North Korea: “Nuclear War Is Unavoidable,” First Target Will Be Japan… Via Express: NORTH KOREA has warned Japan that Tokyo would be the first target in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula, as it increased threats of an attack. In a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the communist country lashed out at Tokyo’s standing orders to destroy any missile heading toward Japan, threatening such actions will result in a nuclear attack against the island nation. If Japan executes its threat to shoot down any North Korean missile, such a “provocative” intervention would see Tokyo — an enormous conurbation of 30 million people — “consumed in nuclear flames”, KCNA warned. “Japan is always in the cross-hairs of our revolutionary army and if Japan makes a slightest move, the spark of war will touch Japan first,” the report added. An official at Japan’s defence ministry said that the country “will take every possible measure to respond to any scenario”, while the US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that a North Korean missile launch would be a “huge mistake”. [...] The Korean Peninsula has “been reduced to the biggest nuclear hotspot in the world”, the North said in more fiery rhetoric today, “making the outbreak of a nuclear war on this land unavoidable.”
Weird: North Korean Female Soldiers Patrol In 4-Inch Platform Heels… Part of North Korea’s elite stripper battalion. Via Business Insider: An April 11 picture from North Korea (DPRK) shows female soldiers patrolling along the Yalu River in 4-inch platform heels. Given that DRPK leader Kim Jong-un has South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. on high alert amid hints of a ballistic missile test and threats of nuclear war, this is a strange sight.
Kim Jong Un Missing From The Public Eye For The Last Two Weeks, Some Speculate A Coup He’s probably just chilling with Dennis on the court somewhere. Via IB Times: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has not been seen in public for the past two weeks sparking widespread speculation amid escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula. Unconfirmed reports which suggested a coup against the leader have been rubbished by experts in Seoul citing no unusual military movement in the country. Alongside a flurry of threats from North Korea, Kim’s absence has set rumour mills rolling. One question being asked is whether Pyongyang has been forced to tone down its war rhetoric against the US and South Korea. Kim was last seen in public on 1 April when he headed a parliamentary session. The leader has been missing in action for the last 15 days at a time when the country is set to mark the birth anniversary of his grandfather and former leader of North Korea Kim Il-sung. It is widely speculated that North Korea will launch a ballistic missile to mark the occasion.A source familiar with matter told the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency that Kim’s absence is a “psychological warfare that could grab attention from South Korea and the United States”. Experts also believe that Pyongyang will not scale down its provocative posture against the US. Meanwhile, North Korea’s staunch ally China has pledged to work together with the US in a bid to restrain Pyongyang. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/456840/20130414/north-korea-threat-missile-launch-birthday-kim.htm
Rodman To Return To North Korea August 1 To “Just Hang And Have Some Fun” Will he hug the dictator again wearing his pink scarf, or will the nuclear missiles get in the way? Via The Atlantic Wire: Dennis Rodman, the pierced and pugnacious former Chicago Bulls star, says he’s excited to hang out with his new best friend Kim Jong-Un when he heads back to Pyongyang this summer. Wearing a white fedora on his head and a drag queen on his arm, the athlete told the press about his plans during a charity gala at the Fontainebleu Hotel in Miami Beach. “I’m going back August 1,” he told a reporter from The Miami Herald. “We have no plans really, as far as what we’re going to do over there, but we’ll just hang and have some fun!” This trip, it seems, will have more of a vacation vibe. Rodman’s first trip to North Korea introduced the world to the phrase “basketball diplomacy,” after the former rebounder accompanied a few Harlem Globetrotters players and some reporters from VICE back in February. The trip didn’t win Rodman many fans in the United States government, and Rodman told the Herald that after returning he’d been questioned by the FBI who wanted to know what Kim asked him about. Having fielded criticism on all sides for the very principle of taking the unsanctioned trip to North Korea with whom the United States has no diplomatic relations, Rodman spoke candidly about the political underpinnings of going on vacation in a country that’s trying to start a war. “I’m not a total idiot,” said Rodman. “I know what Kim Jong-un is threatening to do regarding his military muscle. I hope it doesn’t happen because America will take whatever actions to protect America and our allies. I do think, umm, you know, that we have to talk to people who want to cause us harm so hopefully they won’t.” That doesn’t exactly make him sound like Roosevelt, but at least he’s thinking about these things. Details of the trip remain unclear — he might not even make it out of the country given the heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. It’s also clear who might be joining him. Based on the reactions from his first trip, we think Donald Trump would make a decent choice. You know, just to make this whole thing even more absurd.
Cuba: “Please Disregard Those Weapons Hidden Under The Sugar”…Update: Two MiG 21 Jet Fighters, Radar Systems Also Found Hidden Under The Sugar Is this why sugar is bad for you? Via Newsmax: PANAMA CITY — When a North Korean ship carrying Cuban arms was seized last week in Panama on suspicion of smuggling drugs, Cuba first said it was loaded with sugar for the people of North Korea, according to a Panamanian official familiar with the matter. Cuban officials were quick to request the ship be released, pledging there were no drugs on board, and made no mention of the weapons which two days later were found hidden in the hold under 220,000 sacks of brown sugar, the official told Reuters. “They said it was all a big misunderstanding,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Cuba declined to comment on the official’s account. http://www.newsmaxworld.com/TheAmericas/nkorea-cuba-ship-smuggle/2013/07/20/id/516103 Update: (Reuters) – Panamanian investigators unloading the cargo of a seized North Korean ship that carried arms from Cuba have found the two MiG-21 fighter jets the Cuban government had said were on board, the government said on Sunday. Alongside the two supersonic planes, originally produced by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s, officials found two missile radar systems on board the Chong Chon Gang, President Ricardo Martinelli told reporters in the Atlantic port of Colon. The discovery, which included cables and electrical equipment, was made inside containers on the ship Panama had feared might contain explosive material. None was found. After stopping the vessel bound for North Korea last week, Panama revealed it had found weapons in the cargo hold late on Monday. In response, Cuba said the shipment contained a range of “obsolete” arms being sent to North Korea for repair. Panama has asked the U.N. Security Council to investigate the ship and its contents amid suspicion that the vessel is in breach of a wide-ranging arms embargo on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile program. “One can’t take undeclared weapons through the Panama Canal below other cargo,” Martinelli said, adding that he had not spoken personally to any Cuban officials since they first asked for the ship to be released last Saturday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/22/us-panama-northkorea-idUSBRE96K0EH20130722?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=992637