Category: North Korea

Meet the Moranbong Band: NK’s All Female Pop Group & Dennis Rodman Favorite

Photo: Dennis Rodman singing I Did it My Way with Moranbong Band. Courtesy Vice News.

 

Moranbong Band with Harlem Globetrotters Courtesy Vice News.

Photo courtesy Facebook.

The Moranbong Band was formed under the direction of Kim Jong Un. The members of the band are also members of the military, so technically the group is considered a military band. Performances are reserved for the elite and are often televised on state-run TV. In this video, the group is in front of a large screen projecting footage of missile launches. (VIDEO MAY BE BLOCKED FROM VIEWING)

According to the group’s Facebook Page:

Kim Jong Un organized the Moranbong band as required by the new century, prompted by a grandiose plan to bring about a dramatic turn in the field of literature and arts this year in which a new century of Juche Korea begins.

The band just several months old raised its curtain for its significant demonstration performance proclaiming its birth before the world.
The repertoire of the performance divided into two parts included colorful numbers such as light music “Arirang”, female vocal quintet “Let’s Learn”, light music “Yeppuni”, light music and song “Victors”, female trio “Silk Weaving Girl of Nyongbyon”, string quartet “We Can’t Live without his Care”, foreign light music “Chardash”, “Victory”, “Song of Gypsy”, female sextet “Fluttering Red Flag” and light music and song “Suite of World Fable Songs.”

Source: Samheroyang canal on YouTube

For more photos, visit https://www.facebook.com/MoranbongBand/

UPDATE: SEOUL, Jan. 12, 2018 (Yonhap) — A rare performance by a North Korean art troupe will take place soon on the southern side of the tense inter-Korean border amid a mixed sense of curiosity and doubt over the North’s intent.

After inter-Korean high-level talks Tuesday, North Korea agreed to send a delegation of athletes, cheerleaders, an art troupe, taekwondo demonstration teams, along with high-ranking officials, to the Feb. 9-25 PyeongChang Olympics in the South.

The next questions are what kind of performing group North Korea will dispatch to the South and whether their performances can burnish a more positive image for the country, they said.

“The North is using an art troupe as a card to win the hearts of South Koreans. Under sanctions, music performances could be a good tool for North Korea to weaken its image as a developer of nukes and missiles,” said Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and head of the Seoul-based World Institute for North Korean Studies.

Even before the two Koreas begin to work out details over the North’s participation, media speculation is rampant over whether the Moranbong Band, an all-female band from North Korea, will come to the South.

The Moranbong Band was established in July 2012 by the North’s leader Kim Jong-un, featuring Western-style music and outfits.

This photo, carried by North Korea's state news agency on April 2, 2014, shows a performance by the Moranbong Band, an all-female music band in North Korea. (Yonhap)

This photo, carried by North Korea’s state news agency on April 2, 2014, shows a performance by the Moranbong Band, an all-female music band in North Korea. (Yonhap)

The band is known for their performances of the totalitarian state’s propaganda songs, as well as Western pop music, including the theme song of the film “Rocky.”

Hyon Song-wol, who is reportedly a former girlfriend of Kim Jong-un, is the leader of the band.

The Moranbong Band abruptly canceled a planned performance in Beijing in December 2015 and returned home.

The reason for that cancellation is not known, but a diplomatic source said that China had decided to send officials of lower rank to the concert in response to Kim Jong-un hinting that Pyongyang had developed a hydrogen bomb.

 

Dennis Rodman’s Multi Country Asia Tour on Peace Mission: Basketball Diplomacy

 

 

Leaflets Denouncing War Exercises Scattered in S. Korea, N. Korea Reports

Leaflets are typically sent via balloons with detonators inside which scatter propaganda from the air.

Date: 13/12/2017 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) |

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Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) — More than a million copies of leaflets demanding a stop to the large-scale joint aerial exercises against the north staged by the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet warmongers and the withdrawal of the U.S. imperialist aggression forces were scattered in lots of places in Seoul and Kyonggi Province by the Anti-Trump, Anti-U.S. and Anti-War Special Committee of the People’s Democratic Party of south Korea, according to Minjok Ilbo, a south Korean internet newspaper.
Seen on the front side of leaflet was the face of Trump making Nazi greetings with a mushroom cloud of a nuclear test in the background and on the back side were letters reading “Stop Anti-North Nuclear War Exercises at Once!” and “U.S. Forces, Quit with THAAD!”

The leaflets were scattered in hundreds of places including metro, streets and roads centering on U.S. military bases and key installments in Seoul and Kyonggi Province.

The organization claimed it staged the actions to bring the population to the knowledge of the severity of the nuclear war exercises in which huge air forces are involved, and to denounce them.

Samples of anti-Trump propaganda:

During the Obama Administration, North Korea propaganda was also heavily distributed, even going so far as to compare the President Obama to an unevolved monkey.

Dennis Rodman’s Multi Country Asia Tour on Peace Mission: Basketball Diplomacy

Amid nuclear threats, PotCoin sends Dennis Rodman back in an attempt to broker peace

NYC, NY – 12/06/17 – Hall of Famer and former NBA bad-boy Dennis Rodman embarked on a multi-stop trip in Asia-Pacific on Wednesday, December 6th, 2017, once again backed by the community-based cryptocurrency for legalized marijuana – PotCoin.

Rodman’s initial stop was in the US Territory of Guam, recently cited in the news as a potential target by North Korea. According to a recent publication, the Guam Visitors Bureau confirms that due to the growing political tension between the US and North Korea, tourism from almost every market except South Korea has been on a downward trend, the biggest being Japan. After North Korea’s threats of a nuclear attack, 7,556 flights were cancelled to Guam, resulting in a $9.5 million loss for the territory.

The initial leg of his trip will see Dennis Rodman meeting with military personnel, families and locals in an effort to show support for the territory with the hope of boosting the economy by proving its safety.

 

PotCoin has received numerous requests through social media and its website asking for renewed support to send Rodman in hopes of bringing peace. Rodman is in the very rare position to be able to claim long-time friendships with both the Supreme Leader of North Korea, as well as with the current President of the United States.

 

“I’m very appreciative of PotCoin once again believing in my mission through basketball diplomacy of peace and love, not war. Together we’re hoping to create real change in the world,” said Rodman.

For more information on how to use or trade PotCoin, please visit www.PotCoin.com.

N. Korea agrees to communicate regularly with U.N. at various levels

2017/12/09

SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Yonhap) — North Korea has agreed to communicate regularly with the United Nations at various levels, Pyongyang’s state media said Saturday, following a visit by a senior U.N. official.

North Korea said that the visit of Jeffrey Feltman, the undersecretary general for political affairs at the U.N., helped the communist nation and U.N. understand each other deeply, and the two sides agreed to have regular communications at various levels, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Feltman arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday for a four-day visit. He met North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and visited U.N. project sites amid heightened tensions sparked by the North’s Nov. 29 test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile that it claims is capable of striking anywhere on the U.S. mainland.

The KCNA reported that North Korea told U.N. officials that current situation on the Korean Peninsula is due to the United States’ threat and its wish to launch a nuclear attack against North Korea first.

The U.N. officials responded that they will help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula by following the U.N. Charter, which states the organization’s mission of maintaining international peace and security, the KCNA added.

According to the KCNA, Feltman recognized international sanctions against North Korea are having a negative influence on humanitarian aid there. He visited a children’s food factory and a hospital in Pyongyang on Thursday.

Feltman was expected to leave Pyongyang on a North Korean Air Koryo passenger jet to land in Beijing on Saturday.

Jeffrey Feltman (C), U.N. undersecretary general for political affairs, holds talks with North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-guk in Pyongyang on Dec. 6, 2017, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)Jeffrey Feltman (C), U.N. undersecretary general for political affairs, holds talks with North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-guk in Pyongyang on Dec. 6, 2017, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)

Kim Jong Un “Climbs” Mt Paektu, Divine Birthplace of his Father

Background information about the significance of Mount Paektu in north korean lore:

Mount Paetku, Birthplace site, Courtesy DPRK Tourism

Kim Jong Il, father of current North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, was  estimated to have been born in 1941 in Russia.

North Korean legend holds that was Kim Jong Il’s birth was of a divine and sacred nature that occurred on Mount Paektu (an active volcano also known as Mount Baekdu) on April 15, 1942. His birth was foretold by the appearance of a swallow. Once born, the seasons changed, a new star was born and a double rainbow appeared over the mountain. Throughout his life, he was able to control the weather with his mood.

Kim Jong Il photo of portrait submitted by Mark Fahey from Sydney, Australia (DSCF3016) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
https://skepticreview.com/2017/10/15/amazing-kims-mythology-cult-personality-north-korea/

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Kim Jong Un Climbs Mt Paektu

Date: 12/9/2017 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) |

Pyongyang, December 9 (KCNA) — Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK and supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army, climbed Mt Paektu, the sublime mountain of revolution.

The ancestral mountain Paektu covered with white snow was displaying marvelous scene with glee at the reappearance of its great master.

When Kim Jong Un ascended to the top of it, going through thick snow, it showed fine weather unprecedented in the blizzard of December winter, exposing its majestic figure.

As if to give warm welcome to him who brought the “great November event” of the great Korea and show joy at the appearance of the peerlessly illustrious commander who controls the nature, the heart of the ever-changing Lake Chon on the top of Mt Paektu presented charming scenery showing magic peaks and dazzling sunshine on its clear and blue waves.

Imposingly standing on Janggun Peak, the respected Supreme Leader gave a familiar look for a while at the dizzy cliffs and the sea of trees, recalling the emotion-charged days when he realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force without yielding even a moment and with the indomitable faith and will of Paektu.

He said that he had often climbed Mt Paektu but this is the first time to have in mid-winter such nice weather, rare to be seen even in spring. The weather is so fine that we can see peaks on the shore of Lake Chon more clearly as if they are before our very eyes, he added.

His eyes reflected the strong beams of the gifted great person seeing in the majestic spirit of Mt Paektu the appearance of a powerful socialist nation which dynamically advances full of vigor without vacillation at any raving dirty wind on the planet.

He set forth the important tasks arising in better sprucing up into a center for education in the revolutionary traditions the sacred mountain of Paektu which is associated with the immoral revolutionary careers of the great leaders and serves as the mental mainstay of the invincible DPRK and the source of indomitable ideological strength.

He said that the monument to Mt Paektu and education compound should be spruced up suited to the dignity of the holy mountain of revolution and “Mt Paektu, the holy mountain of revolution”, an autograph of leader Kim Jong Il, should be displayed better heavily and politely to be seen most clearly anytime and anywhere.

He stressed the need to build a new hotel well around the Paektu Station for the convenience of those who visit Mt Paektu as well as convenient facilities for making them have photos taken at several places where a bird’s-eye view of the mountain can be obtained and have rests.

Accompanying him were Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the C.C., WPK, vice-chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK and vice-chairman of the C.C., WPK, Kim Yong Su, department director of the WPK Central Committee, Jo Yong Won, vice department director of the C.C., WPK, Ri Sang Won, chairman of the Ryanggang Provincial Committee of the WPK, Yang Myong Chol, chairman of the Samjiyon County Committee of the WPK, and Ma Won Chun, department director of the State Affairs Commission. -0-

Senior U.N. official to visit North Korea: First time in six years

It would mark the first high-ranking visit by a U.N. official to North Korea since his predecessor Lynn Pascoe traveled to the North in February 2010 and former U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos went there in October 2011.

NEW YORK/SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Yonhap) — A senior United Nations official will visit North Korea this week for “wide-ranging” discussions, a spokesman said Monday, amid heightened tensions over the regime’s latest missile test.

Jeffrey Feltman, undersecretary general for political affairs, will travel to Pyongyang Tuesday to discuss “issues of mutual interest and concern” with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and others, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. He plans to stay for four days.

“The visit is in response to a longstanding invitation from the authorities in Pyongyang for policy dialogue with the U.N.,” he told reporters, according to multiple news reports. “It will be a wide-ranging discussion.”

Feltman’s visit will come a week after North Korea test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile apparently capable of striking anywhere on the U.S. mainland.

The North declared that it has completed its “state nuclear force” with the latest Hwasong-15 test.

He will meet with North Korean government officials, U.N. officials and the diplomatic corps there, the spokesman said.

This photo, taken by AFP on Dec. 4, 2017, shows Jeffrey Feltman, the U.N. undersecretary general for political affairs, who will visit North Korea this week. (Yonhap)

This photo, taken by AFP on Dec. 4, 2017, shows Jeffrey Feltman, the U.N. undersecretary general for political affairs, who will visit North Korea this week. (Yonhap)

It would mark the first high-ranking visit by a U.N. official to North Korea since his predecessor Lynn Pascoe traveled to the North in February 2010 and former U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos went there in October 2011.

Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon planned to visit the now-shuttered inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea’s border city of Kaesong in May 2015, but the North abruptly canceled its approval for the trip.

Experts expect that Feltman’s visit may set the tone for Pyongyang to come to the negotiation table.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed his willingness to serve as a mediator to resolve the problem of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

South Korea’s unification ministry also voiced hope that Feltman’s trip could help the North change its course.

“We hope that the visit can pave the way for North Korea to come to dialogue,” said a ministry official said, asking not to be named.

Completion of ‘nuke force’ in New Year’s message from Kim Jong Un?

Licorne test 1971, French Polynesia
Photo: The Official CTBTO Photostream

N.K. leader may make official completion of ‘nuke force’ in New Year’s message: Seoul

SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Yonhap) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may make the completion of its nuclear program official in his New Year’s message, a Seoul official said Tuesday.

The North announced last week that it has completed its “state nuclear force” with the launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it claims is capable of striking anywhere in the United States.

Kim is likely to declare the achievement in his New Year’s speech, a South Korean unification ministry official said.

“After that, the North may unveil its stance on how to carry out the so-called byongjin policy,” the official said, referring to Kim’s signature dual-track policy of seeking nuclear armament and economic growth in tandem.

Seoul has rejected Pyongyang’s unilateral claim to have completed its nuclear program, saying that there are doubts about the North’s missile capability, including the re-entry and terminal guidance technology.

Experts said that the North is likely to shift its focus to ways to bolster its feeble economy in the face of tougher international sanctions.

The ministry official also said that there is a need to watch how or whether the North would hold a meeting of “Mallima pacesetters.”

Mallima is an imaginary horse that can run extreme distances at a very high speed. The term is used in North Korea to highlight the country’s push to get people to produce results quickly.

North Korea announced in January its plan to hold a conference under the new slogan for self-reliance at the end of this year. The conference would involve top performers who are leading efforts to overcome the country’s economic difficulties. But the North’s media has barely mentioned it.

North Korea: U.S. & S. Korean Puppet Forces’ Projected Aerial Drill Will Be Followed by Merciless Retaliation

U.S. and S. Korean Puppet Forces’ Projected Aerial Drill Will Be Followed by Merciless Retaliation: CPRC Spokesman

Date: 03/12/2017 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) |

Pyongyang, December 3 (KCNA) — A spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country of the DPRK (CPRC) released a statement on Sunday in connection with the fact that the U.S. and the south Korean puppet forces are going to launch the largest-ever joint aerial drill to “totally destroy” the DPRK on Dec. 4.

The statement says:

The U.S. and the south Korean puppet forces are asserting that the planned drill will be “the largest-ever one for blowing up 700 odd primary objects of the north including nuclear facilities and missile bases” and that it will serve as “maximum pressure on the north” as it will be an “unheard-of strike action” involving formations of latest fighter jets called “the king of air battle.”

What matters is the fact that the drill simulating an actual war is to be staged at a time when insane President Trump is running wild, terming the DPRK’s ICBM test-fire “action never to be pardonable” and bluffing as if he would do “anything in response,” stunned by the DPRK’s realization of the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force and the cause of building a rocket power.

The projected war rehearsal is just a grave military provocation which will push the already acute situation on the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war.

The situation clearly proves that the U.S. and the south Korean puppet war maniacs are just aggressors and provocateurs breaking peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region and that the DPRK was entirely just when it decided to invariably take the path of simultaneously developing the two fronts in order to bolster up its war deterrent in every way.

Taking this opportunity, the DPRK cannot but remind the aggressors once again of the statement made by the chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK on Sept. 21 that the DPRK would seriously consider the taking of a highest-level hard-line countermeasure in history to cope with the U.S. and its vassal forces’ reckless moves against the state and people of the DPRK and would surely force them to pay dearly for their provocations.

The U.S. and south Korean puppet military warmongers should bear in mind that their escalating provocation and adding to crimes will only invite more terrible retaliation and precipitate their self-destruction.

In response, South Korean media issued the following statement:

S. Korea says allies’ ongoing air drill is defensive in nature

2017/12/04

SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s unification ministry said Monday that a joint air force drill between Seoul and Washington is defensive in nature, rejecting North Korea’s condemnation of the exercise.

A spokesman at North Korea’s foreign ministry on Saturday denounced the exercise as a large-scale nuclear war drill against North Korea. The five-day Vigilant Ace war games kicked off Monday, days after the North fired a long-range missile.

“The air force drill is an annual joint military exercise among the allies of a defensive nature. The government will not comment on every reaction by North Korea,” Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman at the Ministry of Unification, told a press briefing.

The exercise, which involves six U.S. F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets, came as a show of force against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.

The North on Wednesday launched a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it claims is capable of striking the entire territory of the U.S., declaring that it has completed its “state nuclear force.”

“The government does not accept the North’s ‘unilateral’ claim to completing its nuclear program. We are making efforts to resolve the North’s nuclear issue peacefully with the international community,” Baik said.

Seoul said Friday that it does not regard North Korea as crossing a “red line” with its latest missile test due to doubts about its technical capabilities including re-entry and terminal guidance technology.

After the North’s tests of two ICBMs in July, President Moon Jae-in said that North Korea would be crossing a red line if it creates a nuclear-tipped ICBM. Crossing that threshold could risk tougher actions from the U.S. including a military one.

This file photo shows Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman at the Ministry of Unification. (Yonhap)

This file photo shows Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman at the Ministry of Unification. (Yonhap)

N.K. celebrates completion of nuke arsenal with fireworks

2017/12/02

SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) — North Korea held a rally and fireworks display to celebrate what it claims to be the completion of its nuclear arsenal with its latest firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Pyongyang’s state media said Saturday.

Military servicemen and citizens gathered in Pyongyang on Friday to mark the country’s completion of the “state nuclear force” with the Wednesday test of the Hwasong-15 missile, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

During celebratory speeches, key party and military officials said that the missile test put the strategic position of North Korea on the highest level.

“Nobody can infringe on our rights to sovereignty, survival and development as we have completed the state nuclear force,” Pak Kwang-ho, a vice chairman of the central committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, was quoted as saying by the party’s main newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

The North launched its most advanced ICBM, which it claims is capable of striking the whole mainland of the U.S.

Seoul’s defense ministry said Friday that the North’s new missile could reach Washington, but more verification is needed on its missile technology including re-entry and terminal guidance system and warhead conditions.

The celebration is seen as intended to bolster internal solidarity as the international community is expected to toughen its sanctions on the North.

After the ICBM test, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose “additional major sanctions” on Pyongyang.

Door Still Open to North Korean Figure Skaters to Compete in Winter Olympics

Update:

IOC President met with N. Korean Olympic chief in Switzerland: VOA

2017/12/09

SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Yonhap) — International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has met with North Korea’s Olympic body chief in Switzerland, a U.S. broadcaster said Saturday.

Bach had a meeting with North Korea’s Olympic Committee President Kim Il-guk at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday, according to Voice of America (VOA). VOA was citing an e-mail from the IOC’s public affairs office.

The IOC, however, didn’t elaborate on what the two officials discussed, VOA said, adding that it was a meeting for them to get to know each other after Kim became North Korea’s new Olympic body chief earlier this year.

The meeting came amid speculation that Bach might visit North Korea to discuss the communist nation’s participation in the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, next year.

The South Korean government and the organizers of the PyeongChang Games have been asking the IOC to support North Koreans competing at the Winter Olympics south of the border, which will be held from Feb. 9-25.

The IOC previously said it is willing to cover all costs for North Korean athletes if they participate in the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.

This photo taken by the EPA shows International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach speaking at a press conference after an executive board meeting of the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Dec. 6, 2017. (Yonhap)This photo taken by the EPA shows International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach speaking at a press conference after an executive board meeting of the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Dec. 6, 2017. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) — North Korea has missed the deadline to enter its figure skating pairs team for next year’s Winter Olympics in South Korea, a report claimed Friday.

NBC Sports said North Korea’s Olympic committee missed an Oct. 30 deadline to confirm whether it would send its qualified figure skating pairs duo, Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-ik, to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next February.

Ryom and Kim clinched their Olympic spot at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany in September.

According to NBC Sports, the International Skating Union (ISU) has not received any word from North Korea.

The non-action casts further uncertainty over the prospect of North Korea competing at a Winter Olympics hosted by South Korea for the first time. North Korea did not participate in the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.

In this Associated Press file photo taken Sept. 29, 2017, North Korean pairs figure skaters Ryom Tae-ok (L) and Kim Ju-sik perform their free skating routine during the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Yonhap)In this Associated Press file photo taken Sept. 29, 2017, North Korean pairs figure skaters Ryom Tae-ok (L) and Kim Ju-sik perform their free skating routine during the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Yonhap)

But the doors are still open for North Korea. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) may grant select North Korean athletes wild card entries. IOC President Thomas Bach has repeatedly stated that the IOC has invited North Korea to participate in PyeongChang 2018 and that it has offered support if necessary.

North Korea did not compete at the 2014 Sochin Winter Olympics.

Last month, North Korea skipped the final leg of the ISU World Cup Short Track in Seoul, which doubled as the last Olympic qualifying event. North Korea only competed at the first two World Cups, and the Olympic quotas were filled based on the three best performances by skaters out of four World Cups.

The organizing committee for PyeongChang is taking a wait-and-see approach on the North’s participation. An official there said Olympic participation is apparently a sensitive issue in Pyongyang as well.