Writing for Commies: 7 Tips from Kim Jong Il’s 1986 Treatise on Literature

Going Rogue - Despite reports in China’s Global Times that North Korea had dismissed the possibility of an imminent nuclear test, Yonhap news agency in South Korea reported officials there as saying its neighbor was “technically ready” for a third atomic test. “North Korea will make a decision on conducting a nuclear test based on its political judgment,” one official said.

The note arrived in a nearly empty box sent to TIME’s Beijing Bureau. All copies of TIME Magazine’s May 14, 2012 issue with a cover entitled The People’s Republic of Scandal had been “safeguarded by customs.” Apparently, some customs officer had been entrusted with counting each confiscated copy ; there were, the receipt noted, 62 seized magazines. At the bottom of the customs document, there were five categories (with boxes to be ticked next to them) that described the possible fate of the seized magazines: 1. To be returned to sender 2. To be taxed 3. To be inspected 4. To be declared 5. To be dealt with. Our 62 magazines fell into the last category. They were being “dealt with.”