Atomic Test Detectible in North Korea?

 

 The international agency that monitors nuclear tests stated Wednesdays that it could easily detect any seismological activity around a nuclear test by North Korea "within minutes" but it could take at least several days to confirm whether it was an atomic explosion.  Do you think the North will really move forward with their threats?  I feel that the air is getting heavy over the country and they are getting just desperate enough with a new unchallenged dictator, reports of increased starvation, and current reports of further UN sanctions. 

North Korea Video Link

I have attached a link to my Penalty video.  Funny how North Korea's latest behaviors are being mirrored in my fictional tale. 

New detailed map of North Korea

Google released a new detailed map of the reclusive North Korean nation today.  Prior to this release the map showed up as a white blank slate except for Pyongyang, the capital.  According to news reports, these detailed maps also show the gulags in the country.

 



North Korea Update

There is so much news on the North Korea front - where do I even begin?  North Korea has vowed "high-profile measures" in the latest series of threats sparked by a tightening of UN sanctions, state media said today, suggesting it was determined to press ahead with a third nuclear test.

 

The saber rattling is becoming louder as each day progresses.  Due to increased concern about the heightened war rhetoric coming out of North Korea the Japanese have launched two spy satellites up.  China, the North’s closes ally, has vowed to stop aid to the isolated nation due to the North’s continued insistence upon a nuclear test. 

 

North Korea Ready for War?

 

 

North Korea has heightened its rhetoric by stating that they are ready to go to war if sanctions are implemented against them.  The North has taken its tough stance one step further by threatening to shoot a missile at the United States.  Are they ready to stand by their word or are they just talking "tough" again to push back against any sanctions isolating them even more?  Either way, this is a very bad position to be in when nobody knows how to predict this tyrants response to these types of actions. 

 http://video.foxnews.com/v/2121

U.N. Resolution?

The United States and China have drawn up a resolution to present to the United Nations against North Korea.  This resolution is a reaction to North Korea's 'satellite' launch that took place in December.  I wonder if this resolution will make any difference to this rogue nation?  Probably not, just another slap on the wrist to them. 

 

 

Trivia

The word Korea, which many believe Marco Polo took with him to Europe, means “land of high mountains and sparkling streams.

 

 

 

This is a photo from the Chilbosan mountains which is located in Northern Hamgyong province, North Korea. 

 

 

North Korea Embassy to Reopen?

North Korea has requested its embassy be reopened in Canberra,
Australia.  The embassy was closed four years ago due to human rights violations and weapons violations.  It is still unclear if the Australian government will agree to the North's latest request. 

 

 

Buildup?

In light of the North's statement that they will begin a new nuclear weapons test at the end of the month, it took this one step further today by continuing to vow its desire to increase its war arsenal to prevent attacks on their soil. 

Sounds like the saber rattling is continuing to increase. 

 

 

Nuclear Test Alert by the North

 

North Korea has purportedly alerted China that it expects to attempt another nuclear weapons test by the end of the month.   North Korea has tried to smooth over any fears that this testing may be causing to its neighbor by assuring China that this nuclear testing is of no danger to them. 

Satellite photos do confirm these statements which show that there is increased movement arising at the facility.  So what is the bigger plan within the secluded nation?  If the North desires to make peace with its Southern brothers, as Kim Jong Un recently stated in a speech, then why does he have this continued yearning to make a weapon that could throw the two nations into a weapons race? 

As the old saying goes, ‘actions speak louder than words’. 

 

North Korea Rocket Launch

This is the result of North Korea's latest rocket launch attempt.  Back to the drawing board.....

Prisoner Still Held in North Korea

Despite a four day trip to the isolated North Korean nation by Google executive and former Governor Bill Richardson, the American Kenneth Bae still remains a prisoner in the country.  Although the faces in the Kim dynasty may have become younger, Kim Jong-un isn't any more interested in diplomacy than were his predecessors. 

Penalty of Pride: North Korea Trivia

Penalty of Pride: North Korea Trivia: So I wondered what information I could provide each week to my readers to help educate those wanting to learn more about the reclusive nation.

North Korea Trivia

So I wondered what information I could provide each week to my readers to help educate those wanting to learn more about the reclusive nation and entertain those who may already be North Korean trivia experts. 

So here goes - (1)Who was the founder of the DPRK?  (2) What religion did he grow up under as a child?

Answers:

(1) President and DPRK founder Kim Il-sung (1912 - 1994) was born Kim Song-ju, but he took on the name Kim Il-sun, which means 'becomes the sun'.  He adopted the name Kim Il Sung after a famous Korean guerrilla leader of the early 20th century. 

(2) He was actually raised Presbyterian, and surprising to many, his grandfather was a Protestant minister. 
(Cummings, Bruce. North Korea: Another Country. 2004. New York, NY: The New Press)

Penalty of Pride: Internet Blackout Over?

Penalty of Pride: Internet Blackout Over?: Google's executive is in North Korea observing freedom of the Internet within the most isolated nation in the world.  Ridiculous to think t...

Internet Blackout Over?

Google's executive is in North Korea observing freedom of the Internet within the most isolated nation in the world.  Ridiculous to think that anyone would believe that Kim Jong-un and his minions would allow any outsider to see the truth about what is really happening within their oppressive fortress.  In reality, I believe that the North Koreans are merely putting on a show to impress the outsiders. I am also curious as to why they are bothering to try and impress anyone.  Any opinions on this? 

Penalty of Pride: Starvation Continues

Penalty of Pride: Starvation Continues: A report out today shows continued deprivation and starvation that the citizens of North Korea face, while the elite continue to flouris...

Penalty of Pride: Penalty of Pride

Penalty of Pride: Penalty of Pride: I've posted a link to the Penalty of Pride video here. Enjoy!

Pyrolysis: Pyrolysis: Solar Predictions for 2013?

Pyrolysis: Pyrolysis: Solar Predictions for 2013?: Pyrolysis: Solar Predictions for 2013? : Photo courtesy of NASA - Solar flare that is aimed at Earth Scientists report that, although the...

Shreds of Humanity: Question of the Day?

Shreds of Humanity: Question of the Day?: Do you believe that zombies will be covered under the new healthcare law?  :)

Penalty of Pride

I've posted a link to the Penalty of Pride video here. Enjoy!

Honorary Ceremony for Kim Jong Sung and Kim Jong Il

The attached video is from North Korean television.  The video shows both Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju at the ceremony last month which honors Kim Jong-un's father and grandfather.

Birth Speculation

Today's latest news is reporting that Kim Jong-Un's wife may have possibly given birth, although this is still speculation.  All North Korean analysts have currently are photos of the young bride.  What are your thoughts? 

Starvation Continues

A report out today shows continued deprivation and starvation that the citizens of North Korea face, while the elite continue to flourish.  In Pyongyang the people live in comfort but elsewhere in the nation struggles continue.  Food shortages continue on the peninsula and 2/3 of the country resort to reliance upon government rations which are received twice a month. 

Worker's Paradise?



Recent reports show that the citizens of North Korea live under a caste system.  I know, I know -  this news is nothing new to many of us who are familiar with the North Korean regimes and the dictatorship of last three generations of Kim's to rule the nation.  However, this report just verifies what many of us already knew.  The people are forced to live by "songbun" which ranks its citizens, from birth, based on their families political background and punishes those that they deem disloyal.  Reports like this solidify Penalty of Pride's depiction of the prisoner and it only begins to scratch the surface of the horrors that the citizens of the North  must endure.

Penalty of Pride Synopsis



The powder keg of war lights when the brutal legacy of Kim Jong-il is passed to his youngest son. As the Young General struggles to cope with his inheritance of fear, famine, disease, and death, there are powerful forces lurking in the shadows, ready to usurp control of the failing nation. When the dead dictator’s eldest son realizes his brother has lost control of their nation, he calls James Faulkirk to help him end his family’s vile nepocracy. James, an ex-CIA analyst haunted by the pain of his own losses, climbs out of his soju bottles as the countdown to war nears zero. But can the unlikely duo warn the world and rescue the Korean peninsula before it sinks into the putrid hole which has already rotted its very bedrock? PENALTY OF PRIDE: DISPERSIVE GROUND is the novel which chronicles the violence, deceit, and death of a war that will destroy two nations.

Welcome

Welcome to Penalty of Pride blog page.  I have been writing for the last decade, in my spare time, as a hobby.  My first novel, Penalty of Pride, was completed a year ago and is now available on Amazon in paperback and also ebook version.  I hope we can take a journey together and see where our imagination takes us!  Thank you for visiting my site.


mj Hangge