Tuesday, 12 May 2015

‘Popular Girls’ shows off North Korea’s good sides

May 09,2015


	North Korea’s “Popular Girls,” featuring Hwang Kyung-mi, a pediatrician. Screenshots from YouTube

Squash instructor Suh Hyun-ah, 26, is popular among her students for her sense of responsibility and charismatic style. She’s looking for a partner but doesn’t want to date her students because most are younger than she is. When asked what sort of man she likes, she giggles shyly and says she “likes people who play soccer.”

Suh works at the Geumneung Sports Complex in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital. Her interview, just a little over three minutes long, is the first in a 10-episode video series called “Popular Girls,” created by the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korea newspaper published in Japan, and available to anyone on YouTube.

The women featured cover a wide range of professions and include a traffic police officer, a professor, a doctor, a woven-textile factory worker and an inventor.

All the “popular girls” are in their 20s, with the oldest being 29-year-old Kim Un-jung, an English professor at Pyongyang Computer Technology University.


	North Korea’s “Popular Girls,” featuring from left: Suh Hyun-ah, a squash instructor; Ryu Chong-hye, a traffic police officer.Screenshots from YouTube

Though the women have their own individual charms, they all share one thing in common: All celebrate the North Korean regime and voice their resolute support for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his authority.

Kim Kyung-hae, a preschool teacher at Pyongyang Jung-gu Station Daedongmun, says she chose her job because she “wanted to cultivate children who would make the revered comrade Kim Jong-un happy.”

And when asked her favorite song, Mun Kyung-Shim, an attendant at a Gwangbokji-gu supermarket, states without hesitation: “The General’s Thoughts.”

Additionally worth noting is that all the videos in this series are based in Pyongyang, which suggests a motivation by its officials to promote the city and its level of development.

The video clip featuring the traffic police officer captures some of the capital’s urban development, and expensive black cars can be seen passing behind her.

In the video with Hwang Kyung-mi, a pediatrician at Okryu Children’s Hospital, the facility appears clean, brightly decorated with pink curtains and well-stocked with children’s toys.

Kim Young-su, a professor who teaches North Korea politics at Sogang University, suggested that “even North Korea has realized that this is a difficult era to promote the regime.”

“After Chairman Kim came into power, North Korea’s media propaganda has highlighted individuals and their characteristics through videos rather than in print,” he said.

Before Kim Jong-un, those outside North Korea’s leadership were rarely featured on Korean Central Television. Even solo performances during Moranbong Band concerts were never credited to the soloists because of the axiom that the people come before the individual.

Now individuals and their names are recognized in captions.

“Considering the established nature of the North Korean regime, this is a significant change,” Professor Kim emphasized.

All the videos utilize personal interviews in the same style of popular Korean and American variety shows. Each episode also reflects quality production.

The video of Mun, the supermarket attendant, is filmed with qualities of paparazzi-style documentation.

The video captures Mun addressing customers’ concerns and refilling items from a distance, occasionally interjecting the video with close-up still cuts of Mun accompanied by shutter sounds, a direct reference to the paparazzi.

Cho Byung-hyun, a North Korean specialist and a senior researcher at IBK Economic Research Institute, posited that “these videos were carefully created to show to others.”

She also noted, “Chairman Kim aims toward a different sort of propaganda from that of his father, Kim Jong-il, with the major motivation being to highlight North Korea’s information technology and video skills.”

What experts suggest is that this YouTube series is just one example of a new type of North Korean weapon befitting the 21st century - a new means for spreading propaganda.

North Korean technology, indeed, appears top-notch, particularly given that it has hacked corporate and public agencies in South Korea as well as the California-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, which produced “The Interview,” a fictional film blasted by Pyongyang for mocking leader Kim Jong-un.

Lee Byong-ho, the director of the National Intelligence Service, stated to the Congressional Intelligence Committee on April 29 that, “North Korea’s IT work force is highly skilled, and because these workers could be employed at any tech-related company in China, Vietnam, Laos and other foreign countries, the profession is highly sought after.”

“Popular Girls” well reflects the changing times and the heightened level of technological development in North Korea.

Each video in the series boasts at least 500 views, a huge achievement for North Korea - even the least popular video has more than 3,000 hits. Though there is no “Popular Guys” series, it’s likely that the “Popular Girls” viewership will only continue to rise.

“Even North Korea is adjusting their image to the trends of this generation,” Professor Kim said.

BY CHUN SU-JIN [enational@joongang.co.kr]

DPRK satellite feed

Reception check: KCTV’s new satellite feed

A couple of weeks ago I reported that satellite monitors had found a new feed of Korean Central Television on Intelsat 21, a satellite above the Atlantic that covers all of the Americas and west Europe.

Today I had a chance to check it out.

Technical details of Korean Central Television’s feed to the Americas and west Europe (Photo: North Korea Tech)

The feed is being broadcast in standard definition PAL. That isn’t quite as good as the high definition feed KCTV recently switched to for its Asia satellite broadcast, but it’s far superior to the quality of clips currently being uploaded by North Korean news sites.

Intelsat 21 was putting in a strong signal to my dish, even though it appears low in the sky from California.

Signal level of Korean Central Television’s feed (Photo: North Korea Tech)

Stable reception should be possible with a dish of 1.8 meters or larger. I was using a 1.2-meter dish and reception was good, but it wasn’t free of occasional signal break up, as you can see in the clips I recorded.

Here’s Monday’s programming schedule. This was recorded at around 1130 Pyongyang time, which is much earlier than the 1500 local time that programming normally begins. KCTV usually airs a full day schedule on weekends and public holidays.

If you need more details about reception, see my previous post for a map showing the coverage area.

Here’s a propaganda song:

And here’s another:

N. Korea threatens to strike S. Korean navy over NLL ‘incursions’

'Emergency alert' from North's state media claims multiple intrusions by Southern vessels; S. Korea issues denial

May 8th, 2015

Hamish Macdonald

North Korea has warned the South Korean navy that it will open fire on its ships if they cross the dividing maritime border, in an emergency alert published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday.

The warning, issued by the Southwestern Front of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) claimed that South Korean speedboats had crossed onto North Korean territory across the Northern Limit Line (NLL) this week and said further incursions will be met with immediate gunfire.

“From this moment, it (KPA) will make a sighting strike without any prior warning at any warship of the south Korean puppet navy intruding into the extension of demarcation line in the hotspot of the West Sea of Korea,” the statement reads.

“This warning is based on the resolute decision to mercilessly punish with arms the provocateurs hell-bent on confrontation with compatriots.”

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense (MND) issued a statement on Friday in response to the “emergency alert” saying it is “deeply concerned that the DPRK showed such hostilities to ‘aim (at) and destroy’ ROK ships if they cross the Western NLL.”

“If the North provokes, the ROK will react decisively,” the statement read.

According to the KCNA article, between May 1 and May 7, a total of 17 South Korean speedboats had crossed up to 2-3 times a day. The MND has denied these claims.

“All of the ROK speed boats were operating normally. The NLL is the only sea border that the ROK government recognizes. We have not, I repeat, have not crossed the NLL not even once,” an MND official told NK News on Friday.

“We are deeply concerned by North’s distortion of the story, by announcing as if we crossed the border. Such a thing did not happen.”

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency also quoted a message sent to the North Korean command by MND spokesman Kim Min-seok.

“It is not our side but your side that brings up tension along the NLL. Your threatening words and deeds by distorting facts are stoking unnecessary military tension between the two Koreas,” Kim was quoted as saying.

The NLL has been the site of multiple inter-Korean clashes and incidents, most notably the sinking of South Korea’s Cheonan naval vessel in 2010, which claimed the lives of 46 sailors.

Following an investigation conducted by an international team, North Korea was blamed for the incident.

Also in 2010, North Korea fired artillery shells across the NLL, targeting the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, killing two civilians and two soldiers in the process.

The last major exchange of fire across the NLL occurred in 2009, in which vessels from the North and South fired upon one another. The skirmish, called the Battle of Daechong-do, resulted in significant damage to the North Korean vessel involved and the reported death of a North Korean officer.

There were no casualties were sustained on the South Korean side.

Featured Image: Wikimedia Commons

North Korea test-fires ballistic missile from submarine

North Korea test-fires ballistic missile from submarine: KCNA

Images of Kim Jong Un overseeing test published by state media

May 9th, 2015

Hamish Macdonald

North Korea announced it has successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in an article published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday.

The article says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un both personally ordered and watched the firing of the missile, with the Rodong Sinmun publishing pictures of the event. The text on the side of the missile translates as Polaris-1.

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense could not be reached for comment on the news.

“There took place an underwater test-fire of Korean-style powerful strategic submarine ballistic missile,” the KCNA article Reads.

“The ballistic missile soared into the sky from underwater. The test-fire proved and confirmed that the ballistic missile fired from the submarine fully met the requirements of the latest military science and technology.”

The article did not say where or when the missile test occurred but previous activity could indicate it took place off the peninsula’s east coast.

Image: Rodong Sinmun

“The launch likely took place off the east coast, near Sinpo in South Hamgyong Province. Previous Submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) related developments have been observed at Sinpo, including an SLBM test stand and a previously unknown class of submarine,” NK News director of intelligence John Grisafi said.

“Additionally, Kim’s other appearance reported in state media on the same day was in Sinpo.”

North Korea are prohibited from developing and launching ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions. The missile pictured appears to be similar to an earlier North Korean design.

“The missile’s shape is very similar to that of the BM-25 Musudan, a North Korean missile based on the Soviet-designed R-27 SLBM. The BM-25′s design means North Korea already at least knew the design of the R-27 and possibly possessed one, making it easier for them to build an SLBM of their own,” Grisafi said.

North Korea’s possession of the ability to launch a ballistic missile from a submarine is also significant, Grisafi said, as it both extends the range of their missiles and makes it difficult to track their locations and predict launches.

“The timing of the test comes as a surprise. Although the U.S. government previously revealed that North Korea had already conducted an SLBM test from a floating platform, an actual submarine launch was believed to be a few years away,” Grisafi said.

The article says that Kim went on to praise the scientists, technicians and workers responsible for developing the missile technology, while KCNA described the test-fire as a “wonderful gift” to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK).

It also described the missile as a ”world-level strategic weapon,” which would wipe out “hostile forces infringing upon the sovereignty and dignity of Songun Korea and conduct any underwater operation.”

Featured Image: KCNA