Two New Songs Hail Virtue of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un

SEOUL-North Korea’s propaganda machine has moved swiftly to inspire loyalty toward new leader Kim Jong Un by officially approving two new songs to be sung in factories and other venues. One song, “Footstep,”si a tribute to Kim Jong Un. The other is titled, “We Will Defend Feneral Kim Jong Un at the Risk of Our Lives.” The state-run Korean Central News Agency said Sunday that the songs were performed at a concert in Pyongyang attended by Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Un’s father, the late Kim Jong II, also promoted “music politics” as a means to unite society and inculcate loyalty.

Obama Expected to Visit Cambodia, US Diplomat Says

A US State Department official US President Barack Obama to visit the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh in November and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to visit in July to attend the Asian Ministerial meeting. The US Embassy, however, said that both visits have yet to be confirmed, and said the State Department official was expressing his “hope” that the high-level visits would take place. Joseph Yun US Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, met with Foreign Affairs Ministry Secretary of State Ouch Borith yesterday.

Remains Believed to Be Frenchman, Children

CHBAR MON CITY, Kompong Speu province – Police on Saturday found the remains of five bodies thought to belong to a missing Frenchman and his four young children inside his car submerged in a pond next to their home in Rakar Thom commune. Frenchman Laurent Vallier, 42, and his four children – aged 2 to 9 – west missing about four months ago from their home, which was cordoned off as a crime scene yesterday.

Prahok Production Expected to Quadruple; Prices Drop by Half

Production of the pungent fermented fish paste Prahok is expected to quadruple this year as fisheries this season are reporting much higher annual catch numbers of the fish used in the paste then last year, officials said yesterday. Nao Thuok, general director of the Fisheries Administration, said that fishermen are expecting to catch up to 30,000 tons of Siamese mud carp, or trey riel, in the first of two annual fishing periods, up from just 7,000 tons last year. “The reason this year for the increased catch is because the government…cracked down on illegal fishing traps,” he said, adding that recent efforts to bolter fish reproduction in the Tonle Sap lake have also paid off. “The government was aided in releasing 137 tons of female fish and 4.6 million baby fish into the waterways surrounding the Tonle Sap,” he said.

Tourist Arrivals Rise to 2.5M in First 11 Months

Tourist arrivals to Cambodia increased by 14 percent to 2.5 million during the first 11 months of 2011 compared to the same period last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Tourism obtained yesterday. The data show that arrivals by air went up by 51 percent during this period, while visitors arriving by land or boat had increased by 49 percent. Kong Sopheareak, director of the Tourism Ministry’s statistics department, said the country will definitely achieve its goal of seeing 2.8 million visitors by the end of the year, especially since Cambodia Angkor Air began regularly scheduled flights between Sihanoukville and Siem Reap earlier this month. “The increase of flight connecting Siem Reap and Sihanoukville will prolong the stay of international tourists,” said Mr. Sopheareak, adding that the government aims to get 3.1 million international tourists in 2012.

Hun Sen Names Overpass Bridge After January 7

Prime Minister Hun Sen announced yesterday that Phnom Penh’s second overpass, set to open Jan 6, would be named the January 7^th Bridge, honoring the day in 1979 when Vietnamese forces stormed the capital and ousted the Khmer Rouge regime. Speaking at a university graduation ceremony, the prime minister declared that the new four lane overpass, which will arch over the intersection of Russian Federation and Kampuchea Krom boulevards, would be named the Prampima Makara, or January 7th, bridge to commemorate how far the country had come since 1979.

Japan Loans $92 to Expand Water Services in siem Reap City

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday it is preparing to make a $92 million concessional loan to Cambodia for expanding water services in Siem Reap city by constructing a new treatment plant. Japanese Embassy First Secretary Shinichi Tamamitsu said the new plant is expected to be completed in 2018 and would produce 60,000 cubic meters of clean water per day from the Tonle Sap lake.