March 8, 2010 9:58 am
Fox News (AP), “N. Korea Says It Is Ready to ‘Blow Up’ U.S.”
North Korea’s army said Monday it is ready to “blow up” South Korea and the U.S., hours after the allies kicked off annual military drills that Pyongyang has slammed as a rehearsal for attack.
South Korea and the U.S. — which normally dismiss such threats as rhetoric — began 11 days of drills across South Korea on Monday morning to rehearse how the U.S. would deploy in time of emergency on the Korean peninsula.
The U.S. and South Korea argue the drills — which include live firing by U.S. Marines, aerial attack drills and urban warfare training — are purely defensive. North Korea claims they amount to attack preparations and has demanded they be canceled.
Fox News (AP) article continues here.
February 17, 2010 10:56 am
Yahoo! News (AFP), “Sister of N.Korea leader ‘wielding more power’”
Kim Jong-Il’s only sister appears to be wielding more power in North Korea after making a comeback to the frontline of the regime last year, South Korea said Wednesday.
Kim Kyong-Hui, 64, was newly added to a diagram of the North’s power structure released by the South’s unification ministry after returning to the public spotlight for the first time in nearly six years.
The annually updated diagram, which offers a glimpse into changes in the North’s elite power system, showed her heading an organ which oversees light industries under the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.
“Since her comeback, the sister has frequently accompanied Kim Jong-Il in his field inspections,” ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-Joo told AFP.
Yahoo! News (AFP) article continues here.
February 11, 2010 11:59 am
