Bureau 39: Sometimes known as "Office 39." It refers to a shadowy agency that manages the North Korean leadership's slush fund gained mainly from illicit business dealings such as selling drugs, pirating cigarettes and high quality counterfeit U.S. $100 notes known as "super dollars." Reputedly operating since 1974 and housed in a well-guarded, nondescript concrete building in Pyongyang, it reports directly to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. He dispenses the money to the elite to win their loyalty.
DMZ: World-renowned wildlife sanctuary between North and South Korea. Actually it is an abbreviation for demilitarized zone, a four km-wide buffer zone that stretches 151 miles across the Korean peninsula. Almost no humans venture into this zone, so it has become a kind of informal sanctuary for all kinds of birds and beasts that have vanished from other parts of Korea. Among them, the Manchurian crane, the Korean wildcat and small Korean bears. They face few predators, except, possibly, land mines.
Foal Eagle: The designation for annual joint South Korean and U.S. forces maneuvers, usually held at the beginning of March and extending into April. They involve thousands of U.S. forces, both stationed in Korea and from bases abroad, and tens of thousands of South Korean troops. It is probably the largest such exercise in the world. Foal Eagle takes place in the rear area and is labeled as being purely defensive. North Korea, however, considers the exercises a dress rehearsal for an invasion. In recent years Foal Eagle has been especially controversial; taking place against the backdrop of provocations, such as the 2010 sinking of a Korean corvette and later missile and nuclear tests in the North. Pyongyang also objects to their continuing into April when they celebrate the birth of Kim Il-sung.
Northern Limit Line: A vaguely defined unofficial border between the western reaches of North and South Korea and a source of continuing trouble between Seoul and Pyongyang. A quick look at a map shows that the eastern side of South Korea is cleanly demarked, but the other side of the country meanders westward through numerous small islands. The line was drawn unilaterally by the United Nations following the end of the Korean War, but it is not recognized by Pyongyang, which says the line should have been drawn further south. Over the years, hundreds of fishermen from both sides have been seized by rival navies. The two navies fought skirmishes in 1999, 2002 and 2009. The most serious provocations came in 2010 with the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan and the murderous North Korean artillery bombardment of the island of Yeonpyeong.
NK08: NATO designation for a mysterious North Korean intermediate-range missile that was first unveiled at a military review in April 2012 to honor the anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung. The missile was displayed on a wheeled mobile launcher believed to have been supplied by the Chinese, giving the North Koreans, for the first time, road mobile long-range missile capability. That is different from the Taepodong-2 long-range missile that is launched from a known, fixed location and only after days of careful fueling and other preparations. When first displayed, some observers claimed it was a mockup. But Americans are reportedly concerned enough about this missile to deploy additional missile interceptors to Alaska.
One, One, Three (113): The number to call in South Korea if you spot a North Korean spy.
