Wonder what cars the NK drive? Really. I'm sure someone drives a car. They are not all on Donkeys and Dirt Roads are they?
What's this fascination about the NK leader eating cake? Bit ironic these insults come from the most erm, horizonally challenged country in the world. (and I can now poke fun as I've lost 35 lbs since I gave up the taxi game)
There really aren't many cars at all. But the ones that there are are made by Pyeonghwa. The original Pyeonghwa Hwiparam was something I found out about when deciding whether to get a Prius: I found some site that had user-posted reviews of all different types of car, and someone had reviewed his Hwiparam. That meant that the reviewer was a North Korean with Internet access and a car, so his family must have been exceptionally rich and powerful. Anyway, here's an original Hwiparam. Apparently, they're so good that they make you want to have a fight with the air while wearing traditional Korean costume. They were based on the mid-90s Fiat Palio. The Hwiparam II is built from a knock-down kit supplied from China for the Brilliance Zhonghua. I've been in a few Zhonghua taxis, and they're not terrible cars. Brilliance also makes BMWs in China, and you can see the resemblance between the Zhonghua and an old 5-series. (BMW is fine with this - it's part of the JV). Hmm... that's weird. I can't get the picture into the text. Anyway, you can see loads of NK car stuff at Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog » North Korea: Pyeonghwa Samchunri should lead the ranking. Anyway, one of the weird things about Pyeonghwa is that, for a while, it was a joint venture between an NK State-owned enterprise, Fiat, and the Moonies. But I think both Fiat and the Moonies have pulled out now.
As a Lancastrian, I would say that the fat, badly-dressed taxi drivers are one of the nicer things about Preston.
Yes, that's certainly a possibility. At the moment, though, in terms of strategic rivalry, China is more concerned about Brazil and India than it is about the US. At the upper levels of the Chinese government, China's big worries about the US are economic: last year, they were worried that a Romney administration could kick off a China-US trade war - which would have been terrible for both parties. And they have an ongoing worry that the US might drive itself into bankruptcy, which would be very bad for China. So, depressingly, China sees the US as a threat not because of its military might, but because of the risks posed by stupidity and economic mismanagement.
Washington Post article that Obama plan for Iran and NK is failing and something else Is needed. U.S. struggling to contain nuclear threats from North Korea, Iran - The Washington Post
And it doesn't appear to have improved any since you left. One of those places that has absolutely no reason to visit. Driven through it a few times and never felt inclined to stop
