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Selected articles list

Selected article 1

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/1

An American 2.36-inch bazooka team takes aim at a North Korean tank during the Battle of Osan.
An American 2.36-inch bazooka team takes aim at a North Korean tank during the Battle of Osan.
The Battle of Osan was the first engagement between United States and North Korean forces during the Korean War, on July 5, 1950. A U.S. task force of 400 infantry supported by an artillery battery was moved to Osan, south of the South Korean capital Seoul, and ordered to fight as a rearguard to delay advancing North Korean forces while additional U.S. forces arrived in the country to form a defensive line. The task force lacked both anti-tank guns and effective infantry anti-tank weapons. Aside from a limited number of HEAT shells for the unit's 105-mm howitzers, crew-served weapons capable of defeating the T-34 had not been distributed to U.S. Army forces in Korea at the time. In the first encounter, a North Korean tank column overran the task force and continued its advance south. After the column had successfully breached American lines, the task force opened fire on a force of some 5,000 North Korean infantry approaching its position, temporarily holding up the North Korean advance. Eventually, North Korean troops overwhelmed American positions, and the remnants of the task force retreated in disorder. (Full article...)

Selected article 2

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/2

Flag of the Korean People's Army
Flag of the Korean People's Army
The 766th Independent Infantry Regiment was a light infantry regiment of the North Korean People's Army that existed briefly during the Korean War. Trained extensively in amphibious warfare and unconventional warfare, the 766th Regiment was considered a special forces commando unit. Activated in 1949, the regiment trained for more than a year before the outbreak of the war on June 25, 1950. On that day, half of the regiment led North Korean forces against South Korean troops by land and sea, pushing them back after several days of fighting. Over the next six weeks the regiment advanced slowly down the Korean Peninsula, acting as a forward unit of the North Korean army. Suffering from a lack of supplies and mounting casualties, the regiment was committed to the Battle of Pusan Perimeter as part of a push to force United Nations troops out of Korea. The regiment saw its final action at the Battle of P'ohang-dong, fighting unsuccessfully to take the town from UN troops. (Full article...)

Selected article 3

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/3

US forces prepare to retreat from Taejon, July 1950
US forces prepare to retreat from Taejon, July 1950
The Battle of Taejon was an early battle between United States and North Korean forces during the Korean War. Forces of the United States Army, attempting to defend the headquarters of the 24th Infantry Division were overwhelmed by numerically superior forces of the Korean People's Army at the major city and transportation hub of Taejon. Hampered by lack of communications equipment and shortages of heavy weapons to match North Korean firepower, the American forces, outnumbered, ill-equipped and untrained, were pushed back from the river bank after several days, before fighting an intense urban battle to defend the city The delay imposed at Taejon probably prevented an American rout during the subsequent Battle of the Pusan Perimeter. Also significant, the North Koreans captured Major General William F. Dean, the commander of the 24th Infantry Division, and highest ranking American prisoner during the Korean War. (Full article...)

Selected article 4

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/4

Graphic from the United States Geological Survey showing the location of seismic activity at the time of the test
Graphic from the United States Geological Survey showing the location of seismic activity at the time of the test
The 2009 North Korean nuclear test was the underground detonation of a nuclear device conducted on 25 May 2009 by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. This was its second nuclear test, the first test having taken place in October 2006. Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang also conducted several missile tests. The test was nearly universally condemned by the international community. Following the test, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1874 condemning the test and tightening sanctions on the country. It is widely believed that the test was conducted as a result of a succession crisis in the country. After Kim Jong-Il suffered a stroke in the summer of 2008, arrangements were made for his third son, Kim Jong-un, to take power upon his death. It is believed the North Koreans conducted the nuclear test to show that, even in a time of possible weakness, it did not intend to give up its nuclear weapons program. (Full article...)

Selected article 5

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/5

The Ryugyong Hotel in August 2011
The Ryugyong Hotel in August 2011
The Ryugyong Hotel is an unfinished 105-story, 330-metre-tall (1,080 ft) pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name ("capital of willows") is also one of the historical names for Pyongyang. The building is also known as the 105 Building, a reference to its number of floors The building has been planned as a mixed-use development, which would include a hotel. The building is currently listed by Guinness World Records as being the tallest unoccupied building in the world. (Full article...)

Selected article 6

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/6

The Korean War was a military conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea which was supported by People's Republic of China (PRC), and with air support from the Soviet Union. The war began on 25 June 1950 and an armistice was signed on 27 July 1953. The war was a result of the political division of Korea by agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War. The Korean peninsula had been ruled by Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. The failure to hold free elections throughout the Korean Peninsula in 1948 deepened the division between the two sides, and the North established a Communist government. During the war, both North and South Korea were sponsored by external powers, thus facilitating the war's metamorphosis from a civil war to a proxy war between powers involved in the larger Cold War. The initial mobile campaign transitioned to trench warfare, lasting from July 1951 until the 1953 border stalemate and armistice though minor outbreaks of fighting continue to the present day. (Full article...)

Selected article 7

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/7

Herman G. Felhoelter, the U.S Army chaplain who was killed in the massacre.
Herman G. Felhoelter, the U.S Army chaplain who was killed in the massacre.
The Chaplain–Medic massacre was a war crime that took place in the Korean War on July 16, 1950, on a mountain above the village of Tunam, South Korea. Thirty unarmed, critically wounded United States Army soldiers and an unarmed chaplain were killed by members of the North Korean army during the Battle of Taejon.

Operating at the Kum River during the Battle of Taejon, troops of the U.S. Army's 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, were cut off from resupply by a roadblock established by North Korean troops of the NK 3rd Division. The roadblock proved difficult to break, and forced U.S. troops to move through nearby mountains to evacuate their wounded.

Thirty critically wounded U.S. troops were stranded at the top of a mountain. Attended to by only two non-combatants, a chaplain and a medic, the wounded were discovered by a North Korean patrol. Though the medic was able to escape, the North Koreans executed the unarmed chaplain as he prayed over the wounded, then killed the rest of them. The massacre was one of several incidents that led U.S. commanders to establish a commission in July to look into war crimes during the war. (Full article...)

Selected article 8

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/8

Bodies of massacre victims gathered near Waegwan, South Korea, many with their hands still bound
Bodies of massacre victims gathered near Waegwan, South Korea, many with their hands still bound
The Hill 303 massacre (Korean: 303 고지 학살 사건) was a war crime that took place during the Korean War on August 17, 1950 on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea. Forty-one captured United States Army prisoners of war were shot and killed by members of the North Korea army during one of the smaller engagements of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter.

Operating near Taegu during the Battle of Taegu, elements of the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division were surrounded by North Korean troops crossing the Naktong River at Hill 303. Most of the U.S. troops were able to escape but one platoon of mortar operators misidentified North Korean troops as South Korean army reinforcements and was captured. North Korean troops held the Americans on the hill and initially tried to move them across the river and out of the battle, but they were unable to do so because of heavy counterattack. American forces eventually broke the North Korean advance, routing the force. As the North Koreans began to retreat one of their officers ordered the prisoners to be shot so they would not slow the North Koreans down. (Full article...)

Selected article 9

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/9

Troops of the US 35th Infantry display a North Korean flag captured along the Nam River
Troops of the US 35th Infantry display a North Korean flag captured along the Nam River
The Battle of Nam River was an engagement between United Nations (UN) and North Korean (NK) forces early in the Korean War from August 31 to September 19, 1950, in the vicinity of the Nam River and the Naktong River in South Korea. It was a part of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter, and was one of several large engagements fought simultaneously. The battle ended in a victory for the United Nations after large numbers of United States (US) and Republic of Korea (ROK) troops were able to repel a North Korean attack across the river.

Positioned in defense of Masan during the Battle of Masan, the US 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division took up positions along the Nam River, one of the many tributaries of the Naktong River on the southern flank of the Pusan Perimeter. The North Korean People's Army's 7th Division effected a crossing of the river on August 31, and though the 35th Infantry was able to stem the North Korean advance, thousands of North Korean troops were able to exploit a hole in the line and surround the regiment. What followed was an intense battle in which the US and North Korean units were heavily engaged all along and behind the Kum River line. (Full article...)

Selected article 10

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/10

Seth Rodgen
Seth Rodgen
The Interview is a 2014 American political satire comedy film directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The film stars Rogen and James Franco as journalists who set up an interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Randall Park), and are recruited by the CIA to assassinate him.

Rogen and Goldberg developed the idea for The Interview in the late 2000s, with Kim Jong-il as the original assassination target. In 2011, after Jong-il's death, Jong-un replaced him as the North Korean leader. Rogen and Goldberg re-developed the script with the focus on Jong-un's character.

In June 2014, the North Korean government threatened action against the United States if Columbia Pictures released the film. Columbia delayed the release from October to December, and reportedly re-edited the film to make it more acceptable to North Korea. In November, the computer systems of parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment were hacked by the "Guardians of Peace", a group the FBI claims has ties to North Korea. The group also threatened terrorist attacks against cinemas that showed the film. Major cinema chains opted not to release the film, leading Sony to release it for online rental and purchase on December 24, 2014, followed by a limited release at select cinemas the next day. (Full article...)

Selected article 11

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/11

The flag of the Workers' Party of Korea
The flag of the Workers' Party of Korea
The 6th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was held in the February 8 House of Culture in Pyongyang, North Korea, from 10–14 October 1980. The congress is the highest organ of the party, and is stipulated to be held every four years. 3,062 delegates represented the party's membership; 117 foreign delegates attended the congress, without the right to speak. The congress saw the reappointment of Kim Il-sung as WPK General Secretary and the Presidium of the Politburo established as the highest organ of the party between congresses.

At this congress, Kim Il-sung designated his son Kim Jong-il as his successor. The move was criticized by the South Korean media and ruling communist parties of the socialist states in Eastern Europe and Asia because it was considered nepotist. The congress also saw the WPK and North Korea move away from orthodox communism by emphasizing the Juche idea over Marxism–Leninism, giving the party a nationalistic bent. The next party congress was not convened before 2016, despite party rules that stipulated that a congress had to be held every fifth year. (Full article...)

Selected article 12

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/12

Cover page of On the Art of the Cinema
Cover page of On the Art of the Cinema
On the Art of the Cinema (Korean영화예술론; lit. Film Art Theory), also known as The Theory of Cinematic Art, is a 1973 treatise by the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. It is considered the most authoritative work on North Korean filmmaking.

The book sets forth several original theories, which can be applied to the practices of filmmaking, the arts, and beyond. Of these the theory of literature as "humanics" and the "seed theory" are the most important ones. Humanics centers on the question of good and worthy life. In art, it emphasizes truly independent individuals who are capable of transforming society. The seed theory has become essential to North Korean film theory. It seeks to direct all artistic creation through a single ideological foundation, or "seed". In an individual work, the seed is the synthesis of its subject matter and idea and the basis of its propaganda message. These ideas complement the themes of nationalistic form and socialist content of films. Many ideas presented in the book are justifications for the creation of propaganda supporting the Workers' Party of Korea's policies. (Full article...)

Selected article 13

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/13

A man smokes at a shop selling cigarettes.
A man smokes at a shop selling cigarettes.
Tobacco smoking is popular and, at least for men, culturally acceptable in North Korea. As of 2014, some 45% of men are reported to smoke daily, whilst in contrast only 2.5% of women smoke daily, with most of these being older women from rural areas. Smoking is a leading cause of death in North Korea, and as of 2010 mortality figures indicate that 34% of men and 22% of women die due to smoking-related causes, the highest mortality figures in the world. There are tobacco control programs in North Korea, and although smoking is not prohibited in all public spaces, the smoking rates have declined since their peak in the 2000s. (Full article...)

Selected article 14

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/14

A Kim Il-sung badge
A Kim Il-sung badge
Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il badges are lapel pins with portraits of the eternal leaders of North Korea, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. They have been made since the late 1960s. The badges are produced by the Mansudae Art Studio. There are more than 20 different designs, some of which are more sought-after than others. Ordinary North Koreans wear simple designs with a portrait of Kim Il-sung, whereas those higher up in the society prefer badges that have both Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il portrayed. (Full article...)

Selected article 15

Portal:North Korea/Selected article/15

Craft beer at the Taedonggang Microbrewery No. 3 in Pyongyang
Craft beer at the Taedonggang Microbrewery No. 3 in Pyongyang
North Korea has at least ten major breweries and many microbreweries that supply a wide range of beer products. The top brand is the light lager Taedonggang by the state-owned Taedonggang Brewing Company.

The country's problems with goods distribution and power output have forced North Korean brewers to innovate. To minimize distribution, many restaurants and hotels maintain their own microbreweries. Because unreliable power supply makes it difficult to refrigerate beer, North Koreans have developed their own steam beer, an originally American beer style brewed in higher than normal temperatures, that is widely available. (Full article...)