Research Question: How does North Korea's communist government and nuclear technology influence the lives of its people? Source: Foxnews.com Summary: The leaders of North Korea's government met on thursday, and there were rumors that Kim Jong Il's son would be appointed to a higher position in the government to secure his place as next in line for the leadership of North Korea. However, there weren't any reports of that happening this time. Apparently, the top officials in the government meet once or twice a year to pass bills, appoint new leaders, etc. The government has been making significant progress over the past decade or so to be more self-sufficient as a country, which should greatly improve the standard of living for the average North Korean citizen. Reflection: I really think it's great that the people of North Korea might finally be able to have a better life, oppressed though it may be. I think that once the people have a better standard of living, they might also get to doing some thinking for themselves, and maybe have some interesting ideas about how their government is doing things. Yes, I know, that's a best-case scenario, but it could still happen. Questions: 1. What will happen once the people get better lives? 2. Is an overthrow possible? 3. What will Kim Jong Un be like as a ruler?

Research Question: How does North Korea's communist government and nuclear technology influence the lives of its people? Source: Reuters.com Summary: North Korean officials were to meet this past thursday, and there are rumors that Kim Jong Il's son will be given a high position in the party. The 2nd in command position in the North Korean government has been empty for quite some time after the last guy died. This is the first meeting of the North Korean brass since the bombings in South Korea last year. Reflection: I think that this article gives a fairly nice insight into how the North Korean government works, albeit a tad slowly. Part of me wonders why it is that the government officials haven't gotten together since the bombing, which doesn't really do anything to help my theory that the North Korean government is full of idiots. Questions: 1. Why is it that the North Korean government seems to run so slowly and inefficiently at times? 2. Will Kim Jong-un become the next dictator? 3. What will happen if he does?

Summary: north korean officials told the russians that they would be willing to discuss their recently discovered uranium facility in nuke disarmament talks resume. also, south korea is doing regular drills for an attack from their counterparts in the north reflection: i think it's great the the north is willing to actually talk about some of their nuclear program with other nations instead of keeping to themselves and leaving the rest of us wondering. maybe they can be convinced that they don't need to go nuclear questions: why all this transparency all of the sudden? why does NK think that they need nukes just b/c there are US soldiers in the south? could the north be convinced to drop their nuclear program?

Research Question: What is North Korea's Nuclear policy and how does it affect the people of North Korea? Source: AlJazeera Summary: the south koreans are trying to figure out whether or not they should start not allowing food to go to the north or not. if they do, they would probably bring down the regime much faster, but at the same time, they would be starving the people that they consider to be their kin. Or, they could not use food as a weapon, but then the regime would continue as it is. This is an especially pressing issue b/c the north recently unveiled a high-tech uranium enriching facility, which they 'build from scratch' after the negotiations on 2008. Reflection: I think that it's quite sad that the cold war between the north and south has come to this. no country should have to choose between starving their kin and taking down an evil regime. I also think that it's really stupid the the north tried to lie to the world and say that they somehow built a high-tech facility in three years, and all the while their people are starving. Questions: 1. why are the officials in the government so stupid? 2. why don't/can't the people of the north rise up? 3. should the south withhold food or not?

Source: CNN News: Gates to North Korea: End Belligerent Acts http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/01/14/south.korea.gates/index.html Summary: This article talks about how Defense Secretary Gates told the North to stop their war-provoking acts when he was touring southeast Asia. Gates also encouraged them to take steps towards negotiation actions and get back in the six-party peace talks. Gates says that the actions performed by the north are increasingly dangerous for the world. Reflection: I thought this was a pretty good article, as it give some insight as to what happens in the world of politics when dealing with -ahem- troublesome countries. I like it how Gates is taking the initiative and telling North Korea to cut it out. It's good because somebody has to. Their government is like a bad child. If you don't tell the child to stop and behave, that child will grow up to be a real pest and/or threat to you. Questions: Why does the North think that they need Nukes? Why can't we somehow take out the government? Why isn't the North willing to talk with other nations about this?

BBC News - North Korea 'ready for sacred war' with the South http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12067735 Summary: North Korea says that they are prepared to use nuclear force against the South if provoked (they say the provocation is what the South did when they did war exercises after the bombing of an island). The South has taken a similar stance, only they don't use nukes. China wants to get North Korea back in peace talks, but that probably won't happen, seeing as they won't let the UN into their country. Reflection: i think that the North Koreans are just being paranoid. Also, (as seen in an annotation above) we don't know if they actually have a nuke. They could just be bluffing. The South only has taken their new stance and has done the war demonstrations because THEY were provoked by the North, not vice-versa. I really think that the North is being immature. Questions: 1. Does the North actually have a bomb or not? 2. Will both North and South follow through on their promises of war if provoked? 3. if so, what would we do about it?

BBC News: Seoul sends warning of 'strong response' to North Korea http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12108638 Summary: The video on this article's page talks about how the North Korean officials have said that the main focus of their government in 2011 will be economic related, though they didn't talk about their bad relationship with the South. The South is trying to get it through the North's head that they won't be messed with, though there are fears of the North and their nukes. An expert thinks that one of the few reasons as to why there isn't a war there is because of the US troops stationed in the South. Reflection: I really think that the North Korean officials don't really know what they're doing, because they keep threatening South Korea with military action. also, i think that it's a bit scary to think that these crazy people have their hands on some nukes. Questions: 1. What really is the North Korean Nuclear Policy? 2. How much of a threat to the world is North Korea? 3. Is there any way to get peace in the Koran peninsula?