Tuesday, April 1, 2014

North Korea names its space agency NADA

Rodong Sinmun and NASA

It sounds like a bad April Fools’ Day joke but judging by the press release from the Korea Central News Agency, it appears to be a bad case of language barrier.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has named the country’s space agency the National Aerospace Development Administration, or NADA.

Yes, NADA.

“The DPRK has pushed ahead with space development projects to turn the country into a space power, fully exercising its right to peaceful development of the space on a legal basis,” said KCNA, the country’s official news agency.

It also introduced NADA’s emblem which looked suspiciously familiar.


The emblem of the NADA was recently instituted, which represents its character, mission, position and development prospects.
Seen in the lower part of the globe-shaped dark blue emblem are white-colored letters “Kukgaujugaebalkuk” (National Aerospace Development Administration) in Korean and in its upper part light blue-colored letters “DPRK” with the Great Bear above them. Printed in its middle are white-colored letters “NADA” in English.

The news of North Korea’s space ambitions comes as South Korea’s Yonhap News published images of a suspected North Korean drone that crashed in South Korea.
ReutersAn crashed unmanned drone is seen on Baengnyeong, a South Korean island near the border with North Korea April 1, 2014.



The two Koreas had recently exchanged artillery fire after North Korea fired into South Korean waters as part of its military drill, prompting South Korea to return fire.

– Sue Chang

Follow Sue Chang on Twitter @SueChangMW

No comments:

Post a Comment