Morning Briefing
For February 8, 2013
1. North Korean Dreams of America: New Translation
It is no surprise that North Korea isn’t a fan of the United States, however, a recent video has lead Americans to question how the country sees our relations going forward.
In response to new sanctions introduced by the UN after their December rocket launch, North Korea has been threatening a third nuclear test sometime in the near future. In the midst of analyzing when they will execute their next prohibited test, the country released an online video that many perceived to be a veiled threat against the United States.
In the video a North Korean man is seen sleeping, his video camera lying beside him while a piano version of “We Are The World” plays in the background. The viewer is then taken into the man’s dream, in which Unha-9, a newer version of the rocket Unha-3 that North Korea launched in December, successfully launches. Through what appears to be his camera lens, a reunified Korea is then seen from space before a space shuttle, named Kwangmyongsong-21 after the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite put in to orbit via the Unha-3, flies over a United States, which is in flames. While an American Flag flies overhead, the viewer is flown through an animated Manhattan skyline interrupted with fires flaring from buildings. The scene is actually from a popular video game, Call of Duty:
