Foreign Media Monitor #13: Weds November 18
CHINA: NEWS
A video filmed by Jaka Parker showing a congested 3-lane road in Pyongyang is circulating among netizens in China. The video was taken on September 26, a Saturday, and shows roads that were formerly almost empty now bustling with traffic. Many of the cars in the video are imports, including Nissan SUVs and Chinese brands. The number of cars on the road in North Korea is steadily increasing, and the use of cars, particularly taxis, is becoming more common in the lives of North Koreans. This has made many aspects of life more convenient, but also increased the strain on the Pyongyang road system. However, the traffic situation is not yet problematic, and Pyongyang has yet to experience significant gridlock. Though the video was taken on a Saturday, since North Korea has a six-day workweek the traffic in the video can be compared to that of a Friday afternoon elsewhere. While the traffic volume at this time of the week is higher than usual, it is not uncommon to have this many cars on the road in Pyongyang.
Various sources suggest that North Korea's tourism industry is beginning to prosper. Recently, Yoon In-ju, a South Korean researcher estimated that North Korea's tourism revenue in 2014 was between $30.6 million and $40.6 million. This figure is largely insignificant compared to that of South Korea and Singapore, which boast revenue figures in the billions, but still is sufficient to help the country address some of the needs of its poor. Earlier this year, it was reported that North Korea hopes to attract 2 million tourists per year by 2020. To this end, it has built many tourist attractions, including the Masikryong Ski Resort. Travel agencies throughout the world have also launched North Korean tourism promotion programs. Koryo Tours, a British-owned company headquartered in Beijing, sends groups of 19 tourists to North Korea for about 1,300 euros each. The groups have been able to view, among others, events such as the Pyongyang marathon and military parades, though they are heavily supervised and not allowed to travel freely. Though North Korea's tourism revenue remains slight, it has an impact in a country with a GDP estimated at $30 billion by the Bank of (South) Korea, and even less by others.
On November 11, members of the North Korean Central Statistics Bureau were warmly welcomed to Tianjin, where they met with members of the Tianjin Municipal Statistics Bureau. The two sides discussed census methods, population surveys, everyday population management, statistical data processing and use of census funds. The visit highlighted the long history of traditional friendship and warm ties between China and North Korea, especially between Tianjin and its sister city in North Korea, Nanpo. The two cities began special efforts in 2002 to build friendship, cooperate on economic and trade development and deepen exchange across many fields. Now Tianjin is interested in taking this opportunity to further exchanges with North Korea pertaining to statistical work, pursue mutually beneficial development with North Korea and promote Sino-North Korea ties. The North Korean representatives noted that there were many important purposes to this trip, especially its examination of the advanced organizational capabilities of Tianjin's census and PDA statistical data collection techniques, and that these would be very important to the upcoming development of the 2018 North Korean census.
CHINA: OPINION & ANALYSIS
Choe Ryong Hae's fate is unclear, but it doesn't appear that he was dealt with swiftly, nor that his punishment is permanent. Yonhap reported on November 12 that Choe has likely been sent to a collective farm for revolutionary re-education. This is more of a removal from office than a purge. High-level officials in North Korea can be re-educated in three different settings: party schools, collective farms and coal mines, by order of severity. Why has he received different treatment than the other purged North Korean officials? This has to do with conditions in North Korea. Choe is a second-generation red, meaning that his father had a relationship with Kim Il Sung. Such officials can easily return to power after being re-educated. Choe has done so twice before: In 1994, he was punished for corruption, but returned to power shortly after Kim Il Sung died. In 2004, he was again accused of corruption and sent to a collective farm, but again returned to power. But Choe could also be walking in Jang Song Thaek's footsteps, as he visited China for the anniversary of the end of World War II last month. Besides Kim Jong Un, will any North Korean officials dare visit China now?
JAPAN: NEWS
Japanese students from Musashino Art University have joined forces with Korean students from North Korean University in Tokyo to build a bridge over the wall dividing both schools. A wooden bridge has been built by students for the art project "Suddenly, Opening Before Eyes," organized by both universities. "By building the bridge together we wanted to cross the wall that keeps Japanese isolated from Koreans," said one of the Japanese students involved. According to students of both universities the bridge is a symbol of peace and the "importance of dialogue." The idea of building a bridge between the universities appeared last Autumn during a joint exhibition.
North Korea is fulfilling the dreams of every fan of retro planes, Soviet helicopters and old trains from all over the world. Pictures of an old Japanese steam locomotive from the Grand Rail Tour organized by Juche Travel Services has gone viral among train-loving Japanese. "I never thought I would see a Japanese steam train in North Korea," said a 50-year-old Japanese tourist. Japanese steam trains from the colonial era were being used 10 years ago in North Korea, but one by one they've been scrapped and sold to China. When the existence of the train was confirmed in photos it became a sensation on Japanese websites. North Korean authorities might even start special trips for train enthusiasts from Japan from spring 2016. Juche Travel Services says that other old Japanese trains might be restored and put on tracks for tourists.
The parents of Megumi Yokota, 13 at the time of her abduction in 1977, are still waiting for her in Hiroshima. As of November 15 it has been 38 years since they lost their daughter. For more than 20 years they have been engaged in signature collections for petitions to the government and have organized numerous meetings about abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea. Ms. Yoyogi, a childhood friend and classmate of Yokota, has been helping since 1997, when the first information about her kidnapping was announced. After the investigation renewal last year she slowed down her activities as she was expecting results. However, with the report still postponed, in July she started to collect signatures in Hiroshima. In particular, younger generations of Japanese are being engaged in signature collection. "I'm sure that (Megumi) is still alive. I want her to come back as soon as possible," said Yoyogi.
JAPAN: OPINION & ANALYSIS
I was kidnapped along with my girlfriend in 1978 from the Niigata prefecture by North Korean agents and lived in North Korea until 2002. Even now, when I wake up in the morning I feel happy, realizing I'm in Japan. When I stayed in North Korea, I was put into a facility quite far away from Pyongyang, where I taught Japanese to agents or translated Japanese newspapers. One year later I got married to my girlfriend and we decided that we had no other choice but to live and raise our children there. I tried not to talk too much to agents, who were keeping an eye on me. I learned about North Korean society from the cook and workers, who would come to the facility. They were poor people thinking mostly about how to feed and protect their families. I sometimes shared my food with them. During the famine the food rations that we got were smaller, but we were still better off than the Koreans. As we didn't have any hope of going back home, we didn't teach Japanese to our children at all. They didn't even think of themselves as Japanese. We were allowed to go back for a few days to Japan in 2002 without our children, but we had already decided not to go back to North Korea. It was tough not seeing them, and not coming back, but we had to. We managed to bring them back to Japan in 2004.
Since Kim Jong Un came to power in 2012 the North Korean economy has slowly improved, especially in the agricultural sector. We visited North Korea in September and were taken on a visit to Zhangchon Cooperative Farm, just a 30-minute drive from Pyongyang. "We're on the front lines of advanced farming technology in our country," said head of engineering Cho Chanpyo with great pride. First we were shown around an enormous greenhouse where juicy cabbage, which could be sold in Japanese supermarkets, was growing. Kim Jong Un visited this farm in 2014 and ordered the installation of an additional 30 hectares of greenhouse facilities. Later we visited the Vegetable Research Center in Pyongyang where, again, we were shown huge greenhouses with healthy vegetables, including some imported from Japan. The image of impoverished and famine-struck North Korea is still very strong in Japan. Much investment into agriculture by the state can be seen around the country. However, we still need to wait and see if the spread of this model can improve food production in North Korea
SOUTH KOREA: NEWS
Choe Ryong Hae, secretary to the Workers' Party of Korea, has allegedly been demoted and sent to work at a farm, going through re-education as a means of punishment. Questions as to Choe’s whereabouts arose when he was not on the list of attendees at the state funeral of North Korean Marshal Ri Ul Sol. On the day of Ri’s state funeral, Choe was nowhere to be seen. According to an anonymous North Korea expert, Choe was “demoted to a provincial farm as North Korea has decided to re-educate him.” The source further claimed that Choe may have been demoted for failing to conduct his duties as secretary to Workers' Party of Korea.
Aid to the Church in Need, an arm of the Vatican, has released its “Persecuted and Forgotten?” report stating that at least 10 percent of the “400,000-500,000” Christians in North Korea are presumed to be imprisoned in labor camps. The report further stated that recent violence and threats against North Korean Christians have been seen, and those movements were part of North Korea’s policy of oppressing those against the Juche ideology. “Christians who have not gotten permission from North Korean authorities are arrested, tortured or even killed in some places,” said the report, also mentioning that 33 North Korean Christians might have been executed for making contact with a South Korean preacher. The report said that 200,000 Christians have gone missing in North Korea since 1953, and it condemned the regime for allowing no freedom of religion despite its constitution clearly enshrining it.
Korean-Canadian pastor Lim Hyun-soo’s family has issued a public statement calling for Lim’s early release. The family also urged Canada’s newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do his best to secure Lim’s release from North Korea. “We beg for North Korea’s warmhearted decision to release Lim, who has been detained in North Korea for more than 10 months,” said the family during the public statement. “Even if Lim’s admission to his crime against North Korea is true, please be mindful that his actions were only to serve the people of North Korea.” Lim has visited North Korea more than 100 times over the last 20 years to provide the humanitarian development aid to North Korea. He was detained by North Korean authorities in January
SOUTH KOREA: OPINION & ANALYSIS
Since the terror attack in Paris last Friday, the need for international cooperation to counter terrorist attacks has risen. But South Korea is still far from even preparing to prevent terrorist attacks. Two terrorism prevention laws introduced by Saenuri Party lawmakers are still mooring without making any progress due to the opposition party’s resistance. According to opposition party’s explanation, they are worried that the laws would violate human rights and cause abuse of power by the National Intelligence Service. South Korea’s counter-terrorism policy is based on the guideline set all the way back in 1982. The guideline is not even stated as a law, but merely in the form of presidential instructions, preventing the guidelines from being updated according to today’s terrorist threats. As there are no such laws supporting South Korea’s counter-terrorism policy, South Korean counter-terrorism capabilities and its equipment are in a pathetic state. For example, Seoul Station, the main station in Seoul used by 30 million passengers annually, is only protected by three employed agencies and two railroads polices, who are armed with nothing but tear gas guns with a 4-meter radius.
RUSSIA: NEWS
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and the DPRK ambassador to Russia Kim Hyun Joong participated in a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula, said the Russian Foreign Ministry. “They discussed a wide range of issues in bilateral relations and regional issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula," said the ministry. The Korean Peninsula is technically still at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with the signing of an armistice, not a peace treaty. Relations between North Korea and South Korea deteriorated sharply in 2010 after the sinking of the ROK’s Cheonan naval vessel, which Seoul blames on a North Korean torpedo.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has praised Russia's contributions to maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula and pledged to work more closely with Russia in various areas during a joint interview with members of the news agencies of the Asia and the Pacific (OANA). "As an important partner of (South) Korea to the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula, Russia makes a significant contribution to curbing North Korea's provocative actions, firmly adhering to the principle of “zero tolerance” regarding the North Korean possession of nuclear weapons," she said. "The government of (South) Korea will work more closely with Russia in order to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and begin dialogue and cooperation. The solution to the North Korean nuclear issue and peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula will provide a new impetus not only to Korean-Russian relations, but also the development of the Russian Far East," said Park. The South Korean president also reminded everyone about celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Seoul, noting that over the past quarter-century, the two countries have steadily developed relations in a variety of fields, including politics, economy, culture and social sphere.
The third batch of coal from Russia will be delivered to South Korea through North Korea from November 17-30, the South Korean Ministry for National Unification reported. Transportation of coal from South Korea will be completed by the companies POSCO, Korail and Hyundai Merchant Marines. Approximately 120,000 tons of coal reached the railway station Khasan, on the border with North Korea, and continuing on to the North Korean port of Rajin and from there by sea to be delivered to South Korea. In addition to coal from Najin, South Korea was sent 10 containers of mineral water in China.
RUSSIA: OPINION & ANALYSIS
Some experts argue that North Korea actually came to food self-sufficiency in 2014 and became less dependent on humanitarian aid. The food situation in North Korea has long been different from how it is traditionally represented almost everywhere. Hunger, which is essentially called the main problem of the country's population, has long since been defeated. However, as long as there are forces in the world that are willing to play that card, such speculation will appear from time to time. The lives of ordinary North Korean families, for a number of reasons, are different from that in the developed world. Given the fact that North Korea remains one of the most closed countries in the world, information on living standards comes in very truncated form. But even this data is enough to see that the life of modern North Koreans are not as hard as the rest of the world believes, concludes Yevgeny Kim, leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies. "They have irons, fridges, TVs, bicycles … not all, but many have a washing machine, but this is all related to foreign trade, private production – (otherwise) they cannot afford it. I was in one of the North Korean villages and saw a motorcycle there. This of course, does not compare with what we have. But keep in mind that we have per capita $15-16,000 per capita, and they have $1,500 per capita. Of course, the standard of living is lower than ours."
Russia is returning to North Korea – Politrussia.com, November 13
http://politrussia.com/world/rossiya-vozvrashchaetsya-v-454/
For a long time, the main focus in the development of economic and political relations in the Far East has given to such giants as China and Japan. They, for objective reasons, have the greatest economic opportunities, as well as the most capacious markets and significant potential in terms of attracting investment to Russian projects in our Pacific region. However, the increasing competition of world powers for the Asia-Pacific region is forcing Russia to seek to renew ties with its long-standing military and political allies, including North Korea. Despite the obvious problems of economic development, as well as the unresolved nuclear issue of North Korea, the potential for Russian-North Korean relations is quite significant, and the correct approach is to develop into major joint industrial projects, as well as lead to the formation of a consolidated position on foreign policy issues. The point here is this: the North Korean leadership can be called provocateurs or blackmailers, but they are not fools. North Korea, because of the years of sanctions, was cut off from foreign markets and investments, as well as from modern industry, agriculture, telecommunications and other technologies. Naturally, the problem of denuclearization, sooner or later (as in the case of the Iranian nuclear program) will be solved. And then you can predict an economic boom in North Korea, however ridiculous it may sound right now. And the leadership of the DPRK is clearly not willing to completely "go to bed" with China, fearing the undue influence of its most powerful (and perhaps only) ally in the domestic political landscape in the country. And here the role of Russia, in both military-technical and industrial cooperation could play an important stabilizing role. And seeing increased activity of Russian diplomacy in the Far East direction, it seems that the Russian leadership also understands this more clearly.
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