Generator construction for new hydro plants begins The generators for hydroelectric plants along North Korea’s Chongchon River are under construction in the latest stage of the electricity project scheduled for completion by end-2015.

"The law is an accumulation of tireless attempts to block a man’s desire to change life into an instant of poetry. Certainly it would not be right to let everybody exchange his life for a line of poetry written in a splash of blood. But the mass of men, lacking valor, pass away their lives without ever feeling the least touch of such a desire. The law, therefore, of its very nature is aimed at a tiny minority of mankind. The extraordinary purity of a handful of men, the passionate devotion that knows nothing of the world’s standards … the law is a system that tries to degrade them to ‘evil,’ on the same level as robbery and crimes of passion." MISHIMA

Belarus confirms interest in dialogue with DPRK (Xinhua) Belarus Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei confirmed Monday his country's interest in developing dialogue with the DPRK especially in trade and economic sectors. More Defectors Turn Away from S.Korea (The Chosun Ilbo) A growing number of North Korean defectors return to their repressive home country or move to China as they find it difficult to adjust to life in the capitalist South.

There are many very large populations of Koreans, from North and South, who fled into China during the American War in Korea and these communities remain very strong healthy and significant within North East China/Liaoning/Dalian and to Shen Yang.

Economist proposes developmental dictatorship for North Korea A prominent right-leaning economist has proposed that North Korea retain its authoritarian regime and that its economic reform be supported in order to minimize the costs of unification. Visit NK News for more Russian energy giant looks into N. Korean electricity project Russian electricity giant TEK Monsenergo will carry out a feasibility study on supplying North Korea’s Rason region with power, according to a press release from RAO Energy Systems.

The first issue seems to dovetail with the advice Lee Kwan Yu gave to China 2 decades ago....first reform your economy. Do NOT reform your politics for at least 20 years thereafter.

North Korea, Russia designate 2015 as a 'Friendship Year' North Korean and Russia have declared 2015 a “Friendship Year,” according to a report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 11. Visit NK News for more No oil yet in 2015, but North Korea imports more gasoline China’s apparent cessation of crude oil deliveries to North Korea extended into 2015, according to customs data from January. Visit NK News for more

Korea Update

North Korea's creeping economic reforms paying off(The Guardian)
North Korea is trying to invigorate its hidebound economy by offering more control and possibly more personal rewards to key sectors of its workforce.

S. Korea police probing attackers links with North (The Korea Herald)
South Korean police said Friday they were investigating any possible links the man behind a shocking knife attack on the US ambassador to Seoul may have had with North Korea.

Now gold seized from Korean diplomat (Dhaka Tribune)
Customs officials have now seized 27kg gold from a North Korean diplomat from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. The golds were resized from the possession of Son Yung Nam.

S. Korea calls DPRK's reaction to U.S. envoy attack "irrational" (Xinhua)
South Korea on Friday called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s reaction to an attack against the U.S. ambassador to Seoul "irrational."

N.Korea Warns of 'Blitzkrieg' to Finish Off South (The Chosun Ilbo)
North Korea on Thursday warned it would finish any war on the Korean Peninsula in three days and turn South Korea into a nuclear wasteland. 

I'm thinking of buying a 2003-07 Honda Super Blackbird XX for about $7000AU and I'd like your advice

I've owned a few bikes, starting when I was 30...a Suzuki GSXF400F, then a BMWK1100LT, then a Ducati ST2 944, then a Moto Guzzi 1100 California Stone, and now, at 61, I'm thinking the Honda Blackbird from the 2003-2007 brood would be pretty good. I'm about 6ft high so the bike is an ok mount. I had a brief ride on one about 7 years ago and I liked it. Fast as fuck, and yet calm as you like at low speed. Good for anything nearby or any place far afield. Easy to fix, all simple technology, and the prices are okay and the remaining ones seem to have been looked after well. Any views?
This one for example has Akrapovic pipes, a bit of lambswool and some bags so you get the feeling it's been cared for. It's about $8000, or $7000 with about 50,000kms