Return to *North Korean Studies*
By Aidan Foster Carter
Numbers and North Korea go together like fish and bicycles. With figures so rare, the latest report of the South Korean central bank on the North's economy is like gold dust. In the end, a familiar story emerges: Seoul trades more in three days than Pyongyang does in a year. One country, two planets.
By Aidan Foster Carter
On May 15, Choe Su-hon, one of Pyongyang's nine deputy foreign ministers, quantified the grim truth at a Unicef conference in Beijing. Almost a quarter of
a million people - 220,000 to be exact - died of famine between 1995 and 1998. As a result, and also due to medical shortages, average life expectancy fell
from 73.2 in 1993 to 66.8 in 1999.
By Aidan Foster Carter
Not having been entirely complimentary about the Asia policies of the Bush administration in the past, let me agree with them for a change on one particular. Last Friday, the Financial Times quoted US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage as saying that Washington has "concerns of proliferation" with Pakistan, centering on "people who were employed by the nuclear agency and have retired". Armitage didn't elaborate on details or evidence. But colleagues confirmed that the object of concern is North Korea, which is believed to have traded its missile technology for access to Pakistan's nuclear secrets...
The Mainichi Shimbun reported that, according to ROK military sources quoted by the ROK's Yonhap News Agency on May 27, the DPRK is strengthening its military computer and information technologies and annually educating 100 computer hackers. The ROK military sources found out about the DPRK's information technology policy in US Defense Department documents. The report also said that the US sees the DPRK's technology as already equivalent to that of the US Central Intelligence Agency. ("DPRK IS EDUCATING 100 HACKERS ANNUALLY," Seoul, 05/27/2001)
Joongang Ilbo reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency announced Thursday that its latest inspection trip to the DPRK had ended with no results, other than the scheduling of the next meeting in October. David Kid, a spokesman for the agency, said that the IAEA inspectors had sought in four days of talks from May 22-26 to emphasize the necessity of at least a partial inspection of facilities now shut down, but suspected of having produced nuclear materials in the past. "Olli Heinonen, director of Division of Operations A, Department of Safeguards, will visit Pyongyang again in the summer and consult with the North," Mr. Kid said. (Choi Won-ki, "PYONGYANG REBUFFS NUCLEAR INSPECTORS," Vienna, 06/01/01)
Chosun Ilbo reported that the DPRK is experiencing its worst drought in 82 years and food shortages are likely to peak this year, according to the Reuters news service. The report cited UN officials returning from the DPRK who said that there had been no rain for more than 80 days and that the DPRK is suffering from the worst drought since 1919. This is affecting the harvest of wheat, potato, and barley, which are needed to get through summer until rice and corn can be harvested. The news agency also said that the World Food Program (WFP) is projecting 2001 to be the most difficult year for the DPRK in terms of food security. According to David Morton, DPRK Commissioner for the UN, the DPRK stopped food rations, which means that people need to survive this summer without food from the state. Women, the elderly and children are expected to suffer the most. Reuters added that the DPRK lacked 1.8 million tons of food last year out of 4.8 million tons needed for its 22 million population. Moreover, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said that the DPRK is unlikely to recover from the drought until the end of June, and it is uncertain at the moment whether the monsoon rains would cover the DPRK this summer. (Park Young-seok, "NORTH KOREA TO FACE SEVEREST FOOD SHORTAGE EVER," Seoul, 05/31/01)
By Moon So-young, Joong Ang Ilbo, 29 May 2001
North Korea's economy marked growth for a second year, due to expansion of mining and construction industries, a South Korean central bank official said Monday. According to the Bank of Korea's estimate, North Korea's gross domestic product grew 1.3 percent last year, though output of the agricultural and fishery sector, which represents 30 percent of the nation's economy, declined by 1.9 percent due to natural disasters. The mining industry's 5.8 percent growth and the construction industry's 13.6 percent growth contributed to the increase in total output, the central bank said.
North Korea's economy had contracted for nine straight years since 1990, when the Bank of Korea began to estimate the country's performance. But in 1999, it recorded a high growth of 6.2 percent. "The current industrial structure of North Korea is similar to that of South Korea in the late 1960s, with a heavy weight on agriculture," said an official at the bank. "But the weight of the mining, energy and construction industries is increasing, since the North is focusing on solving its energy crisis and expanding its infrastructure." North Korea's services industry also expanded last year, mainly due to a 27 percent growth in restaurant and hotel business, following an increase in foreign tourists. Exports increased 7.7 percent and imports, focusing on capital goods, jumped 46.9 percent. North Korea's nominal gross national income, which measures the economy's scale, was 1/27 as large as that of South Korea in 2000. Its gross national income per capita was 1/13 of South Korea's.
The Korea Times reported that the DPRK's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.3 percent year-on-year in 2000, down from a 6.2-percent gain in 1999, the ROK Bank of Korea estimated Monday. The central bank said that the DPRK economy grew last year thanks mainly to a strong performance in its construction and mining sectors. In contrast, the DPRK's grain production sank 15 percent year-on-year in 2000 due to bad weather, cutting into its GDP growth, the central bank said. In 2000, the DPRK's per-capita Gross National Income was estimated at US$757. The DPRK's exports rose 7.7 percent to US$560 million last year while imports surged 46.9 percent to US$1.41 billion, the BOK estimated. "In particular, imports of capital goods such as power generation equipment, trucks and excavators surged last year," the central bank official said. (Shin Yong-bae, "N.K. GDP GROWTH SLOWS TO 1.3%," Seoul, 05/29/01)
Joongang Ilbo reported that Pyongyang Broadcast on Saturday, May 26 said that the DPRK would not "beg" for the resumption of dialogue with the US. The broadcast said, "We don't care whether the talk takes place or not." The commentary continued, "With the U.S. Bush administration continuing to regard us with hostility and schemes to pressure us with force, it obvious there can't be any improvements of relations with or without dialogue." Citing the remarks of US secretary of State Colin Powell and other top US officials that called for withdrawal of DPRK troops at the demarcation line, it stated, "Such remarks from the Bush administration are completely out of question. The reunification of two Koreas will be eventually achieved as soon as the American imperialists withdraw their own troops from the Korean Peninsula and halt their threats to our nation." The DPRK's media then asserted that the removal of US troops and giving up of US threats are the alternatives to improve the bilateral relations of two nations. "If the U.S. practice hard-line policy, we shall counter that with the same tough stance," the commentary added. (Choi Won-ki, "N.K.-U.S. DIALOUGE NOT IMPORTANT, PYONGYANG BROADCAST REPORTS," Seoul, 05/27/01)
Chosun Ilbo reported that a DPRK patrol boat infiltrated 1.8km into the southern side of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) 14.4km northwest of Paekryung Island in the West Sea and stayed for 47 minutes from 5:13am on May 27 before returning to the DPRK. The ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that the violation took place in the process of the DPRK cracking down on PRC fishing boats, which were operating nearby. The JCS added that as soon as the DPRK boat came over the NLL two armed speedboats were dispatched and confirmed that there was no unusual developments in the DPRK military. (Yoo Yong-won, "NK PATROL BOAT CROSSES NLL," 05/27/01)
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; May 24, 2001
Text of report by North Korean radio on 22 May
These days, functionaries and workers in rural areas of North Hwanghae Province have all risen up and launched combat struggles to prevent drought damage. The functionaries and workers of the province have not retreated or hesitated in the slightest against the continuing drought, but are dealing with it. Not only agricultural functionaries and workers, but functionaries and workers in all organs and stations, and even members of the street neighborhood unit in Sohung County, Sariwon, have risen up and are struggling against the drought. Hwangju and Tongsan Counties and Songnim precisely divided work allotment for all units and concentrated their efforts to supply water, heavily watering dry fields.
Joongang Ilbo reported that a source well versed in the DPRK's economy said on Monday that the DPRK's economy has risen by 6.2 percent in 1999 and some more 2000. The two major sectors--construction and
electricity--are known to have played the biggest part in the improvement. In contrast, the agriculture sector that makes up 30 percent of the DPRK's economy did not show much gain. The DPRK has recorded 3.3 million tons (according to the UN's estimation) of grain production, a rapid drop from last year's 4.22 million tons due to last year's drought. "Once the nation succeeds in resolving the fertilizer and irrigation matter it would be able to stabilize its growth rate," Park Seok-sam, the investigator of the North Korea Economy Team at the ROK's Bank of Korea added. (Choi Won-ki, "N.K. RECORDS PLUS GROWTH FOR LAST 2 YEARS," Seoul, 05/21/01)
North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun ran an article April 24 emphasizing comradeship as the decisive factor in solving the succession problem after Kim Il Sung. The commentary reveals the struggle in Pyongyang over Kim Jong Il's ever-changing economic and diplomatic policies. As Kim approaches the symbolically important 60th birthday next year, he is attempting to reinforce his right to power and bring his son Kim Jong Nam in line as his successor...
Reuters reported that the Chosun Ilbo newspaper on Saturday cited unnamed diplomatic sources as saying that DPRK leader Kim Jong-il was in the PRC. The sources said that Kim had departed Pyongyang by train on Friday and arrived in Dalian. The sources said that Kim may have arrived there for a possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Irkutsk, Siberia since Moscow was too far away. An anonymous
Unification Ministry spokesman said on Saturday, "At this point, we cannot say that we have verified the report, but we are continuing to watch the situation. We are currently trying to find concrete evidence
from China." ("NKOREAN LEADER RUMORED TO BE VISITING CHINA-PAPER," Seoul, 05/18/01)
By Elliott Minor, Associated Press, 17 May 2001
TIFTON, Ga. (AP) - A delegation of agriculture experts from North Korea (news - web sites), where millions of people have died from malnutrition due to famine, is in Georgia to learn about advanced farming techniques. The five representatives of the North Korean Academy of Agricultural Sciences toured irrigation systems and fields of corn, peanuts, cotton and soybeans at the University of Georgia's Rural Development Center on Wednesday. The group, wrapping up a two-week visit Friday, was particularly interested in poultry and potatoes.``Georgia has a lot of achievement in broiler production,'' said Kim Sam Ryong, deputy president of the North Korean Academy of Agricultural Sciences. ``Also, you've got pecan trees, which could be similar (to growing) hazelnuts back in Korea.''
Kim said the group also was interested in the work of Stan Kays, a University of Georgia horticulturist who has developed a sweet potato that tastes like an Irish potato. Kays accompanied them Wednesday to the center, about 200 miles south of Atlanta. ``They have an area where the sweet potato grows very well,'' said Kays, who visited North Korea in October. ``They're interested in it as a viable field crop. President Kim Jong Il wants them to increase potato and sweet potato production.'' Since potatoes and sweet potatoes grow underground, they are less vulnerable to sudden weather fluctuations. They also provide higher yields than some other crops, including corn, rice and wheat, he said.
Kays also said he has given tissue samples of his sweet potato to China and North Korea to help scientists there develop varieties suitable to the local soils and climate. North Korea can grow rice, corn, tobacco, fruits and vegetables, but it has had to rely on food from other countries. It is estimated that between 270,000 and 3 million North Koreans, many of them children, have starved to death since 1995, when the country's agricultural system collapsed from decades of mismanagement and several years of bad weather.From Associated Press, LA Times, 16 May 2001
BEIJING--Famine and economic collapse cut the life expectancy of North Koreans by more than six years during the 1990s, a senior North Korean official said Tuesday in a rare disclosure. Death rates for infants and young children climbed while incomes fell by almost half, said a report presented by Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon to a UNICEF conference in Beijing. North Korea rarely releases official data, but figures in the report closely resemble outside estimates. The country has depended on foreign aid to feed its people since 1995, when its agricultural system collapsed after decades of mismanagement aggravated by years of unfavorable weather.
North Korea says 220,000 people died of famine between 1995 and 1998. South Korean and U.S. estimates of deaths range from 270,000 to 2 million. The report didn't give specific figures for famine deaths, but it said average life expectancy fell from 73.2 years in 1993 to 66.8 in 1999. The North Korean population grew by 1.5 million people in the same period to a total of 22.6 million, the report said. The mortality rate for children under age 5 rose during those years from 27 deaths per 1,000 to 48 per 1,000. The same figure for infants rose from 14 to 22.5 per 1,000 births, the report said. Meanwhile, North Korea's per capita gross domestic product slipped from $991 annually to $457, it said.
Choe said a 1995 flood caused $15 billion in damage. International sanctions and the disappearance of trading partners with the fall of the Soviet Union also hurt the economy, he said. Meanwhile, the percentage of the population with access to safe drinking water fell from 86% in 1994 to just 53% two years later, Choe said. Malnutrition, dysentery, and vitamin and iodine deficiencies remain serious problems among children, the report said. The report pledges better cooperation with the international community.
By Doug Struck, Washington Post Foreign Service, 16 May 2001
SEOUL -- North Koreans are facing a bleak spring and are once again eating leaves and roots to survive as the Stalinist country becomes increasingly dependent on the outside world to feed its people, according to aid workers and diplomats. International donors feed at least one-third of North Korea's 22 million people, and the need for extended food aid looms larger as a dry spring has followed last year's meagre autumn harvest, threatening to bring another year of severe shortages. The crucial food donations to North Korea -- primarily from long-time adversaries the United States, South Korea and Japan -- have sharpened a policy question little debated in the United States but hotly questioned here: To what extent should food be used for political leverage with the hostile Pyongyang regime?..
BBC Monitoring Service (14 May 2001) Text of report in English from Choson Ilbo web site
In contrast to ordinary North Koreans who, by the authorities' strict information controls, are blind to what happens outside the country, the North's higher-ups are relatively well-versed in developments in world affairs in general and those in the South in particular, according to North Korean defectors. Senior North Korean officials have an access to world news through information material provided by the (North) Korea Central News Agency [KCNA], the only wire service in the North. The "Reference Press Bureau", part of the news agency, monitors around the clock foreign newspapers, broadcasting stations, wire services and other publications, based on which it produces and distributes news services. Produced and disseminated by the news agency are said to be 18 kinds of such news services, including "Reference Press" and "Reference Newspapers".
They are comparable to the reference data and the reference news, published by China's Xinhua News Agency since the 1950s, and the "Red TASS" and "White TASS", the TASS Agency of the Soviet Union used by senior officials. The Reference Press has three publications dealing with the South Korean situation, international situation and science and technology, respectively. Each consists of about 40 pages of A4 paper. South Korean situation bulletin has a red stripe on the right side of the top, on which the title of "South Korean Situation" is printed. It is usually more voluminous than the other two bulletins on world situation and science and technology. These services are distributed twice a day, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Internally the former is called the first bulletin and the latter the second bulletin. They are distributed to ranking officials at the level of bureau directors and deputy directors and above at party headquarters, cabinet ministers and vice-ministers, but down to some middle-echelon and low-ranking officials in external affairs-related ministries like the foreign and trade ministries, publishing houses and media firms.
News appearing in the reference press is objectively described without commenting and in moderate expressions. They can be read for one day in principle, circulated within prescribed agencies only, and have to be returned to the distributor intact after reading. But ranking officials sometimes take them back home in violation of the rules, sharing them with their wives and children. Reference newspapers, like ordinary dailies, are four pages. Authorized to receive them are mid-level officials of the party headquarters and cabinet ministries, heads of administrative agencies and organizations, and party secretaries at Grade 2 business establishments with a staff of about 3,000 or above. The contents are basically similar to those of reference press, but feature criticism and rough expressions. They are oriented not so much on information as on refinement. In addition, they are said to have White Paper Press (Press No 1) delivered exclusively to the Kims Senior and Junior, Press No. 8 distributed to the [Korean] Workers' Party Central Committee's Political Bureau members and their equivalents, and material press circulated to low-ranking party officials.
Chosun Ilbo reported that the DPRK is believed to be adopting PRC's land management policy. According to Yoo Hai-woong, senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS), the DPRK is currently in the process of learning more about the PRC land management system. "We are eager to gain more information about the Chinese land management system since it is the only model that North Korea can adopt under its unique circumstances," he explained. (Yoon Jong-ho, "NK ADOPTING CHINA'S LAND MANAGEMENT POLICY," 05/20/01)
The Korea Herald ("UNDP TO HELP REFORESTATION IN N.K.," Seoul, 05/21/01) reported that ROK officials said Sunday that the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Caritas International, a network of 154 Catholic relief groups under the Vatican's control, will launch a joint reforestation project worth US$190,000 in the DPRK. The project will help protect the environment and provide firewood, the UN agency said in a new release. The agency said that it would supply seedlings and various forestry equipment to the DPRK for the next two years. It will also restore two tree nurseries in Hichon, Jagang Province, and Tongchon, Kangwon Province, which were damaged after years of natural disaster beginning in 1995.
Chosun Ilbo reported that DPRK leader Kim Jong Il's eldest son, Kim Jong-nam secretly visited the US in June last year, according to a report in Japan's Asahi Shimbun Sunday. The newspaper quoted diplomatic sources as saying that right after the inter-Korean Summit talks in June last year, the younger Kim visited the US for a week, with a forged passport from Grenada, a Central American country. The report said that the purpose of the visit was to attract foreign investment into the DPRK. It said that the US seemed not to have been aware of Kim's secret visit, during which Kim met with pro-DPRK entrepreneurs for investment and financial aid. It added that there were rumors of Kim visiting information technology-related facilities. Furthermore, the Asahi said that the ROK government sees Kim Jong-nam as the person in charge of the DPRK's economic and trade activities with the world. It said that the ROK government has suspicions that the DPRK might be using Europe for payment for missile exports or negotiations with the Middle East, since Kim has visited European countries as well. (Kwon Dae-yeol, "KIM JONG IL'S SON ALLEGED TO HAVE VISITED US," 05/20/01)
People's Daily reported that while inspecting the DPRK countryside, DPRK leader Kim Jong-il said the country should implement an "agriculture first" policy. Kim said the DPRK is in the process of developing into a strong and prosperous country, in which agriculture is fundamental. He instructed that the country adhere to "agriculture first" policy to develop its agriculture; amass national resources to push forward farm production according to farmers will; and organize farm production with Korean agriculture cultivating characteristics. (Zhang Jingfang, Li Zhengyu, "AGRICULTURE STRESSED IN DPRK," Pyongyang, 05/12/01, P3)
By John Gittings, Guardian, 11 May 2001
North Korea faces a worsening health crisis next winter, even if it manages to feed its people this summer,
international aid experts warn. "There is a lack of antibiotics, medical instruments in many places are outworn, the hospitals are unable to maintain emergency power and have no heating in the operating theatres," Tomas Liew, head of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Pyongyang said. "We have to fulfill very basic needs: they need blankets in the hospitals; many doctors don't have simple stethoscopes or blood pressure gauges"...
By The Associated Press, The New York Times, 16 May 2001
BEIJING, May 15 (AP) ?Famine and economic collapse cut the life expectancy of North Koreans by more than six years in the 1990's, a senior North Korean official said here today in a rare disclosure. Death rates for infants and young children climbed while incomes fell by almost half, according to a report presented by Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon at a Unicef conference in Beijing. Figures in the report closely mirror outside estimates. The country has depended on foreign aid to feed its people since 1995, when its agricultural system collapsed after decades of mismanagement aggravated by years of bad weather. North Korea has said in the past that 220,000 people died because of famine in 1995-98. South Korean and American estimates of deaths range from 270,000 to two million. Mr. Choe's report portrayed a nation racked by chronic shortages of food and medicine, its economy in collapse and its health care system ruined. The report presented today did not give specific figures for famine deaths, but said average life expectancy fell from 73.2 years in 1993 to 66.8 in 1999. The North Korean population grew by 1.5 million people in the same period to a total of 22.6 million, the report said...
Chosun Ilbo reported that Radio Pyongyang claimed Thursday that the US should take responsibility if the Mount Keumgang tourism project is suspended. Citing press reports from the ROK, the US and Japan said that US officials, including USFK commander Thomas Schwarz, had said that money earned from the project was being used for military purposes. The radio said that the US, which did not want reconciliation between the DPRK and ROK, was not in favor of the Keumgang project and so should take responsibility for any disruptions. (Yoon Jong-ho, "NK BLAMES US FOR KEUMGANG MOUNTAIN TOURISM FAILURE," 05/17/01)
KIM JONG IL - Tactical genius, strategic fool
By ROBERT A. MANNING Special to The Japan Times
In less than a year, the image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has gone from one of an erratic bon vivant and playboy to that of a wily statesman. But as North Korea braces for yet another winter of starvation and North-South reconciliation grinds to a halt, it may be time to reappraise the "Dear Leader." Kim's skilful use of the recent European Union mission to Pyongyang offers the latest piece in a growing body of evidence to suggest that Kim is a tactical genius and a strategic fool, qualities that may be a major obstacle to progress in both South Korean and U.S. relations with North Korea...
По сообщению из правительственных источников, американский коммерческий спутник обнаружил новое сооружение на северокорейской базе запуска баллистических ракет в деревне Мусудан-ри провинции Хамгён-пукто. Это новое сооружение шириной в 10 метров и длиной в 20 метров примыкает к железобетонному основанию башни для запуска ракет. На последних снимках с американского спутника также зафиксировано новое здание, построенное к
северо-востоку от пусковой башни. Тем не менее, представитель правительства ЮК заявил, что никаких существенных изменений в ситуации в Мусудан-ри со времени запусков ракет в 1998 году не зафиксировано, сообщает RKI. 18.05.2001 (in Russian)
Joongang Ilbo reported that about 220,000 people died of famine for past four years in the DPRK from
1995~1998 revealed the Choe Su-hon, the DPRK's Deputy Foreign Minister on Tuedsay May 15. The report on the DPRK's famine during the 90s was released in the United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) conference held in Beijing, China, according to the Associated Press. This is the first time the DPRK's senior official openly admitted the dire food condition of the country. Choe went on to reveal that due to food and medicine shortage people's average life span dropped from 73.2 in 1993 to 66.8 by 1999, recording a loss of six years. At the same time the infant mortality rate of those under age of five has
risen from 27 to 48 per 1,000 people, he added. Choe also added that the supply rate of safe drinking water, which in 1994 reached up to 86 percent rapidly dropped to 53 percent within two years. Likewise for the supply rate of vaccines for polio and measles which plunged from 90 percent in 1990 to 50 percent by 1997. (Lee Sang-eon, "220,000 DIED OF STARVATION IN THE NORTH FROM 1995~98," Seoul, 05/17/01)
16 мая СК предупредила, что, поскольку США не возмещают энергетические потери, которые она несёт из-за переноса срока ввода в строй легководных реакторов мощностью в 2 миллиона киловатт электроэнергии, ей не остаётся ничего другого как вновь ввести в строй ранее остановленный графитовый реактор. Официальное центральное агентство новостей СК заявило, что за семь лет, прошедших со дня подписания соглашения между СК и США, на месте строительства легководного реактора пока выполнено лишь около 95 процентов работ по строительству фундамента и уже сегодня ясно, что к 2003 году новая АЭС не вступит в строй. Тем не менее после сообщения из Пхеньяна Вашингтон подтвердил намерение выполнить свои обязательства по Женевскому соглашению 1994 года. Один из высокопоставленных сотрудников Госдепартамента, пожелавший остаться неназванным, в этой связи добавил, что США не откажутся от осуществления проекта по строительству двух ядерных реакторов на лёгкой воде, обещанных СК. При этом, однако, он не затрагивал вопроса о северокорейском заявлении, сообщает RKI.18.05.2001. (in Russian)
Chosun Ilbo reported that Radio Pyongyang reported in a talk show Tuesday that ROK's government is conducting large-scale joint military training with the US Forces in Korea ("American Invaders Military"). The radio continued the ROK is trying to raise tensions on the peninsula through an illicit liaison with foreign powers by performing these exercises. It said that "such an act is a breach of the Joint Inter-Korean Declaration signed on June 15 last year in Pyongyang, an anti-Korean people, anti-unification, criminal act that is trying to turn the relations of the two countries back to one of confrontation and state-of-war." Meanwhile, DPRK's Central News Agency also referred to the ROK Navy's maneuvers Wednesday saying that they were "taking the part in the Americans' unscrupulous war provocation scheme, that is becoming more and more downright undisguised every day," and the "South Korean government officials are trying to strain the situation in Korea by conducting a continuous series of military exercises." (Yoon Jeong-ho, "NORTH KOREA CRITICIZES MILITARY EXERCISES, 05/16/01)
We take serious exception to the notion that there is something basically wrong with the "sunshine" policy of South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and to his treatment in Washington in March. What's the alternative to South-North rapprochement? When the United States reviews its policy with South Korea and Japan in Hawaii later this month, a firm commitment to the sunshine policy should be the priority outcome...
John Gittings in Pyongyang
Guardian, Friday May 11, 2001. The English lesson at Morambong middle school is impressive: 12-year-olds can already answer basic questions and read simple fables from Hans Christian Andersen. Yet as well as the Ant and the Grasshopper, the book they are using has some material less usually found in these days in texts used abroad for teaching English. Paul, the students from Morambong district are learning, was a "negro boy" in America. Riding on his bike, he had the temerity to call out to a woman in danger of being knocked down. "Don't tell a white woman to look out, you little darky," she snapped back. Paul fell off his bike, broke his leg and was refused treatment at the hospital. Why was he refused treatment, the textbook asks rhetorically? "Because he was a negro boy. This is America"...
Kim Jong-il, we may safely predict, is not amused. A regime which denies liberty and even life to its subjects, preaches puritan communist morality and excoriates capitalism and the West, lets its playboy princeling swan into so-called enemy territory on a tacky fake passport, with son, two young women (neither his wife), a trunkful of cash and all the vulgar display of the nouveau riche. Bah, humbug...
Pyongyang, May 4 (KCNA) -- Crops in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are badly affected by a long spell of drought. Due to the high air pressure that has persisted in Huabei, China, Korean west sea and south sea since last March there has been little rainfall in the DPRK since March 3 when it was registered 6 mm on an average. The rainfall on March 14 stood at 3 mm on an average. To be exact, drought has persisted for more than 60 days since early March. To go back to historical records, Pyongyang was hit by drought from March 3 to May 4 in 1928, drought lasted for 63 days from March 1 to May 2 in 1982 and for 58 days from March 1 to April 27 in 1993. Precipitation from last March 1 up to this date is registered 15mm on an average in all parts of the country, only 18 percent of 83 mm, the annual average. precipitation in north and south Hwanghae provinces on the west coast, in particular, was registered 9 mm, the lowest in rainfall observation.
Drought has persisted for 58 days in all parts of north and south Hamgyong provinces on the east coast, doing huge damage to various fields of the national economy. Results of the soil survey showed that 8-15 cm deep soil of the farm land in all parts of the country remained dry, going far beyond the germination limit. Most of the sown seeds have already dried up. A forest fire is reported in an unbroken chain. Forest fires broke out in scores of cities and counties including Thongchon, Phyonggang, Cholwon, Ichon and Phangyo counties, Kangwon Province, Tokchon and Sunchon cities, Hoechang, Maengsan and Unsan counties, South Phyongan Province, and north and south Hwanghae provinces, north and south Hamgyong provinces, Jagang Province and Pyongyang in April, thus causing a huge loss of forest resources, satellite information said. As communication networks were cut off by forest fires, various forms of accidents broke out one after another, hard hitting various fields of the national economy. Drought is expected to persist till the first part of May.
by John Gittings in Pyongyang
Thursday May 3, 2001, The Guardian. From the upper floors of the hotel, the city spreads out as a series of dark patches between apartment blocks. Not a single street lamp can be seen. The neon signs of a dozen restaurants shine along Changgwang Street, but the doors are locked and fairy lights flicker eerily over the empty tables. Like the term itself, the People's Paradise has fallen into disuse.
The Great General Kim Jong-il was reported last night to be in "open and lively mood" but the large group of journalists accompanying Chris Patten, Javier Solana and the Swedish prime minister Göran Persson for a ground-breaking EU visit remained a troublesome novelty. "You must stick together and act with a team spirit," we were told. As a new day dawned, North Korea, now in its fifth year of economic crisis, was harder to read than its diplomacy. Groups of travellers waiting outside the station for trains (often delayed for hours by the power cuts ) ate their midday rice cheerfully: several offered me a spare pair of chopsticks to join in...
The Korea Herald reported that the DPRK recently withdrew the workforce and construction equipment from where it had been preparing for the reconnection of severed inter-Korean rail line, ROK officials said Thursday. The move dashed the already fading hopes among ROK officials that the construction of the Kyongui Line would be completed by September or by the end of this year at the latest, they said. "The North pulled out most military forces, their camps and dump trucks it deployed to the Kaesong area last September for Kyongui Line construction," a Defense Ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. (Kim Ji-ho, "NORTH KOREA PULLS OUT OF RAIL RECONNECTION SITE," Seoul, 05/11/01)
Joongang Ilbo reported that DPRK Chairman Kim Jong-il on Monday paid a visit to military unit no.415 and no.567 to make an on-sport guidance, reported the DPRK's state-run news on Tuesday May 8. Accompanying the Chairman were Hyon Chol-hae and Park Jae-gyong, both deputy chiefs of General Political Bureau, Kim Kuk-thae Secretary of the Central Committee of Worker's Party, Li Yong-chol first deputy chief of the Party Central Committee department, and other top military officials. Chairman Kim upon his arrival on military unit 415 was reported on the current situation and in return, urged the soldiers to become more strong. After posing for a group photo, the Chairman went through his usual inspection procedure, looking around the living facilities of the servicemen, and later presenting the troops with gifts of binoculars and automatic rifles. Chairman Kim then went on to visit a power plant named "Imjin River Plant No.1" constructed by unit no.567 and inspected the actual power supply of the plant, going through rooms that supply and distribute electricity, reported the state media. (Choi Won-ki, "CHAIRMAN KIM CHECKS OUT POWER PLANT DURING MILITARY INSPECTION," Seoul, 05/09/01)
Joongang Ilbo reported that the DPRK's state-run Central News Agency said last Friday that the total amount of rainfall from March 1st to early May recorded just 15mm, an 18 percent drop from the average 83mm. Hwanghae Province, dubbed as the grain belt of DPRK's western region, recorded 9mm in rainfall, setting a record low. North Hamgyung region got the worst with no rain at all for last 58 days. The biggest damage would be to grain farming, the nation's basic food source. The planting season for corn, for example, should have started around late April and be completed by late June. However the chances are slim with the ongoing tough weather and its roots most likely to be dried up before ever having chance to stretch out. "The farm soil has dried down to 8-15cm exceeding the seed planting level. Most of the already planted seeds have dried up leaving hardly a chance for hope," reported the News Agency. The Korea Meteorological Administration in Seoul expects clear weather for most of the month and precipitation rate lower than usual. "If this famine prolongs agricultural sector of the North would again be ruined for this year," said Dr. Kim Un-geun of Korea Rural Economic Institute. (Choi Won-ki, "GRAINS IN NORTH, DRIED UP FOR SPRINGTIME," Seoul, 05/08/01)
Joongang Ilbo reported that the DPRK has received aid worth 3.46 billion won (US$2.67 million) from domestic civic groups in April. According to a report of the ROK Unification Ministry last Thursday, nine civic groups including the Korean Sharing Movement aided the DPRK with underwear, medicines and other goods worth about 2.86 billion won (US$2.2 million) last month alone. Another 4 civic groups and the Red Cross Society made a contribution worth 590 million won (US$460,000). A total of 44 civic group officials entered the DPRK to ensure fair distribution of goods seven times in a row in April. "The government has already dispatched 65,000 tons of corn to North Korea late April via World Food Program and is also planning to send in the remaining 35,000 tons by mid-May," said the state official. ("CIVIC GROUPS AID NORTH WITH $2.67 MILLION IN APRIL," Seoul, 05/08/01)
Chosun Ilbo reported that DPRK leader Kim Jong-il is reportedly pointing to the US policy toward the DPRK as the biggest obstacle to a second inter-Korean summit. While summing up his trip to the DPRK, Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson quoted Kim as saying his next inter-Korean summit would only take place once the Bush administration has decided on a new DPRK policy. The DPRK's leader told the European Union delegation last week that he honored his personal friendship with President Kim Dae-jung, but felt that the ROK was too influenced by the US. EU officials added that Chairman Kim also expressed displeasure with the US listing of the DPRK as a sponsor of terrorism and emphasized that he does not regard the US as an enemy nation. (Ju Yong-jun, "KIM JONG IL EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT WASHINGTON'S HARDLINE," Seoul, 05/07/01)
By Choi Won-ki, Joong-ang Ilbo, 7 May 7 2001
It’s springtime again with no rain and North Korea is in full alert. The state-run Central News Agency reported last Friday that the total amount of rainfall from March 1st to early May recorded just 15mm, an 18 percent drop from the average 83mm. Hwanghae Province, dubbed as the grain belt of North's western region recorded 9mm in rainfall, setting the lowest of the record. North Hamgyung region got the worst with no rain at all for last 58 days. The biggest damage would go to grain farming, the nation's basic food source. The planting season for corn, for example, should have started around late April and be completed by late June. However the chances are slim with the ongoing tough weather and its roots most likely to be dried up before ever having chance to stretch out. Likewise for beans, garlic, Chinese cabbage and other vegetables.
“The farm soil has dried down to 8-15cm exceeding the seed planting level. Most of the already planted seeds have dried up leaving hardly a chance for hope,” reported the News Agency. Not much luck for May, either. The Korea Meteorological Administration in Seoul expects clear weather for most of the month and precipitation rate lower than usual. “If this famine prolongs agricultural sector of the North would again be ruined for this year,” said Dr. Kim Un-geun of Korea Rural Economic Institute.
By Charles Lee, United Press International, 5 May 2001
SEOUL -- North Korea on Saturday acknowledged it was facing another year of drought that could result in famine, an announcement that appeared to be aimed at wooing foreign donors in the wake of a visit to the impoverished country by a European Union delegation. The announcement, carried by state media along with supporting scientific data, forecast a dire outlook for the country. "Crops in the Democratic Republic of Korea are badly affected by a long spell of drought," said the North's Korean Central News Agency. Drought has persisted for 58 days in most parts of the country's northern provinces, doing "huge damage to various fields of the national economy," the agency said. "Results of the soil survey showed that 8- to 15-centimeter-deep soil on farmland in all parts of the country remains dry, going far beyond the germination limit. Most of the sown seeds have already dried up."
The report came just after Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson traveled the communist country as head of a high-level EU delegation. The Europeans discussed economic cooperation and relief aid to the famine-stricken North, among other matters. Persson told journalists that North Korean officials were "obviously worried" about the country's devastated economy. "They are aware of the grave situation but they are, as I could understand it, committed to go on with opening up for more international cooperation." he said.
The EU delegation offered the North fertilizer and agricultural equipment, but also asked for a lifting of restrictions on aid groups assisting North Korea through its chronic food shortages and economic hardships.
International relief workers are still barred from reaching areas in the North deemed important to national security, particularly along the heavily armed border with South Korea.
A German doctor, who was thrown out of North Korea in January for criticizing human rights abuses, accused Pyongyang of distorting information on its food crisis in order to get more international help.
"Nobody knows for sure where the food aid has gone. Food could be diverted to high-ranking people or soldiers," said Dr. Norbert Vollersten, a volunteer for German Emergency Doctors, a nonprofit aid group.
The United Nations World Food Program said last month that North Korea was facing new food shortages that could be as bad as 1996 and 1997, the peak of the near-famine conditions of the past 10 years. Lack of fertilizer and a spring drought led to last fall's poor harvest, which supplied only 3 million of the 4.8 million tons of grain that North Korea's 23 million people need to feed themselves, the agency said. Aid agencies said up to 2 million people have died in North Korea since 1995 when a series of natural disasters, compounded by mismanagement in the state-run farm system, triggered famine conditions. South Korea has been shipping 200,000 tons of free fertilizer to North Korea to be used for the rice-planting season this month.
Rory Carroll in Rome, The Guardian, 27 April 2001
North Korea's communist leaders imported two Italian chefs to prepare secret banquets of pizza at the height of the country's famine, it has emerged. The chefs were flown into Pyongyang with special ovens to feed its "Respected Supreme Commander", Kim Jong-il, in 1997 while millions starved on a diet of seaweed, cabbage stalks and grass. Ermanno Furlanis and Antonio Macchia were monitored by army generals as they taught selected chefs the art of rolling dough to ensure thin crusts. "They measured every one of my moves. They even measured the distance between the olives," Mr. Furlanis said.
CIA agents allegedly intercepted oven parts at Berlin airport, suspecting they had a military use. "They were very worried. Maybe they thought they were nuclear ovens or something of the sort," he said. The revelations will appear in the geopolitical journal Heartland, which commissioned Mr. Furlanis to shed light on the secretive regime, In spring 1997, North Korean agents, posing as businessmen, asked Mr. Macchia, the head chef at a Trieste hotel restaurant, to find a partner who would be willing to give a pizza training course. He turned to Mr. Furlanis, an independent financial adviser who moonlighted as a pizza chef in the nearby town of Codroipo, north-east Italy. He accepted the invitation, was paid in advance and told to spare no expense in assembling material.
The chefs, traveling with their wives, had their passports confiscated during their three weeks in military quarters at Pyongyang and a seaside resort. "It was like being in a golden prison. We received full luxury treatment but we couldn't escape," Mr. Furlanis said. A minder, Mr Om, reported to General Pah, who appears to have masterminded the initiative. The insular state had run out of food and people were starving, but the ruling oligarchy wanted to celebrate. Mr. Furlanis explained that no two pizzas were the same, but the hosts were convinced that an ideal recipe could be discovered by analysing his technique. "After my first pizza I was told that in order to make such a dough I must be a very sophisticated person. I was extremely honoured."
He prepared 21 meals for the political and military leaders and their spouses. Mr. Furlanis's article, entitled Four Italians in the Court of the King, was a cross between Marco Polo and an unfathomable James Bond, said the newspaper Italy Daily. His only moment of fear came when he was summoned by Gen Pah at 1am, expecting to be reprimanded for urinating in public. He fell to his knees, but the general laughed off the incident and offered a fistful of dollars as a bonus.
Reuters reported that ROK Unification Minister Lim Dong-won told a committee at the National Assembly on Friday that it would be hard to re-link a railway between the DPRK and the ROK this year. Lim stated, "The inter-Korean project has hit a snag as North Korea has stopped working on it. If the work stoppage continues through next month, it would be hard to reopen the railway this year." ("KOREA SAYS HARD TO RESTORE RAILWAY LINK THIS YEAR," Seoul, 04/27/01)
The Korea Herald reported that as the DPRK decided to allow a record contingent of 75 foreign journalists to enter into the country, a total of eight ROK reporters will cover the news on Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson's trip to Pyongyang next week. Swedish Foreign Ministry officials said Thursday that Persson will have a courtesy meeting with Kim Jong-il on arrival in Pyongyang May 2. Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy and security chief, and Chris Patten, EU's external relations commissioner, will accompany him in the first tete-a-tete between the two leaders. Later in the evening, the EU delegation will attend a welcoming dinner hosted by Kim. On May 3, Kim and Persson will hold official talks, in which they are expected to discuss how to enhance the EU's role in the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. (Kim Ji-ho, "N.K. TO ALLOW 75 FOREIGN JOURNALISTS TO COVER SWEDISH P.M'S VISIT," Seoul, 04/27/01)
The Korea Herald reported that the ROK Thursday made a final decision on its provision of 200,000 tons of fertilizer, worth US$52 million, to the DPRK, with the first fertilizer shipment scheduled for May 2. During an interagency meeting presided over by Unification Minister Lim Dong-won, participants also decided to appropriate the Inter-Korean Cooperation Funds for the fertilizer aid, ministry officials said. "We will begin the shipment as soon as the North guarantees the safety of our transportation staff," said Hong Yang-ho,
director-general for the ministry's Humanitarian Affairs Bureau. The seed-planting season begins in May in the DPRK, during which the use of chemical fertilizer peaks. "Despite concerns over a hasty decision on the fertilizer aid, the government has concluded that the timing of the provision is more important that any other factors," Hong said. (Kim Ji-ho, "FERTILIZER SHIPMENTS TO N.K. TO BEGIN MAY 2," Seoul, 04/27/01)
by Aidan Foster-Carter
It's hard to be optimistic about North Korea just now. Kim Jong-il and his peculiar realm seem to be once more headed full-steam astern, back into hermit kingdom mode. It's the crass choices of others who should know better - read George W Bush and his hard-line advisers who are a godsend to Northern hawks - who are responsible for the about-turn and insulting slap in the face of Nobel Peace Prize winner Kim Dae-jung. Confucius, meet Texas; and note who's wearing the cowboy boots...
Joongang Ilbo reported that prior to the construction of Kaesong complex, the DPRK has called for a team of experts to legislate special laws related to the project. The state official, pointing out the importance of Kaesong Complex, said the DPRK is currently working on drawing out special laws for the project with the help from dozens of local experts from various sectors on Wednesday. The ROK state official said, "The North has a good understanding of what the laws should contain thanks to its prior negotiations with Hyundai for past several months. North Korea is opening more rooms for international concepts on trade but nevertheless the inter-Korean ties would still be affected by the upcoming legislation. We hope the newly passed processing trade law to make positive contributions to inter-Korean trade, especially on the processing trade sector for the good of two Koreas." ("N.K. TO LEGISLATE NEW LAWS FOR KAESONG COMPLEX," Seoul, 04/26/01)
По сообщению из Берна Швейцарский директорат агентства по развитию и сотрудничеству направил 712 тонн замороженной говядины в СКорею в рамках продовольственной помощи. Мясо отправлено морем и прибудет в СКорею в мае через китайский порт Далянь. Предусмотрено, что представители швейцарского агентства будут принимать участие в работе по распределению этой помощи в СКорею, которая сейчас стоит перед опасностью такой же острой нехватки продовольствия, которая была в стране в 1996 и 1997 годах, сообщает RKI.
|22.04.2001| (in Russian)The Sankei Shimbun reported that according to US Defense Department officials, the DPRK is beginning to upgrade its tanks for the first time in nearly 10 years. The report said that the DPRK's 3,500 tanks are older USSR and PRC made, but the DPRK is now extending the range of USSR-made T-62 guns and enabling the tanks to cross the river. The report suggested that US defense authorities are becoming sensitive to this development in light of the George W. Bush administration's policy to halt missile technology development and reduce conventional forces in the ROK.
(Toru Maeda, "DPRK IS UPGRADING ITS TANKS FOR FIRST TIME IN 10 YEARS," Washington, 04/19/2001)Reuters reported that Deputy US Central Intelligence Agency Director John McLaughlin said in a speech released on Wednesday that the DPRK probably has one or two nuclear bombs and may also have biological weapons in addition to chemical weapons. McLaughlin said that while activity at the DPRK's nuclear plant at Yongbyon remains frozen, "we still cannot account for all of North Korea's plutonium." He added, "And, with an opaque regime in which the practice of denial and deception is embedded in national strategy, we still cannot say for sure that nuclear weapons-related work is not going on somewhere else."
McLaughlin said that the DPRK's Nodong missiles and variants have shown up in Iran and Pakistan, "And it is busy at work on new models that could reach the United States itself with nuclear-sized payloads." He argued that DPRK leader Kim Jong-il so far has held to his father's legacy including the goal of "northern pre-eminence in a reunified Korea." McLaughlin added, "Like his father, he has been shrewd enough to make bad behavior the keystone of his foreign policy. He knows that proliferation is something we want to stop. Thus, Kim Jong-il has tried to drum up outside assistance by trading off international concerns about his missile programs and sales." Pointing to Kim Il-sung's tendency to play the Soviet Union against the PRC, McLaughlin predicted that Kim Jong-il "will seek to exploit any daylight he can find between the United States, South Korea, Japan, the European Union, or anyone else who might be inclined to offer him economic help." ("CIA OFFICIAL: N. KOREA PROBABLY HAS NUCLEAR ARMS," Washington, 04/18/01)
The Korea Herald reported that the ROK plans to provide the DPRK with about 200,000 tons of chemical fertilizer next month to help boost food production in the DPRK, ROK Unification Minister Lim Dong-won said Wednesday. "It seems that (the ROK) should send fertilizer to the North again as its seed planting period peaks in May," Lim said in a meeting with Lee Hoi-chang, president of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP). In a recent report made by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the DPRK appealed to the international community for 350,000 tons of fertilizer this year. "In the case that North Korea fails to secure this amount of fertilizer, it will lead to a serious result in the food situation there," said the report released Tuesday. Lim sought Lee's support for the humanitarian aid, which will cost more than 64 billion won (US$48 million), according to ministry officials. (Kim Ji-ho, "SEOUL MULLING NEW FERTILIZER AID TO N.K.," Seoul, 04/19/01)
В четверг утром сторожевой катер ВМС КНДР нарушил границу территориальных вод Республики Корея. Об этом сообщили в Генштабе РК. По словам пресс-секретаря военного ведомства Южной Кореи, катер ВМС КНДР находился в территориальных водах РК не более 15 минут. Причиной вторжения, по словам пресс-секретаря, скорее всего, стало то, что сторожевой катер вел преследование двух китайских браконьерских судов, проводивших незаконный рыболовецкий промысел вблизи берегов КНДР.
//Reuters, 19 Apr. 2001, 09:57. (in Russian)The Chosun Ilbo, 24 April 2001. According to the emergency relief report of the World Food Programme (WFP) North Korea is presently in dire need of food and medical aid. "North Korean authorities have estimated that rationing of food which will last until the end of April, will be discontinued in the beginning of May," said the WFP on the 24th of April. "The daily rationing of food in North Korea last March which was estimated between 300-400 grams has been reduced to 200 grams," said the WFP's Emergency Relief Report. "Although the WFP contributed 30,000 tons of wheat and 10,000 tons of soybeans summing up to a total of 10,900,000 dollars, North Korea was still 349,000 tons short of supplies," added the report.
In order to better deal with the food shortages and create a treatment for the children of North Korea, the WFP will conduct a study upon what are the requirements of the North Korean Hospitals...
The Chosun Ilbo, 24 April 2001.
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea:
a) The lean season, marked by depletion of household food stocks and reduction of the food quantities supplied by the public distribution system, began earlier this year as harvest cereals had been distributed by the end of January. In March, the ration given by the Government system was reduced to 200g per person per day. The distributions will continue through April but are expected to end in early May;
b) During March, WFP has received a US contributions of 30,000 tons of wheat and 10,000 tons of beans, at a total operational value of USD 10.9 million. However, the overall shortfall to meet the WFP emergency operation plans for this year remains at 43 percent, equivalent to 349,370 tons. Stocks of oil and pulses in nurseries and kindergartens will last until the end of April. The orphanages, that are considered more vulnerable, are supplied until the end of July;
c) Some 20,000 tons of cereals were allocated to food for work (FFW) projects in March. Distributions for the lean season have started in four provinces along the east coast covering, in addition to assistance to core beneficiary groups, such as teachers, paediatric hospital staff, elderly people and persons affected by tropical storms last year...
By Ronald Meinardus, The Japan Times, 24 April 2001
SEOUL -- Whatever their personal opinions about U.S. President George W. Bush may be, supporters and foes must agree that his foreign policy has not received good grades in European capitals. In a matter of weeks, Bush succeeded in snubbing the European allies on several occasions. The most serious provocations in the eyes of the Europeans have been Washington's decision to renounce the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, its propensity for picking fights with the Russians, and its Korean policy. Europeans have supported South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's Sunshine Policy from the beginning. This cannot be said of the Bush administration, however, which can be called the gravedigger of the conciliatory process.
With the aim of counterbalancing the negative effects of the shift in American foreign policy, the Europeans have decided to get involved in Korean affairs, which have traditionally been considered to be in America's strategic backyard. In early May, a senior delegation from the European Union will visit Pyongyang and Seoul. "The aim is to express support for the process started by Kim Dae Jung," said Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU for the first half of this year, and who will lead the delegation...
Roger Dean Du Mars, South China Morning Post, 24 April 2001
SEOUL - Preoccupied with salvaging a moribund economy, North Korea is grimly watching its environment rapidly deteriorate, according to South Korean Government officials. Pyongyang's emergency efforts to grow food and heat homes have led to the indefinite setting-aside of environmental concerns, they say, warning that such total neglect may place future recovery out of reach. Three-quarters of the North's factories operate without any system to minimise pollutants. The Kim-chek Steel Refinery and the Chung-jin Chemical Fibre Factory in the city of Chung-in spew out plumes of poisonous gases, and about 30 per cent of the residents suffer from liver cancer or tuberculosis, research by the South's Unification Ministry shows.
A carbide re-treatment plant in South Hamgyong province leaks vast quantities of carbide, a highly toxic chemical. Animals that drink from nearby puddles of water have died. In Hamhung, nitrogen monoxide and chlorine gas are released by the Hungnam Allied Fertiliser plant. Many of the workers are inflicted with bronchitis and an array of lung diseases, according to the ministry's dossier. Most of the water in North Korea is poisonous, it says, and drinking tap water can prove fatal. Even in Pyongyang, water is undrinkable. Factories in the Nampo region discharge a slew of chemicals that end up in the Daedong river - which flows through Pyongyang and supplies the capital with drinking water. The North's major rivers, the Tumen and the Yalu, are seriously polluted, while fish poisoned by discharges from coalmines and cement factories float on the Ahp-rok River, the ministry says...
Chosun Ilbo reported that Jerry Humble, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Forces in Korea, said Tuesday that the DPRK has increased its stock of long-range missiles by 25 percent over the past two years, adding that it would take only 14 minutes to launch these missiles and they would hit Seoul within 110 seconds after launching. While attending a seminar held at Texas A&M University, Humble said that the total number of missiles has risen to 600 and those that the military deployed near the DMZ accounted for 70 percent, up from 65 percent. (Joo Yong-joong, "USFK WARNS ON INCREASE OF NK MISSILES," Seoul, 04/18/01)
По словам первого заместителя директора ЦРУ Джона Маклафлина, который выступил на конференции в техасском университете A&M, у Пхеньяна есть 1 или 2 атомные бомбы, а также, возможно, и бактериологическое оружие, сообщает ИТАР-ТАСС. "На самом деле, КНДР, возможно, располагает одной или двумя атомными бомбами, - заявил Маклафлин. - Наряду с химическими вооружениями Северная Корея может также располагать бактериологическим оружием". Судя по словам Маклафлина, основанием для подобных заключений служит то, что КНДР по-прежнему остается закрытой страной, а, значит, ничего невозможно гарантировать. Эта "закрытость" не позволяет выяснить, какое количество плутония находится в руках северокорейских специалистов.
Первый заместитель директора ЦРУ в своей речи заявил также, что хотя северокорейские власти продолжают придерживаться моратория на осуществление своей программы создания баллистических ракет, на самом деле Пхеньян не прекращал своей деятельности в этой сфере. По его словам, северокорейские ракеты "Нодон" и ее различные модификации периодически появляются в таких странах, как Иран и Пакистан. "И они сейчас активно работают над новыми модификациями ракет, которые способны достичь территории США и могут быть нести ядерный боезаряд", - заявил первый заместитель директора ЦРУ. (in Russian)
The Washington Times reported that the Washington Times has learned that the DPRK sent a shipment of missile components and technology to Iran two weeks ago aboard a transport aircraft. US intelligence officials familiar with reports of the arms transfer said the components were photographed late last month by a US spy satellite as they were being loaded aboard an Iranian Il-76 transport jet at a DPRK airfield. The officials identified the airfield as Sunan International Airport, located about 12 miles north of Pyongyang, the DPRK capital. The shipment is the second missile component transfer detected this year by US intelligence agencies and is a sign that the DPRK is stepping up its missile- related exports. That sale involved the export of 12 rocket motors made for DPRK's 600-mile-range Nodong medium-range missiles. The engines were photographed being loaded on an Iranian 747 jetliner at Sunan Airport. Henry Sokolski, director of the
private Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, said reports of the latest missile transfer raise new questions about whether there should be any deals with the DPRK. Sokolski said, "Missile sales seem to be business as usual, and there should be no deals between the United States and North Korea until they are halted." (Bill Gertz, "NORTH KOREA SENDS MISSILE PARTS, TECHNOLOGY TO IRAN," 4/18/01)
Chosun Ilbo reported that DPRK National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il has increased his number of military inspections, it was reported Tuesday, visiting air force unit 884 on April 10, army unit 2629 on the 15th, and artillery unit 3427 on the 16th. Also, he looked around a fish farm made by army unit 580 on the 15th, and a goat pasture newly established by unit 757. Chairman Kim has made five tours to military facilities this month alone, which is noteworthy considering that he visited military units only once in January and February. Furthermore, since April 25 is the anniversary of the People's Army, the number of visits is likely to increase even more. A government source commented that the administration believes that such a move is thought to be the DPRK's attempt to demonstrate its military power to the US administration. (Kim In-mok, "KIM JONG IL'S MILITARY INSPECTIONS INCREASE," Seoul, 04/17/01)
Joongang Ilbo reported that the DPRK has just reaped its worst harvests in four years. Falling short of one-third of its targeted food source, the nation again found itself bound to suffer another year, revealed US officials on Monday April 16. David Morton, the World Food Program (WFP)'s representative in the DPRK, reported that corn and wheat, the main harvest of the DPRK failed to reach its targeted 4.8 million tons, recording about 3.0 million tons instead. People are now foraging hills for wild mushrooms and edible leaves, continued Morton. Cabbage stalks and other leftover foods are used to make noodles along with wheat, but hardly offer much nutrition. (Oh Young-jin, "NORTH FALLS SHORT OF 1/3 OF ITS HARVEST," Seoul, 04/17/01)
Chosun Ilbo reported that the DPRK's fifteen-day "Great Sun Festival" celebrating the birth date of founder Kim Il-sung officially ended on April 15, though some programs were to continue until April 18. According to the ROK Ministry of Unification, some 39 events were held during the period, similar to previous years, but the focus seemed to shift to a more international flavor than in the past. People from 46 countries participated in the "Spring of April Friendly Art Performances," while runners from 20 nations took part in the Pyongyang International Marathon. The preparation committee for the festival increased by 10 to 45 people. Chairman of the National Defense Commission Kim Jong-il visited military unit 2629 and the fishing ground of unit 580 for an on-site inspection on Sunday April 15, the 89th birthday of Kim Il-sung. (Kim In-ku, "NORTH KOREA'S 'GREAT SUN FESTIVAL' ENDS," Seoul, 04/16/01) and Joongang Ilbo ("CHAIRMAN KIM VISITS MILITARY UNITS ON CELEBRATION DAY," Seoul, 04/16/01)
The Far Eastern Economic Review carried an opinion article by Aidan Foster-Carter of Leeds University which said that the root problem of the DPRK's agricultural problems is the rigid planning and the whim of its leaders. Foster-Carter stated, "The projects that paved the way for the food crisis included years of the overuse of inorganic fertilizers, which resulted in physical and chemical damage to soil; poorly planned hillside
terracing; and the tearing down of forests to plant maize in the mountains. All this on top of the follies of collective farming, restricting private plots and markets." He noted that the Korean Central News Agency has described a new policy of rezoning as "a grand nature-harnessing work, to level at least 400,000 patches and remove 30,000 kilometres of ridges between rice fields which had been handed down through generations, and repartition them into standardized fields, each covering 1,000-1,500 pyong" (3,300 to 4,950 square meters)."
Foster-Carter argued that the true motivation behind the process is to make it impossible for former owners of the land to claim their holdings. He stated, "Intriguing that the Dear Leader thinks the landlords who fled in the 1940s, or their children, might come back and claim their own -- as has happened in Eastern Europe since communist rule collapsed. Is he afraid?" Foster-Carter argued that countries and agencies that aid the DPRK "have the right to insist that policies and practices which killed a million or more North Koreans cease.... Yet
rather than voice their concerns and insist on tighter conditionality, they have been coy to challenge the irrational policies which caused the crisis and which still go on." He stated, "In reality, informal markets are the only thing standing between most North Koreans and starvation. But to openly embrace them seems to be too much for Kim Jong Il." ("NORTH KOREA --GREAT BULLDOZER," 04/12/01)
Joongang Ilbo reported that the US decided to provide the DPRK with 100,000 tons of food aid, reported a diplomatic source in the US on Wednesday April 11. "The Department of State chose to dispatch 100,000 tons of humanitarian aid and is currently looking into right time to make the announcement," the source said. DPRK watchers in Seoul explained that the latest decision came from US administration's efforts to prove its consistency toward the DPRK. (Choi Won-ki, "U.S. SENDS 100,000T FOOD AID TO NORTH," Seoul, 04/11/01)
The Korea Herald reported that two DPRK patrol boats briefly intruded into ROK waters off Yonpyong Island in the West Sea Tuesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The DPRK ships retreated when challenged by ROK naval vessels, it added. He said that the patrol boats appeared to have crossed the border on a mission escorting DPRK fishing boats operating nearby. (Kang Seok-jae, "N. K. VESSELS ENTER SOUTH KOREAN WATERS AGAIN," Seoul, 04/11/01)
The Washington Post reported that the DPRK promises to have 1 million people line the route at the Pyongyang International Marathon on April 15. Guy Horne, who is helping organize the event for International Sports and Leisure (ISL), stated, "They've got eight-lane highways and maybe 300 cars. I don't think there will be a big traffic problem." Horne said that the DPRK approached ISL about generating revenues for their sports infrastructure, but were unfamiliar with the concept of advertising. Only two foreign reporters are being allowed to cover the race, and one of them will be a participant. There will be
600 DPRK runners and 45 foreigners, including six US expatriates from around Asia and a few African championship contenders. The DPRK refused to allow US observers who did not participate in the race. Trish Pepper, marketing manager in Tokyo of the Financial Times, one of the sponsors of the race, stated, "It's an unprecedented opportunity to make inroads into what is otherwise an impenetrable country." According to Horne, there is one subscriber to the Financial Times in the DPRK, an anonymous official at the central bank, although Pepper was uncertain
how he receives it. (Doug Struck, "NORTH KOREA RUNS INTO THE ARMS OF WESTERN ADS," Tokyo, 04/12/01, C1)
Chosun Ilbo reported that Freedom House, a Human Rights group headquartered in New York, criticized the DPRK for its human rights situation Thursday at the United Nations Human Rights Committee conference held in Geneva, Switzerland. The organization issued a statement saying, "human rights violations in North Korea are the most serious in the world" and included the DPRK alongside Iraq and Afghanistan as one of 11 countries with the worst human rights records. The statement also harshly commented "despite the collapse of communism, North Korea has shut its people off from the outside world and insisted on totalitarianism." In addition, it pointed out that there is no room for anti-establishment powers in the DPRK as the authorities keep a close watch over the people and take oppressive measures against dissident groups. Freedom House also added, "in North Korea, even fundamental elements of civil society do not exist, not to mention the rule of law." (Kim In-ku, "FREEDOM HOUSE CONDEMNS NORTH KOREA," Seoul, 04/05/01)
Pyongyang, April 2 (KCNA) -- Pyongyang is seething with preparations for the 19th April spring friendship art festival with the approach of Sun's Day, the first holiday common to humankind in the 21st century. The festival will be participated in by over 80 art troupes and acrobatic groups made up of international and national concourse winners and famous artistes from 47 countries, art troupes of overseas compatriots and Korean art troupes, who will sing songs of independence, peace and friendship. Theatres in the city have been refurbished for the festival and places to be visited and hotels are ready to receive guests. The program for its participants includes visits to Mangyongdae, the Tower of the Juche Idea, the Arch of Triumph and the International Friendship Exhibition and an attendance of evening gala for commemorating Sun's Day. The festival organising committee has made full preparations for the reception of guests, art performances and appreciation of them and participants' tour. Pyongyang is waiting for foreign artistes and overseas Korean artistes.
The Korea Herald reported that the website of the DPRK's Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday claimed that the US sent reconnaissance and spy aircraft over the DPRK 180 times last month. The report said that the planes came from bases both overseas and in the ROK, undertaking various missions designed to obtain information and disrupt the DPRK's military. The website said that aerial espionage against the DPRK had increased, and attributed it to the "present U.S. ruling quarters' call for a hard-line policy" towards the DPRK. ("N. KOREA DENOUNCES U.S. ESPIONAGE," Seoul, 04/04/01)
Joongang Ilbo reported that Kim Yong-sun, secretary to the DPRK's Workers' Party and chief of the United Front, has finally unveiled himself toward the public after going through a hermit-period for 2 months. State-run TV showed Kim's attendance at a school ceremony during the regular news time at 8 P.M. on Sunday, April 1. This is the second time this year for Kim to be shown on television since his participation to the 50th commemoration ceremony of late political commissioner Kim Chaek on January 31. Pyongyang TV managed to make only a single report on secretary Kim since his disappearance, the one on March 24 regarding his paying respects on the death of Hyundai Chairman Chung Ju-yung. "There are unconfirmed reports that secretary Kim has received some kind of pressure from the military during the first two months of this year." another DPRK watcher said. If the report were true, it would not be the first time for Kim to be hauled off to so-called re-education camp. He went through a similar process back in the 80s to get himself filled with "revolutionary spirit." (Kim Jin-hwan, "KIM YONG-SUN SECRETARY TO WORKER'S PARTY MAKES A COMEBACK," Seoul, 04/04/01)
The Associated Press reported that the German government on Wednesday approved shipments of beef to the DPRK from cattle being slaughtered in the wake of a mad cow crisis. Up to 400,000 older German cattle are being slaughtered as part of a program to raise European beef prices after sales dropped due to mad cow concerns. Government spokesman Uwe-Karsten Heye stated, "It's been decided in principle." No date was set for a first delivery, although officials said it would not be made before the end of the month. Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said that the government plans to ship up to 30,000 tons of meat, which will be tested for mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. She added that the UN World Food Program will organize the distribution inside the DPRK. ("GERMAN GOVT APPROVES BEEF DELIVERY TO NORTH KOREA," Berlin, 04/04/01)
The Wall Street Journal reported that on April 15 the DPRK will host the Pyongyang International Marathon, sanctioned by the International Amateur Athletic Federation. Race promoters said that 600 local runners and 80 foreigners will take part in the marathon. Swiss-based race promoter ISL Asia-Pacific has recently been contracted by the DPRK's Olympic body to exclusively market their sporting events. ISL's Guy Horne stated, "There's a lot more business going on up there than people think." A senior executive at Italy's Fila Sport SpA, one of the marathon's sponsors, stated, "We're getting great exposure up there." Great Britain's Financial Times, another sponsor of the event, is sending eight of its staff to participate in the event. Tricia Pepper, the newspaper's marketing manager for Japan and Korea, stated, "The marathon gives us a way to make inroads into a once impenetrable country." (Jay Solomon, "NORTH KOREA SIGNALS UPWARD INTENTIONS WITH PLANNED WORLD-CLASS MARATHON," Seoul, 04/02/01)
The Wall Street Journal reported that US and ROK military officials said that they have observed a substantial buildup in the DPRK's forward-deployed offensive firepower over the past year. They said that the DPRK has increased the number and size of military training exercises, continued the production and deployment of medium-range ballistic missiles, and amassed 70 percent of its active forces within 145 kilometers (90 miles) of the Demilitarized Zone. General Thomas A. Schwartz, commander-in-chief of the US-ROK combined forces, told the US Senate's Armed Forces Committee last week, "When I look north, I can see an enemy that's bigger, better, closer and deadlier, and I can prove it." He said that the DPRK has 700,000 troops, over 8,000 artillery systems and 2,000 tanks. A senior ROK defense official said last week, however, "Even on the basis of the same information the understanding and interpretation of the data can vary depending on the perspective." DPRK expert Selig Harrison wrote in the current issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, "Pyongyang's forward deployments of tanks and artillery are intended to help deter a U.S. pre-emptive strike, not to prepare for another invasion." A statement put out by the ROK opposition Grand National Party this month said, "It is clear that the Kim Dae Jung administration's sunshine policy is only helping North Korea expand its military." (Jay Solomon and Eduardo Lachica, "NORTH KOREA'S MILITARY BUILDUP THREATENS PEACE TALKS WITH SEOUL," 04/02/01)
New town culture is emerging in Pyongyang as huge apartment blocks have sprung up along recently-constructed Kwangbok (liberation) and Tongil (unification) Streets as well as the earlier-built Changgwang, Munsu and Ansangtak Streets. Munsu Street in eastern Pyongyang, Kwangbok Street in the Mangyongdae district and Tongil Street south of the Taedong River, in particular, being somewhat distant from the center of the capital, can be compared to such suburban new towns as Pundang and Ilsan in the South. But the concept of apartments differs considerably between the North and South.
To begin with, apartments in the North, as is the case with independent houses, are evaluated not by the size of floor space, but by the number of rooms. The floor-space size of an apartment has nothing to do with the living standard of its occupant. Entrances to most apartments are directly linked to stairways, not corridors, and there are no living rooms in North Korean apartments, unlike in the South. Few apartments are of under 59.4 meter2, two-room apartments have a space of about 79.2 meters2, and apartments with three or four rooms have a space of 99 meters2 or more. There is no mistaking, therefore, to regard apartment dwellers as belonging to the upper class...