North Korea

[KimJongilia]

N. Korean band’s concert in China suddenly cancelled

China’s distrust towards N. Korea will deepen following unexplained cancellation, says expert

JH Ahn
December 12th, 2015

North Korea’s Moranbong Band, which arrived in Beijing on Friday, suddenly left China on Saturday without providing any clear reason.

An expert has told NK News that this sudden cancellation will deepen Chinese decision-makers’ distrust towards North Korea.

The Moranbong Band was introduced to world in 2012 as the successor to the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble. As reported before, the band has often been referred to as a symbolic step towards North Korean cultural openness.

While no clear reason has been provided, Yonhap reported that foreign media’s concern over Hyon Song Wol, formerly the vocalist for the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble and Kim Jong Un’s rumored ex-girlfriend, might be the reason.

MBN has reported that the band’s attitude of freely holding interviews with foreign media might have angered Kim Jong Un.

However, Cheong Sung-jang of the Sejong Institute has told NK News that fourth anniversary of death of Kim Jong Il, the former leader of North Korea, might be behind this sudden cancellation.

“According to my source, Kim Jong Un has recently announced the mourning period for the fourth year of Kim Jong Il’s death,” said Cheong.

Cheong has said that Kim Jong Un has banned all the dancing and singing during he mourning period, resulting in the sudden cancellation of band’s concert in Beijing.

The North Korean ambassador to China is known to have apologized to Beijing for the unprecedented incident. Cheong added that the organizer of this event, who has failed to consider the mourning period for the fourth year of Kim Jong Il’s death, would most likely to be purged in the future.

“This cancellation is absurd as the concert itself was most likely approved by Kim Jong Un himself,” said Cheong.

“This cancellation, which was caused by the deeply rooted cult of Kim’s family, will once again give the world good reason to humiliate North Korea.

“This cancellation of concert has shown how little understanding Kim Jong Un has of international society and how much he lacks in international diplomacy.”

Cheong said that this event won’t degrade North Korea’s relationship with China greatly, but will certainly deepen Chinese decision-makers’ distrust toward North Korea.

Featured Image: Rodong Shimnun

 

[KimJongilia]

Singapore firm guilty of facilitating arms shipment to N. Korea

The shippinf company had been accused of transferring financial assets or resources that may reasonably be used to contribute to the nuclear-related programmes or activities of North Korea

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 15 December, 2015, 3:25pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 15 December, 2015, 3:25pm

Associated Press in Singapore

Panamanian authorities had interdicted the Chong Chon Gang carrying two MiG-21 jet fighters, missile systems and other weapons hidden under tonnes of sugar. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A Singapore court on Monday convicted a Singapore-registered shipping company of transferring funds for facilitating a shipment of arms to North Korea, media reports said.

Chinpo Shipping Co. sent US$72,017 to a shipping agent in Panama in July 2013 for the return passage of the Chong Chon Gang, a vessel laden with concealed arms, through the Panama Canal, according to The Straits Times daily and Channel NewsAsia online.

Chinpo had been accused of transferring “financial assets or resources that may reasonably be used to contribute to the nuclear-related programmes or activities” of North Korea, in breach of United Nations sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear programme.

District Judge Jasvender Kaur was quoted as saying that this is “the largest amount of arms and related materiel interdicted to or from the DPRK” since the 2006 adoption of the first UN resolution imposing economic and commercial sanctions on the country known formally as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for conducting a nuclear test.

Kaur said Chinpo should have conducted due diligence and “taken some trouble to find out” what the money was used for.

Panamanian authorities had interdicted the Chong Chon Gang carrying two MiG-21 jet fighters, missile systems and other weapons hidden under tonnes of sugar.

The case has been adjourned until January 29 next year to await sentencing.

The maximum penalty for such an offence is a S$100,000 (about US$550,106) fine and five years’ jail, The Straits Times said.

 

[KimJongilia]

Scores of Hwagyo ensnared in spy sweep

Choi Song Min | 2015-12-14 16:23

Recently it has been reported that a large community of overseas Chinese (Hwagyo) residents living in Pyongyang and other urban areas in North Korea have been arrested for spying. As relations deteriorate between China and North Korea, the Chinese ambassador to North Korea has also been placed under investigation and tailed.

On the 14th of December, our Daily NK reporter spoke with a source in South Pyongan Province, who informed us that the State Security Department has been investigating Hwagyo across North Korea, making arrests as part of an ‘emergency investigation’. Approximately 100 arrests have been made as part of this operation, and the detainees are currently being interrogated by the State Security Department.

Particulars of this investigation was corroborated by two additional sources inside North Korea. In this case, Daily NK has redacted their regions of residence to ensure their safety.

The targets of the operation are all well-off members of the Hwagyo who have sent their children to universities in China. All of the overseas Chinese residents currently living in North Korea are citizens of the PRC and of Han ethnicity. As long as they register with their local State Security Department, they are able to travel to China whenever they wish. Until now, Chinese residents of North Korea have managed to amass small fortunes by stocking up on Chinese goods in China and then returning over the border to North Korea to sell them in the markets at a tidy profit.

They communicate freely with their children through the mail and by telephone, which has made them the target of investigation. The North Korean authorities have been keeping a close eye on these communications through wiretapping and intercepting mail, leading to accusations of spying or acting as an accomplice to a spy and subsequent arrests.

Although details of the exact charges leveled in the arrests remain have not been revealed, many of those arrested were carrying out ‘special missions’ for the State Security Department, a status that allowed them to travel back and forth from China easily. Our source surmised that the probability that they were arrested on charges of either being double agents or spying for the Chinese Ministry of State Security is high.

"Rumors abound that the arrests are an attempt by the local authorities to strike back at China as the latter appears to be politically drifting away from North Korea and closer to South Korea. This would explain the need to keep an eye on the Chinese ambassador in Pyongyang," the source pointed out.

“Some Party cadres have even speculated that this move will spell the beginning of the end for Sino-North Korean relations."

He added, “The recent revelation that the North Korean authorities have been spying on and following the Chinese ambassador to Pyongyang was regarded with great displeasure by the Chinese government.” Moreover, following the arrests of the overseas Chinese residents, the state has, for the time being, stopped issuing travel permits to China for any of the Hwagyo residing within the North’s borders and there are problems procuring market goods from China as well.

Meanwhile, some North Korean citizens have reacted by calling for the banishment of all overseas Chinese residents, claiming their choice "to leave their own rich country for the relatively poor living conditions of North Korea is, at best, an incomprehensible one, and at worst a strong cause for suspicion as to their true motives."

But for Party cadres, according to the source, worries are mounting “that these actions on North Korea’s part will further weaken Sino-North Korean ties.”

“They say there is nothing to gain from turning our back on China now,” he concluded.

*Translated by Natalie Grant

 

[KimJongilia]

Anti-N.Korea activist admits to damaging poster

Poem opposing free speech limits continues to spark controversy in South Korea

Ha-young Choi
December 15th, 2015

Park Sang-hak, head of Fighters for Free North Korea, and a defector activist who launched leaflets to the Northern side, admitted that he removed tore down a poster on a university campus for “praising” Kim Il Sung.

Park, who is currently studying at Korea University’s graduate school of policy studies, said he damaged the poster and reported it to the local police for praising the North Korean national founder.

In recent days, the controversial poem entitled “All Praise Kim Il Sung” has been circulating on Korea University’s campus, in the context of protesting against limits on freedom of speech.

The poem, originally authored by Kim Soo-young in 1960, gave the work its title to make the point that even distasteful speech must be allowed in order to foster freedom in South Korean society.

“This is not a poem. Is it reasonable to praise dictator who start the war?” Park told NK News, when told that the poem’s purpose was not to praise Kim Il Sung but serve as social commentary.

The student who designed the poster was present when Park damaged it.

“I was embarrassed rather than angry. He threw my paper down and trampled it,” she told NK News, on the condition of anonymity.
The original wall paper under the byline of cat, the fallen one damaged by Park | facebook, Sori Kim

The poster, before and after it was vandalized. | 정대후문 게시판‘s Facebook (left) and Sori Kim (right)

The poster is credited to “cat,” and reads: “I am a cat. Dear judge, I wrote this. Don’t arrest my owner. I will bite the police if you make a phone call to the campus.” The “cat” byline has become a popular online in South Korea for when people leave negative comments about the authorities.

The student wrote with her left hand to simulate a “cat’s writing” and intentionally made typos.

“I attached it at about 1 a.m. to maintain anonymity,” she said.

“I intended to show self-censorship, which implies the highest level of oppression. At the same time I wanted to respond in a cheerful way, against this violent situation.”

After the incident, she attached follow-up note which reads, “Please return my writing. I can write it again,” with a footprint of a cat.

The paper posted after Park damaged the original one, with a cat’s footprint | Photo: Facebook

This paper resulted in opposition as well. Another student attached posters praising former authoritarian President Chun Doo-hwan.

“Praising Kim Il Sung has a different effect. Nobody is ‘caught’ praising Park Chung-hee or Chun Doo-hwan. Kim Il Sung is the main taboo. That’s why I thought this slogan would be the most proper one,” the student said.

Park Chung-hee is current president Park Geun-hye’s father, and is a figure of polarized opinion in South Korean society due to the economic successes the country experienced under him, contrasted with his extreme crackdowns on dissent during his nearly 20 years in power. Following the elder Park’s 1979 assassination, General Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a coup, and led a similarly stern regime focused on economic development.

Defector students at the university have joined the discussion since the cat poster was torn down.

“Kim Il Sung is the criminal of the Korean War, and North Koreans use the phrase ‘All Praise Kim Il Sung’ to admire the dictator,” one poster reads.

The student who attached the cat poster stated that she will reveal her name in a new poster, and attach the damaged paper next to the new one.

“I won’t give up the poet and the phrase, even though I feel sorry for the defectors’ wound. The frame of pro-North Korea and red complex is still valid.” The police returned her paper, requested by the student council of the university.

One comment under the defectors’ poster said that praising Kim Il Sung should be tolerated in a “liberal democracy.”

“Welcome to the Republic of Korea, a liberal and just country. In Pyongyang you cannot say ‘All Praise Park Geun-hye, but people can say ‘All Praise Kim Il Sung.’ This is the superiority of the system.”

Picture: Wikimedia Commons

 

[KimJongilia]

N.Korea gives Canadian pastor life sentence

Pastor's family has publicly begged for N.Korean government's mercy, Lim's release

JH Ahn
December 16th, 2015

A Korean-Canadian pastor detained in North Korea was sentenced to a life of hard labor on Wednesday for numerous charges, including attempting to overthrow the North Korean government, AP Pyongyang reported.

Lim Hyeon-soo of the Light Presbyterian Church in Toronto lost contact with the church when he went to North Korea in late January to provide humanitarian aid for North Korean nursing homes, daycare centers and orphanages.

At the time it was suspected that Lim was going through the extended quarantine period the North had established to prevent the spread of Ebola. In July, though, it was revealed that Lim had been charged with slandering the North Korean leadership and system to overthrow the country and establish a religious state in North Korea, NK News previously reported.

“I have so far malignantly defamed the dignity and social system of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),” said Lim during the press conference in July.

“I delivered a report on what is going on in North Korea before tens of thousands of South Koreans and overseas Koreans … and during preaching tours of more than 20 countries including Canada, the U.S., (S)outh Korea, Japan and Brazil. Each time I malignantly slandered the dignity and social system of the DPRK.”

North Korea’s state-run Korea Central News Agency reported that “Lim honestly admitted all crimes perpetrated by him were aimed to overthrow the state.”

Lim’s family sent a public statement to North Korea in November urging Lim’s speedy return.

“I beg for North Korea’s warm mercy to Lim so that he may return to his family. The family has been separated from Lim for too long and we are hoping for his safe return,” the statement said.

“Even if Lim’s confession of his accused crime is true, please understand that it was done as part of his efforts to serve North Korean people.”

Pastor Eric Foley from Voice of Martyrs, an international missionary group told NK News that “Lim’s imprisonment shows that North Korea is against any kind of Christian activities in North Korea.”

Foley said that he has not met a single North Korean defector who has said it is a good strategy to make contact with the North Korean government in the name of Jesus.

“Pastor Lim was in a situation where he wanted to show the love of God but what he found was manipulation and control for the government’s own purpose. It is time for the world to realize that Christians’ cooperation with the North Korean government is an invalid strategy,” said Foley.

Main image: File

 

[KimJongilia]

Canadian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim sentenced to hard labour for life by North Korean court as punishment for ‘human rights racket’

North Korea has previously sentenced a Korean-American missionary, Kenneth Bae, to 15 years of hard labour but released him last year after holding him for two years.

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 16 December, 2015, 4:03pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 17 December, 2015, 11:38am

Reuters in Seoul

Hyeon Soo Lim (centre) being escorted to his sentencing in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo: AP

North Korea’s highest court has sentenced a South Korea-born Canadian pastor to hard labour for life for subversion, China’s official news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Hyeon Soo Lim, the head pastor at a Toronto church that is one of Canada’s largest, has been held by North Korea since February. Earlier this year, he had appeared on North Korean state media confessing to crimes against the state.

North Korea’s supreme court said Lim had attempted to overthrow the North Korean government and undermine its social system with “religious activities” for the past 18 years, Xinhua reported.

The court held that he fabricated anti-North Korean propaganda as part of a US and South Korean-led “human rights racket” against the country, according to Xinhua.

The court said Lim confessed to helping people defect from North Korea, and said he had met the US ambassador to Mongolia regarding the plans, Xinhua reported.

Most North Korean defectors fleeing the isolated, repressive country travel to South Korea via China and Southeast Asia, although it is possible to defect via Mongolia.

North Korea’s official KCNA news agency has not reported on the court’s decision.

North Korea has previously sentenced a Korean-American missionary, Kenneth Bae, to 15 years of hard labour but released him last year after holding him for two years.

Reverend Hyeon Soo Lim during a public interrogation. Photo: AFP

In July, Lim appeared at a news conference in North Korea and confessed that he had travelled to the country on the pretext of humanitarian work and gathered information that he used in sermons outside the country to drive the regime to a collapse “with the love of God”.

His church, the 3,000-member Light Korean Presbyterian Church, has said Lim had visited the North more than 100 times since 1997 and has helped establish an orphanage and a nursing home there.

Lim has lived in Canada since 1986 and is a Canadian citizen.

His church said in March that Lim, who was 60 at the time, has “a very serious health problem, very high blood pressure, he’s on a prescription, and his family is anxious to send medicine”.

Both North Korea and neighbouring China have clamped down on Christian groups in recent years.

Last year, Pyongyang released three detained Americans including Bae and another man who had left a copy of the Bible at a club. It freed a South Korean national with a US green card in October this year after holding him for six months.

In June, the North’s highest court sentenced two South Koreans accused of spying for Seoul to hard labour for life. The pair are among three South Koreans known to held by the North.

 

[Devil Within]

The Canadian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim should go to Saudi Arabia to spread his Jesus love.

 

[KimJongilia]

Nuclear-armed prima donnas? North Korean girl band bailed after Beijing objected to images of missiles being used during performance

China decided that Xi Jinping and other top-ranking officials would not attend the performance, so North Korea responded by cancelling what would have been the band’s first concert abroad.

PUBLISHED : Friday, 18 December, 2015, 9:38am
UPDATED : Friday, 18 December, 2015, 9:41am

Agence France-Presse in Seoul

Members of the Moranbong Band arrive at Beijing International Airport. Photo: Reuters

Disputes over a background scene flaunting North Korean missiles sparked the cancellation of a rare performance by a popular North Korean pop group in Beijing last week, a news report said on Friday.

South Korea’s largest circulation Chosun Ilbo daily quoted a high-ranking South Korean government official as saying that the all-girl Moranbong band, formed by leader Kim Jong-un, decided to return home rather than yield to pressure from Chinese authorities to stop projecting the scene of long-range missiles being launched on a large background screen on stage.

The Moranbong Band in Pyongyang. Photo: AFP

Chinese authorities who spotted the scene during a rehearsal urged the band to drop it because of the concert’s high-profile audience including President Xi Jinping, the daily said.

In the face of strong objections from the band, China decided that Xi and other top-ranking officials would not attend the performance. North Korea responded by cancelling what would have been the band’s first concert abroad, the South Korean official was quoted as saying by Chosun Ilbo.

The reclusive country’s premier pop group returned home, hours before the scheduled performance was due to begin in Beijing. There has been no official explanation from either North Korea or China over why the band’s trip was cut short.

The reclusive country’s premier pop group returned home, hours before the performance was due to begin in Beijing. Photo: AP

China has been attempting to reactivate six-party talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons programmes. The negotiations collapsed in 2009 following a long-range missile launch and a nuclear test by the North.

China has traditionally been North Korea’s sole regional ally and main provider of trade and aid, but ties have become strained in recent years as Pyongyang has pressed ahead with internationally-condemned nuclear tests.

Kim himself has yet to visit Beijing, three years after inheriting power from his father Kim Jong-il.

 

[KimJongilia]

Underground tunnels built for Kim Jong Un's escape to China

Lee Sang Yong | 2015-12-22 15:31

Underground passages to aid Kim Jong Un’s escape in the event of an emergency are being built in the mountainous Jagang Province which lies upon North Korea’s border with China.

In a telephone conversation with the Daily NK on December 17, an inside source from North Hamgyong Province said, “Deep in the mountainous regions of Jagang Province, there are a number of tunnels located hundreds of meters under the surface. The tunnels are for the exclusive use of Kim Jong Un in the case of an emergency. It’s a sign that Kim is hedging his bets against a potential war.”

An additional source in Yanggang Province corroborated this news.

He added, “It is known that the tunnels are meant to serve only Kim Jong Un, his family, and his top aides. During the Korean War, the leadership was pushed all the way up to the Yalu River. The tunnels aim to prevent that sort of dangerous situation from arising, even in the event of a war.”

Aside from Escort Command personnel, nobody knows the precise location of the tunnels, he said, explaining the tight security exercised during construction. When the workers were transported to the tunnel locations to excavate, the windows were blacked out so they had no clue where they were going. When they emerged to do their work, they were blindfolded until they got to the construction site.

The team that undertook this special construction was the 1st Brigade of the Korean People’s Army Military Engineers. Kim Jong Un has such confidence and trust in this unit that they might even be called the “Royal Brigade," the source asserted, noting how "the treatment they receive is proportionate to this nickname."

According to the source, Kim Jong Un is worried that with the sophistication of modern warfare, it is possible that he might be attacked at any time. For this reason, underground bunkers are reportedly installed at all the locations at which he spends a significant amount of time, including villas and offices.

There are also escape routes planned at Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport and Nampo Harbor. In addition, there is an underground command center in the capital as well.

“There is even some talk that one of Kim Jong Un’s villas connects directly with Jagang Province through underground tunnels. The reason for its existence is to prevent damage in the event of a war, but, obviously, it would really only help him," the source concluded.

*Translated by Jonathan Corrado

 

[KimJongilia]

NK doubles down on alleged double agents

Lee Sang Yong | 2015-12-24 15:34

The recent arrest of approximately 100 overseas Chinese citizens residing in North Korea, or Hwagyo, stems from a report rendered by the State Security Department detailing leaks of internal information through members of this foreign community, Daily NK has learned.

A source with ties to North Korea currently residing in Dandong, China spoke to Daily NK on December 20th, noting, “It’s well known that most members of the Hwagyo community here in North Korea are earning ‘dirty money.’ Some of them establish close connections with the North Korean State Security Department [SSD], especially those with very profitable or large business interests.”

In order to pursue these economic interests, she added, they must cooperate closely with the North Korean SSD, who have reported back to central bodies of spies lurking within the Hwagyo community.

Because these residents are privy to comparatively detailed internal information, the State Security Department has begun to suspect that they could turn at any time and leak that information to the outside. Not only that, the SSD has acquired intel that these overseas residents are acting as double agents: one foot embedded in the North Korean intelligence web and the other firmly planted below the DMZ with the South Korean authorities.

“Kim Jong Un is extremely sensitive to the potential for overseas Chinese residents, who can travel between North Korea and China with relative freedom, to make contact with South Korea,” the source explained.

“By reacting this way to negative talk of the regime leaking to the outside, the authorities are catching and seeking to make examples out of those caught up in the sweep."

As previously reported by Daily NK, this is not the first time the North Korean authorities have harbored and then acted on these fears.

A source in Hamgyong Province offered more insight on the same day. He reported hearing of arrests of overseas Chinese residents around Hoeryong City back in the fall of this year. Prior to being detained, these individuals had been under intense surveillance by the SSD, “who were desperate to find anything that could be interpreted as leading information to the outside.”

It has also been observed that crackdowns and investigations have been on the rise over Hwagyo’s expanding influence in and increasing domination of the markets. As they roll along in 10t cargo trucks, of which it is not uncommon for them to own two or three, North Korean residents witnessing the scenes say, “that’s where the big money is.”

Tellingly, North Korea’s delivery workers frequently hang around in front of the Hwagyo residences, known among many as “little kingdoms.” Working alongside in such proximity in evermore interconnected ways, “Kim Jong Un is concerned about the growing influence these people [Hwagyo] are having on North Korean citizens,” the source asserted.

Evidence of Hwagyo affluence is patent, he went on, citing examples such as “how they employ maids and send their kids back to China to study.”

When asked why the North Korean authorities are keeping mum about these developments, he asserted that "they know that if they claim it’s not true, it will only confirm that it actually is.”

“People in China who suddenly cannot make contact with friends and relatives living in North Korea are staying silent about the issue as well. This is because they judge that making a fuss will prove detrimental to China’s future negotiations over the discharge of those who have been arrested," he added.

Our source posited that in the future, North Korea would not release any information about this incident nor would their be any formal trials. "The entire matter will be settled quietly," he said. "After getting extracting the ‘whole truth’ from the Hwagyo suspects, they will be forcibly deported [back to China] and attempt to resolve the issue in that way."

As for the future of Sino-North Korean relations following this debacle, “it’s likely that because both sides are trying not to make a big deal out of it, there will be no major or lasting effects on bilateral ties. China, for its part, is working hard to cover up the incident, hoping to put it in the rearview mirror as soon as possible.”

*Translated by Natalie Grant

 

[KimJongilia]

N. Korea warns Canada not to interfere with pastor’s sentence

State is purposefully using Lim’s case to send political message, says expert

JH Ahn
December 23rd, 2015

North Korea’s state-run Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) warned Canada on Tuesday not to attempt to undermine their “righteous judgment” against Canadian pastor Lim Hyeon-soo.

“The Canadian Prime Minister and many Canadian officials have libeled the result of Lim’s trial on December 16, conducted over Lim’s slandering of the North Korean leadership and attempt to overthrow the country,” read the KCNA editorial.

“North Korea cannot express enough astonishment toward the Canadian government for mentioning ‘tremendous concern’ over our judgment and claiming that our sentence was a serious violation of the Vienna Convention,” read the article.

“Canada’s unreasonable and disrespectful reaction will only complicate the situation.”

Last Wednesday, Korean-Canadian pastor Lim Hyeon-soo, who was detained in North Korea since this year January, received a life sentence of hard labor on numerous charges, including attempting to overthrow the North Korean government.

On the same day as North Korea’s judgment, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada had “tremendous concern” over Lim’s sentence.

Diana Khaddaj, the spokeswoman for the federal department of Global Affairs also said that North Korea’s judgment is “a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the right of states to have consular access to their citizens.”

But the KCNA’s article hit back against the Canadian government, saying that the “Vienna Convention on Consular Relations clearly states that the Consulate’s right to contact their citizens is bound to government of the country of residence.”

“Following the North Korean law, we have disapproved of Canadian Consulate’s contact with Lim during the investigative phase on Lim’s crimes,” read the article.

“But after the investigation was done, with special permission, North Korea has invited the Canadian delegation to attend Lim’s trial and even allowed the consulate to make contact with Lim later.”

The North Korean media further claimed that the Canadian government has no legal grounds to slander North Korea’s judgment on Lim.

“North Koreans are infuriated by Lim’s crime against the state and demanded that the North Korean legal system punish Lim more severely.”

Ha Kyong-seok, a researcher at the Ilmin International Relations Institute told NK News that North Korea is using Lim’s case to send political message to world to “stop slandering North Korean government.”

“It is obvious that North Korea is purposefully using Lim’s case to send some political message to Canada, U.S., Korea and many other countries in the world,” said Ha.

Ha explained that Lim’s imprisonment and sentence might be North Korea’s leverage to counter U.N.’s continuing pressure on North Korea’s human rights violations.

“In most cases, if a foreigner is shown on North Korean media for their ‘crimes’ against the state, it is the state’s effort to use the case to evade the further international pressure on North Korea.”

Featured image: Rodong Sinmun

 

[KimJongilia]

N.Korean workers in Poland, Mongolia face ‘rights violations': panel

Workers labor under extreme hours, poor conditions, having 90 percent of salary confiscated

Jiwon Song
December 24th, 2015

North Korean laborers in Poland and Mongolia have 90 percent of their income expropriated by the regime while they face poor, isolated working conditions.

Lee Seung-ju, a researcher at the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, told a press conference at the Seoul Press Center on Wednesday that North Korea’s overseas laborers in Mongolia and Poland are working under conditions that constitute “human rights violations.”

“They have no access to much information about their working state and are virtually isolated from the outside world,” said Lee.

“90 percent of their wages are ‘contributed’ to the regime. Most of projects involve subcontracted jobs, which means the laborers have to pay expenses to brokering managers again. The laborers work a part-time job to make up their living.”

While North Korea’s authoritarian government receives the “contributions” from overseas workers for the homeland’s benefit, its people suffer from not only poor working environments, but “mutual surveillance.”

Laborers in Mongolia are put into groups of 15 people as a mutual control measure, Lee said, while for housing they live in containers located at construction sites or in slums.

The workers in Poland are put into groups so that they can be “controlled in an easier manner,” even when they go to the market. Furthermore, they face competition for income from Polish laborers and those from other European countries.

North Korean laborers work from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with no breaks while Polish workers go home at 3 p.m, Lee said, adding that the DPRK laborers also work on Polish holidays.

But despite an ongoing surge in reports on the conditions North Korean laborers endure overseas, recently published data and defector testimony suggests competition for foreign work opportunities remains high, with profits still relatively considerable even after “contributions” to the government.

In response to the problematic issue, panelists at Wednesday’s event called on South Korea’s government to raise the issue.

“The Park Geun-hye administration has stressed North Korea’s human rights improvement,” said Kim Jin-ho, a journalist with the Kyunghyang Shinmun.

“The South Korean government’s role is to address the human rights issues faced by North Korea’s overseas laborers to the international community.”

Kim Kyu-nam, a panelist from Warsaw University, also stressed the South Korean government’s role.

“The South Korean government has recently had a good relationship with Poland. On this occasion, they can ask Polish government to set up a control tower for foreign workers. It will be also helpful to raise Polish public awareness about the North Korean laborers’ situation.”

North Korea’s overseas labor population in Mongolia exceeds 1500, while the one in Poland 800, it was said at the event. The laborers are engaged in diverse fields of work, including in the fields of construction sites, shipping, agriculture, textiles and restaurants.

Image: NKDB

 

[KimJongilia]

Paranoid - North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its political one

Reuters
December 28, 2015, 2:01 am

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over an operation meeting on the Korean People's Army Strategic Rocket Force's performance of duty for firepower strike at the Supreme Command in Pyongyang, in this March 29, 2013 file photo released by the North's official KCNA news agency. REUTERS/KCNA

By Jeremy Wagstaff and James Pearson

SINGAPORE/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's homegrown computer operating system mirrors its political one, according to two German researchers who have delved into the code: a go-it-alone approach, a high degree of paranoia and invasive snooping on users.

Their research, the deepest yet into the secretive state's Red Star OS, illustrates the challenges Pyongyang faces in trying to embrace the benefits of computing and the internet while keeping a tight grip on ideas and culture.

The researchers, Florian Grunow and Niklaus Schiess of German IT security company ERNW GmbH, spoke to Reuters before presenting their findings to the Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg on Sunday, a gathering of hackers and security researchers.

The operating system is not just the pale copy of western ones that many have assumed, they concluded after downloading the software from a website outside North Korea and exploring the code in detail,

"(Late leader) Kim Jong Il said North Korea should develop a system of their own," said Grunow. "This is what they've done."

North Korea, whose rudimentary intranet system does not connect to the outside internet but allows access to state media and some officially approved websites, has been developing its own operating system for more than a decade.

This latest version, written around 2013, is based on a version of Linux called Fedora and has eschewed the previous version's Windows XP feel for Apple's OSX — perhaps a nod to leader Kim Jong Un, who like his father has been photographed near Macs.

But under the hood there's a lot that's unique, including its own version of encrypting files. "This is a full blown operation system where they control most of the code," said Grunow.

This, the researchers say, suggests North Korea wants to avoid any code that might be compromised by intelligence agencies.

"Maybe this is a bit fear-driven," said Grunow. "They may want to be independent of other operating systems because they fear back doors" which might allow others to spy on them.

Grunow and Schiess said they had no way of knowing how many computers were running the software.

While private computer use is on the rise in North Korea, visitors to the country say most computers still use Windows XP, now nearly 15 years old.

NO TAMPERING

The Red Star operating system makes it very hard for anyone to tamper with it. If a user makes any changes to core functions — like trying to disable its antivirus checker or firewall — the computer will display an error message, or reboot itself.

Red Star also addresses a more pressing concern: cracking down on the growing underground exchange of foreign movies, music and writing.

Illegal media is usually passed from person-to-person in North Korea using USB sticks and microSD cards, making it hard for the government to track where they come from.

Red Star tackles this by tagging, or watermarking, every document or media file on a computer or on any USB stick connected to it. That means that any file could be traced back to anyone who had previously opened or created the file.

"It's definitely privacy invading, it's not transparent to the user," said Grunow. "It's done stealthily, and touches files you haven't even opened."

Such efforts, says Nat Kretchun, an authority on the spread of foreign media in the isolated country, reflect North Korea's realisation that it needs "new ways to update their surveillance and security procedures to respond to new types of technology and new sources of information."

There's no sign in the operating system, the researchers say, of the kinds of cyber attack capability North Korea has been accused of.

"It really looks like they've just tried to build an operating system for them, and give the user a basic set of applications," says Grunow. That includes a Korean word processor, a calendar and an app for composing and transcribing music.

North Korea is not the only country to try to develop its own operating system. Cuba has its National Nova, while China, Russia and others have tried to build theirs.

(Editing by Dean Yates)

 

[KimJongilia]

North Korea’s top official in charge of relations with South dies in traffic accident

The death of Kim Yang-gon, a key associate of North Korea’s leader, is widely seen as a blow to efforts at dialogue and reconciliation with Seoul

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 30 December, 2015, 1:22pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 30 December, 2015, 1:22pm

Agence France-Presse in Seoul

Kim Yang-gon, who was a secretary of the Workers’ Party and the head of its United Front Department, the unit that handles the North’s ties with South Korea, was Kim Jong-un’s “closest comrade, a solid revolutionary partner”, KCNA said. Photo: Yonhap/AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's “most trustworthy” aide who oversaw ties with the South has died in a traffic accident, Pyongyang’s state media said Wednesday, a loss seen as a blow to efforts at reconciliation between the two rivals.

Kim has earned a reputation for ruthlessness after eliminating previous high-ranking officials including his uncle but the announcement of a state funeral for Kim Yang-gon appears to indicate his death was not part of a fresh purge.

Kim Yang-gon, who was a secretary of the ruling Workers' Party, “died in a traffic accident at 6:15 am Tuesday at age 73,” the Korean Central News Agency said, without giving further details of the incident.

He served three generations of the Kim dynasty which has ruled the North for more than six decades with an iron fist and no tolerance for dissent.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will lead a state funeral for Kim Yang-gon on Thursday. Photo: KCNA/Reuters

KCNA hailed him as “the dearest and the most trustworthy comrade-in-arms” of current leader Kim Jong-Un, who will head a state funeral for the official on Thursday.

His death was a “great loss” for the party and the people, KCNA said, praising him for his “admirable loyalty and competence”.

A career diplomat, Kim Yang-gon played a leading role in realising the 2007 summit between Kim Jong-il and South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun and was the only North Korean official present at their meeting in Pyongyang.

After the sudden death of Kim Jong-il in 2011, Kim Yang-gon was known as a key confidante to his son, the young leader Kim Jong-un, advising him on inter-Korean and international relations.

Kim Yang-gon’s predecessor Kim Yong-sun (left) pictured shaking hands with Japanese lawmaker Yoshiro Mori in 1997, also died in a traffic accident in 2003. Photo: AFP

Most recently, he took part in talks in August to defuse tensions with South Korea over a border land mine bast blamed on the North which brought the two sides to the brink of war.

The two sides also vowed to make efforts to promote inter-Korean civilian exchanges.

But subsequent talks this month ended with little progress in resolving issues such as that of families separated by the division of the Korean peninsula and the 1950-53 Korean War and the resumption of cross-border tours to the North’s scenic Mount Kumgang.

Kim’s death is widely seen as a blow to efforts at dialogue and reconciliation.

“This is going to deliver negative impacts on inter-Korean relations”, professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies said.

Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of Kim Jong-un, survived a car accident in 2006 but was executed in 2013 by his nephew. Photo: Kyodo

“In light of the North's nature, I don't see anyone who can replace him in his role in daring offer policy ideas and advice to the leader in these fields.”

Professor Kim Yong-hyun of Dongguk University said Kim Yang-gon had an image as a “moderate”.

“His death may cause difficulties to keeping up the momentum for dialogue” between the two Koreas, he said.

News of Kim Yang-Gon’s death sparked speculation that his sudden demise might be the result of political foul play, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

Some of the North’s most promising party leaders have died in traffic accidents.

Kim Yang-gon’s predecessor Kim Yong-sun, who helped arrange the landmark summit between South Korean president Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il, also perished in a traffic accident in 2003.

Ri Je-gang, a top party official in charge of assigning official posts to party members, died in a car crash in 2010 when he was rumoured to be involved in a power struggle with Jang Song-thaek, the brother-in-law of Kim Jong-il.

Jang himself survived a car accident in 2006 but was executed in 2013 by his nephew, new leader Kim Jong-un after being condemned as a “traitor” to the nation.

Yonhap said the partying habits of North Korean elites were also to blame for their disproportionately high rate of fatal traffic accidents, often driving home drunk after exclusive parties.

 

[yahoo55]

http://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/world...-about-north-korea/ar-BBo2kPp?ocid=spartandhp

11 bizarre things you probably didn't know about North Korea

PUBLISHED : 30 December, 2015


It is difficult to confirm many things about the secretive country but when facts do emerge, they tend to be incredible.

Quora users have shared their favourite facts about North Korea from titbits from Kim Jong Il's official biography to what instruments teachers are ordered to play.

Here are just a few of our favourites:

1. North Korea has the largest military in the world (including active, reserved and paramilitary) with 7.7 million servicemen and women. The US have an estimated 1.5 million active military personnel.

2. Marijuana in North Korea is not illegal and can be bought at markets.

3. The world's largest stadium is in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang - it can seat 150,000.

4. Nork Korea bases its calender on Kim Il Sung's date of birth: 15 April 1912. The year is 103, not 2015 north of 38th parallel.

5. During the 1990s, all teachers were required to learn the accordion.

6. Due to a lack of fertiliser, North Korea was forced to use human faeces as manure on crops.

7. According to his official biography, Kim Jong Il allegedly learnt to walk aged three weeks.

8. North Korea has three television channels - two of which are only available at weekends while the other can only be watched in the evening.

9. Elections take place every five years but they have only one option.

10. Blue denim jeans are illegal in North Korea as denim represents capitalist America.

11. North Korean women have 28 sanctioned hair cut designs, men have only 10.

 

[KimJongilia]

Is ruthless Kim Jong-un getting soft? North Korea’s former No.2 resurfaces after purge and ‘re-education’

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 30 December, 2015, 3:10pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 30 December, 2015, 3:19pm

Agence France-Presse in Seoul

Choe Ryong-hae talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a military parade in Pyongyang in 2013. Choe was purged and sent for “re-education”. Photo: AFP

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's one-time right-hand man was Wednesday confirmed to have made a comeback to Pyongyang's inner circle, after reportedly being purged and sent to a farm for “re-education”.

Analysts said the reversal of fortune for Choe Ryong-hae is the latest in a series, and indicate the young leader may be taking a softer line after earning a reputation for ruthlessness with the elimination of high-ranking officials including his uncle.

“The series of reinstatements of key officials this year suggests Kim Jong-un might be backtracking on his reign of terror”, said Cheong Seong-chang, senior researcher at the Sejong Institute in Seoul.

Choe’s reinstatement was revealed when North Korea announced a state funeral committee for Kim Yang-gon, a senior official who died in a traffic accident on Tuesday.

His name was listed sixth, after Kim’s and four other senior party officials.

Choe named on a state funeral committee for Kim Yang-gon (pictured), a senior official who died in a traffic accident on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Choe, a vice marshal who was once considered number-two in the Stalinist state next to Kim himself, was purged last month and sent to a farm for “re-education”, according to South Korea’s spy agency.

The agency said he was likely punished over a serious water leak at a power station. North Korean soldiers are widely mobilised in construction projects in the heavily militarised state.

Another official known to have been dismissed but also included on the funeral committee list was Won Dong-yon, deputy director of a department chaired by Kim Yang-gon, who died in the traffic accident on Tuesday.

Cheong said Kim Jong-un might have brought Won back to replace Kim Yang-gon who oversaw ties with South Korea and who state media described as the leader's “most trustworthy” aide.

Earlier this year, two other cadres - former top construction official Ma Won-chun and one-time party financial official Han Kwang-sang - were also reinstated following short-lived purges.

Watch: Signs of change in North Korea, says analyst

Kim earned a reputation for brutality after unconfirmed reports emerged of a deadly clearing of the decks after he came to power in 2011, replacing his father Kim Jong-il.

Defence minister Hyon Yong-chol was said to have been executed in April by anti-aircraft fire for dozing off during formal military rallies.

And Kim had his powerful uncle Jang Song-thaek executed in December 2012 on charges of treason and corruption, allowing Choe to emerge as his right-hand man.

Rumours of political purges and even executions regularly emerge from the isolated North, but sometimes these are rebutted when the official in question resurfaces in state media.

 

[KimJongilia]

Kim Jong-Un vows to raise living standards, warns foreign 'provocateurs'

AFP
January 1, 2016, 6:22 pm

Seoul (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said raising living standards was his top priority in a low-key annual New Year's address on Friday that avoided any explicit reference to the country's nuclear weapons programme.

The 30-minute televised speech was not without the normal bellicose rhetoric -- threatening a "sacred war" if provoked and stressing the need to develop "varied" military strike options -- but the clear thrust was economic development in the isolated, cash-strapped state.

"The Workers Party of Korea gives top priority to the issue of improving people?s living standards among millions of other national tasks," Kim said.

"We must create a turnaround in economic development," he added.

Kim has issued similar calls in his three previous New Year addresses and, as on those occasions, Friday's speech offered little in terms of specific policy for achieving his economic objectives.

On relations with South Korea, Kim said he was open to talks but warned Seoul against any activity that might threaten a tentative cross-border agreement reached in August to reduce tensions.

In particular, he stressed the provocative dangers inherent in the South's annual joint military exercises with the United States -- a perennial thorn in North-South ties.

- 'Merciless, sacred war' -

"If aggressors and provocateurs touch us even slightly, we will not hesitate to respond with a merciless sacred war for justice and national reunification," he said.

His speech came a day after the state funeral of North Korea's top official in charge of relations with South Korea, Kim Yang-Gon, who state media reported as having died in a car accident on Tuesday.

Kim had long been the North's point man on cross-border affairs, and his death was seen as a further setback to efforts to improve the always volatile relations between Seoul and Pyongyang.

Kim Jong-Un, wearing black-rimmed glasses and his trademark black Mao suit, delivered his speech from behind a lectern in a wood-panelled room in the ruling Workers' Party Central Committee Office Building in Pyongyang.

No audience was shown although the address was regularly interrupted by what appeared to be canned applause.

There was no mention of the nuclear arsenal or ballistic missile programme that has made the North the target of multiple international sanctions over the years, although Kim did stress the need to "develop more varied means of military strikes".

"The overall tone was quite low-key, and the emphasis was clearly on the economy, rather than political or military issues," said Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

- Looming party congress -

"Possibly he wanted to avoid irritating China and others in the region ahead of the crucial party congress in May," Yang said.

The Workers' Party congress will be the first of its kind for 35 years, and is expected to offer some clarity on the current leadership's policy direction.

Since taking over power following the death of his father Kim Jong-Il in late 2011, Kim has prioritised economic development in a way that his father, with his "military first" policy, never did.

In his very first public address, at a military parade in April 2012, Kim had said he was determined that North Koreans would "never have to tighten their belts again".

He has relaxed some controls on farmers and state-run firms, and set up more than a dozen special economic zones.

And a closely monitored but tolerated grassroots capitalism, born out of a spirit of survivalist self-sufficiency that got many through the catastrophic failure of the state distribution system in the famine years of the mid-to-late 1990s, has given rise to a growing entrepreneurial class.

While North Korea does not release official economic data, South Korea?s central bank estimated its economy expanded 1.0 percent in 2014.

But the North remains a deeply impoverished country with a gross national income estimated at just 2.3 percent of the South's.

And there is a stark urban-rural divide in living standards, with malnutrition still a serious problem in the countryside.

 

[KimJongilia]

H-bomb test by North Korea draws condemnation from Beijing

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 06 January, 2016, 11:48pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 07 January, 2016, 1:31am

Kristine Kwok
[email protected]

Ko Yun-hwa, of the Korea Meteorological Administration, points to seismic waves observed in South Korea, during North Korea’s test of a hydrogen bomb, January 6, 2016. Photo: Reuters

North Korea said on Wednesday it had successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb, dealing a blow to *regional efforts to contain tensions surrounding Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, and drawing condemnation from Beijing.

The claim, which if true would mark significant progress in Pyongyang’s nuclear abilities, triggered condemnation from across the region, and scepticism from some countries over whether the test had been *successful.

Beijing said it had summoned North Korea’s ambassador and “firmly opposed” the test.

“We strongly urge [North Korea] to remain committed to its denuclearisation commitment, and stop taking any actions that would make the situation worse,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said.

READ MORE – Don’t believe the hype: Nuclear experts remain sceptical about North Korea’s hydrogen bomb claims

She said Beijing had no advance knowledge of the test, but would “make an assessment” of Pyongyang’s claim that it involved a hydrogen bomb. If confirmed, this would be the country’s fourth test of a nuclear bomb.

Its previous trials have been of atomic devices, which are less powerful.

Beijing has condemned each nuclear test and the latest development has put focus on how it will respond this time.

Many diplomats and analysts have said that China played a key role in reining in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as Beijing’s economic support – and in particular its petroleum exports – provides an important lifeline to Pyongyang.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signs a document authorising the test of a hydrogen bomb. Photo: Reuters

Relations between the ideological allies have cooled since Kim Jong-un took power four years ago. Many analysts put this down to Kim’s authorisation of the third nuclear test, in February 2013, against Beijing’s advice.

Observers said Beijing was likely to respond to the latest test with more stringent measures, such as cooperating with the UN Security Council on another round of sanctions, but possibly not to the extent some countries would hope for due to strategic calculations.

“It’s going to be difficult for China to devise the scale of the sanctions: to impose sanctions without creating instability or even leading to the country’s collapse,” said Cai Jian, a professor of Korean studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

READ MORE - ‘I see North Korea as one of the most evil, inhuman situations happening on earth’

Halting energy supply, for instance, would cause economic chaos and political instability in North Korea and “China would rather be cautious about it”, Cai said.

Many Chinese analysts have in recent years argued that the *reclusive state has become more of a liability than a useful partner, but Cai said ensuring the political stability of a neighbour remained an important consideration.

“For China, North Korea’s nuclear programme itself does not pose major security threats, but rather it’s the resulting response from the US and Japan, such as enhancing their military deployment in the region, that is causing a headache for Beijing.”

There had been signs that Beijing and Pyongyang were seeking to repair ties in recent months.

In October, Beijing sent one of its most senior officials, Liu Yunshan (劉雲山), to Pyongyang to attend the 70th anniversary of the country’s ruling party. Last month, Pyongyang sent Kim’s favourite pop band, The Moranbong, on a performance trip to Beijing. But the show was cancelled at the last minute.

Yesterday’s test had dealt a blow to such efforts and would halt further high-level exchanges between the two countries, said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing. “We can only do our best, such as to impose sanctions and pick up diplomatic ties when things are better,” Shi said.

But the cold shoulder should go only so far, Shi said. “If our relations became hostile, it would be a threat to China.”

North Korea announced in a statement carried by the country’s official news agency KCNA that it had detonated a miniaturised hydrogen nuclear device at 10am yesterday in a “safe and perfect manner”.

“The test means a higher stage of [North Korea’s] development of nuclear force,” it said.

Kim first claimed the country was in possession of a hydrogen bomb in December, when he visited a historical site known as the birthplace of the country’s domestic armaments industry.

At the time, Washington and some analysts had doubted whether the country had the ability to develop such an advanced weapon. Following yesterday’s test, some nuclear and military experts remained sceptical, saying the detected seismic activity was too small for a hydrogen bomb, or suggesting that the testing was *incomplete.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, speaking at an emergency meeting of the country’s National Security Council convened immediately after Pyongyang’s announcement, described the test as a “grave provocation”.

“The test is not only a grave provocation to our national security but also a threat to our future ... and a strong challenge to international peace and stability,” she said, calling for strong sanctions on Pyongyang.

South Korea’s defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said South Korea’s military had upgraded its alert status and would “take necessary measures” in cooperation with its ally, the United States.

He said the allies had increased their joint surveillance of North Korea’s military activities.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tokyo would make a “firm response” to North Korea at the UN Security Council.

Additional reporting by Kyodo, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse

 

[KimJongilia]

Explained: the difference between atomic and hydrogen weapons ... and North Korea’s capacity to launch them

See the difference between nuclear weapons and the capacity for North Korea’s missiles to reach targets around the world

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 07 January, 2016, 3:12pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 07 January, 2016, 3:46pm

Dan J Bland
[email protected]

Relative size and ranges of North Korean missiles. Image: Council on Foreign Relations

[Image: SCMP Graphics] Image: SCMP Graphics

 

[KimJongilia]

Canadian pastor digs holes alone, sole prisoner of a North Korean labour camp

PUBLISHED : Monday, 11 January, 2016, 4:13pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 12 January, 2016, 6:56am

Agence France-Presse in Seoul

Hyeon Soo-lim, who pastors the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, is escorted to his sentencing in Pyongyang, in December. Photo: AP

A 60-year-old Canadian pastor, jailed for life with hard labour in North Korea, spends eight hours a day, six days a week digging holes in an orchard in a prison camp where he is the sole inmate.

In an interview in Pyongyang with CNN, Hyeon Soo-lim said it had been tough adapting to the physical rigours of his internment following his conviction last month on charges of “subversive” acts against the state.

“I wasn’t originally a labourer, so the labour was hard at first,” said Lim, his head shaven and wearing a grey prison outfit with the number 036.

“But now I've gotten used to it.”

The interview was conducted in the room of a Pyongyang hotel, where the North Koreans also presented another ethnic Korean prisoner, whom they said was a US citizen arrested for spying in October.

There have been no recent reports either from Pyongyang or Washington of any American having been detained.

Lim was interviewed at a Pyongyang hotel, his hair cropped short and wearing a grey padded prison uniform bearing the number “036” on his chest. Photo: CNN

But the North Korean side produced a US passport identifying the man as Kim Dong-chul, 62, who became a naturalised US citizen in 1987.

Kim said he had been living in China near the North Korean border for the past 15 years, commuting regularly to Rason - a North Korean special economic zone.

In the interview - conducted through an official translator - Kim said he had spied on behalf of “South Korean conservative elements” and taken photos of military secrets.

The foreign ministry in Seoul had no immediate comment on the report.

The interview with Hyeon Soo-lim began with the pastor being briskly marched inside by two uniformed guards holding his arms.

The guards left the room but the South Korean-born Lim, who speaks and understands English, said he had been told to answer all the questions in Korean - suggesting the conversation was being closely monitored.

Lim was detained by North Korean authorities in January last year after arriving from China.

At his sentencing last month, North Korea said he had admitted all charges against him, including “viciously defaming” the North Korean system and its leader, and plotting to overthrow the state.

Lim, a pastor at the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, was the latest in a series of foreign missionaries to be arrested, deported or jailed for allegedly meddling in state affairs.

Lim said he was required to work eight hours a day, six days a week, digging in the orchard of a labour camp with no other prisoners except himself.

He said he received regular medical care and three meals a day, and was hoping for a Bible which he had requested but still not received.

“I pray every day for the country and the people, I pray for North and South to be reunified, so that a situation like mine won’t happen again,” he said.

The interview lasted almost an hour, after which the guard returned and Lim was marched out.

Canada has protested at the “unduly harsh” sentence and complained that consular officials had been denied access to Lim.

Lim was no stranger to North Korea, having led multiple aid missions to the country, involving work with orphanages, nursing homes and food processing factories.

Pyongyang views foreign missionaries with deep suspicion, though it allows some to undertake humanitarian work.

A number of Christian missionaries -- mostly ethnic Koreans who are US citizens -- have been arrested in the past, with some of them only allowed to return home after intervention by high-profile US political figures.

Additional reporting by Reuters