On Wednesday, Pyongyang announced that their Korean-American prisoner Kenneth Bae or known as Pae Jun Ho in North Korea, has begun his stay at a special prison. North Korea sentenced Bae 15 years of hard labour for committing acts of political aggression against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Bae was arrested last month at Rason City, northeast of North Korea.

The official North Korean state-run news agency KCNA said that Bae “is now starting his life at a special prison on Tuesday, but no details were given about the place he is staying in.

The United States, which still has great tensions against North Korea, had asked for the country to surrender Bae and grant amnesty. However, the North Korean government has not given any type of response. Dennis Rodman, who visited North Korea and Kim Jong Un on February, plead to get Bae home, but his efforts also had no effect.

North Korea says that Kenneth Bae is not a “political bargaining chip” wherein the country released several Americans they have captured after a few visits from the former American presidents. North Korea only says that Bae is not guaranteed any humanitarian generosity if the United States continues their hostile policy against North Korea.

North Korea’s sanctions began with its nuclear weapons development programs. In March and April, the United States and North Korea clashed once again as North Korea made threats against the United Nations and the United States.

Source: CNN

North Korea’s rally in celebration of its successful rocket launch last Wednesday indicated the nation’s “saving face” in the midst of a similar attempt to put a weather satellite on orbit in April, which failed due to technical failure. The United States, Japan and South Korea condemned the launch, claiming it to be a demonstration of military strength and the capability of North Korea to launch a rocket at its will.

Governments worldwide are growing worried over the technological developments in North Korea, where nuclear technology is clearly developed. The launch clearly defies the 2009 U.N. restriction of missile testing against North Korea in 2006 and 2009, years in which the country launched its prototype nuclear missiles.

The Japanese government states that it shows North Korea’s ability to attack even the most distant Japanese Islands with their new rocket. Anti-North Korean protests in South Korea wer held in city squares, all in defiance of the nuclear research and technological development that North Korea had developed for state superiority.

The rocket’s parts scattered as it went through its stages to bring the satellite to orbit. Parts landed in the Yellow Sea west of the Korean Peninsula and the Pacific Ocean. Japan also said that it flew over Japanese islands during its launch. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, confirmed the satellites placement into orbit.

The launch also coincides with the events that marked the death of Kim Jong Il on Dec 17 and is clearly the most prominent success of of his governing son Kim Jong Un.

Source: Time

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