north korea
I have traveled to dozens of countries, but my trip to North Korea this past February was the most unforgettable experience of my life. My plan of going to a country with a “totalitarian” regime, known for its chronic famine and political oppression, intrigued many of my peers in China.
I have traveled to dozens of countries, but my trip to North Korea this past February was the most unforgettable experience of my life. My plan of going to a country with a “totalitarian” regime, known for its chronic famine and political oppression, intrigued many of my peers in China. They were surprised by my “unusual interest,” asking “Why North Korea?” I replied, “Because it is a different world; because I see similarities between China and North Korea; because as a Chinese citizen, I have the privilege to travel to North Korea easily.”
With no one else on the ballot, state media reported Monday that supreme leader Kim Jong Un was not only elected to the highest legislative body in North Korea, he won with the unanimous approval of his district, which had 100 percent turnout. North Koreans went to the polls on Sunday to approve the new roster of deputies for the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's legislature.
South and North Korea will hold a ‘high-level meeting’ tomorrow, Seoul announced Tuesday. The meet will be held at the border village of Panmunjom at 10 a.m., local time, on Wednesday, spokesperson Kim Eui-do said in a press release. “Though an agenda is not set before the meeting, the two sides are expected to have discussions on major inter-Korean issues including smooth proceeding and the regularization of the family reunions,” it read.
Large Chinese investors have been disappointed. Smaller traders, however, are busy. Agriculture was perhaps the most obvious of the state’s plans to fail. Dependent upon massive irrigation schemes and the liberal use of fertilizer, it was an industry that was highly vulnerable to disruption. The irrigation programs were in turn dependent upon electricity, which required large amounts of maintenance. When the system began to deteriorate at any point, it deteriorated everywhere and failed completely.
He can still dunk like a butterfly, but in the personally tragic case of former basketball pro Dennis Rodman in North Korea, the embrace of Kim Jong Un and his policies sting like a bee. Rodman is the most recent example of sports diplomacy gone awry. With the Sochi Olympics starting, a new cadre of unpredictable athlete diplomats will likely take the stage.
Dennis Rodman's controversial and bizarre foray into diplomacy made headlines this week. Harvard Professor Nicholas Burns criticized the former NBA player for going to North Korea to essentially embrace a brutal dictator. Rodman certainly isn't the first athlete to take a political stance, or even the first NBA player to do so.
While Dennis Rodman is perhaps the most outlandish celebrity to visit an authoritarian regime, he certainly isn't the first. The former NBA star hosted an exhibition game between North Koreans and former NBA players today. He insists his trip is apolitical, although he has repeatedly professed his fondness for Kim Jong-un, his new “friend for life.”