North Korea

[KimJongilia]

Pay cuts, longer hours for N. Korean workers in China

Seol Song Ah | 2016-04-25 17:44

North Korea appears to be pulling out all the stops to secure funds for the May Party Congress, requesting a Chinese company hiring its workers to prepay salaries and encouraging longer working hours. This comes as Pyongyang faces a reduction in cash from its restaurants overseas following international sanctions and a recent group defection of workers to the South.

“After receiving strong demands from the North, a Chinese fisheries company [name redacted to protect the source] in Dandong, which employs about 200 North Korean workers, wired six months’ worth of their wages to Pyongyang,” a source with knowledge of North Korean affairs in China said, asserting that the move was to help the regime secure more money for the upcoming Party Congress.

The Chinese firm usually sends most of the 500 USD allotted for each worker’s wages to Pyongyang, and the remaining 150 USD is handed over to the North Korean manager to distribute to the employees. However, recently, even the smaller proportion of those wages is not being reliably received. “Because of that I’m hearing more of the female workers say they would prefer to return to the North than stay in China,” the source said.

These female employees not only have long working hours but normally only get two days off per month and are rarely allowed to take leave, even if they are ill.

The North Korean authorities have also expressly permitted this Chinese company to extend working hours from 12 to 13 in order to make more money off their workers. Facing reduced funds from its previously lucrative restaurant operations, the North appears to be turning to its other workers abroad to make up for the shortage.

“The company recently signed a contract with Japan, so it has extended its hours to 13 in order to get the packaging done on time, and the North has given its tacit consent,” the source said. “The extra wages for this were handed over to the North Korean manager, but the workers didn’t see any of it.”

An additional source familiar with the situation in Dandong explained that many of the workers are unhappy with the strict schedule that requires them to work from 5am to 6pm without proper rest. The employees operate in units of ten members each, all living together in a single room. Getting leave to exit the compound, leave work early, or receive treatment if they’re sick is “unthinkable,” as the chances of receiving permission from their manager is remote, said the source.

Workers are usually hand picked from Pyongyang and other major cities on contracts with Chinese companies. Initially, hope abounds as they think good money can be earned, but they eventually become resentful of the leadership, as their wages are low compared to the labor required, and they face strict regulations in every facet of their daily lives, the second source stated.

“The company doesn’t even allow the workers to talk freely as they work, saying the goods need to be packaged with the utmost quality for exports,” said the source. “The North Korean authorities are aware of this, but rather than supporting its workers, it simply seeks to appease the demands of the Chinese firm.”

The prepaid wages have now added more strain on the workers. Having already been paid for full working hours, the North Korean manager is forcing employees to work even if they are sick. “Some have fallen so ill that they have asked to be sent back home, but they’ve been turned down with no room for consideration,” the source lamented.

*Translated by Jiyeon Lee
*Edited by Lee Farrand

 

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[video=youtube;8QRFx5pXb_M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QRFx5pXb_M[/video]


http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight...-behind-fixed-smiles-world-tears-and-bullying

 

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http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/1939553/north-koreas-latest-mid-range-musudan-missile-launch-fails

 

[KimJongilia]

 

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Korean-American sentenced to 10 years hard labour in North Korea for espionage

According to the North’s state media, Kim Dong-chul had been arrested in Rason as he was receiving a USB stick containing nuclear-linked and military secrets from his source

PUBLISHED : Friday, 29 April, 2016, 11:59am
UPDATED : Friday, 29 April, 2016, 5:25pm

Agence France-Presse

North Korea on Friday sentenced a detained Korean-American, Kim Dong-chul, to 10 years hard labour on charges of subversion and espionage, China’s official Xinhua news agency said.

The announcement, which comes at a time of elevated military tensions on the Korean peninsula, followed an even harsher sentence of 15 years hard labour passed last month on a US student, Otto Warmbier, for stealing a propaganda banner from a tourist hotel in Pyongyang.

The brief Xinhua despatch from Pyongyang said Kim’s penalty was handed down by North Korea’s Supreme Court.

The 62-year-old, who became a naturalised US citizen in 1987, was arrested on espionage charges back in October.

Kim was paraded in front of media cameras in the North Korean capital a month ago, when he admitted to stealing military secrets and pleaded for clemency in a carefully orchestrated “confession”.

His detention first came to public attention when he was produced in January during an interview CNN was conducting with a detained Canadian pastor in a Pyongyang hotel.

At that time, 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.

According to the North’s state media, he had been arrested in Rason as he was receiving a USB stick containing nuclear-linked and military secrets from his source.

Foreigners detained in North Korea are often required to make a public, usually officially scripted acknowledgement of wrongdoing as a first step towards a possible release.

Observers said the long sentences handed down to Kim and Warmbier reflected soaring military tensions following the North’s nuclear test in January and long-range rocket launch a month later.

The United States took a leading role in securing the resulting sanctions that the UN Security Council imposed on the North in March.

 

[KimJongilia]

N.Korea claims recent murder of pastor done by Seoul: media

Chinese source says missionary activities in region attracted negative response after defections

Ha-young Choi and JH Ahn
May 11th, 2016

The recent murder of a Korean-Chinese pastor in Changbai Korean Autonomous County was conducted by South Korean intelligence agents, North Korea’s Arirang-Meari news site claimed on Wednesday.

Pastor Han Choong-ryeol, a Chinese citizen, was found dead from knife and axe wounds in the Changbai mountain on the evening of April 30, several hours after he had left the church. He had reportedly received a phone call from an acquaintance before left.

Han was widely known as the person overseeing the largest defection route out of North Korea, via the border city of Hyesan, across from Changbai via the Yalu river.

“If those (murder suspects) were those who often met the pastor, then they have to be NIS agents,” the Arirang-Meari report claimed. “It doesn’t make sense for Pastor Han to blindly follow someone he doesn’t know at all.”

The site said that Han was deeply involved in preaching to North Korean defectors and leading operations to help them to defect to South Korea.

“Those who took Pastor Han that day (he was murdered) were people who used to visit Changbai Church from time to time,” Arirang-Meari wrote citing the anonymous source.

“Those who have showed up at the church are South Korean acquaintances of Pastor Han. I think they might have come from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).”

Another unnamed Chinese source also said that the recent mass-defection of North Korean restaurant workers, which Pyongyang calls a mass-abduction, is somehow related to Han’s death.

“Since the news spread in this region that the NIS was directly involved in the mass-abduction of 12 female North Korean workers, Pastor Han, who was engaged in sending defectors to South Korea, might have been under lot of pressure due to the locals’ view,” the Chinese source said.

“Meanwhile, he expressed his dissatisfaction with how the NIS is handling the business and publicly told people that he might quit working for the church. After that incident, Pastor Han disappeared.”

According to the Arirang-Maeari report, Chinese locals in the region believe the murder of Pastor Han was carried out by the NIS to keep attention off the backlash caused by the “forging” of the mass-abduction case last month.

“I think the NIS is making North Korea the scapegoat for the shocking murder of Pastor Han to change the direction of public opinion,” the source said.

Another North Korean media outlet, DPRK Today, made a similar claim on the same day.

Previously, a South Korean pastor activist told NK News that Han’s plan to build underground churches in North Korea caused his murder.

“Since last year, U.S. organizations have started funding him to establish underground churches in North Korea,” said Pastor Kim Hee-tae, president of the missionary organization North Korea Human Rights Mission.

Arirang-Maeari started its operation on March 1, calling itself independent, privately owned media.

Featured Image: Cross (fade) by freddie_benjamin on 2009-01-11 15:49:17

 

[KimJongilia]

N.Korean leadership changes indicate more party control

Changes to Central Military Commission may mean relative decline in military influence vis-a-vis WPK

JH Ahn
May 10th, 2016

The personnel changes announced with the end of the Seventh Congress of the Worker’s Party of Korea (WPK) may indicate more party control over North Korean military, experts said.

“It appears North Korea has decided to downsize and perhaps streamline the Party Central Military Commission (CMC). Some of the chiefs of specialized commands – such as Kim Rak Gyom of the KPA Strategic Force and Jo Kyong Chol of Military Security Command – are no longer on the CMC,” NK News director of intelligence John Grisafi said.

“Meanwhile, they have placed a civilian, DPRK Premier Pak Pong Ju, onto the CMC. This may be part of efforts by the party to establish more party control over the military and not necessarily fill the CMC with quite so many military officers based on their position alone.”

A South Korean expert had a similar opinion.

“The status of the CMC will get even weaker as Vice Marshal Ri Yong-mu and General O Kuk-ryol have stepped down from their previous positions as the part of shift of generations,” Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute told NK News.

“However, not that many generational shifts were seen this time, which means that North Korea under Kim Jong Un’s rule has stabilized.”
rodong leadership change 3

The list of leadership changes, as provided by the Rodong Sinmun. Image: Rodong Sinmun.

Two members of the Political Bureau continue their long-time memberships: Kim Yong Nam has been a full member since 1978 and Choe Thae Bok since 1990.

Kim Yong Chol is a notable but expected addition to the Political Bureau. Formerly head of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, Kim earlier this year moved into the role of director of the United Front Department – responsible for Pyongyang’s policy toward and relations with the South – following the death of Kim Yang Gon in a car accident in December.

An expert said this leadership change has brought Choe Ryong Hae, former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, back to de facto second-in-command in North Korean power.

Choe, who was replaced by Hwang Pyong So in his post about two years ago, re-emerged to Kim Jong Un’s side only few months back.

“The most crucial part of this leadership change is that Choe Ryong Hae has been promoted back to member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK,” Cheong said.

“Out of the five members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK, Choe Ryong Hae represents the party, while Hwang Pyong So represents the military, with Kim Yong Nam and Pak Pong Ju each representing the organization of the state. Easily said, we can regard Choe Ryong Hae as the actual second-in-command.”

John Grisafi contributed to this article.

Featured image: Rodong Sinmun

 

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http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/1945175/pyonghattan-where-rich-kids-north-korea-sip-cappuccinos-and

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http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/1952148/more-north-korean-restaurant-staff-waiting-defect-south

 

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U.S. lists North Korea as money launderer, imposes financial strictures

Recent measures aim to isolate North Korea from the U.S. and international banking system

Hamish Macdonald
June 1st, 2016

The United States has designated North Korea a “primary money laundering concern” under section 311 of the Patriot Act, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced on Wednesday.

The designation – which puts at risk of sanctions any bank which does business with the DPKR – applies further financial measures against North Korea with the aim of isolating the country from the U.S. and international banking systems.

“Today’s action is a further step toward severing banking relationships with North Korea and we expect all governments and financial authorities to do likewise pursuant to the new UN Security Council Resolution,” Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin was quoted as saying in a press release.

“It is essential that we all take action to prevent the regime from abusing financial institutions around the world – through their own accounts or other means.”

The press release also said that the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), imposing the “most significant measure available to the Secretary under Section 311.”

The measure calls for prohibitions for U.S. financial institutions to open or maintain correspondent accounts with North Korean financial institutions and to ban U.S. correspondent accounts from processes transactions for North Korean financial institutions.

“It really is the nuclear option when it comes to financial sanctions,” said Victor Cha, senior advisor and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“Foreign financial institutions will start to position away from DPRK business (U.S. banks don’t deal directly with NK), rather than go through the hassle of trying to convince Treasury that whatever meager business they have with NK does not violate the 311,” he explained by email. “No one wants to be blacklisted in the U.S. financial system over business with NK”

However, Cha added that “this is a preliminary finding so it has not yet gone into effect, because Treasury must follow with a final finding.”

On Wednesday the Department of Treasury outlined four reasons for the notification under Section 311.

Firstly, due to North Korea’s use of state-controlled financial institutions and front companies “to conduct international financial transactions that support the proliferation and development of WMD and ballistic missiles.”

Secondly, as “North Korea is subject to little or no bank supervision anti-money laundering or combating the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) controls.”

Thirdly, as U.S. has no has no diplomatic relationship with North Korea or mutual legal assistance treaty and “does not cooperate with U.S. law enforcement and regulatory officials in obtaining information about transactions originating in or routed through or to” the country.

Finally, the press release cites the country’s reliance on “illicit and corrupt activity of high-level officials to support its government.”

Main picture: Wikimedia Commons

 

[KimJongilia]

S.Korean churches must build defector relationships: pastor

Eritrean pastor offers advice to S.Korean Christians based on outreach to Ethiopians

Ha-young Choi
June 3rd, 2016

A pastor who has worked to build underground churches in the “North Korea in Africa” told South Korean Christians that they must build relationships with North Korean defectors in South Korea and make them feel welcome.

Pastor Berhane Asmelash of Eritrea used to operate a church composed of Eritreans and Ethiopians, two ethnic groups long in conflict: Eritrea declared independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and the two countries waged war from 1998-2000.

Eritrea has been widely criticized for its arbitrary arrests and detentions, and systematic use of torture. It is the only country to consistently rank lower than North Korea in Reporters without Borders’ annual press freedom index, and refugees have been fleeing the country due to its dictatorship.

Many Ethiopians still in Eritrea are soldiers who are hated by Eritreans. The two countries have deep-rooted ethnic and religious divisions, and the pastor drew a comparison between this ideological separation and that shared by the two Koreas since the Korean War.

“(At the church in Eritrea) I preached in Ethiopian since all Eritreans could understand the Ethiopian language,” said Berhane on Friday at a press conference for Voice of the Martyrs. “I started inviting Ethiopians to my house. I knew that they were lonely in a foreign country, so I tried to make them feel welcomed.”

He suggested South Korean churches invite more North Korean believers and even offer services in the North Korean dialect.

Pastor Eric Foley, CEO of Voice of the Martyrs in Seoul said Berhane’s experience with social integration would help North Korean defectors in South Korea, where they are socially isolated.

Some South Korean megachurches give $100-200 to defectors to attract them to their services, but Foley said such outreach is “not effective” and will require “significant changes.”

“Giving money is too easy. Instead of giving money, we should become like them, learn their dialect, open our homes and visit their homes so that they can host us,” Foley said.

“Here in South Korea, the rate of death due to suicide of North Korean defectors is 16.3 percent. That’s the highest rate in any population group in the world today,” Foley said in his opening remarks at the event. “That means the most dangerous place for North Koreans to be is right here, in Seoul.”

Both pastors emphasized exchanging mutual help between South and North Koreans.

“North Koreans can teach South Koreans the way of family worship that they used to do in North Korea,” Berhane said, asserting that ministry is “not only giving but also receiving.”

Eritrea is not only called the “North Korea of Africa,” but its government has imitated the North Korean system of power succession among family members, Berhane said. There have been no democratic elections since independence was declared in 1993 and its constitution has never been implemented.

North Korean high-ranking official Kim Yong Nam recently sent a greeting to the president of Eritrea, Lsaias Afwerki, during his visit to Equatorial Guinea.

Featured Image: Ha-young Choi

 

[KimJongilia]

Two railway officials expelled, stripped of Party membership for Party Congress antics

Kang Mi Jin | 2016-05-27 17:05

Two North Korean officials from the Ministry of Railways were reportedly removed from the Party Congress held earlier this month for creating a drunken disturbance at their hotel. They were not only stripped of their Party membership but also expelled from Pyongyang and are currently being questioned by the authorities, a Daily NK source has reported.

“The Pyongyang railway bureau director and deputy director of the political bureau were expelled while the Party Congress was well underway,” the source from Pyongyang told Daily NK over the telephone. “They were kicked out for drinking vodka at the 4.25 Inn, where they were staying, and going around the hotel causing trouble with people they knew while intoxicated.”

Additional sources in the capital verified the incident and surrounding circumstances.

“They were immediately removed from the congress venue, following orders from the Marshal (Kim Jong Un),” he added. “Other representatives at the congress were probably on edge, with the arrest of Jang Song Thaek (during an extended meeting of the Workers’ Party Political Bureau in 2013) still fresh in their minds.”

The source went on to explain that Party Congress participants were instructed not to engage in any drinking, entertainment, or "anti-socialist activity" while they were staying at the 4.25 Inn for the political gathering. This was in line with the state’s designation of an overarching "special watch week" from May 2 to 10, during which surveillance was ramped up in Pyongyang and the border areas.

The North typically takes such action to prevent any incidents that might challenge the integrity of the regime ahead of major events. Having taken this lightly, the railway ministry officials are expected to face severe consequences.

“Everyone was taking extra precautions because of the increasing number of purges and executions of cadres that has occurred recently. Their carelessness will cost them dearly,” he said. The two officials were stripped of their posts, kicked out of the Party, and taken away from the political event, signaling that their “political careers are over.”

Other attendees at the Party Congress avoided discussing the incident in fear of attracting undesirable consequences, the source said.

Given that this was a major gathering held to cement Kim Jong Un’s position as the top leader, the debacle created by the ministry officials is expected to result in heavy punishments. “To set an example, they might be sent off to a rural farm to receive ‘revolutionary training,” the source speculated.

*Translated by Jiyeon Lee
*Edited by Lee Farrand

 

[KimJongilia]

Illegal mobile phone users to face harsher repercussions

Kim Chae Hwan | 2016-05-31 07:16

In order to block would-be defectors and sensitive internal information from escaping North Korea, Kim Jong Un has handed down new punitive measures for those using illegal Chinese mobile phones.

“The order has come down to treat Chinese cell phone users as traitors who have colluded with the South Joseon (South Korea) puppet state and participated in their schemes. Those who connect via phone with South Korea are even eligible for the death penalty. This threat has produced a gloomy atmosphere in the area near the Chinese border,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK.

Sources in Ryanggang and South Hamgyong Provinces corroborated this news.

Lately, she continued, the State Security Department (SSD) has been dispatching experts with state of the art equipment to conduct surveillance and monitoring through wiretapping. They have been collaborating with Bureau 27 (Transmission Surveillance Bureau) in order to trace mobile phone signal direction and origin. Once the signal is located, they deploy Chinese military trucks and motorbikes to swiftly apprehend the offenders.

According to the source, North Korean authorities have determined that their failure to prevent incidents such as the recent defection in North Hamgyong Province Hoeryong City is due to their inability to block out information networks. In other words, Kim Jong Un is concerned that the possibility of making foreign telephone calls has a knock-on effect that spurs defection rates.

In relation to this, Kim Jong Un issued an order to thoroughly block the usage of Chinese cellphones in January of 2014. Those who admitted their wrongdoing were promised forgiveness; however, those who were caught after the order was put in effect were threatened with being sent to a labor camp, kindling an atmosphere of dread.

Despite the regime’s promise of clemency, no residents stepped forward to admit past wrongdoing. Those who were caught with the illegal phones avoided punishment by bribing the officials who initially apprehended them. The current order appears to be much stronger than the ineffective one from the past, the source said, noting, “Enforcement appeared to tighten up around the time of the Party Congress in early May.”

In addition to the latest crackdown, electronic jamming signals are being used to corrupt the audio quality of foreign calls that manage to connect. Many phone calls are suddenly disconnected, according to the source. Furthermore, the bribe price one needs to pay to escape prosecution has jumped in proportion to the rising severity of the infraction. Consequently, residents are keeping international phone calls as short as possible.

But how much has the bribe price actually risen? When asked about this, the source explained, “In the past, residents had to pay approximately 5,000-10,000 yuan. Now, it is hard to get out of the situation even if one pays four times that amount. It feels like a gunless, 21st century battlefield out here.”

She added, “Residents have no ability to protest this order and are doing their best to avoid detection. Those who earn their living through such things as smuggling rely on Chinese cellphones and have complained that it’s become even harder to make a living.”

*Translated by Jonathan Corrado

 

[KimJongilia]

Simmering discontent rises to the surface following '200-Day Battle' order

Choi Song Min | 2016-06-02 00:09

Less than a month after the conclusion of the “70-Day Battle” in preparation for the 7th Party Congress, the North Korean authorities have issued orders for a “200-Day Battle,” stirring up palpable discontent among the general public, Daily NK has learned.

“Although the ‘70-Day Battle’ only recently ended, fresh orders to begin a ‘200-Day Battle’ have been issued,” a source from South Pyongan Province reported in a telephone conversation to Daily NK on May 30, adding, “The orders stipulate that a new ‘battle’ will commence on June 1 and last until December 17 (the day of Kim Jong Il’s death).”

Sources in North Pyongan Province and Ryanggang Province also reported similar developments in their respective regions.

The announcement has triggered discontent among the public, to the degree that some individuals are complaining [amongst themselves] about the state issuing constant mobilizations when “nothing else is being addressed,” noted the source.

“How many more battles demanding every last ounce of our blood and sweat can we handle?” some have asked, with others saying, “Even some Party cadres have been critical, asking why the state is going on about another battle when one just came to an end,” said the source.

The new “200-Day Battle” appears to be part of the preliminary work for the implementation of the five-year economic development laid out by Kim Jong Un during the 7th Party Congress. The directive reflects the lack of tools the leadership has at hand when it comes to implementing the plans that were announced at the congress, which were aimed at building solidarity and increasing loyalty amongst the population.

“During previous Party congresses (under Kim Il Sung), at least the plan put forth clearly outlined economic goals by sector. But this time, there was no clarity,” the source said, adding, “It’s likely the state will just push slogans for ‘full-on mobilization’ and ‘absolute goal attainment’ with no clear aim on what should be done, how, and to what extent.”

This has led some North Koreans to perceive the “200-Day Battle” as nothing more than a propaganda vehicle to imbue people with a sense of obligation to participate in projects laid out during the Party Congress and memorializing Kim Jong Il’s death.

“The ‘200-Day Battle’ is being referred to as a ‘rigorous march,’ mourning the loss of the General (Kim Jong Il), while attempting to remedy the anti-climactic atmosphere following the Party Congress,” the source said. “The state is signaling it will hold a much larger event of mourning this year, as it’s the fifth anniversary of the General’s (Kim Jong Il’s) death [as is the case for anniversaries marking five and ten years].”

Meanwhile, officials at central agencies, workers at state factories, and even college students are being requested to memorize the speech Kim Jong Un delivered at the 7th Party Congress, adding further difficulties to their study schedules and efforts to meet production quotas.

*Translated by Jiyeon Lee
*Edited by Lee Farrand

 

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Competition between 'donju' heats up

Seol Song Ah | 2016-06-04 06:58

Increasing market activity in North Korea is raising the bar when it comes to competition between vendors to sell goods. This is fueling an emerging trend amongst the donju (newly affluent middle class), who are paying high prices in exchange for specialized equipment and know-how concerning food manufacturing and services, Daily NK has learned.

“Food purveyors (mostly donju) these days are realizing that greater profits can be made by becoming direct producers,” a source from South Pyongan Province told Daily NK in a telephone conversation. “Because of this, they’re seeking out individual producers and asking them to sell their equipment for however much it costs.”

Additional sources in the same province and North Pyongan Province corroborated this news.

Birthday cake, chocolate, and biscuit producers can sell their production know-how to donju for 500 USD, the source said, noting, “They refrain from selling it to donju in the same area though, as that would have negative repercussions for their own competitiveness in the market.”

This new trend highlights the rising consumer culture that has emerged under the Kim Jong Un regime, with relaxing restrictions allowing for increased vendor and marketplace activity.

Growing competition is emerging between the ‘old’ donju, who bring in goods from China, and the ‘new’ donju, who focus on creating goods within the country. Competition has been ignited by the fact that only a limited quantity of imports can cross the borders, while local production is determined mostly by the producers’ capacity to manufacture.

This is why some donju are traveling to food manufacturing sites in China or Pyongyang to learn manufacturing methods in exchange for cash.

The trend is not limited to the area of food production. “More donju in provincial areas are trying to learn skills from Pyongyang’s Changkwangwon hair salon,” the source reported. “The idea is to learn it hands-on and then go to other regions to set up their own salons.”

Against this backdrop, donju are purchasing foreign hair salon kits (selling for a minimum of 500 USD) that are difficult to get into the country. The state-run Changkwangwon uses such opportunities to earn foreign currency, becoming another beneficiary of the marketization movement.

The birthday cake market requires even more hands-on experience. “Because it’s not easy to produce cakes, even though some people get everything on paper, they often fail. This is why in many cases a worker is sent directly to the site of manufacturing, paying roughly 100 USD (800,000 KPW) each day for training,” she explained.

The secrecy surrounding some industries has encouraged those without proper means to cheat the system. “Some vendors who don’t have a lot of funds poach workers who were hired at specific production facilities by offering higher wages, and that is how they acquire knowledge of the production techniques,” she added.

Such trends signal that along with greater marketization and competition, people are increasingly turning to more creative ways, both good and bad, to get a stronger foothold in the market. Without a comprehensive regulatory framework or stronger institutions in society, it appears “the law of the jungle” will continue to prevail, the source concluded.

*Translated by Jiyeon Lee
*Edited by Lee Farrand

 

[KimJongilia]

Row over North Korea defectors echoes in Seoul court

AFP on June 21, 2016, 10:06 pm

Seoul (AFP) - A South Korean court hearing into a dozen North Korean defectors who Pyongyang insists were abducted, adjourned Tuesday with a motion to replace the judge after he declined to compel the 12 women to appear.

The closed-door hearing pitted officials from South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, (NIS) against a group of human rights lawyers who contend the defectors are being illegally detained.

All 12 were waitresses at a North Korean-run restaurant in China who arrived in the South in April with their manager, making headlines as the largest group defection in years.

While Seoul says they fled to the South voluntarily, Pyongyang claims they were kidnapped by NIS agents and has waged a campaign through its state media for their immediate return.

A liberal South Korean legal association called Lawyers for a Democratic Society had instigated the court proceedings in an effort to have the sequestered defectors produced to answer questions.

But the NIS claimed the women were unwilling to testify and refused to bring them to court, saying they were being held incommunicado for their own protection and that of their families still in North Korea.

- Motion to replace judge -

When the judge accepted the NIS argument, the lawyers' group filed a motion for him to be removed from the case and the court was adjourned.

"If the judge says he will hear the case without the testimony of the restaurant workers, it means that he would make a ruling based on the words of the NIS," said attorney Chae Hee-Jun.

"We can't call that a trial," Chae said.

North Korea's campaign for the return of the defectors has included emotional video interviews with the women's relatives in the North, angrily denouncing South Korean authorities and demanding a meeting with the women.

The Lawyers for a Democratic Society managed to force the court hearing after obtaining power-of-attorney from the defectors' families.

The dispute has fanned inter-Korean tensions that have been running high since the North carried out its fourth nuclear test in January.

As the court hearing opened, Japanese and South Korean media cited military and government officials as saying North Korea appeared to be preparing to test a powerful, new medium-range ballistic missile.

- Resettlement process -

For all North Korean defectors, life in the South begins with intensive NIS interrogation that can last for months and is aimed at weeding out possible spies.

They are then given three months in a government centre where they learn basic survival skills, such as riding the subway, using a mobile phone and buying goods in a supermarket.

But the Unification Ministry in Seoul said Tuesday that the waitresses would be kept under NIS "protection" rather than being sent to the resettlement centre.

A ministry official said their case had become too high-profile and the escalating dispute with Pyongyang made them unusually vulnerable.

"If we send them to the facility for resettlement training, there will be more media attention and the training will not be conducted smoothly," the official told AFP.

Nearly 30,000 North Koreans have fled poverty and repression at home to settle in the capitalist South.

But group defections are rare, especially by staff who work in the North Korea-themed restaurants overseas and who are handpicked from families considered "loyal" to the regime.

The South Korean government estimates that Pyongyang rakes in around $10 million every year from about 130 restaurants it operates -- with mostly North Korean staff -- in 12 countries, including neighbouring China.

There have been reports of staff not being paid, with restaurants pressured into increasing their regular remittances to Pyongyang.

Earlier this month, South Korea announced that another three waitresses from a different restaurant in China had arrived in Seoul after defecting.

 

[KimJongilia]

Loan shark murdered by young woman

Kang Mi Jin | 2016-06-15 00:55

An indebted young woman in Ryanggang Province, North Korea murdered a moneylender who relentlessly pressured her to pay back the loan, Daily NK has learned.

"A 22 year-old female market vendor attacked and killed a loan shark with a knife in Kimjongsuk County on June 4. The woman has been arrested and an investigation is underway at the Ministry of People’s Security unit in Sinpa County. A trial will be held soon,” a source in Ryanggang Province reported to Daily NK on June 9.

"The young woman was unable to pay back the interest on the loan by its due date. The attack happened in a store late at night when no other people were present. A kitchen knife was the weapon used in the attack."

Two additional sources in the same province corroborated this news.

As the number of women engaging in market selling in North Korea steadily rises, so too has the corresponding number of loan sharks, who offer these entrepreneurs loans to grow their business ventures while profiting handsomely on the interest.

The burgeoning market allows lenders to engage more clients and offer lower interest rates: most charge 10% currently, compared to the 20-30% rate typical of the past. For small-scale personal loans the payback period is usually one month, with interest rates ranging from 7-10% on the high end of the scale, 5% on average, and 3% on the low end.

The young woman in question used her house as collateral to secure a loan but was unable to pay it back, and the attack occurred when the loan shark expressed intent to repossess the woman's house. Moneylenders typically use pressure on borrowers in order to recover the principle and the interest, but in this case, the loan shark's tactics were said to be more aggressive than usual, triggering an extreme response from the woman.

Predictably, news of the incident spread quickly and elicited ambivalent opinions from residents in the surrounding area. “The woman who committed the attack was generally well-liked, and as such people are lamenting what time and hardship can do to change a person. They mostly seem to recognize how tough her situation must have been to induce someone so young to take such a drastic action,” the source explained.

However, there are also residents who are saying that as the accused did commit murder, the punishment must fit the crime.

"In the past, those convicted of homicide would be executed by firing squad in either public settings or away from the private eye. However, central authorities recently issued an order banning firing squads, so they likely won't do that. She will probably be executed via other means as soon as the court proceedings come to a close, perhaps with an instrument such as a rubber baton,” the source concluded.

*Translated by Jonathan Corrado