North Korea: U.S. crossed "red line", declared war

US Reacts to North Korea Declaring War & Sanctions 2016

Nathan Solis and Redding Record Searchlight , KXTV 8:34 AM. CDT July 29, 2016

This undated picture released from North Korea"s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 12, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (front L) inspecting the command of Korean People"s Army (KPA) Unit 534. (Photo: KNS/AFP/Getty Images, 2014 AFP)

PYONGYANG, North Korea North Koreas top diplomat for U.S. affairs told The Associated Press on Thursday that Washington crossed the red line and effectively declared war by putting leader Kim Jong Un on its list of sanctioned individuals, and said a vicious showdown could erupt if the U.S. and South Korea hold annual war games as planned next month.

Han Song Ryol, director-general of the U.S. affairs department at the Norths Foreign Ministry, said in an interview that recent U.S. actions have put the situation on the Korean Peninsula on a war footing.

The United States and South Korea regularly conduct joint military exercises south of the Demilitarized Zone, and Pyongyang typically responds to them with tough talk and threats of retaliation.

Han said North Korea believes the nature of the maneuvers has become openly aggressive because they reportedly now include training designed to prepare troops for the invasion of the Norths capital and decapitation strikes aimed at killing its top leadership.

Han says designating Kim himself for sanctions was the final straw.

The Obama administration went so far to have the impudence to challenge the supreme dignity of the DPRK in order to get rid of its unfavorable position during the political and military showdown with the DPRK, Han said, using the acronym for North Koreas official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

The United States has crossed the red line in our showdown, he said. We regard this thrice-cursed crime as a declaration of war.

Although North Korea had already been heavily sanctioned internationally for its nuclear weapons and long-range missile development programs, Washingtons announcement on July 6 was the first time Kim Jong Un has been personally sanctioned.

Less than a week later, Pyongyang cut off its final official means of communications with Washington known as the New York channel. Han said Pyongyang has made it clear that everything between the two must now be dealt with under war law.

U.S. officials could not be immediately reached for comment, and South Koreas unification, defense and foreign ministries did not immediately comment.

Kim and 10 others were put on the list of sanctioned individuals in connection with alleged human rights abuses, documented by the United Nations Human Rights Commission, that include a network of political prisons and harsh treatment of any kind of political dissent in the authoritarian state. U.S. State Department officials said the sanctions were intended in part to highlight those responsible for the abuses and to pressure lower-ranking officials to think twice before carrying them out.

Pyongyang denies abuse claims and says the U.N. report was based on fabrications gleaned from disgruntled defectors. Pointing to such things as police shootings of black Americans and poverty in even the richest democracies, it says the West has no moral high ground from which to criticize the Norths domestic political situation. It also says U.S. allies with questionable human-rights records receive less criticism.

Han took strong issue with the claim that it not the U.S. but Pyongyangs continued development of nuclear weapons and missiles that is provoking tensions.

Day by day, the U.S. military blackmail against the DPRK and the isolation and pressure is becoming more open, Han said. It is not us, it is the United States that first developed nuclear weapons, who first deployed them and who first used them against humankind. And on the issue of missiles and rockets, which are to deliver nuclear warheads and conventional weapons warheads, it is none other than the United States who first developed it and who first used it.

He noted that U.S.-South Korea military exercises conducted this spring were unprecedented in scale, and that the U.S. has deployed the USS Mississippi and USS Ohio nuclear-powered submarines to South Korean ports, deployed the B-52 strategic bomber around South Korea and is planning to set up the worlds most advanced missile defense system, known by its acronym THAAD, in the South, a move that has also angered China.

Echoing earlier state-media reports, Han ridiculed Mark Lippert, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, for a flight on a U.S. Air Force F-16 based in South Korea that he said was an action unfit for a diplomat.

We regard that as the act of a villain, who is a crazy person, Han said of the July 12 flight. All these facts show that the United States is intentionally aggravating the tensions in the Korean Peninsula.

Han warned that Pyongyang is viewing next months planned U.S.-South Korea exercises in this new context and will respond if they are carried out as planned.

Nobody can predict what kind of influence this kind of vicious confrontation between the DPRK and the United States will have upon the situation on the Korean Peninsula, he said. By doing these kinds of vicious and hostile acts toward the DPRK, the U.S. has already declared war against the DPRK. So it is our self-defensive right and justifiable action to respond in a very hard way.

We are all prepared for war, and we are all prepared for peace, he said. If the United States forces those kinds of large-scale exercises in August, then the situation caused by that will be the responsibility of the United States.

Last years Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises involved 30,000 American and 50,000 South Korean troops and followed a period of heightened animosity between the rival Koreas sparked by land mine explosions that maimed two South Korean soldiers. In the end, the exercises escalated tensions and rhetoric, but concluded with no major incidents.

Han dismissed calls for Pyongyang to defuse tensions by agreeing to abandon its nuclear program.

In the view of cause and effect, it is the U.S. that provided the cause of our possession of nuclear forces, he said. We never hide the fact, and we are very proud of the fact, that we have very strong nuclear deterrent forces not only to cope with the United States nuclear blackmail but also to neutralize the nuclear blackmail of the United States.

Copyright 2016 KXTV

Source: http://www.ksdk.com/news/north-korea-us-crossed-red-line-declared-war/284319695

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The Ramen regime: A seven day diet in North Korea

North Korea Documentary 2016

Every week we ask a North Korean your questions, giving you the chance to learn more about the country we know so little about.

This weeks question is:I heard ramen is a rare food item in North Korea. Is it true? What kind of ramen do you eat in North Korea?

In my hometown, you could obtain almost anything if youhad enough money. Itwas simply a questionof cash, rather than the matter of what you wanted to obtain. As such, ramen (freeze dried noodles) werent really much of a rarity in my hometown. With money,you could eat ramen anytime.

So, whats the North Korean view of this dish?

Actually, in the DPRK we call the dishkoburang noodles, buthere in the South people obviously use the nameramen.Because of this, South Koreans dontunderstand it if a North Korean tries to orderkoburang noodles, meaning we all change our vocab pretty quickly upon arriving in Seoul.

When I lived in the NorthI recall seeingramenbeing boiled in a pot of some kind, never thecup ramens which are so popular in the South. I assume that thisis because vendors were hesitant to bring cup ramens into the country as they were bigger in size, actually having a rather awkward shape. And because of their shape, itdbe difficult for the traders to import a big bulk of cup ramen into the country, whichwould naturally leadto less profit.

ButI should point out that ramen is a food item which is not exactly welcomed by the North Korean regime, meaning vendors have to keep them out of the eyes of the authorities. As a result, ramen are actually pretty costly in North Korea. I remember many kids lovedramen,but not all of them could afford to eat them as often as theyd like. When a bag of rice weighing 1kg enough to feed a family for two days cost 3000 won, one singleramen cost 800 won.

It was usuallyChinese ramenthat we bought and atein North Korea, althoughI dont really recall the brand names of them. However,I do remember I mostly atebeef and kimchi flavored ones. And withthe increased popularity and preference for South Korean products, Chinese factories and companies began to deliberately put Hangul on their products in order to make them look as if they were from South Korea.

Inmy hometown people even used to thinkthat the smell of ramenwould helpyou lose weight

But you know whats funny? Ramenwas actually seen as a diet food by people in my region of North Korea, even though asyou probably know it is far from nutritious!And inmy hometown people even used to thinkthat the smell of ramenwould helpyou lose weight.

It is really funny thinking about it now, but Ionce lived on aramen-onlydietfor a week in order to lose weight. Of course, I never succeeded, but I really believed that eating onlyramenfor a week wouldhelp me lose weight!

In the case of my family, we also often ate ramen when we lost our appetite. But I soon learned to game the system. Everytime I wanted to eat ramen, I acted to my mom as if I had lost my appetite and I didnt feel like eating anything. Then, my mom would buy and cook ramen for me. Oh, it was so delicious every time I ate ramen like that!

I think the South Korean dramas also contributed to the increased popularity of ramen. You could frequently see a scene withpeople eating ramen in most dramas and North Koreans would suddenly go hungry every time they watched such scenes. Also, whenpeople go on a picnic or trip, they often brought ramen with them. On avalley or mountainside it can bedifficult to cook rice oranentire Korean meal, but it was very convenient to cook ramen in those places.

In North Korea, military drills areheld in mid-August or late August every year. Thats when everyone has to go tothe mountain for one night and twodays. And thatswhen the highest number of ramen is sold during an year, because its very quick and easy to make ramen on amountainside. So whileit might have been expensive and annoying for grown-ups to buy them, I remember that children relished the military drillsas they could eat ramen onthe mountainside. It was like going on a camp!

In conclusion, in North Korea people caneat ramen as often as they like, if they have cash.Ramen is therefore not a rarity, unlike Chocopies, which can be tricky to find even if you have the money. Thats because Chocopies come from South Korea, not China. I remember I once was unable to eat Chocopiefor over a month because they were out of stock in my hometown. In fact, Chocopie was the only food item that would be out of stock from time to time in my hometown of North Korea.

Main picture: NK News

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNE2Ylw7Y5XPaDWTsQQduLPsCwe9TQ&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=qrScV_CTCY3K3QHyqInADA&url=https://www.nknews.org/2016/07/the-ramen-regime-a-seven-day-diet-in-north-korea/

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North Korea: U.S. crossed "red line", declared war

10 Days in North Korea

Nathan Solis and Redding Record Searchlight , KXTV 8:34 AM. EST July 29, 2016

This undated picture released from North Korea"s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 12, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (front L) inspecting the command of Korean People"s Army (KPA) Unit 534. (Photo: KNS/AFP/Getty Images, 2014 AFP)

PYONGYANG, North Korea North Koreas top diplomat for U.S. affairs told The Associated Press on Thursday that Washington crossed the red line and effectively declared war by putting leader Kim Jong Un on its list of sanctioned individuals, and said a vicious showdown could erupt if the U.S. and South Korea hold annual war games as planned next month.

Han Song Ryol, director-general of the U.S. affairs department at the Norths Foreign Ministry, said in an interview that recent U.S. actions have put the situation on the Korean Peninsula on a war footing.

The United States and South Korea regularly conduct joint military exercises south of the Demilitarized Zone, and Pyongyang typically responds to them with tough talk and threats of retaliation.

Han said North Korea believes the nature of the maneuvers has become openly aggressive because they reportedly now include training designed to prepare troops for the invasion of the Norths capital and decapitation strikes aimed at killing its top leadership.

Han says designating Kim himself for sanctions was the final straw.

The Obama administration went so far to have the impudence to challenge the supreme dignity of the DPRK in order to get rid of its unfavorable position during the political and military showdown with the DPRK, Han said, using the acronym for North Koreas official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

The United States has crossed the red line in our showdown, he said. We regard this thrice-cursed crime as a declaration of war.

Although North Korea had already been heavily sanctioned internationally for its nuclear weapons and long-range missile development programs, Washingtons announcement on July 6 was the first time Kim Jong Un has been personally sanctioned.

Less than a week later, Pyongyang cut off its final official means of communications with Washington known as the New York channel. Han said Pyongyang has made it clear that everything between the two must now be dealt with under war law.

U.S. officials could not be immediately reached for comment, and South Koreas unification, defense and foreign ministries did not immediately comment.

Kim and 10 others were put on the list of sanctioned individuals in connection with alleged human rights abuses, documented by the United Nations Human Rights Commission, that include a network of political prisons and harsh treatment of any kind of political dissent in the authoritarian state. U.S. State Department officials said the sanctions were intended in part to highlight those responsible for the abuses and to pressure lower-ranking officials to think twice before carrying them out.

Pyongyang denies abuse claims and says the U.N. report was based on fabrications gleaned from disgruntled defectors. Pointing to such things as police shootings of black Americans and poverty in even the richest democracies, it says the West has no moral high ground from which to criticize the Norths domestic political situation. It also says U.S. allies with questionable human-rights records receive less criticism.

Han took strong issue with the claim that it not the U.S. but Pyongyangs continued development of nuclear weapons and missiles that is provoking tensions.

Day by day, the U.S. military blackmail against the DPRK and the isolation and pressure is becoming more open, Han said. It is not us, it is the United States that first developed nuclear weapons, who first deployed them and who first used them against humankind. And on the issue of missiles and rockets, which are to deliver nuclear warheads and conventional weapons warheads, it is none other than the United States who first developed it and who first used it.

He noted that U.S.-South Korea military exercises conducted this spring were unprecedented in scale, and that the U.S. has deployed the USS Mississippi and USS Ohio nuclear-powered submarines to South Korean ports, deployed the B-52 strategic bomber around South Korea and is planning to set up the worlds most advanced missile defense system, known by its acronym THAAD, in the South, a move that has also angered China.

Echoing earlier state-media reports, Han ridiculed Mark Lippert, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, for a flight on a U.S. Air Force F-16 based in South Korea that he said was an action unfit for a diplomat.

We regard that as the act of a villain, who is a crazy person, Han said of the July 12 flight. All these facts show that the United States is intentionally aggravating the tensions in the Korean Peninsula.

Han warned that Pyongyang is viewing next months planned U.S.-South Korea exercises in this new context and will respond if they are carried out as planned.

Nobody can predict what kind of influence this kind of vicious confrontation between the DPRK and the United States will have upon the situation on the Korean Peninsula, he said. By doing these kinds of vicious and hostile acts toward the DPRK, the U.S. has already declared war against the DPRK. So it is our self-defensive right and justifiable action to respond in a very hard way.

We are all prepared for war, and we are all prepared for peace, he said. If the United States forces those kinds of large-scale exercises in August, then the situation caused by that will be the responsibility of the United States.

Last years Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises involved 30,000 American and 50,000 South Korean troops and followed a period of heightened animosity between the rival Koreas sparked by land mine explosions that maimed two South Korean soldiers. In the end, the exercises escalated tensions and rhetoric, but concluded with no major incidents.

Han dismissed calls for Pyongyang to defuse tensions by agreeing to abandon its nuclear program.

In the view of cause and effect, it is the U.S. that provided the cause of our possession of nuclear forces, he said. We never hide the fact, and we are very proud of the fact, that we have very strong nuclear deterrent forces not only to cope with the United States nuclear blackmail but also to neutralize the nuclear blackmail of the United States.

Copyright 2016 KXTV

Source: http://www.wusa9.com/news/nation/north-korea-us-crossed-red-line-declared-war/284173700

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South Korea says it exchanged fire with North Korea at border

BREAKING: North Korea Fires at South Korean Military

(Aug. 20, 2015) In an escalation of the tense situation in the region, North and South Korea exchanged fire over their heavily fortified border Thursday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.

South Korea detected a projectile, assumed to be a small rocket, that was fired toward the western province of Gyeonggi, a Defense Ministry official told CNN.

The South Korean military responded by firing a few dozen shells at the area from which the North Korean projectile was fired, the official said.

The Pentagon is monitoring the escalating tension closely, Cmdr. William Urban, a Defense Department spokesman, told CNNs Brian Todd.

And a U.S. official told CNNs Barbara Starr that the U.S. believes that North Korea fired a shot at a South Korean loudspeaker, and South Korea responded with 36 artillery shells.

The U.S. believes North Korea deliberately placed mines in the path of a South Korean patrol in the demilitarized zone between the two countries, sparking the exchanges, the official said.

Tensions spiked on the Korean Peninsula after two South Korean soldiers were seriously wounded by landmines on August 4 in the demilitarized zone.

South Korea also has accused the North of planting the mines, an allegation that Pyongyang denies.

Seoul vowed a harsh response to the landmines and resumed blaring propaganda messages over the border from huge loudspeakers.

The move infuriated North Korea, which called the broadcasting a direct action of declaring a war. Over the weekend, it threatened to blow up the South Korean speakers and also warned of indiscriminate strikes.

A history of conflict

While such tension is worrisome, it is nothing new.

Over the past six decades, skirmishes have flared repeatedly along land and sea borders as each state aims to reunify the peninsula according to its own terms and system of government. Deadly naval clashes occurred along the demarcation line in 1999, 2002 and 2009.

After Japans defeat in World War II, Korea became a divided nation the capitalist South supported by the United States and its Western allies, and the communist North an ally of the Soviet Union.

Cold War tensions erupted into war in 1950, devastating the peninsula and taking the lives of as many as 2 million people. The fighting ended with a truce, not a treaty, and settled little.

Technically, the two Koreas are still at war.

Besides the border skirmishes, other incidents have proved provocative. In 1968, North Korea dispatched commandos in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate South Koreas President. In 1983, a bombing linked to Pyongyang killed 17 high-level South Korean officials on a visit to Myanmar. In 1987, the North was accused of bombing a South Korean airliner.

And now it is happening again.

On Monday, North Korea pumped its own propaganda broadcasts over the border, the same day South Korea started military exercises with the United States and other countries. Pyongyang says it views the drills as a prelude to an invasion.

The two sides have exchanged fire recently at sensitive points.

In November 2010, North Korea shelled an island near the countries disputed maritime border, killing two South Korean marines.

They also traded fire in October 2014. A clash took place between patrol boats in the Yellow Sea, and then another flared days later over land after North Korean gunners apparently targeted balloons carrying leaflets critical of the countrys reclusive regime.

Source: http://fox59.com/2015/08/20/south-korea-says-it-exchanged-fire-with-north-korea-at-border/

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