LYCOS RETRIEVER 
North Korea
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North Korea has not been associated with any acts of terrorism since 1987, when it was linked to the bombing of a Korean Airlines flight. However, Japan claims that North Korea bears responsibility for the abduction of several Japanese citizens, a sore point for Japan in the Six-Party Talks. North Korea’s admission to conducting a secret nuclear weapons program in violation of the Agreed Framework of 1994, which prohibited such programs, raises questions about other pledges Pyongyang offers. So, too, do North Korea’s alleged frequent sales of nuclear and ballistic missile technology. In connection with concessions made in the Six-Party Talks in late 2007, the U.S. State Department said it will “begin the process of removing the designation of the DPRK as a state-sponsor of terrorism.” Although many countries see North Korea’s potential to sell nuclear technology as a threat, the more imminent concern is North Korea’s own nuclear capabilities. Consequently, much international attention is focused on North Korea’s adherence to IAEA inspections and the dismantling of its nuclear arsenal.
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North Korea is officially described as a Juche (self-reliance) State. Government is organized as a dictatorship. Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, was the country's first and only president. Following his death in 1994 he was not replaced, instead receiving the designation of "Eternal President", and rests in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in central Pyongyang. The active position has been abolished in deference to the memory of Kim Il-sung.[13]
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This is likely to be your principal expense while in North Korea. You may only stay at "designated tourist hotels", for which you will need to pay in hard currency. There may be discounts if you ask for lower class accommodation, if you are travelling as part of a group, or if it is low season (November – March). Costs for your tour, which will include accommodation, all sightseeing activities and meals, will range from US$70 – US$200 a day, depending on these factors.
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The New York Times takes an in-depth look at the dispute between the US and North Korea over the Asian country’s purported weapons of mass destruction. Beginning with the US alerts this year on suspicious activity, the authors chronicle the intelligence steps and missteps in trying to ascertain North Korea’s nuclear status and intentions, and the way the experience of the CIA in Iraq has affected its assessments in this case. Stressing the need to avoid an Iraq-style debacle, the article outlines how such assessments are “vulnerable to politics and to the imprecision of intelligence.”
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A second option, the paper proposes, would be for other countries "to appease North Korea by fulfilling the long shopping list it has provided the West in recent years - including food, oil, uranium and security guarantees." Answering that call, "would produce peace in the short-term but, like all other efforts at appeasement, would simply generate more extensive demands in the future."
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[F]ormer Clinton adviser Paul Begala, now serving as a talking head on CNN, claimed that the Clinton administration contained the threat from North Korea. Clearly, Mr. Begala missed the 1990s.
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