Raw footage from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA): The Associated Press opens its latest full news bureau in Pyongyang located inside the KCNA headquarters. more ›

Rejoice, the miracle of goods to fill and warm the insides of your secure and well-fortified homes is here! The 2nd Pyongyang Consumer Goods Exhibition took place in the North Korean capital's Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 back in July, and displayed the wonder of "light-industry goods", including "clothes and shoes of various kinds", "a variety of foodstuffs and household goods", and "Korean silk cloth known as good for people’s health". more ›

North Korean assassination plots on defectors have always been in the realm of the elaborate and bizarre, but none compare to the most recent foiled attempt on the life of an enemy of the DPRK. The assassin involved was caught with a gun that fired poison-coated bullets disguised as a flashlight, and projectile-firing fountain pens. more ›

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China is the closest thing that North Korea has to a friend at the moment and we get that the People's Daily is the CCP's official mouthpiece, but they were just asking for it when reporter Zhou Ziran posted up this gushy article on the wonderful state of things in Pyongyang. Let's just say that commenters had a field day with the fluffy piece. more ›

• As Chinese art market crashes, many artists applaud [csmonitor.com] "Chinese artists were seen as ATMs," says Jerome Sans, director of the nonprofit Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. "Maybe now they'll stop creating for the market and create for the mind."
• Wine producers pin hopes on China in tough times [AFP] "Wine producers are pinning their hopes for growth during the financial crisis on a country that only recently entered the ranks of the world's top ten wine drinking countries — China. Wine bars and speciality wine stores have flourished in Shanghai, which prides itself of being the nation's most cosmopolitan city, and have quickly become part of the landscape."
• Reports: China auto sales 1.03 million in March [Forbes] "Preliminary figures show auto sales in China rose to at least 1.03 million in March, exceeding U.S. sales for the third month in a row, state media reports said Wednesday. Sales data from 14 major auto makers, accounting for roughly 90 percent of total sales, totaled 1.026 million, the state-run newspaper Shanghai Securities News said, citing Chen Bin, head of the Department of Industry at China's main economic planning agency."

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Kim II Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Monday holding up banners with slogans including "Long live the Great Leader Kim Jong Il". Shanghaiist was amused to hear we're observing only a "Year of Friendship" with this country in 2009. We've always thought they were our BFF. more ›

"Carrefour SA, Europe's biggest retailer, said its dairy sales in China fell by 50 percent after government tests showed chemical tainting of milk products. " more ›