North Korea Warns US of ‘Disastrous Final Doom’ – ABC News

Korea’s National Defense Commission took to the airwaves today to threaten the United States with the “most disastrous final doom on its mainland,” warning that “the time of the nightmare” is near.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/north-korea-warns-us-disastrous-final-doom/story?id=28711834

This article is so laughable that I almost decided not to share it. Then I thought, you guys could use a good laugh.

“In South Korea, Preaching Peace Is Now a Deportable Offense”

For the past two months, the Korean American housewife had made daily headlines in South Korea after her speaking tour on her travels to North Korea sparked controversy and became the target of right-wing attacks. At one of the events, the detonation of a homemade bomb forced the evacuation of 200 people.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/28871-in-south-korea-preaching-peace-is-now-a-deportable-offense

Seriously, this is pretty fucked up.  I have seen a slow and creeping action against citizens of Korea for utter non-sense ideas.

I do have a rather large question about this part though:

Seol-gyeong talked about her boyfriend, and another guide worried about his children’s education.

I would need much more context but in my experience, Koreans are NOT that open to people they don’t know.  Yet one thing I do hear tons of, is how Pyongyang is their ‘propaganda city’.  Meaning everything is very different there than anywhere else in the country and purposely designed to make things look better than they really are.  I’ve not read her book but it would be interesting to see what she covers in it and note what seems plausible and what does not.

North Korea Slams Israel as a Rogue ‘Nuclear Threat’ | The National Interest Blog

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry slammed the “shamelessness of Israel” on Friday, calling the Jewish State a “rogue group” that “poses a nuclear threat” and commits “terrorist attack[s]” against neighboring countries.

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/north-korea-slams-israel-rogue-nuclear-threat-12118

Pot calling the kettle black??!!

Smh…

Surprise! North Korea’s official news site delivers malware, too

A security researcher examining the website of North Korea’s official news service, the Korean Central News Agency, has discovered that the site delivers more than just the latest photo spread of Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong Un inspecting mushroom farms. There’s a little extra surprise hidden in the site’s code—malware. The news site appears to double as a way for North Korea to deliver a “watering hole” attack against individuals who want to keep tabs on the “activities” of the DPRK’s dear leader.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/01/surprise-north-koreas-official-news-site-delivers-malware-too/

So, want to read up on this little fiasco this side of the planet?  Might want to re-think that….

You Can Download North Korea’s OS X Knockoff for Desktops (But Don’t)

An anonymous Dogecoin lover recently uploaded a torrent that appears to contain the delightful Mac OS X knockoff built by North Korea. While it’s not news that the DPRK created its own a Linux-based operating system that looks just like OS X, it’s pretty funny that you can now play with what looks like a copy of it.

http://gizmodo.com/you-can-download-north-koreas-os-x-knockoff-for-desktop-1678008498

Yeah….. Of you don’t know how to use a virtual machine, you should probably stay far away from this.  Still, if it’s authentic, it’ll give coders an interesting insight into North Korean copying….err….coding. ;)

The Sony hack was a ploy to keep Kim Jong Un safe from the UN — and it’s working – Vox

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/29/7460277/north-korea-sony-icc

So what was North Korea after? Suki Kim suggests, in Slate, a very compelling theory: North Korea wants to distract from a landmark United Nations effort to refer North Korea’s leadership to the International Criminal Court, which is nearing its final stages.

Now THIS is the first article I’ve read that makes any sense over the whole North Korea thing.

NORAD: Santa Travels to North Korea to Deliver Presents

(Today is THE day for news huh??)

NORAD does not dictate Santa’s route, military officials have repeatedly said, but tracks him wherever he goes. NORAD officials, who every year craft an elaborate website that purports to track the “jolly old elf,” said Santa travels wherever children believe in him. Earlier, NORAD said its Santa Tracker cyberdefenses are prepared to handle any potential attack, including from North Korea.

Wait what?

 NORAD said its Santa Tracker cyberdefenses are prepared to handle any potential attack, including from North Korea

Right….after the whole Sony/Nuclear Plant Hack media fiasco, just what kind of ‘presents’ is he actually delivering to North Korea huh?!

South Korea official says cannot rule out North’s hand in hack of nuclear operator

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co Ltd (KHNP), which runs South Korea’s 23 nuclear power reactors, said on Monday that its computer systems had been hacked but only non-critical data had been stolen. Operations were not at risk, it said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/23/us-southkorea-cybersecurity-usa-idUSKBN0K100D20141223

Of course, you can’t rule our Ethiopia, Lithuania or Zimbabwe either….. :/

North Korea’s internet goes dark

Over the weekend, as North Korean officials demanded a “joint investigation” into the Sony attacks and denied culpability — an assertion the United States rejected — Internet service began to get wobbly. By early Monday, the Internet went as dark as one of those satellite photographs showing the impoverished country by night.

Given their limited connectivity, I wouldn’t be surprise if it could be taken down by a single computer at someone’s house.

That’s amazing