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	<title>WorldCategory: North Korea &#124; World &#124; TIME.com</title>
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		<title>WorldCategory: North Korea &#124; World &#124; TIME.com</title>
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		<title>No Guarantee of Peace, North Korean Envoy Warns China</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/24/no-guarantee-of-peace-north-korean-envoy-warns-china/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/24/no-guarantee-of-peace-north-korean-envoy-warns-china/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 09:07:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Associated Press</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=87580</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(BEIJING) — China&#8217;s state media says an envoy from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has warned there is no guarantee of peace on the Korean Peninsula, but also stressed that his country is willing to hold talks with all sides to find a solution. The Xinhua News Agency quoted North Korean Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae as making the comments Friday to Gen. Fan Changlong in Beijing on the third day of a fence-mending visit to his country&#8217;s most important ally. Choe&#8217;s mission marks the first high-level, face-to-face contact between the two governments in a half-year, an unusual gap during which Pyongyang angered Beijing by conducting rocket launches and nuclear tests and other saber-rattling. Choe was expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and deliver a message from Kim before returning. PHOTOS: North Korea Ratchets Up Tension on The Peninsula<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=87580&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Chinese Media: North Korea Envoy Offers Talks</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/24/chinese-media-north-korea-envoy-offers-talks/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/24/chinese-media-north-korea-envoy-offers-talks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 05:26:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Associated Press</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=87552</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(BEIJING) — A North Korean envoy, on the second day of his fence-mending visit to ally China, heeded Beijing&#8217;s wishes by offering to renew nuclear disarmament talks, Chinese state media said. The accounts depicted Thursday&#8217;s meeting between North Korean Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae and Chinese Communist Party leader Liu Yunshan as paying Beijing the deference it sought after months of rising friction between the long-estranged allies. Choe praised China&#8217;s work on behalf of peace and stability and its &#8220;great efforts to return (Korean) peninsular issues to the channel of dialogue and negotiation,&#8221; China Central Television reported. It quoted Choe as saying North Korea &#8220;is willing to accept the suggestion of the Chinese side and launch dialogue with all relevant parties.&#8221; The North&#8217;s official Korean Central News Agency did not mention the concession and instead quoted Choe as saying Pyongyang is committed to maintaining generations of friendly ties with Beijing. Choe&#8217;s mission is the first high-level, face-to-face contacts between the two governments in a half-year, an unusual gap during which Pyongyang conducted rocket launches and nuclear tests and other saber-rattling. The moves angered Beijing, which felt its interests in regional stability were not being heeded. It showed its displeasure by joining with the U.S. to back U.N. sanctions and cut off dealings with North Korea&#8217;s Foreign Trade Bank. China&#8217;s North Korea watchers said Chinese leaders would unlikely have accepted Choe&#8217;s visit without a promise from Pyongyang that it was prepared to return to diplomacy as Beijing has sought. &#8220;The relationship is rocky, so they will try to mend the relationship,&#8221; said Cui Yingjiu, a retired professor of Korean at Peking University. &#8220;Second, they also want to improve relations with the U.S. and need China to be their intermediary.&#8221; CCTV said Liu, the Communist Party&#8217;s fifth-ranked leader, called at the meeting for &#8220;practical steps to alleviate the tense situation&#8221; and an early return to six-nation Korean denuclearization talks involving the U.S., South Korea, Japan and Russia as well as North Korea and China. Pyongyang sent Choe to Beijing as a special<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=87552&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>North Korean Leader Sends &#8216;Special Envoy&#8217; to China</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/21/north-korean-leader-sends-special-envoy-to-china/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/21/north-korean-leader-sends-special-envoy-to-china/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 02:07:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Associated Press</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=87164</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(PYONGYANG, North Korea) — A &#8220;special envoy&#8221; for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left Pyongyang on Wednesday for China, the North&#8217;s only major political and economic benefactor. State media released few details, but the trip comes at a rocky time in ties between the allies. In a short dispatch, the North&#8217;s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim&#8217;s envoy was Choe Ryong Hae, the North Korean military&#8217;s top political officer tasked with supervising the army. Choe was one of a handful of new vice marshals North Korea announced last year. The trip comes as a new leadership in China has shown frustration with North Korea and a greater willingness to work with Washington to harry Pyongyang over its nuclear ambitions. China is Pyongyang&#8217;s economic and diplomatic lifeline, providing nearly all of its fuel and most of its trade. Still, Beijing&#8217;s primary goal is stability, and it has sought to temper diplomatic pressure on the North&#8217;s nuclear program so as not to create a crisis that could damage the Chinese economy or push refugees into China. South Korean Unification Ministry spokeswoman Park Soo-jin said it&#8217;s too early to provide an assessment on Choe&#8217;s trip to China. Kim Jong Un hasn&#8217;t visited Beijing since he took power from his father, Kim Jong Il, who visited China in August 2011 just months before he died that December. Strains have increasingly appeared in relations between Beijing and Pyongyang over North Korea&#8217;s nuclear efforts, which included a February nuclear test, Pyongyang&#8217;s third. That test was followed by U.N. sanctions and a weekslong period of high tensions, as North Korea threatened nuclear strikes on Washington and Seoul. Those tensions have eased some, and there have been tentative signs of an interest in diplomacy. In another sign of Beijing&#8217;s displeasure with its ally, China&#8217;s state-run Bank of China Ltd. said earlier this month that it had notified the Foreign Trade Bank of North Korea that its accounts were closed and all financial transactions suspended. Washington welcomed the move. On Tuesday, a Chinese fisherman said gunmen wearing North<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=87164&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>S Korea: N Korea Fires 6th Projectile into Waters</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/19/north-korea-fires-projectile-into-eastern-waters/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/19/north-korea-fires-projectile-into-eastern-waters/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 01:52:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / HYUNG-JIN KIM</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=86865</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(SEOUL, South Korea) — North Korea fired short-range projectiles into its own eastern waters Monday for a third straight day, Seoul officials said. The North said it was bolstering deterrence against enemy attack. North Korea regularly conducts short-range missile tests. Analysts say the recent launches appear to be weapons tests or an attempt to get U.S. and South Korean attention amid tentative signs of diplomacy after soaring tensions that followed U.N. sanctions aimed at a North Korean nuclear test in February. (MORE: North Korea Replaces Hard-line Defense Chief) The two projectiles fired by North Korea on Monday had similar trajectories as four previous launches over the past two days, according to officials at Seoul&#8217;s Defense Ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff. Officials were analyzing whether the projectiles were missiles or rockets fired from a large-caliber gun North Korea may be developing, the officials said on condition of anonymity citing department rules. Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters earlier Monday that South Korea is taking seriously whatever weapons North Korea develops because it could attack the South. He said artillery guns with a larger caliber will likely have more destructive power. South Korea urged North Korea to behave responsibly, while the U.S. said threats or provocations would only further deepen the North&#8217;s international isolation. North Korea&#8217;s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea on Monday called South Korean and U.S. criticism an &#8220;intolerable challenge&#8221; that is deepening tension. It said it conducted &#8220;rocket launching tests&#8221; on Saturday and Sunday as part of drills to bolster deterrence against what it calls U.S. and South Korean plots to launch nuclear strikes against North Korea. It didn&#8217;t comment on Monday&#8217;s firing. North Korea has a variety of missiles but Seoul and Washington don&#8217;t believe the country has mastered the technology needed to make nuclear warheads small and light enough to be placed on a missile capable of reaching the U.S. The Korean Peninsula officially remains in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=86865&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>Chinese Boat Owner Says Nkoreans Detained His Crew</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/19/chinese-boat-owner-says-nkoreans-detained-his-crew/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/19/chinese-boat-owner-says-nkoreans-detained-his-crew/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 01:47:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Associated Press</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=86863</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(BEIJING) — A Chinese state media report and a boat owner say unidentified North Koreans have taken one of his fishing boats and its crew and are demanding a ransom. Yu Xuejun said on a verified microblog that his boat was in Chinese waters on May 5 when it was boarded and detained by gun-wielding North Koreans. He wrote on Tencent Weibo late Saturday that the &#8220;North Korean side&#8221; had demanded 600,000 yuan ($100,000). Calls to the maritime police and foreign and public security ministries rang unanswered Sunday. The respected Southern Metropolis Daily reported the case Sunday. It quoted an unidentified official from Liaoning maritime police as confirming the case had been reported to them. It said public security authorities had requested &#8220;the North Korean side&#8221; release the boat and 16 crew.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=86863&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>SKorea Says NKorea Fires 3 Short-Range Missiles</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/18/skorea-says-nkorea-fires-3-short-range-missiles/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/18/skorea-says-nkorea-fires-3-short-range-missiles/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 13:32:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / Sam Kim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=86850</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(SEOUL, South Korea) — North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions. The North fired two missiles Saturday morning and another in the afternoon, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said by phone. He said the North&#8217;s intent was unclear. His ministry said it is watching North Korea carefully in case it conducts a provocation against South Korea. In March, North Korea launched what appeared to be two KN-02 missiles off its east coast. Experts believe the country is trying to improve the range and accuracy of its arsenal. (MORE: “A More Hopeful Future for North Korea”?) North Korea recently withdrew two mid-range &#8220;Musudan&#8221; missiles believed to be capable of reaching Guam after moving them to its east coast earlier this year, U.S. officials said. The North is banned from testing ballistic missiles under U.N. Security Council resolutions. Earlier this year, North Korea threatened nuclear strikes on Seoul and Washington because of annual U.S.-South Korean military drills and U.N. sanctions imposed over its third nuclear test in February. The drills ended late last month. This past month, the U.S. and South Korea ended another round of naval drills involving a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier off the east coast. North Korea calls such drills preparation to invade the North. Analysts say the recent North Korean threats were partly an attempt to push Washington to agree to disarmament-for-aid talks. This past week, Glyn Davies, the top U.S. envoy on North Korea, ended trips to South Korea, China and Japan. On Friday, an adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned from North Korea but didn&#8217;t immediately give details of his talks with officials there. On Monday, North Korean state media showed that the country&#8217;s hard-line defense minister had been replaced by a little-known army general. Outside analysts said it was part of leader Kim Jong Un&#8217;s efforts to tighten his grip on the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=86850&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>NKorea: American Starts Life at &#8216;Special Prison&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/15/nkorea-american-starts-life-at-special-prison/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/15/nkorea-american-starts-life-at-special-prison/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 06:25:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Associated Press</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=86551</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(PYONGYANG, North Korea) — North Korea says an American citizen sentenced to 15 years hard labor has started life at a &#8220;special prison.&#8221; No other details were immediately available Wednesday about Kenneth Bae. Pyongyang said earlier this week that Bae informed his family on Friday that he couldn&#8217;t appeal his April 30 sentence and that he asked his family to urge Washington to push for his amnesty. Washington has called for Bae&#8217;s release. North Korea accuses Bae of trying to establish an anti-Pyongyang base in the North. There has been no statement from Bae. Pyongyang denies speculation by outside analysts that it is using Bae to win diplomatic concessions. Several other detained Americans have been released in recent years after prominent Americans traveled to Pyongyang.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=86551&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>North Korea Replaces Hard-line Defense Chief</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/13/north-korea-replaces-hard-line-defense-chief/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/13/north-korea-replaces-hard-line-defense-chief/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2013 07:19:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / HYUNG-JIN KIM</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=86249</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(SEOUL, South Korea) — North Korea has replaced its hard-line defense chief with a little-known army general, according to a state media report Monday, in what outside analysts call an attempt to install a younger figure meant to solidify leader Kim Jong Un&#8216;s grip on the powerful military. Jang Jong Nam&#8217;s appointment is the latest move since Kim succeeded his late father in late 2011 that observers see as a young leader trying to consolidate control. The announcement comes amid easing animosities after weeks of warlike threats between the rivals, including North Korean vows of nuclear strikes. Pyongyang&#8217;s rhetorical outbursts against massive U.S.-South Korean war drills and U.N. sanctions over the North&#8217;s February nuclear test were seen, in part, as a push to portray Kim Jong Un at home as a respected military commander on the world stage. Jang&#8217;s new role as minister of the People&#8217;s Armed Forces, however, isn&#8217;t thought to indicate a potential softening of Pyongyang&#8217;s stance toward Seoul and Washington any time soon, analysts said. Jang replaces Kim Kyok Sik, the former commander of battalions believed responsible for attacks on South Korea in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans. Outsiders don&#8217;t know much about Jang, but analysts said it&#8217;s unlikely that Kim Jong Un would name a moderate to the post at a time of tension with the outside world. (More: Trying to Plumb the North Korean Mindset) Mention of Jang&#8217;s new role was buried in a state media dispatch listing those who attended an art performance with Kim Jong Un. It&#8217;s not known exactly when Jang was formally appointed to the ministerial post. The announcement coincided with the beginning Monday of U.S.-South Korean naval exercises involving a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier. North Korea has criticized the carrier&#8217;s inclusion in the drills, which it claims are preparations for an invasion of the North. Also, when tensions peaked in March, Washington took the unusual step of announcing that nuclear-capable B-52 and B-2 bombers had participated in the earlier, larger-scale joint drills between the allies. North Korea regularly cites the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=86249&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>N Korea Nuke Arsenal Seen as Matter of When, Not If</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/10/n-korea-nuke-arsenal-seen-as-matter-of-when-not-if/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/10/n-korea-nuke-arsenal-seen-as-matter-of-when-not-if/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 11:14:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / FOSTER KLUG</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=85976</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(SEOUL, South Korea) &#8212; For 20 years, fears about North Korea&#8217;s headlong pursuit of nuclear bombs have been watered down with smirking admonishments not to overestimate an impoverished dictatorship prone to bragging and tantrums. Few are laughing now. After three nuclear tests of apparently increasing power and a long-range rocket launch that puts it a big step closer to having a missile that can carry a nuclear warhead to American shores, many believe that in a matter of years &#8212; as little as five, maybe, though the timeframe is a point of debate &#8212; Pyongyang will have a very scary nuclear arsenal. (MORE: North Korea Confirms &#8216;Successful&#8217; Nuclear Test) Though it&#8217;s a view not embraced by everyone, one respected South Korean expert says North Korea could be working toward 80 to 100 nuclear-tipped missiles. Bruce Klingner, a former U.S. intelligence officer specializing in North Korea, provides a less dramatic but still bracing assessment: If the path is A to Z, with Z being nuclear missiles that can hit the U.S. mainland, North Korea is maybe at T. Proof of the new seriousness with which Pyongyang&#8217;s intentions are now seen can be found in the Obama administration&#8217;s announcement in March that it will spend $1 billion to add 14 interceptors to the U.S.-based missile defense system. It said it was responding to what it called faster-than-anticipated North Korean progress on nuclear weapons and missiles. &#8220;Where in the past, there may have been some ambiguity about what North Korea was seeking to achieve, there is a clear recognition that they are pressing toward a nuclear capability with a potential longer-range delivery,&#8221; Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia from 2009 until earlier this year, said at a forum last week in Seoul. &#8220;Such an approach represents a strategic, almost existential threat to the United States.&#8221; The sense of urgency is new. What hasn&#8217;t changed is the fierce, seemingly paralyzing debate about how to discourage North Korea&#8217;s development of nuclear weapons. Some call for unconditional talks. Others say it&#8217;s time for tougher,<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=85976&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/wpap187169818451.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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		<title>Obama, South Korea Show United Front Against North Korea</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/07/nkorea-issues-warning-ahead-of-us-skorea-summit/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/07/nkorea-issues-warning-ahead-of-us-skorea-summit/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2013 08:22:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / Julie Pace</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=85380</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(WASHINGTON) Projecting a united front, President Barack Obama and South Korea&#8217;s new leader warned North Korea on Tuesday against further nuclear provocations, with Obama declaring that the days when Pyongyang could &#8220;create a crisis and elicit concessions&#8221; were over. Obama also disputed the notion that his cautious response to reported chemical weapons use in Syria _ a move he had said would cross a &#8220;red line&#8221; _ could embolden North Korea&#8217;s unpredictable young leader and other U.S. foes. &#8220;Whether it&#8217;s bin Laden or Gadhafi, if we say we&#8217;re taking a position, I would think at this point the international community has a pretty good sense that we typically follow through on our commitments,&#8221; Obama said, referring to the al-Qaida commander Osama bin Laden and former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, both of whom were killed during Obama&#8217;s watch. Tuesday&#8217;s meetings between Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye followed months of increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea conducted an underground atomic test in February and had appeared ready for another. New U.S. intelligence assessments also showed for the first time that North Korea may have the know-how to launch a nuclear-armed missile, though American officials say Pyongyang still appears to lack the capability to carry out an attack. Ahead of Tuesday&#8217;s talks, the North appeared to send mixed messages. U.S. officials said Pyongyang removed from a launch pad a set of medium-range ballistic missiles that had been readied for possible test-firing. But North Korea also warned the U.S. and South Korea that it would retaliate if joint military exercise between the two allies resulted in any shells landing on its territory. Speaking at a joint news conference at the White House, Obama and Park warned Pyongyang of unspecified consequences if it pressed ahead with provocative actions, with Obama vowing to protect the U.S. and its allies using both &#8220;conventional and nuclear forces.&#8221; Still, in keeping with their countries&#8217; long-standing policies, the two leaders left open the possibility of direct negotiations should the North signal its readiness to end its<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=85380&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>U.S. Asks North Korea for Amnesty on Detained American</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/02/u-s-asks-north-korea-for-amnesty-on-detained-american/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/02/u-s-asks-north-korea-for-amnesty-on-detained-american/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2013 18:26:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / Matthew Pennington and Sam Kim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=84907</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. called Thursday for North Korea to grant amnesty and immediately release a Korean-American sentenced to 15 years&#8217; hard labor for &#8220;hostile acts&#8221; against the state. Kenneth Bae, 44, a Washington state man described by friends as a devout Christian and a tour operator, is at least the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009. The others eventually were deported or released without serving out their terms, some after trips to Pyongyang by prominent Americans, including former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Analysts say Bae&#8217;s sentencing could be an effort by Pyongyang to win diplomatic concessions in the ongoing standoff over its nuclear program. But there was no immediate sign a high-profile envoy was about to make a clemency mission to the isolated nation which has taken an increasingly confrontational stance under its young leader Kim Jong Un, who has the power to grant special pardons under the North&#8217;s constitution. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the U.S. was still seeking to learn the facts of Bae&#8217;s case. He said the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, which handles consular matters there for the U.S., did not attend Tuesday&#8217;s Supreme Court trial and that there hasn&#8217;t been transparency in the legal proceedings. &#8220;There&#8217;s no greater priority for us than the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad, and we urge the DPRK authorities to grant Mr. Bae amnesty and immediate release,&#8221; Ventrell told a news conference, referencing the socialist country&#8217;s formal title, the Democratic People&#8217;s Republic of Korea. (PHOTOS: North Korea Ratchets Up Tension on the Peninsula) North Korea has faced increasing international criticism over its weapons development. Six-nation disarmament talks involving the Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia fell apart in 2009. Several rounds of U.N. sanctions have not encouraged the North to give up its small cache of nuclear devices, which Pyongyang says it must not only keep but expand to protect itself from a hostile Washington. Tensions have escalated since it conducted its third nuclear test since 2006 in February. Pyongyang&#8217;s tone<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=84907&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>NKorea Sentences US Man in Possible Bid for Talks</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/05/01/n-korea-sentences-american-to-15-years-hard-labor/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/05/01/n-korea-sentences-american-to-15-years-hard-labor/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2013 02:41:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / Sam Kim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=84803</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(SEOUL, South Korea) — A Korean American detained for six months in North Korea has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for &#8220;hostile acts&#8221; against the state, the North&#8217;s media said Thursday — a move that could trigger a visit by a high-profile American if history is any guide. Kenneth Bae, 44, a Washington state man described by friends as a devout Christian and a tour operator, is at least the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009. The others eventually were deported or released without serving out their terms, some after trips to Pyongyang by prominent Americans, including former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. With already abysmal U.S.-North Korean ties worsening since a long-range rocket-launch more than a year ago, Pyongyang is fishing for another such meeting, said Ahn Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies think tank in South Korea. &#8220;North Korea is using Bae as bait to make such a visit happen. An American bigwig visiting Pyongyang would also burnish Kim Jong Un&#8217;s leadership profile,&#8221; Ahn said. Kim took power after his father, Kim Jong Il, died in December 2011. The authoritarian country has faced increasing criticism over its nuclear weapons ambitions. Disarmament talks including the Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia fell apart in 2009. Several rounds of U.N. sanctions have not encouraged the North to give up its small cache of nuclear devices, which Pyongyang says it must not only keep but expand to protect itself from a hostile Washington. Pyongyang&#8217;s tone has softened somewhat recently, following weeks of violent rhetoric, including threats of nuclear war and missile strikes. There have been tentative signs of interest in diplomacy, and a major source of North Korean outrage — annual U.S.-South Korean military drills — ended Tuesday. In Washington, the U.S. State Department said it was working with the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang to confirm the report of Bae&#8217;s sentencing. The United States lacks formal diplomatic ties with North Korea and relies on Sweden for diplomatic matters involving<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=84803&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<title>Most South Koreans Leave North Korean Factory</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/04/29/hurdles-to-talks-high-after-north-korea-threats/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/04/29/hurdles-to-talks-high-after-north-korea-threats/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:24:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / LEE JIN-MAN and HYUNG-JIN KIM</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=84268</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(PAJU, South Korea) — Most South Koreans who had remained at an industrial park in North Korea had returned home early Tuesday morning, officials said, leaving a final seven behind to negotiate unpaid wages for North Korean workers. The Unification Ministry in Seoul said 43 South Koreans began departing from Kaesong late Monday night and arrived in the South just past midnight after officials arranged vehicles to carry them across the border. But it wasn&#8217;t immediately known when the wage negotiations would take place and the remaining seven South Koreans would return home. The departure of the last South Koreans would empty out the jointly run complex, located just across the border in the North Korean town of Kaesong, for the first time since it opened in 2004 and possibly lead to the permanent closure of the last symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. (More: Trying to Plumb the North Korean Mindset) Amid high tensions, North Korea suspended operations at Kaesong in early April, withdrawing all of its 53,000 workers and barring South Korean factory managers and trucks with supplies from entering the complex. It was the most significant action taken by North Korea as it sought to show its anger over South Korean-U.S. military drills and U.N. sanctions imposed over Pyongyang&#8217;s February nuclear test, its third. North Korea&#8217;s accompanying torrent of warlike rhetoric included threats to launch nuclear strikes on the U.S., although it has recently shown some tentative signs of willingness to talk. The U.S.-South Korean drills, which North Korea calls war preparations, ended Tuesday, the United States Forces Korea said. South Korea began withdrawing its remaining nationals from Kaesong on Saturday, citing a shortage of food and medicine for them, after North Korea rejected an offer to hold talks on the complex. Kaesong, which combines South Korean knowhow and technology with cheap North Korean labor, is the last remaining cooperation project between the Koreas. The Korean Peninsula officially remains at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Other collaborative programs, including tours<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=84268&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Pyongyang Glitters, But Rest of North Korea Still Dark</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/04/28/pyongyang-glitters-but-rest-of-north-korea-still-dark/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/04/28/pyongyang-glitters-but-rest-of-north-korea-still-dark/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:22:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / JEAN H. LEE</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=84180</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(PYONGYANG, North Korea)  — The heart of this city, once famous for its Dickensian darkness, now pulsates with neon. Glossy construction downtown has altered the Pyongyang skyline. Inside supermarkets where shopgirls wear French designer labels, people with money can buy Italian wine, Swiss chocolates, kiwifruit imported from New Zealand and fresh-baked croissants. They can get facials, lie in tanning booths, play a round of mini golf or sip cappuccinos and cocktails while listening to classical music. (More: Former North Korean Tyrant Kim Jong Il Liked to Eat Snakes, Hippos and Spiders) More than a million people are using cell phones. Computer shops can&#8217;t keep up with demand for North Korea&#8217;s locally distributed tablet computer, popularly known here as &#8220;iPads.&#8221; A shiny new cancer institute features a $900,000 X-ray machine imported from Europe. Pyongyang has long been a city apart from the rest of North Korea, a showcase capital dubbed a &#8220;socialist fairyland&#8221; by state media. A year after leader Kim Jong Un promised in a speech to bring an end to the &#8220;era of belt-tightening&#8221; and economic hardship in North Korea, the gap between the haves and have-nots has only grown with Pyongyang&#8217;s transformation. Beyond the main streets of the capital and in the towns and villages beyond, life is grindingly tough. Food is rationed, electricity is a precious commodity and people get around by walking, cycling or hopping into the backs of trucks. Most homes lack running water or plumbing. Health care is free, but aid workers say medicine is in short supply. And while the differences between the showcase capital and the hardscrabble countryside grow starker, North Koreans feel the effects of authoritarian rule no matter where they live. It&#8217;s illegal for them to interact with foreigners without permission. Very few have access to the Internet. They calibrate their words. Most parrot phrases they&#8217;ve heard in state media, still the safest way to answer questions in a country where state security remains tight and terrifying. For decades, North Korea seemed a country trapped in time. Rickety streetcars shuddered past<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=84180&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<title>NKorea Charges U.S. Man in Plot to Overthrow Regime</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/04/28/nkorea-charges-u-s-man-in-plot-to-overthrow-regime/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/04/28/nkorea-charges-u-s-man-in-plot-to-overthrow-regime/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:39:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Associated Press</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=84156</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(PYONGYANG, North Korea) — North Korea announced Saturday that an American detained for nearly six months is being tried in the Supreme Court on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, a crime that could draw the death penalty if he is convicted. The case involving Kenneth Bae, who has been in North Korean custody since early November, further complicates already fraught relations between Pyongyang and Washington following weeks of heightened rhetoric and tensions. The trial mirrors a similar situation in 2009, when the U.S. and North Korea were locked in a standoff over Pyongyang&#8217;s decision to launch a long-range rocket and conduct an underground nuclear test. At the time, North Korea had custody of two American journalists, whose eventual release after being sentenced to 12 years of hard labor paved the way for diplomacy following months of tensions. Bae was arrested in early November in Rason, a special economic zone in North Korea&#8217;s far northeastern region bordering China and Russia, according to official state media. In North Korean dispatches, Bae, a Korean American, is called Pae Jun Ho, the North Korean spelling of his Korean name. The exact nature of his alleged crimes has not been revealed, but North Korea accuses Bae, described as a tour operator, of seeking to overthrow North Korea&#8217;s leadership. &#8220;In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK with hostility toward it,&#8221; the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Saturday. &#8220;His crimes were proved by evidence. He will soon be taken to the Supreme Court of the DPRK to face judgment.&#8221; DPRK is the acronym for North Korea&#8217;s official name, the Democratic People&#8217;s Republic of Korea. No timing for the verdict issued at the austere Supreme Court in Pyongyang was given. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. government is &#8220;aware of reports that a U.S. citizen will face trial in North Korea&#8221; and that officials from the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang had visited Bae on Friday. She said she had no other information to<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=84156&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>NKorea Charges U.S. Man of Plot to Overthrow Regime</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/04/27/nkorea-charges-u-s-man-of-plot-to-overthrow-regime/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/04/27/nkorea-charges-u-s-man-of-plot-to-overthrow-regime/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:04:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Associated Press</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=84115</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(PYONGYANG, North Korea) — North Korea announced Saturday that an American detained for nearly six months is being tried in the Supreme Court on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, a crime that could draw the death penalty if he is convicted. The case involving Kenneth Bae, who has been in North Korean custody since early November, further complicates already fraught relations between Pyongyang and Washington following weeks of heightened rhetoric and tensions. The trial mirrors a similar situation in 2009, when the U.S. and North Korea were locked in a standoff over Pyongyang&#8217;s decision to launch a long-range rocket and conduct an underground nuclear test. At the time, North Korea had custody of two American journalists, whose eventual release after being sentenced to 12 years of hard labor paved the way for diplomacy following months of tensions. (PHOTOS: Scenes from North Korea’s Kaesong Industrial Zone) Bae was arrested in early November in Rason, a special economic zone in North Korea&#8217;s far northeastern region bordering China and Russia, according to official state media. In North Korean dispatches, Bae, a Korean American, is called Pae Jun Ho, the North Korean spelling of his Korean name. The exact nature of his alleged crimes has not been revealed, but North Korea accuses Bae, described as a tour operator, of seeking to overthrow North Korea&#8217;s leadership. &#8220;In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK with hostility toward it,&#8221; the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Saturday. &#8220;His crimes were proved by evidence. He will soon be taken to the Supreme Court of the DPRK to face judgment.&#8221; DPRK is the acronym for North Korea&#8217;s official name, the Democratic People&#8217;s Republic of Korea. No timing for the verdict issued at the austere Supreme Court in Pyongyang was given. Friends and colleagues described Bae as a devout Christian from Washington state but based in the Chinese border city of Dalian who traveled frequently to North Korea to feed the country&#8217;s orphans. (MORE: North Korea Marks Founder’s Birthday, Issues<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=84115&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>A Look At North Korea&#8217;s Military Capabilities</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/04/26/a-look-at-north-koreas-military-capabilities/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/04/26/a-look-at-north-koreas-military-capabilities/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2013 05:06:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>AP / SAM KIM</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=83939</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(SEOUL, South Korea)  — North Korea&#8216;s military, founded 81 years ago Thursday, is older than the country itself. It began as an anti-Japanese militia and is now the heart of the nation&#8217;s &#8220;military first&#8221; policy. Late leader Kim Jong Il elevated the military&#8217;s role during his 17-year rule; South Korea estimates he boosted troop levels to 1.2 million soldiers. The military&#8217;s new supreme commander, Kim Jong Un, gave the Korean People&#8217;s Army a sharpened focus this year by instructing troops to build a &#8220;nuclear arms force.&#8221; Yet the army is believed to be running on outdated equipment and short supplies. (More: U.S. and China Pledge to Work Toward a Nonnuclear North Korea. Does That Matter?) The secretive army divulges few details about its operations, but here is an assessment from foreign experts of its strengths and weaknesses: ARTILLERY North Korea provided a chilling reminder of what its artillery is capable of when it showered a front-line South Korean island with shells, killing four people in November 2010 and underscoring the threat that its artillery troops pose at the disputed sea border. South Korea says North Korea has more than 13,000 artillery guns, and its long-range batteries are capable of hitting the capital Seoul, a city of more than 10 million people just 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the border. &#8220;North Korea&#8217;s greatest advantage is that its artillery could initially deliver a heavy bombardment on the South Korean capital,&#8221; Mark Fitzpatrick, a former U.S. State Department official now with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said in an email. South Korea&#8217;s defense minister estimates that 70 percent of North Korean artillery batteries along the border could be &#8220;neutralized&#8221; in five days if war broke out. But Sohn Yong-woo, a professor at the Graduate School of National Defense Strategy of Hannam University in South Korea, said that would be too late to prevent millions of civilian casualties and avert a disastrous blow to Asia&#8217;s fourth-largest economy. SPECIAL FORCES Experts believe guerrilla warfare would be the North&#8217;s most viable strategy in the event of<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=83939&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/ap_nkmilitary_apr26.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">North Korea Military</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>Party in Pyongyang: Amid Tension, North Korea Celebrates Kim Il Sung&#8217;s Birthday</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/04/15/party-in-pyongyang-amid-tension-north-korea-celebrates-kim-il-sungs-birthday/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/04/15/party-in-pyongyang-amid-tension-north-korea-celebrates-kim-il-sungs-birthday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:01:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Rauhala / Seoul</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[de-nuclearization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[diplomacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DPRK. Kim Il Sung birthday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Kerry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kim Dotcom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kim il sung]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nuclear weapons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[south korea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=81573</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After quick stops in Seoul and Beijing, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry touched down in Tokyo on Sunday to meet with Japanese officials and discuss North Korea’s recent threats. Kerry reiterated U.S. support for its Asian allies, saying Washington would &#8220;do what is necessary&#8221; to defend Japan and South Korea from any attack. Softening his tone slightly, he suggested that the U.S. could be willing to talk with the North, but only if Pyongyang takes steps toward giving up its nuclear-weapons program. &#8220;We need the appropriate moment, appropriate circumstance,” he said. That looks a long way off. On Sunday, North Korea dismissed the overture, calling it a &#8220;cunning ploy.&#8221; The 101st anniversary of the birth of the country&#8217;s venerated founding father, the late dictator Kim Il Sung, on April 15 is a pointer to the regime&#8217;s current state of mind. The day is the single most important holiday of the year — so much so that, in 1997, the regime abandoned the Christian calendar, opting instead for one that begins with his birth in 1912. The celebrations are typically used to bolster the Kim dynasty and promote its military-first doctrine. Last year, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Il Sung&#8217;s grandson, marked the occasion with a (failed) rocket launch and a military parade. This year&#8217;s festivities take place after months of bellicose rhetoric and an ongoing threat of a missile test. There has been no launch yet, though residents of the capital were treated to flower shows featuring model missiles bedecked in Kim Il Sung&#8217;s signature bloom, Kimilsungia. (MORE: Why the North Korean Crisis Demands a New Diplomatic Approach) To understand North Korea&#8217;s current posture, it is important to look at the Kims, for it is from their family mythology that much flows. The Democratic People&#8217;s Republic of Korea may have been established as a Soviet client state, but in the 60 years since the signing of the 1953 armistice agreement ending the Korean War with the U.S.-backed South, the country has morphed into an isolationist, totalitarian monarchy with a sharp, near<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=81573&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/int-north-korea-130415.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Kim Il Sung 101st anniversary</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">emilyrauhala</media:title>
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		<title>U.S. and China Pledge to Work Toward a Nonnuclear North Korea. Does That Matter?</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/04/13/u-s-and-china-agree-to-work-toward-a-non-nuclear-north-korea-does-that-matter/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/04/13/u-s-and-china-agree-to-work-toward-a-non-nuclear-north-korea-does-that-matter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 13 Apr 2013 17:40:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hannah Beech</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Beijing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Kerry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kim jong un]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[missile test]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Korea nuclear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xi Jinping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yang Jiechi]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=81502</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On his first trip to Beijing as U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry arrived with an entreaty. As warmongering from North Korea reaches earsplitting levels, Kerry had petitioned Chinese leaders to rein in an isolated country that Chairman Mao Zedong once said was as close to China as lips are to teeth. On April 13, after a day of talks with China’s top brass, Kerry met with reporters at Beijing’s state-run Diaoyutai Hotel, a gilt-and-chandelier confection, and spoke positively of China’s commitment to pressing for peace on the Korean Peninsula. “There’s no question in my mind that China is serious, very serious about denuclearizing” North Korea, he said, describing his overall talks with Chinese leaders as “beyond what I anticipated.” Kerry met with a cavalcade of newly installed Chinese rulers, including Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi. The U.S. Secretary of State said he and Yang had issued a rare “joint statement” on their shared commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. (MORE: China’s Long, Fruitless History of Irritation With North Korea) But Kerry’s rosy pronouncements notwithstanding, China’s support of dismantling North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program does not appear to be a break from its previous stance. Indeed, Beijing has consistently said it supports peace in the region, as well as a cessation of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. Referring to hopes to restart nuclear talks with North Korea, Kerry said Beijing and Washington would conduct “further discussions to bear down very quickly with great specificity on exactly how we will accomplish this goal.” It was unclear, however, whether holding such discussions amounts to a true breakthrough. On Friday, Xinhua, China’s official news agency, published an op-ed saying Kerry should be “aware that his country holds the key to alleviating the suffocating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.” The U.S., meanwhile, has repeatedly characterized Beijing as key in dealing with North Korea. On Thursday, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told Congress: “If anyone has real leverage over the North Koreans, it is China.” Yet<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=81502&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/166472358.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">U.S. Secretary of State Kerry Meets With Chinese Foreign Minister</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">hannahbeech</media:title>
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		<title>NoKo Propaganda: How to Smash the Puppet Traitors</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/04/12/death-to-puppet-traitors-and-other-north-korean-rallying-cries/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/04/12/death-to-puppet-traitors-and-other-north-korean-rallying-cries/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:33:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mikko Takkunen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kim jong un]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[propaganda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[puppet traitors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pyongyang]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=81383</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[No nation does propaganda like the Hermit Kingdom. On a daily basis, North Korea&#8217;s leadership and official news agency trade in jargon and slogans that few elsewhere in the world would ever echo. Photographs in Pyongyang document some recent displays of Party dogma. Related Content: Why the North Korean Crisis Demands a New Diplomatic Approach Kerry to North Korea: Don’t Test Missile) North Korean Breakthrough? Or U.S. Intelligence Snafu? (Or Both?) North Korea Ratchets Up Tensions on the Peninsula<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=81383&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>North Korea</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/asia/north-korea/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/88235336ab074348a545b13770c7ccb2-0.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">North Korean Rallying Cries</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Mikko</media:title>
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