United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Saturday the United States would not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.
South Korea said the belligerent North may be preparing aggressive moves after Chinese fishing boats were spotted leaving a disputed sea border.
Kim Jong-il put to rest this week doubts about whom he sees as his second in command when he elevated Jang Song-taek to a powerful military post.
Regardless of whether North Korea’s rocket launch was a success or failure, analysts say the regime will spin the news to bolster support.
North Korea has put a long-range missile in place for a launch the US warned would violate UN sanctions already imposed on the reclusive state.
North Koreans waved flags, plastic flowers and danced in the streets of Pyongyang to welcome the Olympic torch on Monday after the destitute state had promised its main benefactor China an ”astonishing” show. The global torch relay ahead of the Beijing Games in August has prompted protests against China’s rights record in Tibet.
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/ 26 February 2008
Cold War foes the United States and North Korea enjoyed a rare moment of harmony on Tuesday when the New York Philharmonic played an unprecedented concert in the hermit state. An audience of North Korea’s communist elite gave America’s oldest orchestra a standing ovation after a rousing set that took in Dvorak, Gershwin and a Korean folk song
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/ 25 February 2008
The New York Philharmonic arrived in a snowy Pyongyang on Monday to play the symphony From the New World in an overture to thaw still frozen ties from the Cold War era between the United States and North Korea. If well-received, the concert would make a ”tiny contribution” toward bringing the United States and North Korea closer together, said music director, Lorin Maazel
If it achieves nothing else, the visit by the South Korean President, Roh Moo-hyun, will at least make its mark on one of North Korea’s most spectacular and unusual tourist attractions. The International Friendship Exhibition Hall is a monument to the price that dignitaries pay when courting one of the world’s most reclusive nations.
It has been called the greatest show on earth, an unparalleled propaganda spectacle and a display of indoctrination like no other. The Arirang ”Mass Games”, which involves 100 000 performers, is among the most colourful and contentious items on the itinerary of the South Korean President, Roh Moo-hyun, during his stay in Pyongyang.