As the world watched Wednesday’s funeral of dictator Kim Jong-il, who presided over famine, a nuclear arms push and military skirmishes with the South, Choi Dong Jin, 48, told Reuters that Kim was “a great and outstanding person” for resisting U.S. imperialism.

Choi is Editor in Chief for the Pan-Korea Alliance for Reunification, a body that promotes the North and unification of the Korean peninsula.

He sits in his office in Seoul’s financial district, a smartphone on his desk, beneath a picture of Kim Jong-il in 2000 meeting former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, whose engagement with the North, known as the “Sunshine Policy,” has been halted by the current conservative government in Seoul.

“The presence of Kim Jong-Il had prevented the U.S. from waging a war on the Korean Peninsula,” Choi told Reuters.

Sympathisers like Choi risk arrest and imprisonment in South Korea even though they appear to be a fringe group.

Under the conservative administration of President Lee Myung-bak, 151 people were questioned for offences involving praising North Korea last year, up from 39 in 2007, according to the National Police Agency data.

By contrast, some 200,000 North Koreans are in forced labor camps for crimes against the regime, according to human rights group Amnesty International.

One member of a body campaigning against South Korea’s six-decade old national security law told Reuters that the succession process that will see the 20-something son of Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, take power looked more “efficient” than South Korea’s democratic presidential elections.

In South Korea, a president can serve only one five-year term under the country’s constitution that was enacted since the advent of democracy in 1987.

MILITARY FIRST, JUCHE

“The military-first policy and Juche ideology have been protecting the Koreas from the corrupt U.S. power,” said a 58-year old construction worker, who wished to be known only by his last name of Kim as he feared arrest.

Juche is the North Korean policy of economic self-reliance. According to United Nations data, North Korea’s economic output is now smaller than in the 1990s under the administration of Kim Jong-il’s father, Kim il-Sung, who founded the state in 1948.

Kim Jong-il took power from his father in 1994.

Kim believes the line from North Korea’s state media that made the death announcement and said the 69-year-old died on December 17 on a train going to give “field guidance,” advice given out to the armed forces, factories and farmers.

“I was impressed by the revolutionary leader as he was working together with people to the end of his life,” he said.

He believes most news reports of North Korean hardship are fabricated as news organizations are biased toward the United States.

“Even if North Koreans are materially poor, I think they are mentally rich with their political system,” Kim said.

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The red carpet and floral decorations were in place at the Westminster Abbey venue as Britons across the country prepared to toast the occasion with champagne breakfasts and around 6,000 street parties.

Over a quarter of the world’s population is expected to watch the moment Kate becomes a princess after William places the wedding ring on her finger in the church which held the funeral for his late mother Diana.

On the eve of the wedding, thousands of campers had transformed The Mall, the wide boulevard leading to Buckingham Palace, into a multicoloured sea of flags and eccentric headgear as they prepared to cheer on the newly weds.

Some of them were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of William when he made an impromptu evening visit to shake hands with well-wishers, before retiring to spend his last night as a single man with his family.

The 28-year-old prince was heard telling his fans: “All I’ve got to do is get the lines right”.

Campers trying to get a good night’s sleep were rudely awoken in Friday’s early hours as fireworks lit up London’s night sky.

The first glimpse the waiting world will have of the bride, and her much-talked about gown, will be at around 11:00 am (1000 GMT) when she steps out of the Rolls-Royce Phantom car which will transport her to the abbey.

The Order of Service revealed that Kate will not promise to obey her husband in her marriage vows, following in the footsteps of Diana, who later divorced William’s father Prince Charles and died in a Paris car crash in 1997.

William will be dressed in the world-famous scarlet colours of the British army, but will not be wearing a wedding ring at any point in the service in keeping with his grandfather Prince Philip’s preference.

Kate’s wedding ring was fashioned by Welsh jewellers Wartski from a piece of Welsh gold given to Prince William by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected to line the streets and watch on big screen televisions in London’s Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square with champagne, Pimm’s, wedding cake and a band all laid on to keep the party swinging.

The latest weather forecast offered more hope for the assembled hordes with scattered showers predicted instead of storms.

The royal couple promised Thursday that the post-wedding processional carriage ride to Buckingham Palace would take place in an open State Landau even if showers were expected.

“The forecast will have to be pretty severe for the wet weather option (closed carriage) to be used,” a spokesman for William’s St James’s Palace said.

“Unless we’re looking at the possibility of thunderstorms then the couple will just get on with it.”

Earlier, the pair said they had been “incredibly moved” by the affection shown to them since they announced their engagement in November.

In a message in their official wedding programme, William and Kate thanked “everyone most sincerely for their kindness” as they prepare for “one of the happiest days of our lives”.

Inside the church — which has been decorated with English Field Maple trees and plants including blossoms, azaleas and rhododendron — will be an eclectic mix of dignitaries, celebrities and politicians.

Around 40 foreign royals will be in attendance along with footballer David Beckham, singer Elton John and Prime Minister David Cameron.

In a diplomatic row that threatened to overshadow the good mood, Britain abruptly withdrew the Syrian ambassador’s invitation, saying the regime’s crackdown on protesters made it unacceptable for him to attend.

Kate, 29, spent her last night as a commoner at the upmarket Goring Hotel, close to Buckingham Palace.

Earlier, a woman sporting a distinctive belt often worn by Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton was seen entering the hotel, fuelling wedding dress rumours.

Later Thursday, Camilla and Charles attended a reception along with the queen being given for British and foreign royals attending the wedding at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in central London.

As final security checks were carried out, police said they had arrested 20 people across London after warning they would act to prevent anyone causing trouble during the wedding.

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The US-led coalition views the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar — traditional Taliban heartlands bordering Pakistan’s tribal areas where insurgent leaders reside — as crucial to turning the tide in the long war.

Gates arrived at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand after issuing an unusual public apology over a NATO air strike last week that targeted insurgents but killed nine young boys who were out collecting firewood in eastern Afghanistan.

“This breaks our heart,” Gates told a news conference Monday at the presidential palace in Kabul, as US-backed President Hamid Karzai looked on.

“Not only is their loss a tragedy for their families, it is a setback for our relationship with the Afghan people, whose security is our chief concern.”

Karzai, who has already angrily rejected a public apology from General David Petraeus, the US commander of international troops in Afghanistan, over the incident, said he respected Gates’ words but that such incidents had to stop.

“While we take that apology with a lot of respect… I would request Secretary Gates that he take the plea of the Afghan people to Washington that these civilian casualties stop,” he said.

The episode underscored strained relations between Karzai’s government and Western allies at a delicate moment in the nearly 10-year conflict.

They are preparing to unveil plans for a gradual handover to Afghan security forces from July, with some foreign troops due to withdraw at the same time.

Afghan army and police are due to take charge of the whole country’s security by the end of 2014, allowing international combat forces to leave.

After his apology, Gates told a news conference he was optimistic about the war effort and said US and coalition forces were “well-positioned” to begin a gradual troop drawdown as planned in July.

Gates, who arrived on Monday for a two-day trip, also said a US team was due to arrive next week to begin negotiating a “security partnership” between the United States and Afghanistan for beyond 2014.

He said both countries had expressed an interest in a long-term US military role, but he said the American presence would be a “small fraction” of the current 97,000 US troops out of a 140,000-strong foreign force now deployed.

There are calls from some Afghan and US politicians for permanent US bases to be established in Afghanistan and Karzai has said talks are taking place on the issue.

But Gates said the US had “no interest” in permanent bases in Afghanistan.

He added it was “open to the possibility of having some presence here in terms of training and assistance, perhaps making use of facilities made available to us by the Afghan government for those purposes.”

US commanders are bracing for a spring offensive from the insurgents but say they have piled pressure on the Taliban during the winter lull with night raids against militant leaders and efforts to disrupt supply routes.

The Taliban and other militants have been waging a bloody insurgency against international and Afghan government forces since being ousted by a US-led invasion in 2001.

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The King of Bahrain ordered a start to “dialogue” with all parties in the country, after armed troops opened fire on anti-government protesters in Manama.

Dozens of people were hurt as armed officers fired at protesters around the Pearl roundabout.

Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said that 24 individual licences and 20 open licences for Bahrain had been revoked, following advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

Hundreds of cartridges of tear gas and other riot control equipment had been licensed for export to the Gulf kingdom in recent months, he added.

“We are deeply concerned about the situation in Bahrain and the events which have led to the deaths of several protesters,” he said.

An earlier statement from Mr Burt said that the licences included “two single export licences for 250 tear gas cartridges to the Bahrain Defence Force and National Security Agency that were for trial/evaluation purposes”.

He added: “In addition, there are a number of open individual export licences that have been approved. One of these includes equipment that can be used for riot control.”

Bahrain is the latest country in the region to be hit by a wave of unrest which has already toppled the presidents of Egypt and Tunisia.

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The number of Bundeswehr soldiers would remain unchanged at around 5,000, according to guidelines approved by the German cabinet earlier this month.

The government also has stated that “handover dividends” in Afghanistan will be “reinvested,” meaning that once troops leave certain areas under Afghan control, they will be relocated to other areas still in need.

The last troops would be scheduled to leave the country completely by 2014.

The plan will likely garner widespread approval after opposition party the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) signalled their willingness to vote in its favour in mid-January, but the environmentalist Greens have said they want a more precise description of the step-by-step withdrawal.

Some Green party members have said they will withhold their votes, while the socialist Left party will vote against the measure.

In an interview with daily Die Zeit on Friday, Green party co-leader Claudia Roth said that if countries like the United States could manage a concrete withdrawal plan, so could Germany.

“That also means being honest about the fact that a military withdrawal does not end responsibility,” she told the paper. “We need a peace plan that contains details of civil reconstruction after the withdrawal. So far the long-term perspective has been missing.”

Making up NATO’s third-largest troop contingent in Afghanistan, the Bundeswehr is based mostly in the relatively peaceful north, but the situation has become more dangerous in recent years. Forty-five German soldiers have died there.

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Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 9, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to Gen. George Washington’s troops in New York.

On this date:

In 1540, England’s King Henry VIII had his 6-month-old marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, annulled.

In 1810, French Emperor Napoleon I annexed the Kingdom of Holland.

In 1816, Argentina declared independence from Spain.

In 1850, the 12th president of the United States, Zachary Taylor, died after serving only 16 months of his term. (He was succeeded by Millard Fillmore.)

In 1896, William Jennings Bryan delivered his famous “cross of gold” speech at the Democratic national convention in Chicago.

In 1918, 101 people were killed in a train collision in Nashville, Tenn. The Distinguished Service Cross was established by an Act of Congress.

In 1947, the engagement of Britain’s Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten was announced.

In 1951, President Harry S. Truman asked Congress to formally end the state of war between the United States and Germany. (An official end to the state of war was declared in Oct. 1951.)

In 1974, former U.S. Chief Justice Earl Warren died in Washington, D.C. at age 83.

In 1982, a Pan Am Boeing 727 crashed in Kenner, La., killing all 145 people aboard and eight people on the ground.

Ten years ago: The 13th International AIDS Conference opened in Durban, South Africa. At least 12 people died in a soccer stampede set off when police fired tear gas at bottle-throwing fans during a World Cup qualifier between Zimbabwe and South Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe. (South Africa’s 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe was ruled official.) Top-seeded Pete Sampras won his seventh Wimbledon title as he defeated Patrick Rafter, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2.

Five years ago: A purported Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan said the group had beheaded a missing American commando, but he offered no proof and the U.S. military said it was still searching for the Navy SEAL. (The body of the commando was found the next day; officials said it appeared he died as a result of fighting, and was never abducted.) Hurricane Dennis dealt a glancing blow to the Florida Keys. A panda cub, later named Tai Shan (ty shawn), was born at the National Zoo in Washington.

One year ago: The Group of Eight industrialized nations opened their summit in L’Aquila, Italy, to Group of Five developing countries Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, as well as Egypt. The Dutch government turned over dozens of antiquities stolen from Iraq to Baghdad’s ambassador. Two suicide bombers killed at least 38 people in northern Iraq. A massive bomb blast in central Afghanistan killed 25 people, including primary school students. Michael Phelps broke the world record in the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. national championships in Indianapolis, swimming the two-lap final in 50.22 seconds.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor-singer Ed Ames is 83. Actor James Hampton is 74. Actor Brian Dennehy is 72. Actor Richard Roundtree is 68. Author Dean Koontz is 65. Football Hall-of-Famer O.J. Simpson is 63. Actor Chris Cooper is 59. TV personality John Tesh is 58. Country singer David Ball is 57. Rhythm-and-blues singer Debbie Sledge (Sister Sledge) is 56. Actor Jimmy Smits is 55. Actress Lisa Banes is 55. Actor Tom Hanks is 54. Singer Marc Almond is 53. Actress Kelly McGillis is 53. Rock singer Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) is 51. Actress-rock singer Courtney Love is 46. Rock musician Frank Bello (Anthrax) is 45. Actor David O’Hara is 45. Rock musician Xavier Muriel (Buckcherry) is 42. Actor Scott Grimes is 39. Actor Enrique Murciano is 37. Rock musician Dan Estrin (Hoobastank) is 34. Actor-director Fred Savage is 34. Country musician Pat Allingham is 32. Actress Megan Parlen is 30. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kiely Williams (3lw) is 24. Actor Mitchel (cq) Musso is 19. Actress Georgie Henley is 15.

Thought for Today: “Quotations (such as have point and lack triteness) from the great old authors are an act of filial reverence on the part of the quoter, and a blessing to a public grown superficial and external.” — Louise Imogen Guiney, American poet and essayist (1861-1920).

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A Sudan army spokesman denied any fighting was taking place in Darfur’s mountainous Jabel Marra region and accused insurgents of harassing and attacking locals.

Reports of clashes throughout last week have marred Khartoum’s announcement of a new peace push in the region and come just over a month ahead of national elections.

“We think that we have a mounting number of casualties … The lower estimate is around 140. The higher estimate is closer to 400,” said a U.N. source, adding the figures referred to civilian deaths.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said as many as 40,000 civilians had fled the fighting between the government and Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) rebels, most recently around the market town of Deribat.

“For us the important thing now is to get access to the area,” said the source, who said aid workers and U.N. agencies had been blocked from entering Jabel Marra by the ongoing fighting and the threat of bandit attacks on their staff.

SLA field commander Suleiman Marajan told Reuters government bombing raids had killed at least 170 civilians around Deribat over the past 10 days and more had died in other areas.

The army spokesman told Reuters: “There are no clashes between the Sudanese army and the forces of Abdel Wahed’s movement.” Abdel Wahed Mohamed al-Nur is the leader of an SLA faction which has a stronghold in the area.

Darfur’s conflict surged in 2003 when the SLA and other rebels took up arms against Sudan’s government, accusing it of leaving the mostly desert region underdeveloped.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir declared the seven- year war over last Wednesday after reaching an initial settlement with the separate rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Darfur’s most powerful rebel force.

Bashir’s government signed an agreement in Doha on Tuesday committing Sudan to reaching a final peace deal with JEM by March 15.

But Abdel Wahed’s SLA and other rebels have rejected the deal, demanding that security on the ground before talks.

JEM’s negotiator in Doha, Ahmed Tugud, told Reuters it was unlikely the sides would meet the March 15 deadline as talks were currently stalled over plans for Sudan’s government to sign a separate settlement with an umbrella group of small insurgent factions called the Liberation and Justice Movement.

Tugud said the plan, which he said was being proposed by international mediators, would give undue recognition to tiny rebel groups with little to no military presence on the ground.

“These are two persons pretending to be a rebel group, a man and his wife pretending to be a rebel group. It is rubbish … We cannot have talks until we have solved this problem.”

Darfur’s joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force said it could not confirm the reports of the fighting because it did not have bases in the Jabel Marra area.

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Three girls and one boy, all aged 17, drowned Sunday in the Tra Khuc river of central Quang Ngai province, said Bui Tan Luan, a commune official.

“The boat capsized as 11 students squeezed onto the vessel, which was supposed to be for eight people only,” Luan said.

Further south in Binh Duong province, two female workers fell into a reservoir and drowned while two colleagues lost their lives in a rescue attempt, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

They were the latest of many deaths at the reservoir, which people continue to enter despite a fence and warning signs, the paper said.

The latest victims were factory workers from Ho Chi Minh City who had stopped to take photographs before heading north to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival, Tuoi Tre reported.

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“What we are trying get across (to help limit the damage of any future crisis) is that the financial system is a risk system,” Dominique Strauss-Kahn told France 24 television.

“What we must avoid is the profits going only to the private sector while any losses have to be taken by society as a whole,” Strauss-Kahn said.

The financial sector should pay an insurance premium to provide for the times when the system fails to work, he said.

This insurance premium, together with accumulated funds, should mean the financial system can cope with any future crisis without having to ask for a bailout from the taxpayer, he said.

“We are going to submit fairly detailed proposals on this … in the weeks ahead, in April,” he said, referring to a regular IMF meeting in Washington that month.

“This idea is beginning find support — I would not say a consensus — from our partners.

“We need a solution which will be the same everywhere. We need a global solution… with contributions the same across the whole (financial) system,” he said.

Following the worst global slump in decades sparked by the near collapse of the financial system, there have been many proposals for ways to prevent the excessive risk-taking by the banks that many see as the root cause.

So far, no one single idea has emerged, with many countries offering different solutions.

US President Barack Obama promised earlier this month to cut the US banks down to size and ensure their riskier activities were ring-fenced but his plan got a mixed reaction.

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Two million tickets have now gone, with several matches already oversubscribed.

The sales, announced by Fifa after the third of five phases of ticketing, reflect a surge of interest from South African residents, easing concerns about apathy in the host nation.

Of the 1.2 million applications received in the third ticketing phase, 79% were from South Africans.

“All games of the South African team will be sold out,” said Danny Jordaan, the head of the Local Organising Committee.

Of the other 191 nations to apply for tickets, the United States is in the lead with 50,217 applications, followed by England with 41,529.

By contrast there have been relatively low numbers of applications from other leading football nations, including Germany with just 14,647.

The tickets have been assigned according to a lottery system in the first three phases.

From February 9 the fourth phase will be “first come, first served”.

In the final phase, the last available tickets will be available over the counter in each of the host cities in South Africa.

The increase in demand for tickets for Africa’s first World Cup will be a relief for Fifa, which has faced criticism for choosing to host the tournament in a nation with one of the highest crime rates in the world.

Concerns about security were heightened by the attack on the Togo team at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

But Fifa has denied it made the wrong choice.

“It’s crazy and completely wrong,” Jerome Valke, the body’s General Secretary said.

“Give South Africa a chance.”

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