Daily Kor for December 1, 2009: Guns, germs, and Kim Jong-il

Time to rip open those mattresses, kiddies, because Uncle Jong is lopping two zeroes off the currency, so you'd better take all your old DPRK notes and turn them in to the Chosŏn People's Paradise Central Bank to get your new ones, complete with pictures of the dead-but-still-governing Dear Leader, circa 1965. Before he grew the second head.

Meanwhile, the strike goes on, but Lee and company may be getting ready to bust some heads. They're at least considering arresting some people. Oh, and there's Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 to worry about now. Oh, joy.

And finally, authorities are telling us that they believe the fire at the shooting range down in Pusan was caused by sparks from a stray bullet ignited something combustible like gun powder. I for one am shocked! Who knew bullets, gun powder, and firearms could be such a deadly combination?

1. Authorities summon 44 union leaders in effort to clamp down on national railway strike (AFP, Korea Times)
2. National Assembly on track to miss December 2 deadline for approving 2010 budget, putting spending-based recovery and reforms at risk (Reuters)
3. North Korea revalues its currency for first time in 17 years in bid to crack down on black market trading and to curb inflation; 1000 won to be replaced by 10-won bill (Bloomberg, Yonhap, Chosun Ilbo)
4. Untold number of North Koreans reportedly have been arrested and face execution for leaking information on movements of Kim Jong-il (AFP)
5. KRW rises as Dubai debt worries ease (Alibaba, Korea Herald)
6. South Korean student dies of cerebral hemorrhage four days after receiving H1N1 vaccine, but South Korean authorities say there is no direct causality between the vaccine and cause of death (Xinhua)
7. South Korea factory output unexpectedly falls in October (Reuters, Bloomberg)
8. November exports end twelve-month run of annual losses with 18.8 percent rise from a year earlier (Reuters)
9. Caterpillar to buy South Korean earthmoving and machinery components manufacture JCS (WSJ, NYT, AP via WaPo)
10. Officials blame spark from a stray bullet for deadly Pusan fire at indoor shooting range (Korea Herald)
11. Authorities discover South Korea's first Tamiflu-resistant strain of H1N1 (Korea Herald, Korea Times)
12. Samsung Heavy Industries wins $1.1 billion bid from American company to build South Korea's first cruise ship (Donga Ilbo)
13. Sentiment against American products so strong in South Korea that iPhone buyers must obscure their identity to avoid reprisal (Detroit Free Press)