While the world has been fixated on North Korea’s growing nuclear missile arsenal, the rogue state’s threats against the West now include a weapon that can take down a country’s electricity grid.
South Koreans prepare to release balloons filled with chocolate pies and cookies over to North Korea.
Last week, North Korea got a sweet surprise from its neighbor, South Korea. About 200 South Koreans along with North Korean defectors packed 770 pounds of Choco Pies into plastic bags, which they attached to 50 giant balloons and released into North Korea from a park in the border city of Paju, according to organizers of the event. It was an act of rebellion against the alleged North Korean ban on the chocolate confections.
North Korea may have more than 6 times the amount of rare earths as China.
SRE Minerals Limited, a U.K.-based private equity firm, has found the largest rare earth oxides deposits in the world in North Korea, according to statements by the company.
There is a very cool film loop from the NOAA showing the progression of the night sky in China from 1992 to 2010. You can watch the full animation here. Above is a photo of 1992 and here is 2010. (Pics)
On Wednesday, the People’s Daily online deleted a story and 55-photo slide show that named Kim Jong-un, the young, chubby ruler of North Korea, as the “Sexiest Man Alive of 2012.”
Satellite image of North and South Korea at night.
The world’s most secretive country is also one of its darkest. This satellite image shows night in North Korea. The capital Pyongyang, near the western coast, is one of the only places in the country with electricity. At the top of the picture, the illuminations show cities in China. At the bottom right, Kyushu and the southern islands of Japan.
Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang stands out on the Pyongyang skyline in 2009
One of the world’s largest hotels, the massive Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, is nearly ready to welcome guests after nearly two decades in the making, according to Architizer. (photos and video)