North Korea

In Beijing on Tuesday, U.S. and North Korean officials met for the first time since December to resume those seemingly endless nuclear talks, which apparently didn’t go very far, as the north still “wants more energy aid and diplomatic concessions" before it ditches the WMD. Concessions? Hmm…how ‘bout some George Gershwin tunes instead?! Those will be delivered to Pyongyang on Feb. 26 when the New York Philharmonic performs a concert that North Korea’s government has agreed to broadcast live throughout the country, according to Reuters, which also reports that officials say the concert “could break cultural boundaries and draw the two countries closer.” Um, okay! More after the jump.  read more »

[Due to a mix-up, the original post listed events that took place yesterday. What follows are today's events. Really.]

8 a.m. A discussion with Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, will be held on recent progress in 6-party talks on North Korea at Japan Society, 333 E. 47th Street, between First and Second avenues.

10 a.m. The New York City Campaign Finance Board will meet at 40 Rector St., between Washington and West streets.

11 a.m. Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Members promote the Council's Health Tomorrow campaign at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, 132 W. 138th Street, near Seventh Avenue.  read more »

A nationwide Quinnipiac poll gauged the popularity of various countries with American voters and found that North Korea became slightly more popular, Iran became less popular and Hugo Chavez's Venezuela stayed the same. Here are the current approval ratings of the most popular and least popular countries, along with their scores from a Quinnipiac survey back in November.

1) England - 77.9 (78.9)

2) Canada - 75.4 (73.4)

3) Israel - 66.5 (68.2)

[skip]

12) Venezuela - 30.3 (30.9)

13) Iraq - 27.1 (25.9)

14) Palestinian Government - 24.3 (23.8)

15) Syria - 23.8 (24.3)

16) Cuba - 21.8 (24.1)

17) North Korea - 15.7 (13.5)

18) Iran - 13.5 (15.5)  read more »

The full list is after the jump.

-- Azi Paybarah

Former City Council staffer Brittany Mariotti sends word that her current employer, the Council on Foreign Relations, has a new interactive site about North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The Korea Crisis Guide includes a map whic explains where North Korea is (admit you need it); shows the military strength of neighboring countries, and gives economic and historical info.

Or, you can think of it this way: it's a place to learn about a real international, diplomatic, nuclear crisis. Which should help put another crisis in perspective.

-- Azi Paybarah

The dapper middle-aged man in suit and tie lifted his hands from the table, locked them together and  read more »

The dapper middle-aged man in suit and tie lifted his hands from the table, locked them together and  read more »

If North Korea’s first nuclear weapons test was indeed a dud, we will hear another round of jo  read more »

If North Korea’s first nuclear weapons test was indeed a dud, we will hear another round of jokes  read more »

For the past year, George W.  read more »

It has been a year since George W.  read more »

Even removed from television, Sam Donaldson still seems a little bonkers.Partly it's his look: those  read more »

The pot labeled "North Korea" at the back of the stove in the kitchen of the roadside diner bubbles  read more »

The Democrats have found a new issue besides the racism of Trent Lott.  read more »