KIMJONGILIA

What gets me is I look at this, and I remember a Democrat once explaining to me how we have repression here in the United States.

Yeah R-I-G-H-T . . .


. . . S.L.



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NORTH KOREAN KILLING FIELDS 1

The first viewer's comment on YouTube: "Where is the United Nations?"

That cracks me up - just goes to show what sitting around waiting for the government will get you . . . S.L.



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NORTH KOREAN KILLING FIELDS 2

At this time, there are two countries in the world where it is illegal to purchase individual health insurance:

Canada, and North Korea.

The Democrats have set things up to set us on our way to becoming third on that list.

S.L.



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NORKORCOM UPDATE

North Korea's Kim Jong Il Makes Son 4-Star General

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea's Kim Jong Il made his elusive youngest son a four-star general in a major promotion seen Tuesday as confirmation that he is slated to become the country's next leader.

This is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea state media's first mention of Kim Jong Un, who has remained so well hidden from the outside world that up until now not even his face or exact age can be confirmed. He is believed to have been schooled and educated at Kim Il Sung Military University in Pyongyang

HOWEVER . . . STORMBRINGER has acquired exclusive photo imagery of the Communist world's latest four-star general officer, via our vast private intelligence network . . .


. . . see it HERE



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THE PUEBLO INCIDENT

USS Pueblo (AGER-2), a Banner-class technical research ship (US Navy Intelligence), was boarded and captured by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 23 January 1968. The Pueblo Incident became one of the major incidents of what is now considered the "Second Korean War".

North Korea stated that she strayed into their territorial waters, but the United States maintains that the vessel was in international waters at the time of the incident.

Pueblo, still held by the DPRK today, officially remains a commissioned vessel of the United States Navy.[1] It is currently located in Pyongyang, where it is used as a museum ship. It is the only ship of the U.S. Navy currently being held captive.


THE TAKE DOWN

On 5 January 1968, Pueblo left Sasebo, Japan on January 11, 1968 headed northward through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan with specific orders to intercept and conduct surveillance of Soviet naval activity in the Tsushima Strait and to gather signal and electronic intelligence from North Korea.

On 21 January a modified Soviet style sub chaser, SO-I class, passed within two miles (4 km) of the Pueblo.

The next day two DPRK fishing trawlers (Lenta Class) passed within 25 yards (23 m) of Pueblo. That day, a North Korean unit made an assassination attempt against South Korean leadership targets, but the crew of Pueblo were not informed.

According to the American account, the following day, 23 January, Pueblo was approached by a sub chaser and her nationality was challenged; Pueblo responded by raising the U.S. flag. The DPRK vessel then ordered her to stand down or be fired upon. Pueblo attempted to maneuver away, but was considerably slower than the sub chaser. Additionally, three torpedo boats appeared on the horizon and then joined in the chase and subsequent attack. The attackers were soon joined by two MiG-21 fighters. A fourth torpedo boat and a second sub chaser appeared on the horizon a short time later. The ammunition on Pueblo was stored below decks, and her machine guns were wrapped in cold-weather tarpaulins. The machine guns were unmanned, and no attempt was made to man them.

U.S. Naval authorities and the crew of the Pueblo insist that before the capture, Pueblo was miles outside North Korean territorial waters; the North Koreans claim the vessel was well within the DPRK's territory. The mission statement allowed her to approach within a nautical mile (1.852 km) of that limit. The DPRK, however, claims a 50-nautical-mile (90 km) sea boundary even though international standards were 12 nautical miles (22 km) at the time.

The North Korean vessels attempted to board Pueblo, but she maneuvered to prevent this for over two hours and a sub chaser opened fire with a 57 mm cannon, killing one member of the crew. The smaller vessels fired machine guns into Pueblo, which then signaled compliance and began destroying sensitive material. The volume of material on board was so great that it was impossible to destroy all of it. The crew inside the security space on board the Pueblo had over an hour to destroy sensitive material before the ship was boarded.


"NO ONE CAME AT ALL"



Commander Lloyd "Pete" Bucher in 1967


Radio contact between the Pueblo and the Naval Security Group in Kamiseya, Japan had been ongoing during the incident. As a result, Seventh Fleet command was fully aware of Pueblo's situation.

Commander Lloyd M. Bucher, Commanding Officer of the Pueblo, bitterly recalled that commanders had failed to come to his aid.

"The U.S. at that time had enormous military forces in the western Pacific within five minutes flying time of us," Bucher told The Associated Press in 1988. "I would have thought something could be mustered to come to our aid. But everybody just forgot we were there."

"The U.S. at that time had enormous military forces in the western Pacific within five minutes flying time of us," Bucher told The Associated Press in 1988. "I would have thought something could be mustered to come to our aid. But everybody just forgot we were there."

More likely, no one wanted to take responsibility for an attack on North Korean vessels attacking Pueblo. By the time President Lyndon Johnson was awakened, Pueblo had been captured and any rescue attempt would have been futile.

Pueblo followed the North Korean vessels as ordered, but then stopped immediately outside North Korean waters. She was again fired upon, and a U.S. sailor, Fireman Apprentice Duane Hodges, was killed. The ship was boarded by men from a torpedo boat and a sub chaser. Crew members had their hands tied, were blindfolded, beaten, and prodded with bayonets.


CAPTIVITY, ABUSE, AND RESISTANCE

The Pueblo was taken into port at Wonsan and the crew was moved twice to POW camps, with some of the crew reporting upon release that they were starved and regularly tortured while in North Korean custody. This treatment was allegedly worsened when the North Koreans realized that crewmen were secretly giving them "the finger" in staged propaganda photos.

The conduct of Commander Bucher and the crew of the Pueblo while in captivity is held to this day as the epitome of prisoner-of-war resistance, amongst military survival schools and college psychology courses alike.

Bucher was brutally tortured and put through mock executions in an effort to make him confess. Eventually the Koreans threatened to execute his men in front of him, and Bucher relented. None of the Koreans knew English well enough to write the confession, so they had Bucher write it himself. They verified the meaning of his words, but failed to catch the pun when he said "We paean the DPRK. We paean the Korean people. We paean their great leader Kim Il Sung". (The word "paean" sounds identical to the term 'pee on'.)

Bucher's 'Final Confession' is a classic of disinformation and doublespeak; a masterpiece of the Cold War, it deserves close inspection.


REPATRIATION


Crew of USS Pueblo upon release on 23 DEC 1968.


Following an apology and written admission by the U.S. that Pueblo had been spying, and an assurance that the U.S. would not spy in the future, the North Koreans released the 82 remaining crew members. On 23 December 1968 the crew was taken by buses to the DMZ border with South Korea and ordered to walk south one at a time, fifteen seconds apart. Exactly 11 months after being taken prisoner, Pete Bucher led his crew across the "Bridge of No Return" to freedom. The U.S. then verbally retracted the ransom admission, apology, and assurance. Meanwhile the North Koreans blanked out the paragraph above the signature which read: "and this hereby receipts for 82 crewmen and one dead body".


A gaunt Pete Blucher receives the Purple Heart medal after shortly after repatriation in December of 1968.


Bucher's surrender of his small ship, loaded with intelligence information, was harshly criticized by a Navy Court of Inquiry convened in Coronado. The court recommended Bucher face a general court-martial for allegedly failing to defend the Pueblo, allowing the ship to be searched and other offenses.

Navy Secretary John H. Chafee turned down the court-martial, saying crew members "have suffered enough."


THE LEGEND OF THE USS PUEBLO

A literal blip on the radar screen, the Pueblo Incident represents a significant event of the Cold War - such was the power of symbols during the fifty year struggle between Communism and the Free World. The Saga of the USS Pueblo was immortalized in song; 'Ride, Captain Ride' is played to this day on radio stations across the USA, yet few Americans realize the true meaning of the popular 70's song by Blues Image:

SCORE ONE FOR OUR SIDE

North Korean Weapons Smuggling Aircraft Apprehended in Thailand, Crew Detained



BANGKOK Dec 13 2009

Thai authorities reportedly acted on a tip from their American counterparts when they impounded an Ilyushin 76 transport plane Saturday and discovered 35 tons of explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles — a violation of United Nations sanctions against North Korea.


The five-man crew — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus — were charged Sunday with illegal arms possession and refused bail. Thailand remained tightlipped about events leading to the aircraft's seizure and where it was headed.




The men, who declined comment to reporters at the courthouse, reportedly told investigators during a six-hour interrogation Sunday they believed they were carrying oil-drilling equipment and were not aware of any illicit cargo.




The latest U.N. sanctions ban the transport of certain weapons from or to North Korea—were imposed in June after the reclusive communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. The sanctions were aimed at derailing North Korea's nuclear weapons program, but also banned the North's sale of any conventional arms.

North Korea has been widely accused of violating United Nations sanctions by selling weapons to nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Arms sales are a key source of hard currency for the impoverished North. Baek said the North is believed to have earned hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries like Iran, Syria and Myanmar.

According to Thai Air Force spokesman Capt. Montol Suchookorn on Sunday the chartered cargo plane originated in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, and requested to land at Don Muang airport to refuel.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Michael Turner said the embassy would not comment on if Americans had tipped off Thai authorities.

Thai authorities said the weapons were moved by trucks amid high security Saturday night from the airport to a military base in the nearby province of Nakhon Sawan.

ANALYSTS: CLINTON HAD PHOTO OP WITH KIM JONG-IL LOOK-ALIKE

Did President Clinton Meet North Korea's Kim Jong-il or a Look-Alike?

Analysts are convinced that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, has a look-alike standing in for him.

It is also believed that North Korean photo editors are also pasting in old pictures of Kim from previous times when he was in good health.

Japanese writer Toshimitsu Shigemura claims that Kim has been seriously ill for the past decade and may even have died.

Mr. Shigemura says that if the real Kim, looking wan and weak, appeared before the Supreme People's Assembly several days after North Korea fired a long-range missile on April 5, then it must have been a look-alike who hosted former US President Bill
Clinton in August.

"They were totally different people," says Mr. Shigemura, a former correspondent for Mainichi Shimbun, a major Japanese newspaper, who now teaches international relations at Waseda University in Tokyo. "In August, he looked very healthy."

Some analysts have trouble with Shigemura's analysis. "There have been such rumors," says Kim Tae-woo, a veteran North Korea specialist at the Korea Institute of Defense Analyses. "Dictators usually do that, but we don't know whether this is real or fake."

It is stated that Hitler had up to 6 doppelgängers (doubles) - one who is believed to have been killed at the bunker - while Saddam Hussein had at least 3.


This body was discovered by the Russian contingent in Berlin and assumed to be Adolf Hitler. It is actually Gustav Weler, Hitler's Doppelgänger (body double), who was executed with a gunshot to the forehead.

COMING HOME

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists sentenced to 12 years hard labor in North Korea, are on their way back to the United States, thanks to the efforts of President Bill Clinton.



Do not fall for North Korean attempts to exploit this; Bill Clinton did a good thing, this is a time for joy & celebration. Two American citizens being held against their will have been liberated. 4+ months in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is no vacation - the DPRK is NOT a fun place to be, even in a "guesthouse" in Pyongyang.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling were arrested for "grave", though unspecified, crimes on the North Korea-China border earlier this year. It is widely thought that they deliberately crossed the border


The former President meets Yang Hyong Sop, Vice-President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly - whatever you gotta say, whatever it takes - as long as there's no strings attached - to get your people back.


North Korea’s official news agency reported that Mr Clinton and Mr Kim engaged in "sincere and exhaustive discussions" on a range of issues.

Yeah, WHATEVER. Notice how Bill Clinton negates the North Korean propaganda photo-op event by showing NO EMOTION. Mister Charisma is NOT SMILING; he is stiff as a board, lifeless - this is not by accident, he has been coached. His body language says: "None of this counts, nothing of what you see or hear means anything. My heart is not in this. There is no meaning to my words. I am just going through the motions. There is no recognition of the people with whom I am speaking (the North Koreans). I give you nothing, and you give me my people." - S.L.


South Koreans have been demanding the release of the two women. Here they burn a defaced North Korean flag during a rally - where can I get a spray can that squirts out flames like that?

Here at STORMBRINGER we NEVER lost hope & faith . . . Welcome Home Laura Ling & Euna Lee ! ! !

NORKORCOM UPDATE

North Korea naval forces seized four South Korean fishermen and their boat Thursday after the fishermen apparently drifted into North Korean waters.

North Korea's military said in a written message to the South that "the issue of crew members and the vessel will be dealt with according to the outcome of the investigation," according to the Unification Ministry in Seoul. The message provided no word on the fishermen's condition or any other details, the ministry said.

A North Korean navy patrol boat is seen amongst North Korean fishing boats near disputed waters with South Korea

North Korea has a long history of taking South Korean citizens, Japanese, and citizens of other Asian nations and holding them against their will for long periods of time.

A South Korean employee of the two Koreas' joint industrial park in the border town of Kaesong was detained in March for allegedly denouncing Pyongyang's political system. Seoul repeatedly has demanded his release but the North has not allowed access to him.

It is significant to note that as of this time, there is no news update on the fate of US journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, held by the North Koreans since March of this year and recently sentenced to 12 years hard labor. Their fate was commented on 19 July.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee: You Are Not Forgotten.

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

It is important that the stories of Americans held captive overseas do not fade from the front pages.

Since I updated last week’s post about the captured American soldier depicted in the Taliban video - identified as PFC Bowe Bergdahl of Hailey, Idaho, member of 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment – I received some comments from various sites.

I usually don’t reply to comments - the template is to post, generate discussion and move on. But this issue is somewhat personal: I am a US Army soldier, retired, and half my family is Korean.

Red, White & Blue trumps politics and opinions for all of us in situations like this. Bergdahl, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, myself - and I’m assuming most of the readership - we are all Americans; politics ends at the water’s edge.

It is not correct to armchair quarterback these situations.


I don’t know how or via what misadventure Bergdahl ended up in enemy hands; I have heard some scuttlebutt directly out of Afghanistan re Bergdahl but at this time it is simply impossible for us to know the truth of his situation.

The Taliban are terrorist scum with a world view straight out of the 13th century. However Bergdahl arrived in his circumstances, it is not incorrect to hope & pray for his safe return.



As for Laura Ling & Euna Lee, yes it seems they are guilty of faulty judgment - but The North Koreans are capable of unimaginable intolerance and harsh cruelty. Whether Laura Ling & Euna Lee are in a labor camp or a “guest house” in Pyongyang, I can assure you their current circumstances make Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo look like a Sunday School picnic.


In both cases it is the height of poor taste to offer some of the opinions expressed.

They are Americans, held against their will by people who regard them as “bargaining chips”; insane savages who see fit starve & torture their own people into submission, via state-sponsored terrorism.

Regarding the suggestion of negotiating with the Taliban - the reason why our official policy is that we do not negotiate with terrorists, is because it only encourages them to kidnap more Americans. As for the thought that because we liberated their country by military force, the Taliban possess some kind of moral high ground over us; this is laughable and pathetic all at the same time.

- LINNANE SENDS

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

UPDATE 21 JUL 09: The captured American soldier depicted in this Taliban video has since been identified - Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl of Hailey, Idaho, member of 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. He is going through Hell, of course. While Bowe's family and friends go through their personal sort of living Hell, the following stories of Americans held captive overseas have faded from the front pages:


By now most of you have seen this Taliban propaganda video of an unamed American soldier, missing from his base in eastern Afghanistan June 30 and later confirmed captured. The soldier's identity has not yet been confirmed by Dept of Defense, pending notification of the soldier's family. U.S. defense officials confirmed that the man in the video is the captured soldier.



Rest assured the United States is on a full-court press to recover our soldier. Think of him as you enjoy your Sunday morning round of golf, or fishing. Remember him in your prayers at church, or temple.

Our prayers are with him.



MEANWHILE . . .

Two American journalists are still being held by North Korea.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee work for Al Gore’s California-based Current TV media group.

The two Americans were detained near the North Korean border with China and were sentenced last month to 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally and for “hostile acts.” North Korean officials may have been angered at the journalists for trying to produce a program critical of North Korea.


Laura Ling and Euna Lee, you are not forgotten.

North Korea may spare the US journalists from hard labor, but the two women still face awful conditions. Even if they have not yet been sent to a labor camp, they are no doubt being subjected to early morning wake up calls, daily interrogation / "re-education" sessions (that go on for unbelievable lengths of time, well into the night), minimal food of poor nutritional value, and every facet of their daily lives controlled. The worst could possibly be the stress and anxiety accompanying the fear of the unknown.

News is difficult to get out of the world's most isolated and repressed society. Their exact whereabouts remain unknown; the latest I was able to glean from open-source is that North Korea has delayed sending the two American journalists to prison labor camp.

North Korean labor camps are notorious: the horrific conditions rival that of the Third Reich, or the torture factories of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. Possibly hundreds of thousands of North Koreans face starvation, filth, disease, hard labor, exposure to the elements, daily "re-education" torture sessions, summary executions and anonymous graves.

Click here to learn how you can help Laura Ling and Euna Lee.


The Korean peninsula by night.

NORKORCOM NUCLEAR TEST

The question has been posed - "Is there a military option?"

There is always a military option. The question is not "Is there a military option?" Rather, the question is "Can we afford the price?"

Unfortunately, the primo window of opportunity to have launched an attack would have been BEFORE 9/11 . . .

Click HERE for analysis . . .