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| Kim Jong Un-derwater: North Korean dictator heads out to sea to 'teach navigation methods to captain'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un led a drill and taught the captain of a submarine how to navigate as he visited a navy unit, it has been reported. The dictator visited the North Korean Navy Unit 167, where he reportedly spoke of the importance of the country's submarine units. Pictures released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of North Korea's ruling Workers Party, show the leader riding on top of the submarine as it remained above water and being shown around the inside of the vessel. Scroll down for videos +8 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been pictured on board a submarine as he inspected a navy unit stationed on the east coast of the country +8 Kim reportedly guided a navy drill while on board the submarine, and even taught the captain how to navigate +8 The dictator spoke of the importance of the country's submarine units as he visited the North Korean Navy Unit 167 The paper said Kim called for the crew on the submarine to 'devote their wisdom and enthusiasm to rounding off the combat preparations'. The dictator also reportedly led a navy drill and even taught 'navigation methods' to the submarine's captain, according to the Korean Central News Agency, as cited by the South's Yonhap News Agency. He said: 'The Party Central Committee is attaching great importance to the combined units of submarines.' Patches of rust can be seen in the pictures of the green vessel, which Yonhap said is believed to be part of the South Hamgyong Province-based East Sea fleet command.That the pictures would reveal the submarine to be in such a condition has surprised North Korea expert Aidan Foster-Carter. He told The Telegraph: 'To see rust in a North Korean picture is quite surprising. Normally they tart stuff up.' North Korea broadcasts Kim Jong Un watching artillery +8 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspects the submarine No. 748 of the Korean People's Army (KPA) naval unit 167 led 7th regiment +8 Kim reportedly called for the crew on the submarine to 'devote their wisdom and enthusiasm to rounding off the combat preparations' +8 Kim Jong-Un poses with seamen as he inspects the naval unit at an undisclosed location According to the KCNA, during the visit to the submarine the dictator said: 'The commanding officers and seamen should clearly see through the motives of the hateful enemies watching for a chance to invade our land and put spurs to combat preparations, thinking about battles only.' It was reported last week the dictator inspected the Ryo Islet Defense Detachment - a vast military base responsible for protecting the island of Ryodo and the coastal city of Wonsan. Wonson is an area of particular strategic importance to Kim because on its outskirts lies his favourite luxury holiday home. +8 Patches of rust can be seen in the pictures of the green vessel, which Yonhap said is believed to be part of the South Hamgyong Province-based East Sea fleet command +8 Kim was quoted as saying: 'The Party Central Committee is attaching great importance to the combined units of submarines' '[The outpost] is an important combat mission of the detachment to definitely turn the islet into an impregnable fortress and unsinkable battleship and thus not to allow enemies to invade the socialist homeland,' state-run news agancy KCNA said. The young leader and his father, the late leader Kim Jong-il, have frequently visited the vacation home and last year ordered the creation of the nation's first beach resort in the city. Kim praised the military detachment for successfully doing 'everything the Party Central Committee considered as good,' while also saying that it is 'a model unit where the party's military policy is being most correctly implemented and a typical one for the whole army to learn from,' according to the report. Kim Jong-un's playboy half brother enjoys spaghetti in Jakarta amid concerns of assassination attempt by North Koreans
He has been moving from city to city in South East Asia keeping his eyes and ears open for any attempt by North Korean agents to assassinate him. But Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, has daringly stepped out into the public gaze in Indonesia - and tucked into a dish of 'spag-bol' in an Italian restaurant in Jakarta. He even wrapped a burly arm around the chef's shoulders as they posed for a photo, but the chef was so concerned about his own safety that he asked for his face to be obscured. +2 Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, poses for a photo with the chef of an Italian restaurant in Jakarta earlier this month Kim looked every part the aging playboy he is reputed to be as he brazenly grinned into the camera with his dangling sunglasses and straw hat. Happy to shake off memories of bibimbap - a common North Korean dish of rice, vegetables and occasionally eggs and meat - Kim is said to have consumed his Italian meal with great relish in the upmarket restaurant. The photo was acquired by South Korea's YTN television network from a friend of Kim's. ‘Despite reports that Kim Jong-nam's safety was in question following the execution of his uncle, Jang Song-taek, he is still alive and well,' said a source close to the family. 'He's living the same lavish lifestyle, moving around between Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and France.' He has been seen in the casinos of Macau and slipping into fine-dining restaurants throughout South East Asia. But he is said to be aware that his life remains in constant danger because he criticised the King Jong-un regime and he made sure he 'disappeared' following the execution of Jang last December. Another source claims that a North Korean agent had tried to assassinate Kim Jong-nam in Macau in 2011, but failed after a bloody shootout with his bodyguards. He fled to another city. Since then, he has lived the life of a wandering playboy and when he visited the Italian restaurant - which is owned by a Japanese businessman - he was accompanied by an attractive woman aged in her early 30s. +2 Kim Jong-Nam has been moving from city to city in South East Asia amid concerns of an assassination attempt by North Korean agents Until late 2011, when his father - former leader Kim Jong-il, who is also Kim Jong-un's father by a different mother - was still alive, Jong-nam shuffled back and forth between Beijing and Macau, where his first and second wives lived. He is also known to have travelled to Thailand, Austria and Russia, stopping in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, from time to time. But following the death of his father he disappeared from view, fearing the purges being carried out by his younger half-brother. He has been able to live well, say North Korea watchers, thanks to benefits from building projects and trading companies set up by his executed uncle Jang Song-taek. 'It is possible that he believes he is not on the list of those to be purged by the current North Korean regime,' a source said. 'This is why he has happily posed for a photo in an Indonesian restaurant. But he would not have gone back there a second time - just in case.' In fact, it is believed he has moved on from Jakarta since the picture was taken earlier this month. He is said to be still on his guard, worried that his playboy lifestyle might have infuriated his younger half-brother, who had been angered by the 'worldliness and womanising' of Kim Jang-taek. There is speculation that Beijing is watching Kim Jong-nam's back for him, with a pencilled-in plan to install him as leader of North Korea should the regime of Kim Jong-un collapse.
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| Looks like Un's been to Iceland! North Korean dictator rewards his men for carrying out his father's last wish: to plant lots of trees
When Kim Jong Un wants to reward his faithful minions he puts on a magnificent spread replete with all the trimmings. There were dips, deep-fried vegetables and even some boiled eggs on offer as the North Korean despot thanked officers for fulfilling his father's dying dream: to plant a lot of trees. He made the bountiful gesture following an inspection of the Ryo Islet Defense Detachment - a vast military base responsible for protecting the island of Ryodo and the coastal city of Wonsan. +7 Bountiful: There were dips, deep-fried vegetables and even some boiled eggs when the North Korean despot thanked officers for fulfilling his father's dying dream: to plant a lot of trees Wonson is an area of particular strategic importance to Kim because on its outskirts lies his favourite luxury holiday home. '[The outpost] is an important combat mission of the detachment to definitely turn the islet into an impregnable fortress and unsinkable battleship and thus not to allow enemies to invade the socialist homeland,' state-run news agancy KCNA said. +7 Another inspection: He made the bountiful gesture following an inspection of the Ryo Islet Defense Detachment - a vast military base responsible for protecting the island of Ryodo and the coastal city of Wonsan The young leader and his father, the late leader Kim Jong-il, have frequently visited the vacation home and last year ordered the creation of the nation's first beach resort in the city. Kim praised the military detachment for successfully doing 'everything the Party Central Committee considered as good,' while also saying that it is 'a model unit where the party's military policy is being most correctly implemented and a typical one for the whole army to learn from,' according to the report. +7 Holiday home: Wonson is an area of particular strategic importance to Kim because on its outskirts lies his favourite luxury holiday home (pictured visiting a nearby ski resort)
Dying wish: The North Korean despot (pictured, left, crying at a memorial service for his father) thanked officers for fulfilling his Kim Jong Il's (right) dying dream to plant a lot of trees It was a marked change from the thunderous mood he was seen in last when he publicly scolded the national weather service for giving incorrect forecasts and using out-of-date equipment. In a rare public dressing down of a government body, Kim urged the Hydro-meteorological Service to update its equipment and improve its work. 'There are many incorrect forecasts as the meteorological observation has not been put on a modern and scientific basis,' Kim said, telling the agency to 'fundamentally' improve its work and equipment. Kim Jong-Un has issued a rebuke to a government agency in North Korea, criticising the weather service for giving 'incorrect' forecasts and using out of date equipment +7 Public criticism is rare in North Korea, with Kim usually keen to praise government agencies in an attempt to pass his regime off as a success Accurate forecasts are needed to protect the 'lives and properties' of people from disasters caused by 'abnormal climatic phenomenon', he said. Calling the weather service 'very important work directly affecting the overall economic affairs', Kim also underscored the need to 'modernise meteorological observation equipment at a high level', KCNA said. It was not clear when Kim visited the agency, but public criticism of government officials during field trips by North Korean leaders is extremely rare. Usually Kim's official visits are marked by broad smiles and adoring crowds while Kim praises the work people are doing, in an attempt to pass his regime off as a success. Kim Jong-un has engineers behind deadly North Korean apartment collapse 'executed by firing squad'
Kim Jong-un has rounded up the engineers and architects behind the deadly collapse of a North Korean apartment block and executed them by firing squad, it is claimed today. More than 500 people, including high-ranking intelligence and police officials, are thought to have died when the 23-storey building crumbled in the capital, Pyongyang. Kim, who was pictured touring a glass factory in photographs released today, was reportedly unable to sleep after learning of the tragedy last week, thought to have been caused by poor workmanship. Scroll down for video +8 Action: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, pictured inspecting a glass factory, has reportedly had engineers behind an apartment block which collapsed executed +8 Troubled: Kim Jong-un, pictured touring the factory in North Pyongan province, was reportedly unable to sleep after learning of the tragedy According to a Japanese newspaper with sources in North Korea, the key officials and engineers behind the building of the apartment complex have been rounded up and handed down deadly or severe punishment. Four design and construction engineers were executed by firing squad and a military official in charge of the project was sent to a prison camp, a source told the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper. One official has been photographed making a grovelling public apology to a large crowd near site of the collapse, which was then reported - unusually - by North Korea's official news agency. But the photo was carefully shot so as not to include the debris from the collapse - instead it showed another apartment building close by. +8 Punished: The key officials and engineers behind the building of the apartment complex have reportedly been rounded up and handed down deadly or severe punishment +8 Deadly: Four design and construction engineers were executed by firing squad and a military official in charge of the project was sent to a prison camp, it is claimed +8 Damage: The exact cause of the accident remains unclear, but shoddy construction is likely to be the cause as on-site directors and workers often smuggle away steel and cement to sell on the black market The Japanese newspaper said that although the exact cause of the accident remains unclear, shoddy construction is likely to be the cause because on-site directors and workers often smuggle away steel and cement to sell on the black market. Another Japanese newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, reported that the building was inhabited by top intelligence and police officials, which might account for Kim Jong-un's wrath. The building is also thought to have housed a large number of elite members of the Workers Party, and although it had not been finished, residents had started moving in around late November because it is understood only some interior work remained to be completed. At least 92 households were believed to be living in the apartment complex when it came down. North Korea's rare apology after apartment building collapses Remorse: A construction division officer apologises to residents after the collapse of the tower block in Pyongyang +8 Location: A satellite photograph shows the building in the capital, Pyongyang, which is thought to have housed a large number of elite members of the Workers Party Kim Jong-un has been known to order immediate death warrants against those who cause him serious grief, among them his uncle Jang Song-taek and members of his family, including children, it has been claimed by North Korean watchers. The leader started an aggressive construction drive in the capital in 2009, but the projects were plagued by a shortage of construction materials, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun. However, Kim pressed workers to continue building, including working hard and fast to complete a vast ski resort earlier this year in the Masik Pass in the eastern mountains. Photographs released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency today showed him inspecting the Taegwan Glass Factory in North Pyongan province. Last month, satellite photos showed that the roof of a luxury villa belonging to leader Kim Jong-Un had collapsed, also due to faulty construction. +8 High rise city: The block of flats was under construction but it is believed that many families had moved in before the block was completed An American satellite image expert said the building appeared to be an aquarium that was built in 2011. Kim Jong-Un had used material imported from Italy and Germany and had then filled it with £2 million worth of marine life including dolphins brought in from China. North Korean defectors said that military engineers were responsible for building Kim's person villas. A source told the South Korean newspaper: 'Once Kim Jong-un sets a completion date, there is no arguing. 'This frantic push to meet deadlines is everywhere causing problems with quality.'
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| Kim Jong Un's Busy Year
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been in power for about two and a half years now, and the family tradition of "field guidance" trips shows no sign of abating. Kim Jong Un, like his father and grandfather before him, visits hospitals, factories, and military facilities, giving on-the-spot advice, which is dutifully recorded by the many note-takers in attendance at every event. Gathered here are just a few of the photos of these visits, released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) over the past 12 months. [31 photos] Use j/k keys or ←/→ to navigate Choose: 1024px 1280px North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (front) in the conning tower of a submarine during his inspection of the Korean People's Army (KPA) Naval Unit 167 in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on June 16, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) Kim Jong Un looks through a periscope of a submarine during his inspection of KPA Naval Unit 167 in Pyongyang on June 16, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un visits a submarine during his inspection of KPA Naval Unit 167 in Pyongyang on June 16, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un rides in the conning tower of a submarine during his inspection of KPA Naval Unit 167 in Pyongyang on June 16, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un, surrounded by admirers, guides a multiple-rocket launching drill by women's sub-units under KPA Unit 851, in this undated photo released by KCNA on April 24, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un inspects a biscuit as he provides field guidance at Foodstuff Factory No. 354 of the Korean People's Army on November 17, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA) # Students at Mangyongdae Revolutionary School greet Kim Jong Un on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Children's Union in Pyongyang on June 7, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un gives field guidance to the Pyongyang Weak-current Apparatus Factory in Pyongyang on March 3, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un walks through an exhibit during a visit to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, which is nearing completion, on July 2, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA) # North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol Ju, applauds as they attend an art performance by the Moranbong Band at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang on May 20, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un supervises a flight drill of the KPA Air and Anti-Air Force Unit 2620 on March 7, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # At the Ryugyong Dental Hospital and Okryu Children's Hospital in Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un observes, on March 22, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) # Posing for a souvenir photo, Kim Jong Un stands with Dennis Rodman and his former U.S. NBA basketball colleagues after a basketball game against North Korean players of the Hwaebul team of the DPRK at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium on January 9, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un applauds during a photo session with war veteran delegates who took part in the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the truce of the Korean War on July 30, 2013. Kim Jong Un, reportedly 5 ft, 9 in tall, appears to tower over most of the veterans in attendance. (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of apartment buildings for faculty members of Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang on May 21, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance to the Hydro-meteorological Service in Pyongyang on June 10, 2014. He was apparently unhappy with the performance of the forecasters, reportedly criticizing their "many incorrect forecasts", and saying that "only when meteorological observation and forecast are done properly, is it possible to protect the lives and properties of the people from disasters caused by the abnormal climatic phenomenon and prevent various fields of national economy including agriculture and fishery from natural disasters in good time." (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un is greeted enthusiastically as he visits an outpost at Mount Osung on December 28, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA) # Water slides made by the Korean People's Army (KPA) are examined by Kim Jong Un on June 2, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un inspects the Korean People's Army (KPA) Air and Anti-Air Force Unit 447 on May 14, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un addresses commanding officers of the combined units of the Korean People's Army in Pyongyang on April 2, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) # Soldier-builders of KPA Units 966, 462, 101, 489, who took part in building the workers' hostel of Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang Textile Mill, applaud during a photo session with Kim Jong Un on May 6, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un visits the newly built workers' hostel of Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang Textile Mill on April 30, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # Ar the construction site of a ski resort on Masik Pass, Kim Jong Un and entourage make observations on November 3, 2013.(Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un gives field guidance to the August 25 Fisheries Station under KPA 313 Unit on December 16, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA) # Both staff members and children react as Kim Jong Un smiles during a visit to Taesongsan General Hospital in Pyongyang on May 19, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un smokes a cigarette as he attends a flight exercise of the KPA Air and Anti-Air Force Unit 188 on March 17, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) # At the January 18 General Machinery Plant, Kim Jong Un specifies tasks and methods for its modernization, on May 14, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un is surrounded by female participants of the first meeting of the airpersons of the Korean People's Army (KPA) during a photo session in Pyongyang on April 17, 2014. (Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un and others share a laugh as he gives field guidance at the Ryongmun Liquor Factory in Pyongyang on May 28, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) # Kim Jong Un inspects KPA Unit 863 on June 14, 2014. Note the image used as wallpaper in the background is the same photo discovered to have been digitally altered last year. (Reuters/KCNA) # North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guides a multiple-rocket launching drill of women's sub-units under KPA Unit 851 on April 24, 2014.(Reuters/KCNA) |
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