North Korea this week

Latest Headlines Kim Jong Un sits out party meetings as state media marks 10 years of his rule - by Colin Zwirko Day three of party plenum focused on budget discussions and studying Kim's speeches Visit NK News for More In officially tax-free North Korea, where does the state get its money? - by Peter Ward The DPRK has multiple revenue sources, including taxes, that have both positive and negative impacts on the economy Visit NK Pro for More Seoul approves three new requests to send nutrition-related aid to North Korea - by Jeongmin Kim South Korea has now greenlit 11 aid shipments this year, though delivery is unlikely due to DPRK’s border restrictions  Visit NK News for More Japan approves $1.2 billion for missile defense, eyeing North Korea threats - by Kosuke Takahashi The funds are a part of $53.6 billion in defense spending that the cabinet has approved for the next 16 months Visit NK News for More Ask a North Korean: Do North Koreans like to go camping? - by Alek Sigley Travel restrictions mostly rule out leisure camping, but there are other ways people spend time in the great outdoors Visit NK News for More

The latest from the podcast The biggest North Korea stories of 2021 – NKNews Podcast Ep. 215 The NK News team discusses Kim Jong Un’s health, the DPRKs new ‘dark age’ and their predictions for the year ahead Listen to the full episode here

Top NK stories from around the web US declines comment on Chung's remarks about end of war declaration agreement(The Korea Herald)The United States declined to directly comment on any progress made on a draft for an end to the Korean War declaration professed by the South Korean foreign minister on Wednesday, only saying the US remains committed to dialogue with North Korea. S. Korea starts construction of 2nd 3,600-ton-class SLBM submarine(Yonhap News)South Korea has started the construction of a new 3,600-ton-class military submarine with improved ballistic missile capabilities, officials said Thursday. Some North Korean forced labor camps giving more “production tasks” than last year(Daily NK)Inmates at some forced labor camps in North Korea have reportedly been tasked with producing more wigs, false eyelashes and other goods. This suggests the authorities may have ordered the inmates to produce the deliverables for toll manufacturing contracts signed with Chinese companies. N. Korea shuts down access to Pyongyang ahead of party plenary meeting(Daily NK)North Korea has reportedly shut down access to Pyongyang with the Eighth Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea holding its Fourth Plenary Meeting on Monday. North Korea's leader looks slimmer than ever(The Korea Times)North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, seems to be have reached his lowest weight in at least the past few years.

What does the North Korea flag mean?

 

China's flag. Why is it red?

The flag is a red field with five golden stars in the canton. The red represents China's communist revolution whereas the five stars are interpreted as a unification of the country's people under the communist party. The larger star surrounded by the four smaller stars symbolizes the communist party.

the four smaller stars represent the workers in their different professions.

I think that if we studied China over the past 3,000 years, and we really haven't; we've only set our hatred on race and communism, whereas China is behaving as China usually does.

It behaves differently to us, true, but only in one facet:

It does not make war.

It does not care what we think, and never has. It doesn't consider our feelings at all. It just goes along making trade with the world. Good business.

It just goes along being China. The whole point of being China is to be ...China.

There are no great Cathedrals of Christianity nor Islam, nor Hindu nor Senagoges etc. China has never had them, nor the spurious beliefs they tend to issue forth at the drop of a hat.

China has girls working in shops. If you hurt those girls, wow, are you in big trouble! You are truly fucked. If you let them be, then everything is just fine. The point of China is not to make the world rich, it is to make China better-off than it has been. They are doing that very well, every day, every week, every year.

I see the USA, UK, and Australia are all not sending their important diplomats to the China Winter Olympics in Beijing

Not that any were actually ever invited to attend.

Too much awful Yankee Aussie UKy covid flooding in.

Good.

Planning a Christmas Holiday for us

 Well, overseas isn't possible really.

So planning a drive up the Hume Highway to Canberra and a few days there to look at the Parliament, the Art Gallery, the War Museum and the High Court...and walk around a fair bit and have nice things to eat. Last time we just stayed overnight and everything was shut.

After 4-5 days, then drive homewards stopping in border towns with Victoria to look at house prices and generally relax more...whilst sticking close to the border should Omicron rise up as a big issue, as I expect. Hug the borders...

I thought of the coastal road to Eden, NSW, or thereabouts but the cost of accommodation is a bit high and silly, and, well, when you get there, there's nothing there...we like the Ocean, and we would like to see the Ocean, sure, but we have seen the Ocean before. So we will visit Canberra (even just to see what kind of environment sustains someone like Peter Dutton) and see the Human Institutions important to many, and the Art is very good indeed...and we will see lots of either very dry or very wet sheep enroute.

I see Australia is not sending officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics. Australia can always be depended upon to do the wrong thing.

 Oh dear, what can one say?

Australia, in the fob pocket of the USA. Sad but true. Never variance, never independence. Never thinking. Always, in these matters, Australia just hurts itself to conform to what the USA demands of us.

The Beef Industry is a good example. Because we made outrageous demands that China be seen as a hostile evil state awhile ago, just like North Korea and Iran, rather than our best biggest trading partner, and we demanded that the International Covid Enquiry should have investigated China with the same total-powers as the world Nuclear Authorities - ignore sovereign status, ignore the laws of China, just go in with various experts and control everything... this was demanded by Australia, and no one else. Who, in their right mind would do that to our best trading partner, or any partner? So, China stopped buying Australian beef.

The first country to meet the awaiting huge and profitable demand of selling a lot more beef to China? The USA.

Ridiculous.