UK KFA Activities June 2012 UK KFA is organising a picket of the US Embassy on June 25th between 4pm and 6pm subject to confirmation. This is to mark the 62nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean war but more importantly the start of the month of solidarity with the Korean people More details on request. We will be holding our Annual General Meeting the same day from 6pm onwards. Just waiting for confirmation of the venue. UK KFA REFUTES THE SUN ! Although the record of the tabloid "Sun " newspaper part of the discredited and corrupt Murdoch monopoly media empire speaks for itself (note the former editor Ms Rebekah Brooks was arrested for phone-hacking) UK KFA have decided to make some comments about the article in the "Sun" on the DPRK on May 30th ,as the "Sun" still has a large circulation(surprisingly). We do not intend to waste a lot of energy and space on this but a few things need putting straight. The headline " Sun men trick way into north Korea" speaks for itself. Of course there was no need for them to do this as in April 2012 many journalists from different media outlets, BBC,ITN ,CNN,NBC and numerous newspapers visited the DPRK . The Associated Press maintains a small bureau in Pyongyang. However the "Sun" decided that this was too straightforward for them and resorted to trickery but what can you expect from people who sanction phone-hacking. The "Sun" men got a number of things wrong either intentionally or out of sheer ignorance. They claimed that the lights in Pyongyang go out at 11pm at night. UK KFA members who were in Pyongyang in April 2012 can testify that this is not true and that lights are still on at 1-30 in the morning. Power supply problems have in fact been resolved in Pyongyang by the construction of the Huichon Power station. In the style of a semi-literate ignoramus they referred to "communist badges" which presumably was a reference to the portrait badges of the DPRK supreme leaders. Neeedless to say the guiding ideology of the DPRK , the Juche idea is not mentioned once in the article. This shows just how superficial and hollow the article is. They claimed that there were armed guards on the road out of the island that the Yangkaddo Hotel is on but we did not see them in April. Of course the recent revelation about US spies being parachuted into the DPRK means that a high level of vigilance is needed but our friends from the "Sun" would probably be too thick to be in an intelligence service. The "Sun " "journalists" had to admit that people in the DPRK get given flats free of charge but claimed these were grotty flats but did not offer any evidence for this assertion. I am sure that the legions of homeless in London would not say no to a free flat grotty or otherwise. The latest flats in Pyongyang such as the Mansudae area have been equipped with all the latest facilities and are spacious. New flats are been built and existing ones renovated. Average floor space of flats is about 100 sq metres . Some detailed info on this; Ragwon Street constructed 1975 floor space 70 sq m Munsu Stree constructed 1983 floor 100sq m + Changgwang Street constructed 1985 floor space 150 sq m An Sang Thaek Street constructed 1987 floor space 120 sq m Kwangbok Street constructed 1989 floor space 110-180 sq m As the "Sun" says flats are given free of charge in the DPRK but to rent a 150 sq metre flat in Rotherhithe,London is £3000 per week or 6 times(or more) the average take-home pay of a worker in London. Ludicrously the "Sun " claimed no one receives a wage or salary in the DPRK ! If this was true the "Sun" would be applauding because for the past few years they have been enthusiastic supporters of "workfare", that is people working for nothing. The "Sun" seemed to find fault with the WPK leadership urging people to work harder in order to build a thriving socialist country but doesn't the "Sun" continually urge British workers to work harder and blame problems on the "workshy". They also claimed that there were few cars on the road but the amount of traffic has increased a lot in Pyongyang. The "Sun" wrongly claimed that the Kaeson Youth Park funfair was closed but in fact this was extensively renovated and rebuilt and is up and running. It was clearly working whilst we were there in April. The claim was also made that many of the DPRK's leisure facilities are expensively priced when in fact they are either low-cost or free of charge. Reference is made to the Meari shooting range where they claimed it was £8 for 20 bullets, I have not been able to verify this but it is reasonably priced compared with the UK where some shooting clubs charge £30 per day True to form the "Sun" managed to rehash the old "they are all starving " line but contradicted it by saying that people were receiving handouts of rice and potato. Lads, didn't they ever tell you that starvation means no food at all ? Desperate to find a shock horror story to smear the DPRK and turn people against they found fault with animals being made to perform in the Pyongyang Circus. A little bit liberal and out of character for the "Sun" which prides itself on being an enemy of anything PC. No word of praise for the DPRK's animal trainers who showed creativity, ingenuity and great skill in training animals to perform tricks. It was also the height of hypocrisy for the "Sun" to complain about the treatment of animals as every day they degrade and humilate women on page 3 of their paper. Has it not occured to the blockheads of the "Sun" that if it was wrong for the DPRK to use animals in circuses then the use of animals in films and advertising in the UK and elsewhere is equally bad. Maybe the "Sun" journalists could have offered the "glum-faced baboon "(aren,t baboons always glum-faced)they felt sorry for a job as a leader writer on their paper ! For more info about media lies about the DPRK please read