Joseph Yun Li-sun

The visit by a top ranking North Korean official to the Chinese capital fails to produce any results. A source tells AsiaNews that he hoped to get money but "returned empty-handed." Instead, China gave "a lesson on the principles of the free market" and then sent him home, fed up with North Korean antics.

The bishops' conference has produced and put together a video (in English and Korean) which aims to explain to non-believers and catechumens the history and mission of the local Church, the only one in Asia to have grown without the aid of foreign missionaries.

Seoul academic marks South Korea's seventh gold medal (the first was in Seoul in 1988) in women's team archery claiming that "increased dexterity lies in" cutting cabbage and using smaller chopsticks, which made their hands and fingers more sensitive.

Hamlet takes centre stage in Pyongyang. With North Korea's young dictator, Kim Jong-un, playing happy husband with wife at the amusement part for the greater joy of photographers, Uncle Jang Song-taek purges the top echelons of the regime to assert his power. However, he is taking big risks because North Koreans will not let a non-Kim rule them.

The North Korean regime confirms: the young dictator Kim Jong-un is married. The wife - presented by his uncle Jang Song-taek - straight out of billboard propaganda: beautiful and intelligent, she is the daughter of a professor of nuclear physics and a gynecologist. The marriage was celebrated before the death of "dear leader", and the publicity that surrounds it is a sign of the changing style of the system, more and more oriented to pop culture.

A South Korean source tells AsiaNews what is happening in the last Stalinist nation in the world. "Purges, new appointments and economic changes are means by which the dictator wants to reshape the nation's power structure. However, the truth is that he fears a popular uprising that might bring down the ruling oligarchy. If he wants to survive, he should talk to Seoul."

After taking over in December, the young dictator has had to put up with the generals. Now, with the sacking of the chief of General Staff, which led to a gun fight that might have killed and wounded 40 people, and the creation of a political bureau to run the economy, changes are coming to the top. A "final struggle" for power is underway, source tells AsiaNews.

Speaking on Farmers' Day, Mgr Ri, president of Peace and Justice Commission, called on believers to take care of the world "God created". Overconsumption and waste of natural resources must stop. The US-South Korean Free Trade "pact must be revised" because as it stands it "could create new social imbalances in our country" and harm the weak.

A report by the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs warns: "If we get to a birth rate of 1. 8%, we will lose everything." Government accused of failing to support families or encourage procreation. A victory for the Catholics, who have always fought against these ills.

During a public celebration in honor of the new dictator Kim Jong-un dancers went onstage dressed as Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Beauty and the Beast, and various other Disney characters. A spokesman for the major figure: "Even North Korea, like the rest of the world, must pay the copyright." It is the first time in the regime that characters of the hated symbol of Western capitalism have appeared.

Taking the baptismal name of Joseph, he is the first Mongolian to enter a seminary. The local Church, which marks its first 20 years tomorrow, is now open to vocations. However, its priority remains building a local diocesan structure. "I see myself as a priest in my own land. I am sure this is what Mongolia needs," the young man said.

With a solemn Mass in the Cathedral of Ulaanbaatar, the July 8 begins celebrations for the anniversary. Apostolic Prefect Bishop Padilla, present along with Mgr. Savio Hon of Propaganda Fide, and Msgr. Lazarus You, Bishop of Daejeon. Launch of a clinic for the poor, run by a Korean priest.