North Korea botched launch of North Korean Destroyer.

Given Hyon Yong-chol's position, an alive picture of him would surely be a breeze to find. Odd you, with such an insight into DPRK, have been unable to find evidence that he wasn't executed. It would be an easy PR win for DPRK to parade him around in an alive state.

If he was proven to be executed (AA gun or otherwise), what would be your thoughts on the matter?

Tonight’s update brought to you by the *KNCA*. Proudly broadcasting Pyongyang propaganda since 1946. Throwing in «Juche» too there was just perfect, it just wouldn’t be the same without it. Alejandro would be proud.

Also, if anyone was a bit confused there, when a Kim-fan writes just «Korea», what they actually mean is «North Korea». Kim fans like to pretend that South Korea isn’t really a thing. It kind of makes the North look like an embarrassing failure when you start to key-in what the Southerners have managed to pull off with their state. Add to that they’ve done all that with such an aggressive neighbour within shelling range of Seoul. Not a bad job by the old South Koreans, a pity they have to deal with such nonsense.

Believe you me, my KNCA-subscribing friend, "Kim fans" is my attempt self-censor how I would like prefer to describe the full-throated defense of a state that is guilty of such monsterious abuse of innocent people. For the sake of discourse & civility here, "Kim fans" is as far as I'll go.

Now, I am well aware that you will automatically discount everything I will write as some kind of CIA / NIS psych-ops mindwash conspiracy against that illedlic worker's-paradise that calls itself the "Democratic" "People's Republic" of Korea (The Korea part is at least accurate…could do with a "North" added for better accuracy.) But what I will write is not for you, it is for the benefit of all others who read this thread and are interested. I would be shocked if I actually manage to change your mind, and this is because I am well aquanted with the mindset you are employing when it comes to North Korea. It is that mindset that is facinating.

And that's what I'd like to highlight again when it comes to talking about this event and North Korea as a whole. I have had a bizzare interest in the state for a good few years now. Studing it feels like a time capsule, a chuck of the world that never moved past the Cold War, while at the same time trying to pull itself forward into the 21st Century with a mindset that froze somewhere in the early 1970's. This leads into how North Korea relates with the rest of the world.

Being the product of the Cold War, North Korea don't really know how to do the more subtile "soft power" that a lot of other states will manage with their culture or trade. This is made a little worse by the concept of "saving face" which is shared across a lot of Eastern Asia. They can't admit failure, but at the same time they want something to go out into the world with to impress people. Thus, what they'll do is say that they have the best state, the best army, the best….whatever, and then just add serveral layers of blunder to insulate that position from critique.

• Human Rights violations? That's a CIA lie!
• Failed to annex South Korea during the Korean War and had to rely on the Chinese to save your skins? No, that was Imperial American Evilness! We had a glorious victory! (Never mind the other UN Members who joined in…the evil US did it all!!)
• Got a single family of dictators zealously holding power? No, they're geniuses! Who can invent stuff and do holes-in-one at golf.

Inevitably, we get to how this impacts others in the West. The motivations can vary, and each individual Kim-fan will likely give you a unique answer, but the rather blunt messaging of the North Koreans appeal to them. I can only guess the reasoning myself. I suspect that some of them are like their leader, Alejandro Cao De Benos, who appeared very hungry for friendship and elation from the people in Pyongyang. It could be as simple as that, wanting to feel special, and going to an extreme to seek it out. And so they willingly share Pyongyang's message with the rest of world whenever they can.

So, I can at least understand why some people might come on here in an attempt to excuse North Korea's failure to launch a boat properly (Pro-tip: Floaty bit goes down and house-shaped bit goes up), but I cannot excuse the message in itself. The Kims and their Dictatorship are an unfortunate reminder of the cruelty humanity is capable of, and how the ego and safety of one man is still enough to destroy the lives of countless others. Frankly, I'm sick of that.

Japan is the reason US is in Korea.

Korea has long history of being invaded by Chinese, Japanese etc.

If the UN wasn't there Korea would have been annexed long ago by Russia and China. Only a matter time. Maybe it would be better if was.

That’s part of what I ponder about when I consider the phenomenon of Westerns going all in with North Korean messaging. I kind of put it in a similar bracket as Flat Earthers.

Just like with Flat Earthers, North Korea supporters in the West have to ignore a lot of objective reality to buy into that mindset. In both cases I suspect you get people who know very well how the world actually works but have made the decision to ignore that. The question of why they do that is where it gets interesting. I think this is unique to each person but I think for both North Korea and Flat Earth it’s about a sense of belonging and perhaps even a sense of being smarter than you actually are. You know more than the «normies» and that makes you feel special.

The bluster you detect there is likely just part of the package; a means to declare to the world their special status, via their love for North Korea.

I say everything to do with this topic is connected so I think this query is directly tied to Korea’s Navy & defences and the entire situation.

You’re factually wrong that Koreans can’t leave.
Given that everything - not 30%, not 75% - but 100% of the news and information about Korea that people in the OECD bubble are limited to by design is laundered CIA/NIS war propaganda, this is hardly surprising.

250,000 Koreans are studying, working or holiday in China every year (of course that is the biggest draw, but they go to all countries nearby, they are also free to go to ROK but see below). Also, If I was a Korean I wouldn’t dream of traveling to Europe for example, that would be recklessly dangerous for many reasons, see below.

You do know that any citizen from the North who voluntarily travels to the South via China or is duped into going (heavily documented) is immediately imprisoned for 6 months (either 3 or 6, can’t remember) being harshly interrogated and psychologically threatened the entire time by the NIS.

Then at the end of that sadistic torture term, they are kicked out of prison with no money, phone or anything, just the clothes on their back but they are forbidden from returning to the North- under the threat of long term imprisonment- there are no exceptions made.
So people who are only 50 km from all their relatives will never see them again for the rest of their lives. There are videos on youtube showing the suffering of the people who are experiencing this dystopian cruelty in Seoul right now. Such freedom, such liberty.

Is that information regularly on the “neutral”, “balanced” RTE, BBC or the Guardian? Don’t those type of media endlessly pontificate how they keep the public fully informed regardless the topic.

No complaints heard from the North Koreans on holiday to Ukraine anyway.

He recommended Twitter somewhat ironically.

To get back on topic, is there any news on refloating the ship?

Man that site is something else. If it's supposed to be satire, it's not funny. If it's for real, it's just as bad as nazi propaganda.

One of the biggest geopolitical mistakes of the 20th century is that there wasn't something akin to Nurnberg trials after the Iron Curtain fell.

Those children with white shirts and red ties are called pioneers - they are the communist equivalent of Hitlerjunge.

It's got nothing to do with the ship anyway.

Not sure what you're hoping for ..