Ep. 47: Ttuegunboricha Hot Tea #4

The Demystified Zone (DMZ)

1. NORTH KOREANS SUFFER IN FREEZING WINTER
   1. Due to firewood shortage, North Korean residents have difficulty heating their homes and staying warm this winter. North Koreans usually prepare kindling or charcoal briquettes in autumn, but a source in North Hamgyong Province said that most people were unable to purchase enough due to the high price of firewood which climbed from KPW 2,000 in mid-November to KPW 3,000 in December.
2. NORTH KOREA LAUNCHED HYPERSONIC MISSILE IN 2024
   1. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile into the waters off the east coast of the Korean peninsula. The hypersonic missile flew about 1,000 kilometers (around 600 miles) at a maximum altitude of at least 50 kilometers (around 30 miles) before landing in the sea.
3. LOW-KEY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS FOR KIM JONG-UN
   1. Kim is speculated to have turned 40 this year, but unlike previous years where large funds were raised to give away candies to children ahead of the leader’s birthday, North Korea has significantly lowered both the quantity and quality of candies this year.
4. NK RESTAURANTS RACIST TOWARDS SOUTH KOREANS
   1. As Korean food has become more popular around the world with the rise in popularity in K-pop and K-drama, Pyongyang has also taken advantage of the K-trend and actively opened state-run restaurants across Asia, the Middle East and Europe as a stable source of foreign income despite United Nations sanctions banning North Koreans from working overseas.
5. NORTH KOREA NO LONGER INTERESTED IN REUNIFICATION
   1. During a year-end party meeting, North Korea’s leader warned the nation to prepare for further economic hardships in 2024 and gave orders to accelerate war preparations against the U.S. Kim Jong-un encouraged his people to wage a “more courageous and resolute struggle despite the ever-increasing challenges and difficulties” in the new year.
6. JU-AE: NK'S NEXT LEADER?
   1. According to South Korea’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, the 10-year-old Ju-ae is seen as her father’s likely heir apparent. In addition to being called Kim Jong-un’s “most beloved” or “respected” child, photos and footage showing her accompanying Kim at public activities prove her rising political standing and closeness with her father as analysts speculate that Ju-ae is receiving training to take the reins of the hermit kingdom.
7. KIM JONG-UN IN TEARS AS HE CALLED ON WOMEN TO HAVE MORE CHILDREN
   1. Kim Jong-un urged women to have more children to strengthen national power at the National Mothers Meeting. The leader was moved to tears as he expressed gratitude to mothers in North Korea to boost national morale, “I too always think about mothers when I have a hard time dealing with the party and the state’s work.”

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