Saudi Arabia promises stable crude aid supply

President Lee of South Korea has requested Saudi Arabia for a stable crude oil supply regarding the Iranian crisis. Saudi Arabia has willingly embraced the request, promising aid when necessary. The Arab nation has worked as the leader of OPEC for a stable worldwide crude oil supply. It has been 50 years since Saudi Arabia has established diplomatic relations with South Korea. President Lee is currently visiting Qatar. The South Korean president is planing to hold a bilateral summit with the king of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad, with the plan of establishing a high ranked strategic conference. Regarding energy, the two nations have already reached a settlement by agreeing upon the details about the energy and industrial cooperation Memorandum of Understanding. http://www.africasia.com/services/news_mideast/article.php?ID=CNG.1acb098b785b758e2a25af6194040dbc.171

Korea, Turkey Establish Strategic Partnership

Korea and Turkey have agreed to upgrade their level of cooperation to a strategic partnership. The move came during a bilateral summit between President Lee Myung-bak and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul on Monday morning. The two sides agreed to deepen and diversify bilateral relations in various fields such as the economy, political affairs and culture. Officials say that Korea's technology and Turkey's regional network can create a strong synergy effect, and this in turn will pave the way for Korean businesses to enter the Arab market.

China: High volume of fruit exports to North Korea

Approximately 10,000 tons of fruit are being exported every year to North Korea via the Chinese city of Dandong in Liaoning Province. The city borders North Korea at the estuary of the Yalu River. The fruit is thought to be imported by the ruling elite of the country and the high volume is in spite of food shortages. An source in the city said, “About 10,000 tons of fruit were exported to North Korea via Dandong Marine Centre last year,” adding, “They were worth 100 million yuan ($16 million).” Shipments to North Korea have grown about 15 percent per year on average over the past five years, the source said. Fruits exported to the North include the different varieties available in China, including subtropical and tropical types such as bananas, pineapples, lychees, dragon fruit and durians as well as apples, tangerines and watermelons. The source said fruit exports surge just before major North Korean holidays, including Feb. 16 (the birthday of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il) and April 15 (the birthday of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung). “Fruit exports significantly increased ahead of Christmas Day in the past, but there was no notable change in exports last year due to the death of Kim Jong Il,“ the source said. North Korea does not celebrate Christmas but fruit exports usually increased because Dec. 24 marks the birthday of Kim Jong Il’s biological mother Kim Jong Suk. The shipments are sent to Pyongyang for use at events or consumed by the power elite. Payment is made mostly with U.S. dollars, but the yuan is often used to settle accounts. Source: english.donga.com

N.Korea's Smiling New Leader

The North Korean regime is apparently trying to project a more cheerful image of new leader Kim Jong-un, who is seen wreathed in smiles in the latest official pictures. Kim was pictured smiling during visits to military bases, holding the hands of soldiers and even whispering in their ears in an apparent bid to stress a sense of camaraderie. Choi Jin-wook at the Korea Institute of National Unification said, "When Kim Il-sung died in 1994, Kim Jong-il ordered a lengthy mourning period which led to a depressed atmosphere that exacerbated economic woes. Kim Jong-un is seen smiling a lot because they learned the lessons of 1994." In other words, Kim Jong-un is acting as a kind of cheerleader after the potentially destabilizing death of his father Kim Jong-il. A government official here said, "North Korea may appear stable from the outside, but the situation internally must be urgent and intense. The theory is bolstered every time I see Kim Jong-un trying to imitate his grandfather even in the way he smiles." It sits oddly with North Korea's strong Confucian traditions for a bereaved son to go around grinning before the 49-day official mourning period that ended on Friday is over. North Korean propaganda officials, who carefully stage all the new leader's movements, must be fully aware of this. But they apparently decided that it is more important to consolidate his hold on power by whatever means necessary.

Number of N. Korean mobile phone users tops 1 mln: report

More than 1 million North Koreans are subscribed to mobile phone services provided by Egypt's Orascom Telecom, a media report said Thursday (local time), indicating growing mobile penetration in the reclusive country. The number of cell phone users in North Korea has reportedly surged in recent years despite Pyongyang's strict control over any flow of information within and across its borders. Orascom made the announcement in a regulatory filing on Thursday, Bloomberg said. The company launched mobile phone services in North Korea in 2008 through Koryolink, a joint venture it set up with the North. Koryolink is the sole mobile phone operator in the communist country. Also Thursday, Orascom chief Naguib Sawiris met with North Korea's nominal head of state, Kim Yong-nam, the North's official media said. Kim, the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, the North's rubber-stamp legislature, had a "friendly talk" with Sawiris, according to the (North) Korean Central News Agency, without giving further details. North Korea, which has a population of 24 million people, first launched a mobile phone service in Pyongyang in 2002. The service was later banned after a deadly explosion in a northern train station in 2004, possibly out of concern that it could be used in a plot against the regime. (Yonhap News)

North Korea's Dictator Is So Dragonball (Android 19 - Kim Jong un)

Why North Korean soldiers are doing day-labors?

Recently, more North Korean soldiers have been appearing on day laboring markets, something that hasn't happened before. These soldiers get employed to fix the roofs and floors of other people's homes, or making coal briquette to earn money. This kind of labor used to be done by the poorest of North Korean citizens. However, the severe famine and economic depression has forced the once-elite soldiers out to day labor job markets. Only until a while ago, the soldiers used to be the ones with authority, giving orders to everybody. Now, they must do rough work to make money for daily meals. On the surface, North Korea keeps screaming about strong and prosperous nation, but they can't even feed their own soldiers anymore. Just what do they think they're doing?