U.S. - North Korea In 'Secret Talks'

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun at midnight on Tuesday on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the demise of President Kim Il Sung in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)

Daniel Halper, Weekly Standard: Report: Secret 'Talks About Talks' Taking Place Between U.S. and North Korea

WNU Editor: These talks have been "on and off" for as long as I can remember. These "secret" news are nothing new.

US 'Strategic Patience' Policy Toward North Korea Not Working

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observes a shelling drill of a long-range artillery sub-unit in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency late last week. (KCNA/Reuters)

US 'Strategic Patience' Policy Toward North Korea Not Working, Analysts Say -- Wyatt Olson, Stars and Stripes

North Korea’s development of missile technology and the production of plutonium and uranium used for nuclear weapons have advanced unabated under President Barack Obama’s policy of “strategic patience,” analysts say.

“If you straight-line into the future, the threat is going to get worse,” said Joel S. Wit, a former State Department official who manages the 38 North website run by Johns Hopkins University’s US-Korea Institute in Washington, D.C., where he is a visiting scholar.

“It’s gotten worse since 2009 when the Obama administration took office, and it’s going to keep getting worse and worse and worse.”

Read more ....

My Comment: President Obama will never acknowledge that his policy has failed .... so expect more of the same .... and expect the threat of conflict and war to increase correspondingly.

U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Two North Korean Shipping Companies

U.S. Blacklists North Korea Shipping Firms Over Arms Shipments -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday blacklisted two North Korean shipping firms that it said tried to conceal arms shipments from Cuba to North Korea, following a similar move by the United Nations.

The ship, Chong Chon Gang, was discovered last July near the Panama Canal hiding a large amount of arms, including two MiG-21 jet fighters under 200,000 bags of sugar, which the United States said showed a clear attempt to circumvent U.N. and U.S. sanctions against North Korea.

North Korea is under an array of sanctions for nuclear and ballistic missile tests since 2006 in defiance of global demands to stop.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Imposing Sanctions On Two North Korean Shipping Companies

US Slaps Sanctions on 2 North Korean Shipping Companies -- Defense News/AFP
US puts sanctions on North Korea shipping companies -- Radio Australia
North Korean Firms Involved in Arms Shipment Targeted -- WSJ
U.S. sanctions N. Korea firms over arms transfer from Cuba -- Global Post/Kyodo
US slaps sanctions on two North Korean shipping firms -- Korea Times

My Comment: These sanctions would have an even greater bite if other countries were involved .... unfortunately .... aside from respecting UN sanctions no one else is jumping on this band-wagon.