ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

A former North Korean spy has recalled her role in blowing up a civilian South Korean jet in 1987 – killing all 115 passengers – after being “plucked” from her schoolyard to work for the regime. Kim Hyun-hee, who was later captured and tried to kill herself by swallowing cyanide, has come out of hiding to shed light on the regime’s warmongering and the desperate attempts by its “inexperienced” leader, Kim Jong-un, to shore up control over the military. The 51-year-old was given a death sentence after the 1987 attack, in which she and an accomplice managed to plant a bomb on a plane travelling from Baghdad to Seoul via Abu Dhabi. Despite the death of all 115 passengers on board, she was later pardoned after the South Korean government decided that she had been brainwashed. In an interview from an undisclosed location in South Korea where she lives in fear for her life with her husband and two children, she provided a rare insight into the inner workings of the secretive state and its yo...

Reports that North Korean missiles have been put upright on their launchers come as G8 foreign ministers discuss the crisis. A North Korean missile launcher has moved into the firing position with rockets facing skyward, Japanese media have said. The reports in the Kyodo news agency come as North Koreans celebrate the appointment of their leader Kim Jong-Un a year ago, and G8 foreign ministers discuss the crisis during a meeting in London. The Japanese government has been on high alert ahead of the expected test-firing of a medium-range missile by Pyongyang, deploying Patriot missile batteries in Tokyo as a defence measure. South Korean and US forces in the territory of Guam have announced an upgrade of their surveillance alert status. Tokyo is "gathering a variety of information ... with a sense of tension", Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera was quoted as saying by Kyodo. North Korea celebrates the appointment of Kim Jong-Un Meawnhile, Sky sources say the UK ambassador in...

(CNN) -- North Korea is "skating very close to a dangerous line" after weeks of saber-rattling, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned Wednesday as northeast Asia watched for an expected missile test. "Their actions and their words have not helped defuse a combustible situation," Hagel told reporters at the Pentagon. He said the United States and its allies want to see North Korean rhetoric "ratcheted down," but if that doesn't happen, "our country is fully prepared to deal with any contingency." "We have every capacity to deal with any action North Korea will take to protect this country and the interests of this country and our allies," Hagel said. American radar and satellites are trained on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, where the communist government of Kim Jong Un is believed to have prepared mobile ballistic missiles for launch at any time, U.S. and South Korean officials warned. Hagel: N. Korea close to dangerous...

The use of threats and isolation against Iran and North Korea is a bizarre, perilous way to conduct foreign relations By Jonathan Steele April 10, 2013  -" The Guardian " - By coincidence two clashes over nuclear issues are hitting the headlines together. North Korea and Iran have both had sanctions imposed by foreign governments, and when they refuse to "behave properly" they are submitted to "isolation" and put in the corner until they are ready to say sorry and change their conduct. If not, corporal punishment will be administered, since they have been given fair warning by the enforcers that "all options are on the table". It's a bizarre way to run international relations, one we continue to follow at our peril. For one thing, it is riddled with hypocrisy, and not just because states that have hundreds of nuclear weapons are bullying states that have few or none. The hypocrisy is worse than that. If it is offensive for North Kore...

Tehran, Iran - A 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed 32 and injured hundreds more in a sparsely populated area in southern Iran on Tuesday, Iranian officials said. Authorities said it did not damage a nuclear plant in the region. The report said the earthquake struck the town of Kaki some 96 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bushehr, a town on the Persian Gulf that is home of Iran's first nuclear power plant, built with Russian help. “No damage was done to Bushehr power plant,” Bushehr provincial governor Fereidoun Hasanvand told state TV. He said 32 people died and 850 were injured, including 100 who were hospitalized. Water and electricity were cut to many residents, said Ebrahim Darvishi, governor of the worst-hit district Shonbeh. Shahpour Rostami, the deputy governor of Bushehr province, told state TV that rescue teams have been deployed to Shonbeh. Three helicopters were sent to survey the damaged area before sunset, said Mohammad Mozaffar, the head of Iran's Red Crescent re...

Seoul - South Korea raised its military watch alert to “vital threat” on Wednesday before an expected North Korean missile launch, as United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon warned the Korean peninsula may be slipping out of control. The North last week, told foreign diplomats in Pyongyang they had until April 10 to consider evacuation, fuelling speculation a launch was planned between Wednesday and the April 15 birthday celebrations for late founder Kim Il-Sung. South Korean intelligence says the North has prepared two mid-range missiles for imminent launch from its east coast, despite warnings from ally China to avoid provocative moves at a time of soaring military tensions. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se told Parliament the launch could take place “anytime from now on” and warned Pyongyang it could trigger a fresh round of UN sanctions. On Tuesday, the North reiterated a warning that the peninsula was headed for “thermo-nuclear” war and advised foreigners to consider leaving So...

According to local authorities in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, at least 10 people were killed or injured following a roadside improvised explosive device blast in this province. The officials further added, the incident took place on Tuesday in Marjah district, killing at least five people and injuring five others. No group has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident. Local authorities blame Taliban group for the incident as the Taliban fighters frequently use improvised explosive device to target Afghan and coalition security forces which normally leads to civilian casualties. This comes as at least 9 civilians were killed and over 20 others were injured following a roadside bomb blast in Wardak province on Monday. The United Nations office in Afghanistan also expressed concerns regarding civilians deaths in Afghanistan which shows an increase of during the first three months of 2013 as compared to the similar period last year.

By Stephen Lendman April 09, 2013 " - It shouldn't surprise. It's already policy. Market analyst Graham Summers explained . Depositor theft is coming. Europe is banker occupied territory. So is America. Finance is a new form of warfare. It's more powerful than standing armies. Banking giants run things. Money power has final say. Economies are strip-mined for profit. Communities are laid waste. Ordinary people are impoverished. Even their bank accounts aren't safe. Cypriot officials agreed to tax them. Canada, New Zealand, and Euroland member states plan doing the same thing. So does America. Officially they're called "bail-ins." It's code language for grand theft. Instead of breaking up, nationalizing, or closing down failed banks, depositor funds will keep them operating. Money printing madness can't go on forever. Regulators, like FDIC, haven't enough money to insure depositors. It's simple mathematical logic. Ordinary people and ri...