North Korea

[KimJongUn]

Sony investigating whether N Korea behind cyberattack on firm's film and TV studio

Concerns raised that firm's film and TV studio were targeted in reaction to soon-to-be released comedy in which CIA plots to kill Kim Jong-un

PUBLISHED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 10:43pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 4:21am

Bloomberg in Los Angeles

Scene from The Interview. Photo: The Washington Post

Sony is investigating the possibility that a hacking attack on its film and TV studio may have involved North Korea, which has previously reacted with outrage to an upcoming Sony comedy about a CIA plot to kill leader Kim Jong-un, a source said.

A person with knowledge of the matter said that the studio may have had several films stolen in the November 25 cyberattack that continues to cripple its computer systems.

The recent picture Fury, a Brad Pitt war movie, and the yet-to-be-released Annie and Still Alice have appeared on file-sharing sites, said the person, who sought anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter. The website TorrentFreak, a news site on file-sharing, said Fury was the second most-downloaded film at one site.

The source said the studio was looking into Pyongyang's possible involvement in the attack. The website Re/code reported on Saturday that the studio was looking into whether the attack was intended to coincide with the release of The Interview.

The comedy, currently being advertised for release in theatres on December 25, features Seth Rogen and James Franco as trash TV producers who are recruited by the CIA to assassinate Kim after he invites them to interview him.

Plans for the film drew a rebuke from the country, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying in state media that the release would be an "act of war", according to the BBC.

In a statement last week, Sony said it was investigating "an IT matter". The group believed to be behind the attack is threatening further releases of data, the person confirmed.

Sony Pictures called the theft of Fury, Annie and Still Alice a "criminal matter" in an e-mailed statement on Sunday, and said the company is working with law enforcement to address it. There was no response to two phone calls and a voice message seeking comment from Sony's Tokyo offices outside business hours.

The hacking incident at Sony Pictures Entertainment began when a picture of a skull appeared on company computer screens. The image was accompanied by a message that read Sony had been hacked by GOP, believe to stand for "Guardians of Peace", and that private data would be released if undisclosed demands weren't met.

The attack has forced some employees to communicate via text message and private e-mail accounts.

Some systems at the entertainment division of Tokyo-based Sony have been brought back online, according to the person with knowledge of the matter. Email and some other systems remain down. The studio's home entertainment division was able to fulfil Black Friday orders, the person added.

Vast libraries of films and TV shows are the main assets of studios such as Sony. Online theft, along with pirating of DVDs, costs the industry billions of dollars annually in lost ticket sales or retail purchases. The remake of the 1982 Annie is Sony's next big film release, schedule to hit theatres on December 19. The new version stars Quvenzhané Wallis, Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx.

One comfort for the studio is that the targeted audience for Annie doesn't often use pirated content, the person said.

The website BoxOffice.com predicts Annie will generate US$100 million for its run in US and Canadian cinemas. Films frequently do much more in overseas markets.

Still Alice is considered a possible Oscar contender for lead actor Julianne Moore, according to the website GoldDerby.com.

Last week's cyberattack isn't the first for Sony. In 2011, Sony's online-entertainment service was targeted by hackers who gained access to information on millions of customers.

 

[KimJongUn]

2 December 2014 Last updated at 15:45 GMT

North Korea refuses to deny Sony Pictures cyber-attack

The attack has been a major headache for Sony Pictures chairman Michael Lynton

North Korea has refused to deny involvement in a cyber-attack on Sony Pictures that came ahead of the release of a film about leader Kim Jong-un.

Sony is investigating after its computers were attacked and unreleased films made available on the internet.

When asked if it was involved in the attack a spokesman for the North Korean government replied: "Wait and see."

In June, North Korea complained to the United Nations and the US over the comedy film The Interview.

In the movie, Seth Rogen and James Franco play two reporters who are granted an audience with Kim Jong-un. The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.

North Korea described the film as an act of war and an "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism", and called on the US and the UN to block it.

California-based Sony Pictures' computer system went down last week and hackers then published a number of as-yet unreleased films on online download sites.

Among the titles is a remake of the classic film Annie, which is not due for release until 19 December.

Alastair Leithead says N Korea is furious about the new film

The film about North Korea does not appear to have been leaked.

When asked about the cyber-attack, a spokesman for North Korea's UN mission said: "The hostile forces are relating everything to the DPRK (North Korea). I kindly advise you to just wait and see."

On Monday, Sony Pictures said it had restored a number of important services that had to be shut down after the attack.

It said it was working closely with law enforcement officials to investigate the matter but made no mention of North Korea.

The FBI has confirmed that it is investigating. It has also warned other US businesses that unknown hackers have launched a cyber-attack with destructive malware.

______________________________________

Analysis: Leo Kelion, technology desk editor

Suggestions North Korea could be behind the Sony Pictures hack has drawn incredulity from some, surprised that the "Hermit Kingdom" might be able to pull off such a stunt.

In fact, experts say Pyongyang's cyber-skills should not be underestimated. One US government adviser warned last year that North Korean hackers posed "an important 'wild card' threat" to US and international security.

Being sure about how far its cyber-capabilities extend isn't easy. A report by Hewlett Packard's security division noted that most North Koreans were restricted to an intranet system, separate from the wider internet, which limits their links to the outside world.

But the report noted that the state's education system places special emphasis on mathematics, which has helped it develop skilled programmers, cryptographers and security researchers.

According to a report by Al-Jazeera, North Korean defectors have spoken of promising students going on a two-year accelerated university course before heading to China and Russia for a year to hone their hacking skills.

A US analyst quoted a defector who claimed to be part of North Korea's Unit 121 hacking squad until he escaped in 2004. He said some operations had been carried out from a Pyongyang-owned hotel in Shenyang, China.

According to HP, North Korea's "cyber-warriors" are thought to have carried out a wide variety of attacks, including:

• Spreading malware via video games
  
• Stealing details of foreign technologies stored on computers
• Carrying out distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS), which knock services offline by flooding them with traffic sent from hijacked foreign computers
• Cyber-psychological operations - posting propaganda to social networks and "trolling" message boards

However, hacking a major corporation to make threatening demands is not a behaviour that has been linked to North Korea in the past, and the hashtag #GOP (Guardians of Peace) - used in the Sony attack - is not known to have been used by Pyongyang.

 

[Hypocrisy]

China won't save North Korea if country goes to war, says former PLA general

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 3:38pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 4:22pm

Agence France-Presse in Beijing

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un peers through a periscope of a submarine during an inspection of the Korean People's Army Navan Unit in June. Photo: Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un peers through a periscope of a submarine during an inspection of the Korean People's Army Navan Unit in June. Photo: Reuters

China will not step in to save neighbouring North Korea if the Pyongyang regime collapses or starts a war, a retired People’s Liberation Army general has said, possibly signalling Beijing’s waning patience with its wayward, nuclear-armed ally.

“China is not a saviour,” Wang Hongguang, former deputy commander of the Nanjing military region, wrote in the Global Times newspaper, which is close to the Communist Party.

“Should North Korea really collapse, not even China can save it,” he said in a contribution to the nationalist tabloid’s Chinese-language website, which was published on Monday.

The outspoken Wang has made critical comments about North Korea before and it was not clear if his words indicated a policy shift regarding Pyongyang.

China has long been the isolated North’s key ally and aid provider. Beijing came to Pyongyang’s aid in the 1950-53 Korean War, when its intervention against United States-led UN forces defending South Korea helped seal a stalemate that has lasted to this day.

China’s role has grown as the North’s economy has shrunk in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union – with which Pyongyang had close trade and aid ties – more than 20 years ago.

In the two decades since, Beijing has moved to develop diplomatic relations and booming trade ties with Seoul, Pyongyang’s bitter rival. President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun-hye have exchanged visits, while Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have so far kept their distance.

Wang said China would not get involved in any new war on the Korean peninsula.

“China cannot influence the situation on the Korean peninsula … China has no need to light a fire and get burnt. Whoever provokes a conflagration bears responsibility,” he wrote. “Now there is no more ’socialist camp’. It is not necessary for China’s younger generation to fight a war for another country.”

Wang criticised the North for its nuclear development, using it as an example of how the country’s interests can differ from China’s and saying it had “already brought about the serious threat of nuclear contamination in China’s border area”.

But he also slammed Western countries for “demonising” North Korea and interfering in its internal affairs in the name of human rights. “China absolutely does not meddle,” he wrote.

Beijing will “support what should be supported and oppose what should be opposed” regarding the North, Wang said, indicating that China was not ready to completely give up on its troublesome neighbour.

China will neither “court” nor “abandon” North Korea, he wrote. “This should be China’s basic attitude.”

 

[Hypocrisy]

North Korea soccer official begs Lionel Messi to visit Pyongyang

Senior football chief says Argentine would be greeted with open arms

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 12:01pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 12:51pm

Agence France-Presse

Lionel Messi is a hero across Asia. Photo: AFP

A top North Korean football official said she wants megastar Lionel Messi to visit a new football academy in the communist state, where the Barcelona wonder is a huge hit with kids.

Han Un-Gyong, a member of the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) executive committee, said children at the Pyongyang International Football School were avid fans of the Argentine.

“I want to invite him, because our children love him,” Han said during an AFC gathering in the Philippine capital Manila.

“When I go to the Pyongyang international school, I ask them who do you think is the best player. They say: “Ah, we love Messi!” Even the girls,” she added.

“They read books about Messi and watch his games through the Internet. They can see all the games, China, Europe and everything at our Pyongyang International School. They can watch any football.

“They love football, that’s why they know all the players’ names and everything.”

Football’s biggest stars frequently make trips to fast-growing Asia, but a visit by Messi, nominated for a fifth world player of the year award, to secretive North Korea would cause a stir.

“Lots of students love Messi, because Messi’s a very honest man. He loves children,” said Han.

She said the academy is the brainchild of sports-mad supreme leader Kim Jong-Un, who also likes basketball and has previously hosted ex-NBA player Dennis Rodman in Pyongyang.

About 200 boys and girls aged nine, 10 and 11 train at the new facility, which opened this year and gathers North Korea’s most promising football talent.

“They’re selected from all over the country. Our FA [football association] goes to all the provinces and chooses them,” said Han.

“We have a lot of matches at weekends, we see them and choose the best. But if we see they’re not developing, we send them back and choose another one.”

 

[Baimi]

The price of freedom
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ufhKWfPSQOw?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[KimJongUn]

North Korean directive means there can only be one Kim Jong-un

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 03 December, 2014, 10:32pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 03 December, 2014, 10:32pm

Agence France-Presse in Seoul, South Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (right) inspects the artillery company under Korean People's Army (KPA) unit 963 which started the new year combat and political drill at an undisclosed place in North Korea. Photo: AFP

A year before North Korean leader Kim Jong-un came to power, a directive was issued for anyone sharing his name to change it - maintaining a tradition upheld by the state's ruling Kim dynasty, a report said.

An internal state document obtained by South Korea's KBS TV station contains an "administrative order" from then leader Kim Jong-il for all party, army and police officials to ensure the directive was carried out.

The order was issued in January, 2011, shortly after Kim Jong-un had been effectively anointed as his father's successor. Kim Jong-il died in December of the same year.

"All party organs and public security authorities should make a list of residents named Kim Jong-un ... and train them to voluntarily change their names," said the document, extracts of which were aired by KBS.

The process involved revising names on official documents, including social security cards and school diplomas. Officials were also directed to reject birth certificates for any newborns named Kim Jong-un.

The directive's authenticity could not be verified but one Seoul official said the regime was known to have banned citizens sharing the names of the two previous Kim generations.

 

[KimJongUn]

North Korea may send Kim Jong-un's little sister on rare business trip to South

Source says North-linked South Korean businesses organising a food festival early next year, which the younger Kim could attend

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 04 December, 2014, 12:27pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 04 December, 2014, 12:27pm

Reuters in Seoul

State television footage shows Kim Yo-jong (left), the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right). Photo:

North Korea has offered to send leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister to a South Korean event planned for early next year, an organiser said today, which would be the first time an immediate member of the ruling family would visit the South.

Kim Yo-jong is included in the North’s list of ruling party officials to participate in a joint food festival planned by a private South Korean group of businesses with ties in the North, an official with the group said.

Kim, who is believed to be 27, was identified by the North’s state media last week as a senior official of the Workers’ Party, the only other member of the ruling Kim family known to have an official role in the government.

“A list of participants was sent to us, and [Kim Yo-jong] is in there,” Dongbang Young-man told Reuters.

The group is in discussions with the South Korean government over the event planned for Seoul, he said.

The South’s Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the North, did not immediately have comment when asked about the event. Most private exchange between the rivals was halted after a torpedo attack against a South Korean navy ship in 2010, which Seoul has blamed on Pyongyang.

A TV news programme in Seoul shows Kim Yo-jong. Photo: AP

If it happens, Kim Yo-jong’s visit would mark the first visit by an immediate member of the Kim family in more than six decades of division.

Two South Korean presidents have travelled to the North for summit meetings with the current leader’s father, Kim Jong-il – in 2000 and 2007 – but the North has not reciprocated the visits.

Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of Kim Jong-un who was married to the daughter of state founder Kim Il-sung, was among a group of North Korean officials who visited the South in 2002 and was the only other member of the leading family to have been in the South.

Jang was purged and executed in December last year.

A delegation of high-level North Korean officials made a surprise visit in October to the closing ceremony of the Asian Games hosted by the South, promising to reopen dialogue that has been halted. However, the two sides have failed to hold follow-up talks as tension persist between the rivals.

 

[KimJongUn]

North Korea admits its supporters may have committed 'righteous' Sony cyberattack

State media denies Pyongyang itself played a role in the hacking, which comes ahead of fictional comedy about assassinating Kim Jong-un

PUBLISHED : Monday, 08 December, 2014, 12:56am
UPDATED : Monday, 08 December, 2014, 9:41am

Agence France-Presse in Seoul

Hollywood comedy The Interview depicts a CIA plot to assassinate Kim Jong-un. Photo: Xinhua

North Korea has admitted that its supporters may have been behind the hacking of Sony Pictures over a Hollywood comedy depicting a fictional CIA plot to assassinate leader Kim Jong-un, but denied that the state itself was involved.

"The hacking into the Sony Pictures might be a righteous deed of the supporters and sympathisers with the (North) in response to its appeal," the North's top military body, the National Defence Commission, told the state-run KCNA news agency.

The Interview, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco as two journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate Kim, has infuriated Pyongyang, which had earlier warned of "merciless retaliation" against what it called a "wanton act of terror".

Forensics experts hired by Sony to investigate the attack said the breach was unprecedented, well-planned and carried out by an "organised group".

The hacking attack on the US movie studio late last month is known to have included the leaking of sensitive personal information on some 47,000 individuals, including celebrities.

The attack also made unreleased Sony films available on illegal file-sharing websites, with reports indicating the pattern matches past attacks carried out by the isolated state.

The NDC rejected the media reports as "false rumour", but went on to slam Sony for producing the film, which it said was "hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership".

"We do not know where in America the Sony Pictures is situated and for what wrongdoings it became the target of the attack nor do we feel the need to know about it," the NDC spokesman said.

"But what we clearly know is that the Sony Pictures is the very one which was going to produce a film abetting a terrorist act while hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of the (North)," he said. On Friday, in the latest cyber threat, Sony Pictures staff received an email claiming to be from the same hackers who earlier breached the firm's computer network, reportedly with warnings that they and their families were "in danger".

The email from a group calling itself Guardians of Peace also warned that "all hope will leave you and Sony Pictures will collapse", according to the industry journal Variety.

Sony Pictures described the hack attack a "brazen" effort.

Additional reporting from Reuters

 

[Sakon Shima]

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[Sakon Shima]

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[Sakon Shima]

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[JohnnyRico]

N.Korea's Nasty Young Rulers

chosun.com / Nov. 28, 2014 12:46 KST

Kim Yeo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, had been appointed a vice director in the Workers Party Central Committee. Until now, she was referred to only as a "senior official." The position is equivalent to a vice minister in the South.

But Kim Yeo-jong is only 27 years old. Her father, former leader Kim Jong-il, was appointed vice director in the party when he was 32, and her aunt, Kim Kyong-hui when she was 30.

The North Korean press did not say which department Yeo-jong is in charge of, but officials here believe the post must be fairly important.

Speculation about her role started when she was spotted accompanying Kim Jong-un at a Supreme People's Assembly event in March. Key aides Choe Ryong-hae, a secretary of the Workers Party, and Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so were also Kim's side. Since then, she has accompanied her brother on 12 official functions.

Some North Korea watchers believe Kim Yeo-jong is well on the way to becoming the No. 2 in the reclusive state. When Kim disappeared from public view for around 40 days in September and October, some press reports suggested she was effectively at the helm.

The fate of North Korea's 25 million people and the weapons of mass destruction lie in the hands of a pair of spoiled brats who have known nothing but privilege in a country of dire poverty and repression.

There is no way that they can empathize with the suffering of the North Korean people. Indeed they appear to have inherited the depravity and viciousness of their father and grandfather, as shown in their brutal treatment of their uncle, former eminence grise Jang Song-taek, who was tortured and executed by firing squad.

The fate of his wife, their aunt Kim Kyong-hui, is a mystery.

Judging by the nasty tempers of Kim and his sister, the North is highly likely to resort to more insane, belligerent behavior in response to the mounting pressure from the international community to improve its human rights record. Kim has already forced North Koreans to rally "spontaneously" in protests lambasting the UN recommendation to haul him before the International Criminal Court. These two need watching very closely.

 

[JohnnyRico]

North Korea calls U.S. “wasteland of human rights”

Editorial calls Obama a "puppet of large monopoly-hungry conglomerates"

December 11th, 2014
Robert Lauler

North Korean state media criticized the U.S. today as a “wasteland of human rights” in light of the string of recent deaths of African-Americans by police officers.

In an opinion piece entitled “The only country that legalizes murder,” the U.S. was criticized as having “deep-rooted” racism in its social system and that claims it is a “model country for human rights” is nothing more than a sham.

The piece comes following the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner by police, which have caused protests among members of the African-American community.

The piece specifically criticized U.S. President Barack Obama, which it characterized as having fallen into a dilemma due to the deaths, as being “pathetic”, and noted that demonstrations opposing racial discrimination demonstrate that the U.S. is a “wasteland of human rights.”

The piece argued that more racially-fueled violence has occurred since President Obama took office and that the fact he is black does not matter. “Would racism disappear from a rotten and diseased society where the president is a puppet of large monopoly-hungry conglomerates?” the piece asked rhetorically.

Previously, North Korean state media has not refrained from deeply personal attacks against the U.S. leader. In May of this year, North Korea criticized President Obama as a “wicked black monkey” in an article that was only published in Korean.

The editorial further argued that it was “ridiculous” that the U.S., as the “ringleader” of human rights abuse, would be voicing concern about “human rights protection.”

The editorial is likely a response to the recent passage of a UN resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights situation, which was the subject of a damning UN Commission of Inquiry report earlier this year.

North Korea has argued that the UN resolution is little more than a ploy by “American imperialists” to further isolate and destroy the country.

Featured image: Wiki Commons

 

[KimJongUn]

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[KimJongUn]

PAP IB get to work!

 

[KimJongUn]

I emerge as the victor. Unbeatable.

Chey! PAP IB Molanyong

 

[KimJongUn]

More Footage of Repatriated Defectors from the 'Laos 9' Released

Kang Mi Jin | 2014-12-15 15:08

North Korea unveiled additional footage on December 10th of the five other members from the nine young defectors who had been forcibly repatriated last year in May from Laos en route to Seoul. This came a day after the North initially released images of four members on a state-run propaganda website.

In a video series entitled “We have our mother: we will follow her forever,” uploaded on Pyongyang’s propaganda website Uriminzokkiri TV, footage of Moon Chol, Jeong Kwang Yong, Ryu Kwang Hyok, and Baek Kwang Hyok studying at Yeongung Hyesan No. 1 Middle School was made public.

“Currently, Moon Chol, Jeong Kwang Yong, Ryu Kwang Hyok, and Baek Kwang Hyok are studying at Yeongung Hyesan No. 1 Middle School, and Baek Yong Won [male], who has maintained a keen interest in arts since his youth, is attending arts school at Hamheung University of Education, using his talent to the fullest,” it reported. It added, “[their] hopes and talents are blooming like blossoms on the school grounds brightly lit by the sun.”

​

In the video [screen captures of the students above; Images: Uriminzokkiri TV] each of the teenagers said, “I’m doing well with nothing to worry about. I’m very happy to have a motherly teacher and a grandmother that cooks hot meals for me every day,” and that “it’s fun to study because the teacher works with me every day.”

When asked by a Chosun Central Television reporter whether they had met other friends [presumably the other members of the "Laos 9"], they responded, “We talked to other friends that are studying in Pyongyang three days ago over the phone. They told us their friends are nice to them and that they’re well and healthy with no problems.”

Most of them said, “I’m able to study with nothing to envy thanks to the warm love of our Marshal,” with some vowing to “join the Korean People’s Army after graduation to become someone who can protect the Marshal.”

One boy, Baek Kwang Hyuk, said that because his poor eyesight prevents his dream of serving in the military from coming to fruition, he will instead go to college to pay the Marshal back for his doting love.

“The children are speaking freely and honestly because the South continues to lie that something has happened to all of them,” the narrative went, denying reports claiming that the young defectors had either been executed or sent to prison camps, referring to them as
manipulations."

“We heard of those rumors as well. I don’t know who would spread rumors like that, but we are living with everything that we need in the arms of our Marshal who has saved us from the hands of death,” one of the youths said. “Some of use said in the morning we should go beat up the people who started such rumors.”

Baek Yong Won also featured in the video, attending arts school at the Hamheung University of Education. “To repay the Marshal for his kindness, I’m focusing only on my studies and will return the love I received,” he said. “All I can think about is how I should only trust the Marshal and follow that path to repay him.”

Pyongyang is believed to have released this footage in order to counter mounting international criticism brought on after reports were released speculating that the defectors had either been executed or sent to prison camps. Moreover, as the North Korean human rights draft resolution is expected to pass at the UN General Assembly plenary session on the 18th, and potentially go on to the Security Council's agenda, the North is thought to be employing the video as a strategy to denounce the moves as unjust.

 

[KimJongUn]

Residents on Reports of Kim Jong Il's 'Love'

Seol Song Ah | 2014-12-16 21:11

Ahead of the third anniversary of the death of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Pyongyang has been emphasizing the late leader’s love for the country’s people, referring to practices by the leader that highlight his allegedly productive disposition, but residents see through the propaganda, the Daily NK has learned.

“With the third anniversary coming up, state media is saying there is no other leader like the General [Kim Jong Il], who continued on a path of endless work, only getting in short naps and eating rice balls--and in the end, passing away on a running train. But people here say what he did took away from and ruined the state economy,” a source based in North Hamkyung Province told the Daily NK on Monday.

“No one is naive enough to believe lies that the General took naps instead of resting properly and ate rice balls and a few roasted potatoes instead of his meals,” she went on. “Wives struggle so that they can feed their husbands – even the most inept ones – cooked rice. But to have given the General roasted potatoes and rice balls is proof that he either had no authority, or no one under him was ever a loyal follower."

State media during the Kim Jong Il era also promulgated this image of the leader as "taking naps in moving vehicles and eating rice balls in order to provide useful field guidance for his people,” but the source was quick to dismiss these hyperbolic claims.

“The Suryeong [Kim Il Sung] grew up hungry and knew what it was like to struggle, but the General was born a prince. He didn’t know what it means to be hungry, so he was ill-natured,” she said. “To hold onto his grip of power, he ruined his father’s legacy and turned the military into thugs with his songun [military first] policy, only to pit people in the same country against each other.”

In fact, “songun” and other language from propaganda once used to buttress the leader's rule have now become commonplace in the rhetoric used to judge and criticize his leadership. “History weighs the truth of the past, so fabricated propaganda only drives further division between the Party and the public,” the source asserted.

In a recent article promoting Kim Jong Il’s “legacy,” the state-run publication Rodong Sinmun wrote, “The General first starting wearing zip-up jackets from the 1980s, when the Party and the history of the revolution entering their heyday,” going on to explain that the “General gave our father Suryeong a suit and said only our Suryeong must wear a suit and tie and get enough rest” while Kim Jong Il took on all the work.

According to the source, however, university professors in the North parsed this same report as, “the General telling the Suryeong to wear a suit and rest was a move to strip his father of all his highest powers.”

“Kim Jong Il’s politics began in the 1970s with him taking away money from the state’s planned economy in the name of raising foreign currency for the Party,” the source said. “Kim Jong Il, who worked in the Organization and Guidance Department in the Party from October 1974, ordered a ‘70-day battle’ nationwide to deliver results in the economic sector. At the end of the year, self-reflection session on the matter, he stated, “I am at ease now that the Party has taken over the state’s finances.”

Under socialist systems, the state implements a planned economic system, but with Kim Jong Il at the helm of North Korea’s Party, the source pointed out that the State Planning Commission was unable to perform its intended function; Kim started to focus on procuring foreign currency and the state’s economy began to unravel.

“Kim Jong Il cut off all information from the outside world so that people would not learn about the problematic political and social structure of North Korea; he had people conduct weekly self-criticism sessions to maintain absolute ideological control,” she explained. “But as people began to understand the essence of a three-generation hereditary leadership, we keep seeing evaluations of Kim Jong Il’s life referred to as ‘against his people’ rather than ‘embracing them with love.’”

 

[KimJongUn]

North Korea's Official 2015 Calendar Revealed

Lee Sang Yong | 2014-12-16 16:04

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A number of additions and changes are present in North Korea’s official 2015 calendar, Daily NK has confirmed after obtaining a copy. Most notably of these additions is that of a new public holiday to be celebrated on June 19th, marking the date in 1964 when Kim Jong Il graduated from Kim Il Sung University and began working as part of the Party’s organizational leadership. Various events related to the commemorative day take place every year on this date in North Korea, but this is the first time it has been recognized as a national holiday.

The explanation offered in the calendar for the new holiday reads, “The great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il started work at the Central Committee of the Worker’s Party of Korea,” interpreted as a move to formalize the commencement of Kim Jong Il’s “revolutionary history.” Touting Kim Jong Il’s achievements and instilling residents with recognition of Kim Jong Eun’s place within the legitimizing Baekdu bloodline [i.e. a member of the Kim family] are other theories behind the holiday's inclusion.

Traditionally, Korean culture observes a three-year mourning period, for which Kim Jong Il is is drawing to a close, leading most to assume that full-fledged entry into the Kim Jong Eun era would see the addition of the young leader’s birthday [January 8th] to the nation’s ideological diary, but the 2015 schedule remains absent of any such incorporation.

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Dates marking Kim Jong Eun's appointment to first Chairman of the National Defense Commission [April 14th], and his promotion to first secretary of the Workers' Party [April 11th], were also expected additions to the state’s official holiday observances, but no such inclusions appear, though explanations of both the milestones appear in the margins of the upcoming year's calendar.

Some speculate that by decreeing his date of birth as a holiday would place additional pressure on the leader, who lacks the long list of accomplishments to bolster such a venerable image.

“This is for him to stress his humility while attaching more importance to the previous generations [of the Kim dynasty],” a senior defector said to the Daily NK on this decision. “Designating the Marshal’s [Kim Jong Eun] birthday as an official holiday will come after its propagandized as stemming from the people's unvarying support for it," he asserted.

Other holidays, unrelated to the Kim regime, also appear on the calendar's pages: Solar New Year’s Day on January 1st and Lunar New Year's Day on February 19th, as well as the traditional harvest festival, Chuseok, which falls on September 27th next year.

March 5th, expressed by the state as “the 15th of the first month by the lunar calendar [Korean folk festival],” was also added as a public holiday for the upcoming year. April 5th, “Chungmyung Day” falls on a Sunday, and as such, its designation as an official public holiday cannot be confirmed for 2015.

Another notable change is the addition of “Mother’s Day” on November 16th as a national holiday for the first time in North Korean history. In May 2012, the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly declared this day “Mother’s Day,” commemorating the First National Meeting of Mothers held on November 16th, 1961, during which Kim Il Sung’s essay “The Duty of Mothers in the Education of Children” was released; however, until now, it was never observed as a public holiday.

Predictably, North Korea's 2015 public holidays include other longstanding examples such as Party Foundation Day [October 10th], and the birthdays of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, April 15th and February 16th, respectively.

 

[KimJongUn]

Premiere of North Korea comedy 'The Interview' cancelled after Sony hackers' threats

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 17 December, 2014, 2:39pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 17 December, 2014, 3:15pm

Associated Press in New York

A guard, among a team sent to beef up security, stands outside the cinema during the premiere of the film "The Interview" in Los Angeles. Photo: Reuters

The New York premiere of The Interview, a Sony Pictures comedy about the assassination of North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, has been cancelled and a source said one cinema chain had scrapped plans to show it, after threats from a hacking group

The film, produced by Sony Pictures, prompted the socialist state this summer to warn that the film’s release would be an “act of war that we will never tolerate”, adding that the US would face “merciless” retaliation.

A spokeswoman for Landmark, which was to have hosted a premiere of the film at its Sunshine Cinema in Lower East Side, New York, on Thursday, said by e-mail that the screening had been cancelled, but did not explain why.

Carmike Cinemas, which operates 247 cinemas across the country, was the first to pull the screenings of the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

The late developments came just hours after the hackers released a data dump that they called a “Christmas gift”. Included in the latest breach are 32,000 e-mails to and from Sony co-chair and CEO Michael Lynton, as well as specific threats against patrons of the comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen.

In The Interview, Rogen and Franco star as television journalists involved in a CIA plot to kill Kim.

But in a chilling message invoking the memory of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the hackers urged audiences to stay away from venues showing the film. The warning prompted law enforcement in New York and Los Angeles to address measures to ramp up security.

"We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time," the hackers wrote. "If your house is nearby, you’d better leave."

The Department of Homeland Security has said there is no credible intelligence to indicate a threat, but is still investigating the message.

Watch: The trailer for the movie 'The Interview'

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Sony told cinema owners on Tuesday that they would be supportive of individual decisions on whether or not to show the film, which is still set for a Christmas release, according to multiple reports.

The National Association of Theatre Owners had no comment about pulling of the film by its members.

The fallout from the hack that began four weeks ago exploded after the shadowy group calling themselves Guardians of Peace escalated their attack beyond corporate espionage and threatened moviegoers with violence reminiscent of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

On Tuesday Rogen and Franco pulled out of all media appearances. Both camps had no comment.

The film’s New York premiere is scheduled for Thursday at Manhattan’s Landmark Sunshine, and it is expected to hit cinemas nationwide on Christmas Day. It premiered in Los Angeles last week without incident.

“Having read through the threat material myself, it’s actually not crystal clear whether it’s a cyber response that they are threatening or whether it’s a physical attack,” said John Miller, the New York police’s top counterterrorism official.

Everything from financial figures to salacious e-mails between top Sony executives has been dumped online by the hackers.

The movie's premiere on Christmas Day in Manhattan still has the green light, but Sony said it would understand if cinemas refuse to screen it. Photo: AFP

Two former Sony film production workers filed lawsuits alleging the company waited too long to notify nearly 50,000 employees that data such as Social Security numbers, salaries and medical records had been stolen. Two other former Sony employees accused the studio of being negligent by not bolstering its defences against hackers before the attack.

Sony potentially faces tens of millions of dollars in damages from a class-action lawsuit, said Jonathan Handel, an entertainment law professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

The nearly 32,000 emails to and from Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Lynton leaked Tuesday include information about casting decisions and total costs for upcoming films, release schedules for Sony films through 2018 and corporate financial records, such as royalties from iTunes, Spotify and Pandora music services.

They include information about new electronics devices such as DVD players and cellphones. They also include budget figures for the Motion Picture Association of America, of which Sony is a member, and at least one e-mail about a senior Sony executive who left the company.

The e-mails also include banal messages about public appearances, tennis matches, home repairs, dinner invitations and business introductions.

In their warning on Tuesday, the hackers suggested Sony employees make contact via several disposable email addresses ending in yopmail.com. Frenchman Frederic Leroy, who started up the yopmail site in 2004, said there was no way he could identify the users.

“I cannot see the identities of people using the address ... there is no name, no first name,” he said.

With additional reporting from Reuters