North Korea – praag.org

Faith in Humanity Restored, 2018 Edition

In his 2005 HBO stand-up comedy special, world-famous philosopher and social critic (posing as a stand-up comedian) George Carlin has enumerated quite a few things humanity should be ashamed of, like war, genocide, consumerism, and several others. If you look at the mainstream media, all you see is bad news: an earthquake here, famine there, a caravan of desperate people heading for the US border, armed conflicts all over the world, and countless examples of corporate greed exploiting not only humans but animals, nature, the planet as a whole. In times like these, it’s hard to remember that there are still things that make us as a species worthy of survival. If you find it hard to think of any, here are a few things that will – at least for a while – restore your faith in humanity.

England’s soccer team donates all World Cup winnings to charities

Sports stars are just a bunch of overpaid entertainers – this is something that probably crosses the minds of many when seeing the fabulous amounts they make year after year. This might be true – but, it seems, not all of them are greedy. After failing to take home the World Cup this year (France proved it’s better at football),
England’s national football team donated all its World Cup winnings to charity. And it’s not two pennies either – the team took home at least $22 million by reaching the semi-final in the competition.

Prepare to be even more surprised: England’s footballers have been playing internationally for free for more than a decade. Since 2007, all their wages from international games to charity through the England Footballers Foundation (EFF), supporting charities like UNICEF, Cancer Research UK, The Honeypot Children’s Charity, and many others.

March for Our Lives, Washington DC, USA

Everyone in the United States of America has the right to bear arms, according to their Constitution’s Second Amendment. Sometimes, this leads to tragic incidents – like the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day 2018. This tragic event triggered a massive outrage not only from the media but from the students, too – on March 24, they organized a massive demonstration in Washington DC (and inspired over 800 similar events all across the US and the world) demanding tighter gun control.

While the protests were criticized by many, claiming that their goal was to “destroy the Second Amendment”, media outlets have described them as a potential tipping point for gun control legislation in the country.

The Two Koreas

North Korea and South Korea have had an antagonistic relationship for decades – and they both took a step in the right direction this year. This spring, the presidents of the two countries – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and South Korean president Moon Jae-In met for the first time, each of them stepping on the soil of the neighbouring country as a symbolic gesture. Their first summit was mostly ceremonial, with symbolic gestures made by both, including the planting of a tree, the signing of the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula, and had a formal dinner.

Since then, the two leaders met twice – in May and September – and are planning to organize another in December, when North Korean president Kim Jong Un will visit Seoul.

South Korea talks tough after landmine incident

South Korean President Park Geun-hye talked tough on Monday, demanding that North Korea apologise over a recent landmine incident, even as the bitter rivals held marathon negotiations in a bid to defuse tensions that have brought the peninsula to the brink of armed conflict.

Park said anti-North propaganda broadcasts would continue unless Pyongyang took responsibility for landmine explosions early this month that wounded two South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two countries.

North Korea denies it laid the mines.

The incident has escalated into a crisis that saw both sides exchange artillery fire on Thursday and ramp up their military readiness. The United Nations, the United States and the North’s lone major ally, China, have all called for calm.

“We need a clear apology and measures to prevent a recurrence of these provocations and tense situations,” Park told a meeting with her top aides, according to a statement released by her office. “Otherwise, this government will take appropriate steps and continue loudspeaker broadcasts.”

Seoul and Washington were reviewing the possibility of bringing in “strategic” US military assets, South Korean Defence Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok said, without elaborating.

Source: Reuters

North Korea accepts Russian invitation to Victory Day Parade

Russia has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to attend a May ceremony marking the end of World War II, in what would be Kim’s first foreign visit since taking the helm of the reclusive state in 2011, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun daily said Wednesday.

Kim would probably meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, as North Korea backs Russia in the Ukraine crisis and Moscow needs Pyongyang’s cooperation in boosting natural gas exports to South Korea, the newspaper said, quoting unnamed diplomatic sources.

It was unclear whether Kim would accept the invitation, the Asahi said.

But the North Korean leader accepted an invitation to visit Moscow, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.

“North Korea is seeking to deepen both diplomatic and economic ties with Russia at a time when its political relationship with China remains chilly,” the agency said.

North Korea is seeking closer ties with Russia as it faces international criticism over accusations of human rights abuses and its nuclear program.

Putin held talks with Kim’s personal envoy last month and called for deeper ties with North Korea to improve regional security.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said North Korea was ready to resume stalled international talks on its nuclear program.

North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States began talks in 2003 to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons, but they were suspended after Pyongyang tested nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009.

US President Barack Obama is not going to visit Russia any time soon, Mark Stroh, the National Security Council spokesman told the Sputnik news agency on Monday.

“At this time, the President has no plans to travel to Russia in the near future,” Stroh said.

Iran could join NPT, Seoul urges North to abandon nuclear for investment

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Iran could possibly become a full member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

“The agreements reached on November 24, 2013, in Geneva on Iran’s nuclear program opens the actual perspective that by November of this year an exit [from the issue] and a long-term and reliable settlement of this issue will be found. Regardless of the difficult approach during the negotiation process, there is a possibility that Iran [could receive] its full capacity of rights as an NPT member state, including the right to enrich uranium and canceling the sanction regime [against the country],” the ministry said on its website.

“We hope that all the parties taking part in the consultations will show the political will in order to proceed with the final, mutually acceptable agreements, which will enable to re-establish trust of the international society for the peaceful nature of the Nuclear program of Iran. This could have a positive impact on the situation in the Middle East and lead to a creation of a zone, free of mass destruction weapons,” the statement said.

The fifth round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program was held in Vienna in July.

Meanwhile South Korea is ready to help its northern neighbor attract international investment, if it gives up its nuclear ambitions, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported Thursday citing the country’s finance minister, Choi Kyung-hwan.

“If North Korea decides to abandon its nuclear weapons, we will cooperate with Northeast Asian countries to actively support North Korea’s accession to international financial organizations and its attraction of international investment,” the agency reported Choi as saying during a speech at a forum on Asian economic cooperation.

The official also promised to facilitate the establishment of a development bank for Northeast Asian countries, which would help North Korea build infrastructure to help its poor citizens.

South Korea’s Park apologises for secret service scandal

South Korean President Park Geun-hye apologized on Tuesday for the latest scandal to rock the intelligence service where three officials have been charged with conspiracy to fabricate evidence against a man accused of spying for North Korea.

The case is the latest in a long line of controversies marking the National Intelligence Service’s troubled history that have triggered calls for reform.

Park warned the service must mend its ways.

“Regrettably, the National Intelligence Service’s wrongful practices and a system of lax oversight were revealed and caused concern among the public, and I would like to apologize for this,” Park said at a cabinet meeting.

Park’s father, Park Chung-hee, was assassinated in 1979 by the disgruntled head of the agency’s precursor at the peak of a power struggle that involved the late president’s close aides.

The intelligence service has since undergone two name changes and numerous organizational reforms.

South Korea and the North are still technically at war after their 1950-53 civil conflict ended in a mere truce, not a peace treaty.

On Monday, prosecutors announced indictments against two agency officials after charging one in March for their suspected role in fabricating Chinese immigration documents to support the case against an individual accused of being a North Korean spy.

But prosecutors said they found no reason to believe senior agency officials, including its chief, Nam Jae-joon, were involved in the conspiracy and closed its investigation.

The political opposition accused the prosecution of allowing the agency to take care of its own.

Source: Reuters

Gaza M75 perfume captures ‘victory’ scent

“Victory” has never smelled so sweet — or at least that’s what they would have you believe at the shop selling Gaza’s newest fragrance named M75 after a long-range Hamas rocket.

It’s a bold move by the “Stay Stylish” shop in Gaza City’s upscale Rimal neighbourhood, but one that store owner Abu Ahmed expects to pay dividends.

“We came up with the name M75 for a new perfume in the shop as a symbol of the rocket of the resistance, and the victory of Gaza,” he told AFP.

The M75 rocket was among several long-range missiles Gaza militant groups fired into Israel during an eight-day conflict last month, which ended with a ceasefire between Hamas and the Jewish state.

The conflict killed at least 174 Palestinians, including more than 100 civilians, and six Israelis, four civilians and two soldiers, but many in Gaza felt Hamas emerged from the violence victorious.

The goal of the perfume is “to promote and market our products, and its only natural to use something like a victory to market our goods,” added Abu Ahmed, who declined to give his full name.

“We want to send a fast message to people about this perfume to market it as quickly and easily as possible,” he said.

“People are proud that we were able to hit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with this M75 rocket and this name is much talked about and liked by people here.”

The fragrance, available both for men and women, has been successful so far, despite the fairly hefty price tag of 50 Israeli shekels ($13, euros), which the manufacturers justify on the basis of the perfume’s “luxurious” components.

The success, according to Abu Ahmed, has already inspired his fellow Gaza entrepreneurs, whom he expects to slap the M75 label on a whole range of new products.

The M75 rocket, among hundreds that Hamas and other groups fired into Israel during the eight-day conflict, appears to have captured the public’s imagination in Gaza, where it played a commanding role during Hamas’s 25th anniversary celebrations this weekend.

An enormous mock-up of the rocket had pride of place on a stage where the festivities took place, and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal — in Gaza for the first time ever — emerged from a door in the fake missile to give an address. – France24