Korea is signalling its openness to dialogue, but it will not accept the complete denuclearisation demanded by the US. And in the short term, the spread of Covid-19 and food insecurity may put its focus much more at home than abroad.