I am discovering more and more of this region of the world as time goes on. There is a lot to see in this area.
On Thanksgiving Sunday the Outdoor Life Network ran the entire series of Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley riding motorcycles across a huge swath of the planet. The adventure is called Long Way Round, http://longwayround.com/intro.htm . McGregor is an absolutely hilarious person. You see him in extremely trying circumstances with his friend and he can still crack people up around him. Really funny at times. The rural areas of Kazakhstan and Mongolia were some extremely rough going for them. Russia's 'Road of Bones' was the worst. That part of the world is starting to fascinate me. You get Asia that hasn't been tarnished by Western consumer nonsense, nomadic tribes the wild horses and the whole bit. Mongolians are I think the toughest people on this planet. I have had limited contact with them a few times in real life and you can just sense it off them. No self pity in that culture.
So North Korea is a nuclear power. I don't know why I find that hilarious. It might be my sentiments towards the current regime in America causing this reaction. It may not end up being too comical in that part of the world in the months to come. The region of Korea along the east coast right at the DMZ is some of the most beautiful in Asia. It'll be a shame if they blow the shit out of it all.