Kim Il-sung

by Barbara Demick In the futuristic dystopia imagined in 1984, George Orwell wrote of a world where the only colour to be found was in the propaganda posters. Such is the case in North Korea and Barbara Demick's book, Nothing to Envy, which won this year's BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction, is filled with all such descriptions of the 'hermit state' they don't want you to know about: There is almost no signage, few motor vehicles. Private ownership of cars is largely illegal, not that...Read Full Story

Kim Il Sung SEOUL - PROSECUTORS said on Wednesday they have charged a South Korean pastor who secretly entered North Korea to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of its founder Kim Il Sung. The pastor, a 75-year-old US resident only identified by his family name Hong, is accused of visiting the North without Seoul government approval to celebrate the event on April 15. Hong was also charged on Tuesday with praising the regime, meeting North Korean officials and possessing...Read Full Story

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's New Year's wish of seeing the destruction of a massive concrete wall dividing the Korean peninsula never seems to come true -- mostly because there is no such barrier. Mentioning the wall by the North has been an odd New Year tradition begun by state founder Kim Il-sung and kept alive by a fawning propaganda machine that dares not correct a person revered as a deity. Kim died 15 years ago and is considered the state's "eternal president." The Korean peninsula...Read Full Story

North Korea is a mysterious place for most Americans. Even senior U.S. diplomats rarely set foot there, let alone meet top North Korean officials face to face. The country is no enigma for Selig Harrison, though. The outspoken scholar and former reporter has visited 11 times since 1972 and regularly interviews powerful North Koreans. While the United States is perplexed about what it can do to stop North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, Harrison believes his contacts in the North have...Read Full Story

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Il, appearing gaunt and thin, made a rare televised appearance Wednesday to pay homage to his late father Kim Il-Sung at a national memorial service. It was only the second time that contemporaneous footage of the 67-year-old has been aired on state television since his reported stroke last August. Kim limped slightly as he entered Pyongyang Indoor Stadium and took a seat on stage, a video clip seen in Seoul showed. The film showed the leader with thinning hair...Read Full Story