FARK.com: (7679699) North Korea has shut down the Kaesong complex

If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

		North Korea has shut down the Kaesong complex ( bbc.co.uk)		281
		More: Followup, Kaesong, North Koreans, Ministry of Unification, South Koreans, Yongbyon

• • •

18781 clicks; posted to Main » on 02 Apr 2013 at 11:54 PM (5 years ago) | Favorite | share:

Share this link:

URL:

https://fark.com/go/7679699

Bookmark:

Article Comments close

281 Comments (+0 »)

View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Oldest | « | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | » | Newest | Show all

Fuggin Bizzy

2013-04-03 01:58:14 AM

humanshrapnel: approved North Korean hair style

What the shiat. Even for a crazy isolated hermit state...what the shiat, man?

I don't know why anyone anywhere micromanages anyone or anything. It's so much goddamned work. Work smarter, not harder, focus on governance because that's hard and complicated enough, forget worrying about hairstyles.

The Norks never cease to amaze me.

4seasons85!

2013-04-03 02:01:11 AM

camaroash: 4seasons85!: I am still not convinced that this is anything more than Un throwing a crying fit. But if this continues then things may get hairy soon.

Eveyone hits puberty eventually so technically yeah.

I think Un may be going through puberty. That would explain the mood swings. He's going through his rebellious phase, awe!

Kevin72

2013-04-03 02:01:19 AM

yagottabefarkinkiddinme: Doglover:

I don't know. What I do know is that photo. That photo is as powerful as the Vietnam photos of the officer pulling the trigger and the girl that had the skin falling off of her... Or the Nazi concentration camp photos in WWII.

This is the photo to show America that there is a humanitarian reason to end the status quo in NK to justify action. Not only does NK try to bully the United States, NK bullies their own children.

The world should speak to NK in a united voice. Now. Right the fark now.

I read on FARK that the U.N. refonted their strongly worded letter to NK from Comic Sans to Times New Roman.

ChiliBoots

2013-04-03 02:02:33 AM

maxheck: Satanic_Hamster:

Man, pet peeve of mine. There's no such thing as an Aegis-class destroyer. Aegis is a system, not a ship class.

I'm not up on such things, but I'm gonna guess that not every class of ship can support Aegis.

Pretty sure there aren't many kayaks, canoes or tugboats that are "Aegis class."

An Aegis tugboat would be pretty sweet. Instead of getting your hands all dirty handling ropes, you could just shove boats around with the radiation pressure from your RADAR beam.

powhound

2013-04-03 02:07:04 AM

For those who are saying a war with NK will be over and done within x amount of days....how many wars play out like that? Our military is already stretched. I don't see how you could open up a 3rd front with what we have, guys serving how many rotations to patrol the deserts of Afghanistan? Then what, a draft? Seriously, we would be in up to our armpits if NK goes south.

bluorangefyre

2013-04-03 02:09:46 AM

OK explain this in simple terms: WOPR level bad or Cuban Missile Crisis bad? Or will this thing be over just as soon as we bomb Pyongyang and release the vipers at the DMZ?

picturescrazy

2013-04-03 02:15:38 AM

We win wars like a boss. It's the occupation we suck at. How long did Saddam's government hold out? How long did the Taliban have control of anything more than caves and remote villages? I'm not advocating war but don't get the two things confused. North Korea has what we kill best, obsolete Russian cold war crap.

Incontinent_dog_and_monkey_rodeo

2013-04-03 02:17:56 AM

bluorangefyre: OK explain this in simple terms: WOPR level bad or Cuban Missile Crisis bad? Or will this thing be over just as soon as we bomb Pyongyang and release the vipers at the DMZ?

This would not be a boots-on-the-ground war, at least not many American boots. Our air superiority would wipe out all of their command-and-control on day one, then the SK army goes in to maintain order. Very few American lives at risk.

Triumph

2013-04-03 02:19:10 AM

On a side note, if Un is an absolute monarch who inherited ruling the country from dad (who inherited it from his dad), how come the media bends over backwards not to call him a king? Are they afraid he'll give kings a bad name?

GoSurfing

2013-04-03 02:19:39 AM

The reason this is a big deal, isn't because it was some sort of metaphorical olive branch between North-South Korea. The reason that it is a big deal, is because South Korea built the industrial complex at Kaesong. What has effectively happened, at least temporarily, is that North Korea has seized South Korean assets. Hyundai industries and the like built the whole damn place. That is their machinery, their tooling, their factories. Lot of capital they invested there, albeit for reasons of gaining an economic advantage by employing people at slave wages. The South Koreans built the place in the first place because they could pay North Koreans 1/4 the price they would pay a Chinese person to produce textiles and the like.

/if this remains permanently closed, it is akin to Fidel seizing American enterprises in Cuba. Somewhat a military posturing gesture, but more of a dickish-communist gesture, "I own your shiat now".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaesong_Industrial_Region

StopLurkListen

2013-04-03 02:22:11 AM

powhound: For those who are saying a war with NK will be over and done within x amount of days....how many wars play out like that? Our military is already stretched. I don't see how you could open up a 3rd front with what we have, guys serving how many rotations to patrol the deserts of Afghanistan? Then what, a draft? Seriously, we would be in up to our armpits if NK goes south.

3rd front? ...what?

*counts on fingers* OK, there's Afghanistan, and ...

transplendent

2013-04-03 02:27:52 AM

The US has to be at war somewhere in order to prop up the economy. After all, we have a half million active duty military personnel, and we can't just start folding those folks into the economy back home, can we? Better to take on Best Korea than Pakistan, amirite?!

BarkingUnicorn

2013-04-03 02:32:06 AM

transplendent: The US has to be at war somewhere in order to prop up the economy. After all, we have a half million active duty military personnel, and we can't just start folding those folks into the economy back home, can we? Better to take on Best Korea than Pakistan, amirite?!

We could announce an amnesty program and send Starship Troopers.

timujin

2013-04-03 02:33:48 AM

spamdog: For a moment I thought this was a nuclear facility. No such luck I suppose.

This is a pretty long string of provocations. Is Kim Jong-un just trying to prove that he's more hardcore than his dad?

Pretty much, yeah. His dad held onto his country with an iron fist and Un is a young, pudgy dork that comes across as more that a bit of a wuss. He can manufacture a level of crisis and then, when nothing happens, tell his people he made us back down. It's not like they'll know any different.

camaroash

2013-04-03 02:40:21 AM

4seasons85!: camaroash: 4seasons85!: I am still not convinced that this is anything more than Un throwing a crying fit. But if this continues then things may get hairy soon.

Eveyone hits puberty eventually so technically yeah.

I think Un may be going through puberty. That would explain the mood swings. He's going through his rebellious phase, awe!

It's like the 12 year old who loses his cherry to the school skank in exchange for a candy bar or bag of Fritos and suddenly thinks he's hot shiat.

/ Everyone knows a shot of Tequila will give the same effect for a lot cheaper and with a little less residual shame.

doglover

2013-04-03 02:41:22 AM

mizchief: timujin: spamdog: For a moment I thought this was a nuclear facility. No such luck I suppose.

This is a pretty long string of provocations. Is Kim Jong-un just trying to prove that he's more hardcore than his dad?

Pretty much, yeah. His dad held onto his country with an iron fist and Un is a young, pudgy dork that comes across as more that a bit of a wuss. He can manufacture a level of crisis and then, when nothing happens, tell his people he made us back down. It's not like they'll know any different.

In that case why stir up any real trouble to begin with? He could just BS the problem as well as the solution.

They get SOME outside news.

timujin

2013-04-03 02:44:01 AM

Why not? It's not like anyone is going to launch a preemptive strike against him, the sanctions are already crippling and the worst the U.N. is going to do is send yet another strongly worded letter. He's a child who likes to kick ant hills.

bmihura

2013-04-03 02:47:05 AM

Short of the Fed printing dollars, can there be anything more politically stupid? Except most United States sheep won't notice until a few years out.

I'll bet most of you don't even know what I'm talking about.

Testiclaw

2013-04-03 02:50:58 AM

bmihura: Short of the Fed printing dollars, can there be anything more politically stupid? Except most United States sheep won't notice until a few years out.

I'll bet most of you don't even know what I'm talking about.

I'll bet you don't even know what you're talking about.

hammettman

2013-04-03 02:54:09 AM

Incontinent_dog_and_monkey_rodeo: bluorangefyre: OK explain this in simple terms: WOPR level bad or Cuban Missile Crisis bad? Or will this thing be over just as soon as we bomb Pyongyang and release the vipers at the DMZ?

This would not be a boots-on-the-ground war, at least not many American boots. Our air superiority would wipe out all of their command-and-control on day one, then the SK army goes in to maintain order. Very few American lives at risk.

Lose a few more words of that plan and it can be sent out on Twitter. There's a desk in a future Bush administration with your name on it!

UnspokenVoice

2013-04-03 02:56:35 AM

BolloxReader: Weren't there people saying that as long as this complex was going, there wasn't anything to worry about?
I think the game just got interesting.

I am one of those people and had just commented on it earlier today. I am officially concerned at this point. I've just looked at this article and I only skimmed it. It didn't look as though they'd kidnapped anyone so that's good.

Cthulhu_is_my_homeboy

2013-04-03 03:02:29 AM

Triumph: On a side note, if Un is an absolute monarch who inherited ruling the country from dad (who inherited it from his dad), how come the media bends over backwards not to call him a king? Are they afraid he'll give kings a bad name?

The difference between a monarch and a dictator is that in a monarchy the head of state is personally the sovereign. In the words of Louis XIV, "I am the state."
The dictator, by contrast, usually controls a government that is notionally a republic or at least has some form of constitution, or sovereignty is invested in a particular political party, even though the dictator has all the real power.

North Korea is, organizationally speaking, a communist republic and the Kims serve as president-for-life. I think this is all mixed up with some perverse version of traditional Asian ancestor-worship and extreme state xenophobia that casts the Kim family as protectors of Korean cultural purity, or something. In order to be a king, Lil'Kim would have to abolish the state constitution (yes, the Norks have one) and seize power directly in his own name.

BarkingUnicorn

2013-04-03 03:03:23 AM

doglover: mizchief: timujin: spamdog: For a moment I thought this was a nuclear facility. No such luck I suppose.

This is a pretty long string of provocations. Is Kim Jong-un just trying to prove that he's more hardcore than his dad?

Pretty much, yeah. His dad held onto his country with an iron fist and Un is a young, pudgy dork that comes across as more that a bit of a wuss. He can manufacture a level of crisis and then, when nothing happens, tell his people he made us back down. It's not like they'll know any different.

In that case why stir up any real trouble to begin with? He could just BS the problem as well as the solution.

They get SOME outside news.

This is sounding like "Game of Thrones." Except Joffrey isn't pudgy.

ypsifly

2013-04-03 03:06:56 AM

"We have always been at war with Eastasia"....or something like that.

Nasty gin and cigarettes for all the Proles!!!

BolloxReader

2013-04-03 03:07:58 AM

Well for one, I imagine that we would be at war with them only because the war between SK and NK went hot again. Thus our role would be mostly just crush the military and then let SK deal with the nation building. We may support rebuilding, we may even foot part of the bill, but the situation is much different in the Korean peninsula. We don't care about militants or extremists, we care about removing the existential threat to whatever would be left of ~~Samsung~~Seoul.

Cthulhu_is_my_homeboy

2013-04-03 03:09:41 AM

Cthulhu_is_my_homeboy: North Korea is, organizationally speaking, a communist republic and the Kims serve as president-for-life

And in actual fact, the position of General Secretary or whatever the official title of Dear Leader is, at this point is probably just a figurehead that serves to legitimize a military junta that actually runs the country's day-to-day affairs. I doubt KJU has any real authority over anyone beyond his housekeeping staff.

UnspokenVoice

2013-04-03 03:11:55 AM

yagottabefarkinkiddinme: Every time I hear on the news, the crisis has hit a crescendo ... Then even more from NK.

I think our estimates are incorrect. He's quite childish, selfish, very young, pissed off , powerful and determined to lash out...with nuclear weapons. A madman.

I think we are going to have to fight NK.

It's getting worse, not better.

And this is just the stuff we know about so we can sleep at night.

Someone pointed out to me, earlier today, that NK has China as an ally whilst Iran and Syria have Russia as an ally and that while the situation in NK has been escalating there has been little reporting from MSM concerning Iran or Syria as of late. I believe their point was that it was a matter of what wasn't being said, what the distraction is meant for, or the likes.

I don't ascribe anything to this theory or question, meaning that's not enough for me to conclude that this is a conspiracy or the likes, but it was interesting enough to warrant passing along.

MadSkillz

2013-04-03 03:13:52 AM

I think what really happened is that Blizzard isn't allowing activations for Heart of the Swarm in NK and so he's pissed he can't play the new Starcraft 2 game.

Gyrfalcon

2013-04-03 03:17:45 AM

meat0918: jpo2269: Sadly, it seems as if Un is hell bent on getting his arse kicked. Hopefully he wakes up prior to crossing the line of no return... Unfortunately I am not very optimistic.

Maybe that's the point.

Maybe he doesn't want to be Dear Leader, but the real powers in the country need their figure head to continue to live like kings.

I've been saying that since the start. About the only way Kim can stop being Son of Dear Leader AND still keep his fat head on his mushy neck AND not have to worry about any prison time anywhere in the Far East is to lose a war to America.

As it stands, Kim Jong-Un is not personally responsible for any of the myriad atrocities Daddy Dearest committed; but he IS under the thumbs of a whole lot of guys who are (the generals and career pols who Daddy put in power). If Kim tries to undo the sins of the former regime and repudiate Juche, the generals can easily arrange for him to have a tragic accident, a lavish state funeral, and replace him with some handy puppet (Kim has two other legitimate brothers, and who knows how many bastard Kims are waiting in the wings). OTOH, if the generals get too uppity, Kim can threaten them with The Hague's courts--but to do that, he'd have to lose a war.

Kim may be a fat retarded mushroom; but he did go to school in Switzerland, he has to know there is no way in hell he can survive a war even with S. Korea and Japan, much less China or America. And he'd probably just as soon enjoy the pleasures of Western life first hand, as have them imported like Daddy Dearest did. But, he was obviously pretty heavily indoctrinated during the last ten years; and who knows, he may even like his people (stranger things have happened to a dictator). Best solution: Lose a war from a position of strength.

His generals have all grown up with Kim Jong-Il (and maybe even the REAL Kim, Kim Il-Sung), and probably believe all the saber-rattling crap. So they go along with the okey-doke, and start their war with South Korea. When it's obvious they're going to lose badly, Kim starts negotiations with the US. He gives up all his generals for trial for various crimes against humanity, agrees to a genuine peace with S. Korea, and opens the border, in exchange for keeping his fat head above his neck. Now he's safe from the Juche generals, the North Koreans get to eat again for the first time in 50 years, China is out of the loop without having to confront America across the 38th parallel, and the only real problem becomes how do we get all the land mines out of the DMZ.

Kim has to at least try to appease his generals if he wants to stay alive, hence the war talk. But it can't be coincidence that he actually allowed an American into his office a week before all this nonsense started, either. Crazy like a fox, is what I'm thinking.

Triumph

2013-04-03 03:17:58 AM

Cthulhu_is_my_homeboy: Triumph: On a side note, if Un is an absolute monarch who inherited ruling the country from dad (who inherited it from his dad), how come the media bends over backwards not to call him a king? Are they afraid he'll give kings a bad name?

The difference between a monarch and a dictator is that in a monarchy the head of state is personally the sovereign. In the words of Louis XIV, "I am the state."
The dictator, by contrast, usually controls a government that is notionally a republic or at least has some form of constitution, or sovereignty is invested in a particular political party, even though the dictator has all the real power.

North Korea is, organizationally speaking, a communist republic and the Kims serve as president-for-life. I think this is all mixed up with some perverse version of traditional Asian ancestor-worship and extreme state xenophobia that casts the Kim family as protectors of Korean cultural purity, or something. In order to be a king, Lil'Kim would have to abolish the state constitution (yes, the Norks have one) and seize power directly in his own name.

Can't kingdoms have constitutions? Jordan has one, I believe.

UnspokenVoice

2013-04-03 03:21:00 AM

The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves: Bith Set Me Up: red5ish: Where does he get his hair cut? WTF?
[img109.imageshack.us image 626x800]
That is not a good look.

Since when have dictators ever had good hairstyles?

Stalin always looked pretty good in photos/sculptures/paintings, probably because anyone who made him look bad ended up in a gulag.

Stalin looked like a hipster in his younger years. Lemme see if I can find a picture for you.

If you'd like to see more:

GIS Link with safe mode turned off so may be NSFW I suppose

2wolves

2013-04-03 03:27:24 AM

How about the U.S. make sure its own aren't dying of starvation first?

/just a thought

UnspokenVoice

2013-04-03 03:28:12 AM

Amos Quito: [img.auctiva.com image 400x248]

Over hill over dale we will hit the dusty trail
As the Kaesongs go rolling along
Up and down, in and out, Countermarch and right about,
And our Kaesongs go rolling along
For it's hi-hi-hee in the Field Artillery, Shout out the number loud and strong
Till our final ride, It will always be our pride
To keep those Kaesongs a rolling along

Is that sung to the tune of You're a Grand Old Flag? I like some march music. And big band. It's good music to nod out to. ;)

awalkingecho

2013-04-03 03:31:42 AM

2wolves: yagottabefarkinkiddinme: Doglover:

I don't know. What I do know is that photo. That photo is as powerful as the Vietnam photos of the officer pulling the trigger and the girl that had the skin falling off of her... Or the Nazi concentration camp photos in WWII.

This is the photo to show America that there is a humanitarian reason to end the status quo in NK to justify action. Not only does NK try to bully the United States, NK bullies their own children.

The world should speak to NK in a united voice. Now. Right the fark now.

How about the U.S. make sure its own aren't dying of starvation first?

/just a thought

That's not possible without as many wars as possible to keep the economy from tanking. So, they are.

Triumph

2013-04-03 03:32:45 AM

The KCNA said this morning that Kim Jong Un is to issue a "final order," to end North Korea's "long-standing history of showdown with the U.S."

"The aggressors and provocateurs will face a disgraceful ruin in the final battle [for reunification] to be started soon, and the great Korean nation will greet the bright day of national reunification,"
LINK

digistil

2013-04-03 03:39:16 AM

So how long until Li'l Kim and the Stooges fire upon themselves, blame Wurst Korea and launch a 'counter' offensive?

Cthulhu_is_my_homeboy

2013-04-03 03:40:37 AM

Triumph: Can't kingdoms have constitutions? Jordan has one, I believe.

Constitutional monarchies are kind of a weird situation. Usually in a constitutional monarchy, state sovereignty is still enshrined in the position of the crown, but actual administrative authority is given to a parliamentary-type government. In the past, constitutional monarchies gave the sovereign a lot more executive power and the constitution basically served as a popular brake on royal excess, forming a contract between the sovereign and his subjects. I think there are a couple of countries where the monarchy has been stripped of its sovereign powers, so technically those states would be republics and the monarch would only hold a ceremonial title.

Essentially in the constitutional monarchy, the monarch continues to "be" the state, but the right to rule derives from the authority of the constitution and/or the consent of the people, rather than divine right/right of conquest. At least that's how I understand it.

In any case, the current North Korean constitution doesn't invest sovereignty in a single person, so it would still have to be abolished/rewritten for KJU to be a proper monarch.

Now That's What I Call a Taco!

2013-04-03 03:44:22 AM

800 South Koreans are currently trapped at the factory. SK working on military contingency plans to get them out if necessary.

This is now an international hostage crisis. Un could literally go from "tubby annoyance" to full-blown mad man tomorrow.

BarkingUnicorn

2013-04-03 03:51:39 AM

Now That's What I Call a Taco!: 800 South Koreans are currently trapped at the factory. SK working on military contingency plans to get them out if necessary.

This is now an international hostage crisis. Un could literally go from "tubby annoyance" to full-blown mad man tomorrow.

Citation, please. All I'm seeing is that South Koreans aren't allowed IN.

drxym

2013-04-03 03:52:12 AM

Who are these idiots who decided to stay? I wonder if the word "human shield" means anything to them.

awalkingecho

2013-04-03 04:01:54 AM

Anyone think there's an off-chance that they used some of those undiscovered tunnels we suspect to exist to cart a few of Dear Eater's Illustrious Kaboom Machines through and position someplace under Seoul as a fail-deadly?

Not that I'm suggesting that I think so, but I'm entertaining the thought.

Testiclaw

2013-04-03 04:02:34 AM

BarkingUnicorn: Now That's What I Call a Taco!: 800 South Koreans are currently trapped at the factory. SK working on military contingency plans to get them out if necessary.

This is now an international hostage crisis. Un could literally go from "tubby annoyance" to full-blown mad man tomorrow.

Citation, please. All I'm seeing is that South Koreans aren't allowed IN.

Same here.

digistil

2013-04-03 04:03:34 AM

It was a rumor, but has been debunked.

BarkingUnicorn

2013-04-03 04:06:28 AM

digistil: BarkingUnicorn: Now That's What I Call a Taco!: 800 South Koreans are currently trapped at the factory. SK working on military contingency plans to get them out if necessary.

This is now an international hostage crisis. Un could literally go from "tubby annoyance" to full-blown mad man tomorrow.

Citation, please. All I'm seeing is that South Koreans aren't allowed IN.

It was a rumor, but has been debunked.

Damn you, Obama!

The All-Powerful Atheismo

2013-04-03 04:15:12 AM

js34603: valar_morghulis: YOU PAY NOW

What happened to you valar? You used to be cool.

VALAR STILL COOL!

YOU PAY LATER!

digistil

2013-04-03 04:20:24 AM

BarkingUnicorn: digistil: BarkingUnicorn: Now That's What I Call a Taco!: 800 South Koreans are currently trapped at the factory. SK working on military contingency plans to get them out if necessary.

This is now an international hostage crisis. Un could literally go from "tubby annoyance" to full-blown mad man tomorrow.

Citation, please. All I'm seeing is that South Koreans aren't allowed IN.

It was a rumor, but has been debunked.

Damn you, Obama!

Funny enough, the rumor was mostly being spread on Twitter with the hashtag #tcot

ontariolightning

2013-04-03 04:20:53 AM

SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- Seoul's defense chief said Wednesday the military is considering all available options, including possible military action, to ensure the safety of the hundreds of South Koreans who remain in the North's border town of Kaesong after the communist state cut off access to a joint industrial complex there.
Early Wednesday, Pyongyang banned South Korean workers from entering the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, only allowing South Koreans currently staying in the border town to return home.

awalkingecho

2013-04-03 04:29:10 AM

ontariolightning: SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- Seoul's defense chief said Wednesday the military is considering all available options, including possible military action, to ensure the safety of the hundreds of South Koreans who remain in the North's border town of Kaesong after the communist state cut off access to a joint industrial complex there.
Early Wednesday, Pyongyang banned South Korean workers from entering the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, only allowing South Koreans currently staying in the border town to return home.

If that is factual and they choose that option, this will get grim quickly.

LordOfThePings

2013-04-03 05:37:21 AM

Northern

2013-04-03 05:41:25 AM

Owangotang: I had a brother at Kaesong
Fighting off them Viet-cong
They're still there, he's all gone

Damn you, beat me to it

Displayed 50 of 281 comments

Oldest | « | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | » | Newest | Show all

View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Redisplay/refresh comments

This thread is archived, and closed to new comments.

If you like these links, you'll love

Come check out what's behind the curtain.

learn more | sign up

Report

Advertise on Fark

learn more

Like Fark!

Follow @Fark On Twitter

Headlines of the Week
Fark NotNewsletter

Report

Fark.com

Top Commented

Top Commented ▼

Top Commented
Top Clicked
Top Voted
My Recent Commented
Recent Mentions

Javascript is required to view headlines in widget.

Links are submitted by members of the Fark community.
When community members submit a link, they also write a custom headline for the story.
Other Farkers comment on the links. This is the number of comments. Click here to read them.
You need to create an account to submit links or post comments.
Click here to submit a link.