I remember reading this 2006 New York Times article, “No Ordinary Counterfeit” when it first printed, about so-called supernotes, counterfeit hundred dollar bills whose inaccuracies sometimes appeared as technical improvements, long before considering visiting. On Oct. 2, 2004, the container ship Ever Unique, sailing under a Panamanian flag from Yantai, China, berthed in the Port of Newark. As cranes unloaded the vessel’s shipping containers, which were filled with a variety[…] Keep reading →

In my series on North Korean strategy I wrote that I saw small-scale trade as one source of effective change. If trade comes from people in the country, as opposed to institutions or government, North Korean decision-makers will have a hard time stopping it. If it comes with information about the outside world, it can change ordinary North Koreans; perspective of it. The Wall Street Journal today reported on large[…] Keep reading →

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists published a story today on North Korea’s development of nuclear power. The story, North Korea from 30,000 Feet, begins with aerial photographs of a new nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon complex first publicly available on November 4, 2010. Unlike a site merely showing images, the writers of the Bulletin article, researchers at Stanford, analyze the contents of the images, model the buildings, and speculate on[…] Keep reading →

Continuing favorite moments from part 2, yesterday Joseph Joseph said he liked the shooting range most. Here he is at the range. Neil Neil said that the mausoleum holding Kim Il Sung’s body was his favorite moment for the over-the-top rigmarole they put visitors through, making it unintentionally amazing — in particular the giant, full-body blow driers. He described it as over-the-top propaganda and I found it hard to see[…] Keep reading →

Continuing favorite moments from part 1, yesterday Josh My favorite moment was learning that the sailor who led the tour of the USS Pueblo was a member of the original boarding party of the ship. I felt he had communicated a message to take what we had learned there and use it to help promote peace, a different message than most of the government-promoted messages. Learning his role made the[…] Keep reading →

Toward the end of our week in North Korea I asked all my travel group-mates what they considered their favorite moment of our trip and why. Jordan Jordan liked playing Frisbee most for interacting with kids. Here he is with some kids he threw the frisbee with, in a picture by Joseph Ferris. Alex Alex said he liked the Mass Games for the spectacle, emotion, synchronicity. Here he is at[…] Keep reading →

Amazon featured Understanding North Korea: Demystifying the World’s Most Misunderstood Country in the sidebar over the weekend. It was a “Hot New Release” in Korean History It was also a “Hot New Release” in Military Strategy History (although I wrote it on general strategy, not specifically military strategy). Here are the full pages those screenshots came from. I know it’s coincidence, by I’m honored for Amazon to show my book[…] Keep reading →

I wrote the following on Hacker News and thought it fit here. Last week I self-published my first book. My visit to North Korea last year amazed me at how much we base our impressions of North Korea on pre-conceived notions. I already blogged daily, but the experience affected me so much I started posting twice daily, one post on North Korea. Then Kim Jong Il died and tons of[…] Keep reading →

North Korea fascinates us. Its leaders, their posturing and militarism, their economics, and more all fascinate us. Their belligerence puts them in the news often. Yet we know little about them. More than fascinating, they are globally important. They are a nuclear power with the world’s fourth largest military and most militarized border. Yet the media, mainstream and otherwise, mystifies them more. No one explains how or why anyone could[…] Keep reading →