If anyone from Cooktown to Townsville tonight sees a bright luminescent splendiferous glow in the sky, dont be concerned...it will just be me testing the Nissan Navara's massive Grand Array of headlights etc in the car park at Earlville. I reckon they could cook a curlew at about a mile...which ISNT exactly what I wish to do. It is a safety issue for night driving between home and work, along those torturous 4 kilometres of dangerous 6 lane ultra smooth roads in Cairns going through such places as Manunda and Cairns North. This is why I also have the 4WD capacity, the bullbar, the UHF radio, and the snorkel. We tough all-terrain Aussie blokes like to feel secure in case of...well...moths, spiders...etc.

Early Planning: Mrs Fitz and I are very good at early planning and are now into our 3rd 5 year plan. I have just tookend the Nissan Dual Cab 4x4 Common Rail turbo diesel Ute (The Mahayana Diamond Vehicle) to Ultratune for them to reconnect the Grand Array of Spot / Flood and Led Light bars, for the Townsville trip in November, inoperative since the local irascible rascal broke in and stole my dash cam and broke the turn-on light switch for the Grand Array. I haven't missed the dash cam at all and it was a pretty silly thing to have and did run counter to the Nissanistic '1998 artistic retrospective aesthetic of the 2015 ute' in terms of its profound simplicity. As Melbourne beckons, although yet to be confirmed, I will be selling the ute I expect. I expect we will put the Honda Jazz (a far more Melbournish vehicle) on the train and go by plane.

I must admit daughter DJWAWA looks kind of happy with the news about getting into RMIT 2017/ Sound engineering/moving image design

Old Chinese saying in relation to claims in the South China Sea, Hong Kong and Taiwan: "If your neighbour steals your bicycle and gives it to his son, it is still your bicycle".

Like all young men I set out to be a genius, but mercifully laughter intervened. (Lawrence Durrell)

The North Korean authorities have drastically tightened border security to block defections in the wake of recent flooding in North Hamgyong Province. At the same time, the Chinese government is also working to block defectors and has begun rebuilding a barbed wire fence that was damaged by the floodwaters.

The North Korean authorities have drastically tightened border security to block defections in the wake of recent flooding in North Hamgyong Province. At the same time, the Chinese government is also working to block defectors and has begun rebuilding a barbed wire fence that was damaged by the floodwaters.     

The Chinese government has assigned evening work to residents in the border areas in order to expedite the fence reconstruction. This indicates a level of high priority for the project. The government has also erected banners in the border region warning that residents who assist defectors will be fined 500 RMB (approximately U.S. $74). Residents are openly discouraged from coming into contact with defectors. 

In a telephone conversation with Daily NK on October 19, an inside source from China said, “In China’s Longjing City, Kaishyan Village, local residents are working night shifts to rebuild a barbed wire fence. The fence on the Chinese side was totally destroyed during the recent flooding. The authorities are hoping to block attempted defections by reconstructing the fence as soon as possible.” 

 

When asked about the atmosphere in the area, the source noted, “There’s been a lot of upheaval lately. Since the order came down, we’ve been quite busy. Plenty of Chinese people living in these areas are concerned that a large number of North Koreans will cross the border and commit crimes.” 

The Chinese authorities appear to be responding with a sense of urgency in order to prevent potential security issues associated with an increased number of defectors. 

Another Chinese source in the area said, “The Chinese authorities are prioritizing these kinds of projects in areas that have a high possibility for defector surges. Because North Korea’s economic situation has deteriorated in the border regions, there has been a steady stream of so called ‘livelihood crimes’ from North Koreans who cross the river. The Chinese government is taking proactive measures to try and stamp out this trend.”  

Daily NK has acquired images of signs on display in Kaishyan Village that warn of fines for local residents who aid defectors. Other signs encourage residents to give up their possessions quickly if threatened with violence by defectors.

“In the past, we have heard of some shocking stories about Chinese and North Korean border guards working together to smuggle drugs into the country. Residents are concerned about this type of criminal activity reoccurring,” the source added.

“These days, Chinese residents generally agree that it’s best to just quickly hand over your possessions if threatened by a defector. But most draw the line at providing shelter for the defectors; that is something most people won’t do.” 

Pyongyang's delegates meet with former US government officials

Pyongyang's delegates meet with former US government officials By Jun Ji-hye  A two-day informal meeting between the United States and North Korea over the weekend is sparking speculation that the two sides might have been exploring options before resuming their long-suspended government-to-government dialogue, analysts said Sunday. The behind-the-scenes meeting between Pyongyang's incumbent and Washington's former government officials took place Friday and Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, just a day after the North's failed launch of what was presumed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile. Participants said they mainly discussed the North's nuclear and missile issues. Diplomatic observers say the two sides appear to have already begun delving into each other's stance and thoughts amid their years-long confrontation at a time when the U.S. presidential election is just two weeks away. They noted that although it was an informal meeting, it might signal a move by the U.S. to seek official and open dialogue to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula caused by the North's repeated nuclear and missile tests. The North's delegation was led by Vice Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol and Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Jang Il-hun, while the four-member U.S. delegation included Robert Gallucci, a former State Department special envoy on the North Korean nuclear issue; Joseph DeTrani, a former special envoy for the six-party talks; Leon Sigal, director of the Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in New York. Gallucci, who negotiated a landmark 1994 nuclear freeze deal with Pyongyang in the Bill Clinton administration, is known to be a close confidant to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. As for topics discussed during the dialogue, Jang said the two sides talked about several "pending issues and each other's thoughts on them." Asked whether there was a request from the U.S. to stop nuclear and missile tests, he fell short of clarifying, but said he hoped the issue would be resolved "stage by stage." Sigal noted that the North stuck to its stance that it wants to sign a peace treaty with the U.S. before it stops its nuclear and missile programs, while the U.S. reiterated its position that scrapping the nuclear programs should be put before anything else. Still, he said that there was partial progress in the informal meeting, saying the U.S. participants were looking for ways to accomplish the inter-government dialogue.   He added that no official negotiations with the North are expected under the Barack Obama administration, but a new U.S. government would need to reconsider policies toward the North. Experts said the two sides might have sought to explore what conditions were needed to change the atmosphere, and what policies need to be established after the U.S. presidential election. "The U.S. apparently sought to listen to the North's stance amid the transition of the administration," said Song Dae-sung, a former head of the Sejong Institute. Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, said, "There is the possibility the North's delegation told the U.S. side that the issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula could be negotiated, though the regime would be unwilling to stop its nuclear program for now." Some observers added that the North might have tried to water down demands raised inside the U.S. for a preemptive strike against the North's nuclear facilities by showing its willingness to talk. Both the South Korean and the U.S. governments rejected any suggestions that the meeting was meaningful, saying that it was just informal, private talks unrelated to their positions. The foreign ministry said Sunday that the United States remains firm in its commitment to denuclearize the North; and Washington and Seoul will cooperate with the international community to keep strong pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang to coerce it into giving up its nuclear ambitions. "The U.S. says that the latest consultation was a ‘track 2' meeting that has nothing to do with its government," a ministry official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the U.S. attendees who used to be involved in Washington's North Korea affairs decades ago have no say on its current policy. "With the principle that the North's denuclearization is a top priority, the U.S. government remains firm on its position that mentioning dialogue in a hasty manner without signs of the North's willingness to give up its nuclear weapons could only end up justifying its wrong behavior," he added. But critics noted that the latest conversation could be seen as a "track 1.5" meeting, not track 2, as participants from the North were incumbent government officials. jjh@ktimes.com