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Kim Jong-il
North Korea’s failing currency
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The North Korean government recently knocked two zeros off its currency, the won. And it ordered citizens to turn in their old cash savings. The move caused panic and riots, now the North Korean government has apparently fired the official who led the currency revaluation program. Katy Clark talks with Marcus Noland who is an expert on North Korea’s economy at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Download MP3
Champion North Korean boxer
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Christian human rights activists say an American missionary has illegally crossed the Chinese border into North Korea. On Christmas day, Robert Park carried with him a letter demanding that the Kim Jong il regime free political prisoners and has not been heard from since. While few enter North Korea at own their risk, still many more escape. But not all flee for political or human rights. There’s at least one refugee who defected for the love of boxing. Champion Choi Hyun Mi (pictured right) is now making a big name for herself in South Korea. Jason Strother has the story from Seoul. Download MP3 (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
North Korea’s strategic arsenal
North Korea says it will continue to co-operate with the United States on ending its nuclear program and agrees that stalled talks need to resume. The country’s foreign ministry said Pyongyang would work with Washington to “narrow remaining differences”. In June, the UN Security Council voted to impose tougher sanctions on communist North Korea, following a nuclear test carried by the North Koreans in defiance of previous UN resolutions.
The voice of North Korea
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Washington’s special North Korea representative, Stephen Bosworth, is in Pyongyang trying to restart stalled denuclearization talks. It’s unlikely that the envoy will meet with reclusive leader Kim Jong-il, as former President Bill Clinton did back in August. But if he does, it is sure to be covered in official North Korean media. And as reporter Jason Strother tells us, there is one anchorwoman whose job it is to report it: Ri Chun-hee. Download MP3 Photo: Reuters
Nuclear disarmament
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The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for nuclear disarmament, in a session chaired by President Barack Obama. Many organizations and networks have been campaigning for complete nuclear disarmament for decades. The World’s Jeb Sharp takes a look at these movements and where they are now. Download MP3 (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)The state of nuclear non-proliferation
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In his first speech before the General Assembly, the President also addressed nuclear non-proliferation and related security issues. The World’s Katy Clark gives us an update on the issue of containing the spread of nuclear weapons. Download MP3North Korea pardons US reporters
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Former president Bill Clinton’s surprise visit to North Korea appears to have won the release of two American journalists. North Korea’s news agency says Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been pardoned. They were arrested last March and convicted of violating North Korea’s border. Clinton arrived in a private plane in Pyongyang today to try to win their release. He was greeted warmly and had a meeting with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-Il. The announcement of a special pardon from Kim himself came several hours later. >>> Click here for the latest from the BBC.
Criticism for journalists freed by North Korea
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Today on The World, South Koreans are welcoming Pyongyang’s release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Some see it as a sign that North Korea may be ready to re-open dialogue and calm tensions on the peninsula. But some North Korea activists are still concerned that what Ling, Lee and many other reporters have done in northeast China, has put their work in jeopardy. From Seoul, Jason Strother reports. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) >>>Click here for the latest BBC coverage.
Global Political Cartoons: July 18 – 24, 2009
Cartoonists find poignancy in the timing of the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing and the death of veteran newsman Walter Cronkite. President Obama goes in for some image polishing, North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have a long-distance war of words, and rumors of doping haunt the Tour de France.
North Korean leader reportedly has cancer
Reports that North Korea’s leader has pancreatic cancer are unconfirmed, but they’re fueling speculation about who will next rule the reclusive communist dictatorship. Listen
More linguist soldiers, selling beer in North Korea, and a beach in Ghana
This week, why a Pentagon program to recruit more foreign language-speaking soldiers is attracting so many Koreans. Then selling beer North Korean style. After that we give thanks to activist listeners in Gagauz, Tongan, Czech and many other languages. Finally, as Barack Obama heads to Ghana, we head to a beach in Ghana, a beach whose name is hotly debated. Listen
China urges caution over North Korean freighter
The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing on talks between the militaries of China and the U.S. on everything from North Korea’s nuclear program to tensions in the South China Sea.
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New leadership for North Korea
The son of North Korea’s ailing leader Kim Jong Il was rumored to have visited China’s president last week in Beijing. That’s fueling suspicions that Kim’s third son has been anointed to be North Korea’s next leader. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad has more. Listen
Global Political Cartoons: May 31 to June 5, 2009
“A New Beginning” is the theme of this week’s global political cartoons. It was the title of the speech President Barack Obama gave in Cairo when he addressed Muslims around the world. But it could easily describe the message of the GM bankruptcy and reports out of South Korea that North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il has nominated his third and youngest son, 26-year-old Jong-Un, as his successor.
A Successor to Kim Jong-il?, and Two American Journalists on Trial in the DPRK
On this week’s podcast, we focus exclusively on North Korea. There are signs that Kim Jong-il may be paving the way for his third son, Kim Jong-un, to take over power. Also, we hear about two American journalists set to go on trial in Pyongyang for entering North Korea illegally. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be in a North Korean prison, then this is the podcast for you. We speak with a former US Navy Officer who spent more than 11 months in one after the ship he was on was captured in 1968. Read more…
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