The leader of North Korea decided to almost put on his big boy pants, indicating that he could possibly hold talks with his sworn enemies in the south. Of course, there are no guarantees that he would pull his big boy pants all the way up. That decision depends on whether South Korea meet his demands.
President Kim was giving his new year message broadcast on state television.
He said if Pyongyang’s conditions were met, he would even be prepared to hold a summit meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
South Korea said the move was “meaningful”, and talks should include “practical and frank discussions on all issues of mutual concern”.
“Our government hopes for dialogue between the South and North Korean authorities in the near future without limits on format,” said Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae, quoted by the South’s Yonhap news agency.
On Monday, Mr Ryoo had called for dialogue to resume on issues including reunions for families separated by the Korean War, adding that he hoped North Korea would respond positively.
He offered to meet in Seoul, Pyongyang or any other South or North Korean city agreed with North Korean officials.
Cellphone video taken by student on board sinking South Korean ferry records last words and pictures of teenage passengers. Father requested faces be blurred to protect grieving families. (May 1) Video provided by AP AP
A 17-minute recording made by a student who died when a ferry sank off the coast of South Korea provides the most heartbreaking glimpse yet of how a fun trip turned into horror for young passengers on the doomed Sewol.
The video, translated by USA TODAY and the Associated Press, was found on the phone of 17-year-old student Park Su Hyeon when rescuers recovered his body. His father, Park Jong Dae, said he released it to give his mourning nation a glimpse of the April 16 tragedy from inside the vessel.
The video was released to select South Korea media Monday, the same day authorities released a video taken by a coast guard member showing the Sewol’s captain fleeing the sinking ship while hundreds of passengers, most of them Danwon High School students on a class trip, remained below deck. The videos outraged the nation already devastated by the catastrophe. More than 300 of the 476 people who were on board are dead or missing.
The student video begins at 8:52 a.m. Korea time on April 16. The ship had just begun to list, and the chatter among students is a mix of humor and fear.
Early on, an announcement can be heard: “Don’t move away from your places and brace for any possible accidents.”
A student lightly asks, “Am I going to die?” But another quickly chastises with “It is not time to laugh. We are in a real situation.”
Moments later, one student says “Dad, I don’t want to die.” Another says, “It will be fun if waters flow in.”
Students are heard discussing problems with life jackets, which increases in importance after an announcement is made to don life jackets. By the time the clip ends at 9:09, everyone in view is wearing one.
Some of the students in the video struggle as they try to buckle their life jackets. As the ferry lists, they joke about “final commemorative pictures” and “defying gravity” by trying to walk on the walls.
“It’s like we’re becoming the Titanic,” one student says.
Passengers were repeatedly told to say in place. The announcement, at 9:08: “We’re again announcing: For passengers who can wear life vests, please wear them now. Never move away from your places.”
Capt. Lee Joon Seok said he delayed having passengers evacuate the ship because of worries about sending them into cold waters and fast currents before rescuers arrived. He said he ultimately ordered an evacuation, but it was not clear if that order was ever announced to passengers.
The captain and 14 crewmembers have been detained on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need. Prosecutors are investigating whether stability issues related to too much cargo or a redesign that added more cabins to the ship contributed to the sinking.
Some of the teens in the video use it to offer their last words. Some warn their siblings not to take school trips unless they want to end up like them.
“I’m really scared,” a student says.
“Is it really sinking?” another asks. “Wow, they’re giving us life vests.”
“I’m getting out of here,” one says. “Me too, me too,” says another.
A student says: “We have to survive now.”
“We’re all finished. I have to leave some farewell words before I die,” says another.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s mercurial and enigmatic leader, has died. He was 69.
Kim’s death was announced Monday by state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008 but appeared relatively vigorous in photos and video from recent trips to China and Russia and in numerous trips around the country carefully documented by state media.
The leader, reputed to have had a taste for cigars, cognac and gourmet cuisine, was believed to have had diabetes and heart disease.
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