North Korea

[SunWukong]

China demands NK stop jammers, NK demands cash

Lee Sang Yong | 2016-01-27 15:00

Following a request from the Chinese government urging North Korea to stop jamming phone signals near the border regions, North Korea responded with a monetary demand in exchange for its cooperation.

"The cell phone jammers in Yanggang Province near Hyesan have frequently also blocked mobile calls made by Chinese citizens on their side of the border. This prompted the Chinese government to request last year that the North refrain from jamming cellphone signals to which the North tossed back a request for a huge amount of money," a source in China who is familiar with the issue reported to Daily NK on January 25th.

A source in Yanggang Province confirmed this development to Daily NK.

Recurring complaints from Chinese residents in the border region to their government played a significant role in compelling China to put pressure on its neighbor. Disgruntled citizens on the Chinese side, tired of deteriorating mobile phone function, wanted answers as to "why they should have to suffer too” from authoritarian measures the North Korean authorities impose on their people.

North Korea’s request in this case is not without precedent. In 2013, the North’s demands for cash in the face of pressure from its neighbor to pull the plug on the jamming gear met with success. Almost three years on, however, the scope and efficacy of the technology employed to seal off the border went from nuisance to insurmountable problem for Chinese residents in the affected areas.

“At the end of 2015, there were complaints that Chinese residents in those areas were largely reliant on their landlines to make any calls at all; their cell phones were rendered impotent by the signal jamming from North Korea,” the source said, explaining that this led to sarcastic remarks from many of them that “one would be better off just buying a North Korean phone and using that instead.”

She added, “North Korea took the money in the last case and obviously never turned off or dismantled the jammers per the agreement; the regime really has no choice but to keep them going [fearing the ramifications of a free flow of information]. So, instead, they demand exorbitant amounts of money while continuing to do what they've always done."

But this time around China has decided to take matters into its own hands, swiftly turning down North Korea’s outlandish request and installing cell towers equipped to counteract North Korea’s jamming equipment. The source described the sudden tough response from North Korea's strongest ally as “unexpected,” considering that China had “anticipated compliance from North Korea on the recent request."

“Because the construction of a new tower of this sort means that anyone with a Chinese phone on the North Korean side of the border will also be able to make international calls relatively freely, the North Korean regime is reacting very sensitively to the prospect; this situation is going to be a troublesome one,” she concluded.

*Translated by Natalie Grant

 

[SunWukong]

Apartments on Mirae Scientists' Street 'frozen solid'

Lee Sang Yong | 2016-01-29 09:56

Right: Kim Jong Un visiting the Mirae Scientists' Street in November 2015. Left: Aerial view of street and its newly constructed facilities. According to state-run publication, Rodong Sinmun, Kim Jong Un expressed his "profound satisfaction" with the construction of the area, stating, "If one wants to see what North Korea is truly like, come to Mirae Scientists' Street." Image: Rodong Sinmun

Of the 2,500 units comprising North Korea’s newly constructed residential building on the Mirae (Future) Scientists’ Street, proclaimed by Kim Jong Un in this year’s New Year’s Address as a “huge monument to creativity”, only 500 are currently occupied by families. Most families assigned to live in the homes cite a lack of power and water supplies and incomplete construction as their reasons for avoiding what they had once hoped would be a major housing upgrade.

On the 27th, our Daily NK reporter spoke with a source in South Pyongan Province, who informed us that although announcements and promulgating across North Korean state media outlets of the apartment complex’s completion, the reality falls far short. “Only the apartments that Kim Jong Un has gone out to inspect himself have been perfectly completed, while the remainder languish in a half-finished state,” she explained.

Two sources in Pyongyang reported the same developments to Daily NK.

She continued, “Electricity is not yet being supplied properly to the buildings, and the regime has advised those living below the 10th floor not to use the elevator. Although this is likely a step that was taken for the convenience of those living above the 10th floor, the number of residents who have been assigned to these houses who are refusing to move in is growing.”

Without running water and functional heat, many of the apartments are frozen solid--literally. “The interiors resembled ice caves. Many who have been assigned to the housing are planning to postpone their move in dates until spring accordingly,” said the source.

Future residents of the apartments are also wary of the high probability for shoddy construction work behind the building's facade, fueled by state directives to finish the apartments at an unreasonable, and unsafe, pace. Such concerns are borne out by the timeline: the Mirae Scientists' Street apartments, 'completed' in November 2015, were built directly following a visit by Kim Jong Un to the construction site of the faculty housing for Kim Chaek University of Technology, where he provided on-the-spot guidance in May of 2014. Then, in February of 2015, Kim Jong Un proposed April 15th (Kim Il Sung’s birthday) as a completion date for construction on the first section of the site he had visited, and October 10th (the anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party) for the second section.

Following the collapse of a 23-story apartment complex in May of 2014, a tragedy that claimed hundreds of lives, the number of North Koreans unwilling to risk their lives in loftier reaches of residential dwellings has risen considerably. With the ghastly consequences of poor quality construction still fresh in their minds, more and more people who are assigned to these upper floor apartments are flat out refusing to move in.

With this winter promising record-breaking cold temperatures, people are also taking into account the very real possibility that they might freeze to death. “If there’s not a steady supply of power to these homes, there’s certainly no way they’re going to be able to fix the heating problems in the apartments,” noted the source, adding that because the facilities are so new “most tenants probably haven't had the chance to try to replace their [in effect, inoperable] heating systems to those that use wood."

“Those who trusted their new housing assignment and left their old houses behind to move into the Mirae Scientists' Complex have no choice but to find some way of overcoming the cold,” she pointed out.

"As usual, the people suffering the most are innocent people who believed [regime] propaganda.”

*Translated by Natalie Grant

 

[SunWukong]

Chinese products given 'Made in North Korea' makeover at increasing number of factories

Lee Sang Yong | 2016-01-27 09:11

Recent reports from North Korea have revealed the prevalence of the practice of repackaging Chinese-made goods in North Korean factories to make it appear as though they have been produced domestically. This development follows repeated calls by Kim Jong Un for a cure to the nation's "sickness for preferring foreign-made goods."

Local sources told Daily NK they see this as an attempt for the young leader to “bury his head in the sand” rather than face the fact that domestic factories lack the capacity to engage in quality manufacturing.

A source in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on January 21st that when Chinese goods enter the country, rather than going directly to the market with their country of origin clearly marked, it is becoming a common practice to relabel them with North Korean manufacturing stickers, designs, and markings before they hit the shelves to pass them off as local merchandise.

Daily NK verified this news with an additional source in the same province as well as a source in the capital.

A short time ago it was the donju [new affluent middle class], engaged in wholesale/retail operations, who would store goods in their own warehouses before releasing them to the markets. But now the regulations have altered, giving state-run factories the exclusive right to do so. Currently, Chinese goods that pass through these factories are rebranded as homegrown products with North Korean packaging before being sold. Although the practice started in a few factories, now it is quite widespread.

During his leadership Kim Jong Un has repeatedly underscored the importance of domestic production, with the most recent iteration encouraging the nation to “escape the importation sickness” and “increase the ratio of domestic good consumption.” While a worthy idea on paper, the reality is that North Korea’s languishing state-run factories lack the technology and know-how to produce most of the goods that that are so readily imported from China.

Consequently, factories have concluded that they have no choice but to resort to the desperate measure of simply repackaging foreign-made goods in an effort to comply with the leader’s most recent prescription. The repacking scheme seeks to fuel domestic demand for North Korean goods, which are generally regarded by the public as low-quality and undesirable, by improving the public’s image of products bearing North Korean brands.

“As North Korea’s market expands, anyone selling goods is able to make a profit but the manufacturing capabilities of domestic factories are not able to meet the increased demands of consumers,” our source explained.

For example, when North Korean Choco Pies first hit the market “people bought them because they were a novelty,” she said. "But people quickly caught on to the inferior quality of the domestic snack relative to the original [South Korean] version of a treat they had long enjoyed.

“Bearing these realities in mind state-run enterprises saw that the sensible, practical answer was just to employ this crafty trick of repackaging foreign goods,” the source pointed out. “With repackaged goods, Kim Jong Un can say ‘Look, we’re making this stuff too!' And fear of reprisal from 'above' makes factory heads feel that they have little alternative but to turn to cheap tricks.”

She then remarked dryly, “It appears that the regime is under the impression that they can claim to have domestically developed a product when all they’ve actually done is assemble or package it somehow. Lacking the resources and skills to develop the necessary technology themselves, all they can do is try to manufacture propaganda about it instead.”

*Translated by Natalie Grant

 

[SunWukong]

90% of N. Korean population thought to be tied to markets in some form

[As Heard in North Korea]

Unification Media Group | 2016-01-29 10:56

"As Heard in North Korea" articles contain the content of Unification Media Group [UMG] radio broadcasts into North Korea. UMG is a consortium created by Radio Free Chosun [RFC] and Open Radio for North Korea [ONK], shortwave radio stations targeting North Korea; The Daily NK, an internet periodical reporting on all aspects of North Korea; and OTV, an NGO-based internet television channel.

Despite the deepening international isolation of North Korea, Kim Jong Un is increasingly opening up the country’s economy and tourism industry in hopes of securing more funds for his leadership. Kim Jong Un’s tacit approval of private business activities has resulted in the expansion of markets. Some suspect that Kim Jong Un is taking advantage of the budding elements of the market economy such as stall taxes to raise funds for his leadership. Over the past four years of his rule, the lives of average North Koreans are seen as having improved through the North’s various economic policies and here to tell us more about is Director Jeon Hyeon Jun from the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Institute.

1. Rice prices and the exchange rate in the North remained relatively stable in 2015. Some attribute this to the market’s stabilization of supply and demand, and this has also led to a boom in the marketplace. What is your take on this?

It seems that more than 90 percent of North Koreans maintain their livelihood through the marketplace. Though there are general [official] markets in the North, the majority are unofficial markets through which many people earn money. As rations under Kim Jong Un’s regime cannot provide for them sufficiently, it appears market vitalization is being used as a means to resolve this problem.

Of course, the North Korean economy is not improving solely due to the pick-up in market activity. Factors such as natural resources and labor exports, tourism, and overseas restaurant operations have had an effect, but the basis of growth still comes from the markets.

Stable rice prices have always been an important foundation for growth. In the past, 1 kg of rice has risen up to 8,000 KPW, but currently, it is stable, hovering around 5,000. The official exchange rate is believed to be around 108 KPW to the dollar, or 8,400 KPW according to the black market rate.

2. So Kim Jong Un’s leadership does not actively regulate the marketplace and allows some degree of freedom. If you were to evaluate his overall policies toward the market?

Personally, I think his approach toward the markets is positive. North Korean marketplaces should quickly grow and introduce the capitalist mode of production, in order for it to receive recognition in the global community and improve the quality of its people’s lives. So I don’t view this trend of marketization in a negative light. But if these marketization policies are temporary and short-lived, I think that would be a problem.

These policies have, to some extent, resolved the problems that the people face in making ends meet. That’s why there would be huge implications if they start cracking down on markets or if they shut them down just because conditions have improved somewhat for people. There have been many instances in which the markets were shut down during Kim Jong Il’s time, because there were concerns things would get out of control and lead to unwanted rumors. I hope that’s not the case with Kim Jong Un.

3. Some say that Kim Jong Un is earning an enormous amount of capital through the marketplace. Government funds are secured through means such as market taxes and mobile phone sales. What do you think of this?

You can say that government funds are being secured through the markets. Market fees are collected based on the size of the stall, and the types of items sold. These taxes are no doubt added to the state coffers and used for state finances, but it is speculated that a portion of it goes to Kim Jong Un. North Korea is fundamentally a suryong [supreme leader] economy. Since the suryong has complete control over the nation’s channels of money, you can say that everything is owned by the state and by extension, the suryong.

But it’s not that all profits earned from the markets go to the leadership. This is because part of it is owned by individuals. This is why in the North, we now have people called donju [new affluent middle class] who have in essence become capitalists. These are the people who get to own some of the profits.

One illustration would be the mobile phone market, where it costs about 50 USD to import a handset from China, which is then sold for roughly 200-300 USD. The profits from this are pocketed by the North Korean government, but it is said to be split roughly by a 3:7 ratio: 30% goes to the vendor, and 70% goes to Office No. 39 under the Central Party, where it is used for leadership funds. Most is spent on the various projects that Kim Jong Un puts forward.

4. Some believe that this movement of marketization will help stabilize Kim Jong Un’s regime. What do you make of this?

Along with the stabilization of prices thanks to the boom in market activity, living standards have improved, so it seems this has helped quell some of the disgruntlement people had. North Korea promotes this improvement as an achievement of Kim Jong Un, so public support for the leader has remained somewhat steady. If you look at surveys on defectors, you’ll see that Kim Jong Un has about a 60% support rate. Of course, this figure is lower than that of Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il, but it’s still a very high approval rating, and it can be attributed to the policies that have helped stimulate market activity.

5. But there’s also the belief that the proliferation of markets will trigger a change in values among people. They say the ‘jangmadang [marketplace] generation’ value the markets more than the state, so their loyalty is getting weaker. What would you say to this?

A change in values will inevitably occur. During Kim Il Sung’s rule, people strongly believed that their livelihoods would be taken care of by the leader through state rations. As a result, they had strong loyalty towards the leader. On the other hand, after experiencing the Arduous March of the mid-1990s, as neither the Party nor the leader could provide for them, doubt began to spread. So recently, love and passion towards the family and self are becoming stronger than their devotion towards the leader, state and Party.

6. Along with these market-friendly policies, people are also saying consumption is improving. Particularly in Pyongyang, the increase of things such as apartments and cars has led many to believe that this is the effect of marketization. Could you please tell us about some of the changes that we’re seeing in people’s everyday lives?

It goes without saying that a boom in market activities will lead to a change in thoughts among the public. Individualism rather than collectivism and nationalism develops, and this also leads to a change in actions. According to existing rules, the sale of apartments or homes is not allowed since the property belongs to the state. Instead, the type of exchange in North Korea is essentially not for the right of ownership, but the right of usage. Yet the exchange for the right of usage itself is still in conflict with the practice and rules of socialism. While it used to be that one would be punished for this if caught, it has now become so commonplace that the state security and people’s safety officials just turn a blind eye to it.

Also, modes of transportation such as taxis in Pyongyang have increased. This shows that the movement of Pyongyang residents has become more active, and the need for long distance transportation has increased. As the markets become more active, jobs normally found in capitalist societies are emerging, and bureaucrats related to these changes are accepting more bribes as corruption becomes worse.

7. Though the quality of life for people has improved to some degree, unwanted side effects cannot go unnoticed. As the reach of the private economy expands, the planned economy has collapsed, the gap between the rich and the poor has grown, and other factors of instability have increased.

It is true that with the expansion of the private economy, there has been a collapse of the planned economy and the wealth disparity has increased. The top one percent’s earnings are 18 times more than the majority of the lower classes. The rate of factory operations has started to increase, and this is because wealthy donju are finding ways to cut corners and pay money to reopen those factories to pocket the profits.

While there are still food shortages, and many are stuck in absolute poverty, we can say that the very fact that the above events have become prominent indicates that the elements of production from capitalism are being introduced, making it not entirely a bad thing.

8. Lastly, it seems that Kim Jong Un will continuously look for ways to manage this marketization trend, given the side effects it can produce. What kind of measures do you think we might see in the future?

I think we might see a repeat of marketplace regulation and tolerance. In other words, on one hand he will overlook market activities so that it will improve people’s livelihoods, but if it swells to the point that it threatens the regime, he will likely immediately and ruthlessly control it. I think we’ll see a repetition of that.

Nonetheless, as seen in history, things continue to move forward. Ultimately I believe that North Korea will inevitably reach a point where it will have to officially introduce a market economy.

*Translated by Sean An

 

[SunWukong]

Power equipment imports rise on back of state push for energy solutions

Seol Song Ah | 2016-02-01 18:09

In line with the emphasis placed on resolving the problems with North Korea’s power supply in Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s Address, trading companies are importing equipment needed for power stations and power transmission in large quantities from China. Moreover, state emphasis on green energy has seen a marked jump in the number of solar panels entering North Korea as of late.

On the 28th, our Daily NK reporter spoke with a source in North Pyongan Province, who informed us that state-run enterprises and organizations are jumping in response to the instructions from the Central Party to "mobilize the strength of whole Party and nation to resolve the energy supply problem." In order to increase the developmental capacity of the country, the Party is emphasizing working together to actively develop underutilized natural energy resources and import not only equipment for power stations but also general electronic goods into North Korea on a large scale.

Sources in Pyongyang and South Pyongan Province corroborated this news.

Recently, the import of automatic switches and alternating current contactors as well as other supplies needed for power stations from China has been massive. The equipment is produced by relevant manufacturers in Tianjin and Shanghai before making its way to North Korean-helmed trading companies that send the goods through customs in Dandong to arrive in Sinuiju for distribution.

“Orders from the Central Party have come down putting trading companies on emergency alert to import the supplies needed to modify and reinforce aging thermoelectric power plants in central and eastern areas of Pyongyang, and the Bukchang Thermoelectric Power Plant. Chinese-made contactor prices range from 35-500 yuan per device, and North Korea has imported $30,000 worth of contactors and automatic switches in January alone," the source explained.

In addition to parts for power stations, she added, electronic accessories are pouring into the nation's ever-expanding web of official markets, driven by demand from consumers who are eager to snatch up goods like electric chargers, batteries, cables, and telephone cables.

Also, the rapid rise in popularity of solar power among North Koreans as a comparatively reliable source of electricity has quickly given way to a variety of solar panel make and designs pouring into the country. Where ordinary consumers harnessing the sun's rays via Chinese-made panels, higher-ranking cadres import and utilize variants from places as close as right below the DMZ to others all the way across the world, namely Egypt.

Most are on the hunt for the relatively expensive products produced in electronic superpowers like Japan or South Korea, but stringent customs regulations officially prohibit the importation of anything save Chinese products. But as expected in modern North Korea, these measures prove little barrier to cadres with the right connections and experience, able to exert pressure on customs officials to allow Japanese and/or South Korean products to pass through for their personal use.

"Failing this, resorting to bribery is an ironclad, and frequently implemented, backup plan," the source pointed out.

However, at least where solar panels are concerned, their needs may be met at home sooner than they think. In a promising sign for domestic production, some state-run factory management officials, keen to get a leg up and capitalize on the renewable energy trend, are looking to manufacture solar panels themselves, and have already begun importing the raw materials to do so from China.

*Translated by Natalie Grant

 

[SunWukong]

Plea to strengthen domestic consumption contradicts cadres' taste for foreign goods

Seol Song Ah | 2016-02-01 11:05

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is emphasizing the need to focus on domestic manufacturing and consumption of homemade goods to counteract the nation’s unhealthy reliance on imports. In actuality, however, high- level Party cadres continue to show a preference for foreign goods when it comes to everything from home appliances to beverages.

In a telephone conversation with the Daily NK on January 29th, a source from North Pyongan Province said, “These days, the authorities are trying to use the [state-run publication] Rodong Sinmun and lectures to stimulate the consumption of domestic goods. However, these pleas are contradicted by the behavior and purchasing patterns of the cadres, who have continued to buy foreign goods. This trend underlines one of the ways cadres live a double life, saying one thing while serving in their official function, and then behaving a different way when they are not.”

This was substantiated by reports from two additional sources: one in Pyongyang and another in South Pyongan Province.

He continued, “Upper level cadres wear foreign clothes, use expensive, German [or what they believe to be German] home appliances, and snap up Russian and Japanese goods when given the opportunity. The clothes, appliances, furniture, and foods that these cadres get from foreign sources using bribe money exceeds the amount they get using legitimate means.”

The Cuckoo brand rice cooker made in South Korea has continued to be imported through China’s Dandong City through customs at the North Korean border town of Sinuiju. It is an item that is expressly forbidden by customs regulations, but the cadres openly use their authority to facilitate the inward flow of the popular rice cookers, the source said, noting, ”As Seollal [Lunar New Year] approaches, Chinese goods will continue to be imported legally, but South Korean products will continue to be smuggled in as well."

Meanwhile, he added, North Korean authorities are lecturing and emphasizing how important it is to be an independent economy. This is in response to the impending sanctions from America and the broader international community following the regime’s 4th nuclear test. By continuing to rely on outside nations and failing to develop home grown economic power, North Korea’s enemies will succeed in their objectives, authorities argue.

However, by shoring up local resources and economic independence, sanctions and blockades will be less effective. That is why the regime is encouraging residents to contribute to the production and consumption of domestic products.

“It doesn’t matter how much Kim Jong Un expounds on the importance of economic independence. North Koreans already have the mentality of preferring foreign goods. It is not likely to wither away just like that. Even three-year-old children know that even the General [Kim Jong Un] has an affinity for foreign products. In witnessing such hypocrisy, the people can do nothing but laugh," the source asserted.

When purchasing foreign goods, cadres are said to like more than just products from China, which are largely used as foreign-currency earning methods by trading companies or sold in the markets to consumers. In fact, Chinese food products are regularly criticized by cadres and ordinary residents like for "containing loads of chemicals and being unclean."

“The donju [newly wealthy class] generally don’t let Chinese coffee touch their lips, preferring South korean brands if they have a choice. Failing that, they’ll go with Russian varieties. In terms of what bribes they would like to receive during the Lunar New Year, the donju said that South Korean products are best. Those thinking about giving Chinese or North Korean products should probably think again," he concluded.

*Translated by Jonathan Corrado

 

[SunWukong]

Vast benefits for Kim's domestic team

Seol Song Ah | 2016-02-02 17:07

The team of personnel assigned to attend to Kim Jong Un’s personal needs are known to receive special favor and high- ranking status in North Korean society simply by virtue of their proximity to the great leader, Daily NK has learned.

A Daily NK reporter recently spoke with a source in South Pyongan Province, who told us that people in these positions--Kim Jong Un’s barber, tailor, typist, and masseuse, for example--are all tethered to the Cadres' 5th Section. They don military uniforms and are referred to as “royal guards," a distinction typically reserved for the Escort Command legion, [the unit tasked with guarding leader Kim Jong Un and the Kim family].

A source in North Pyongan Province and a source in the nation’s capital, Pyongyang, corroborated this news.

According to the source, staff overseeing all aspects of Kim's domestic and residential life are instilled with such an air of superiority that “they even look down on Hwang Pyong So, director of the Korean People’s Army General Political Bureau.”

Possible job placements span an array of fields, but all are directly related to the young leader’s personal care. A dynamic roster of at least 30 individuals ready to fill positions in any of the given sectors is always available. Among the most coveted of the personal care positions is that of the young leader’s personal masseuse, described by the source as a beautiful young woman and takes home a salary and treatment equal to that of vice-ministers within the Central Party.

“People on this list never know when they might be called upon to start work. Because of that they can’t even marry freely. However, only half of those on the waiting list will ever actually have a chance to serve the leader,” she explained.

The selection process is rigorous, beginning with cuts at the provincial level until dozens of pictures of healthy, high-ranking women are culled and passed on to the Cadres 5th Section for final selections based on Kim Jong Un's known preferences.

Such long odds prove little deterrent for hopeful prospects because "securing a position can transform an ordinary worker's life overnight," she explained, adding that despite having never spent a day in the military, "working for the leader automatically puts one on par with soldiers."

But despite their high rank, these simple workers have never received any special training-- like the Escort Command envoy--for their work. “Just because somebody cuts Kim Jong Un’s hair he or she is basically untouchable.” the source asserted.

However, as quickly as this privilege is conferred can it also be taken away. Kim Jong Un’s personal nurse, chef, and a host of others must get daily health checkups to ensure they are free of contagious diseases. Even if family members or these staff members come down with an illness they are forced to leave their positions immediately.

“Following this forced retirement they must sign a nondisclosure agreement promising not to reveal anything that they have seen in their line of work, and are then sent back to where they originally came from,” she explained.

As far as those on the outside peering into the world these positions open up, the source stated, “In the recent past, even if a young man put in 10 years with a front-line military unit, built up a good reputation, and ate the same measly rations the whole time, he’d have trouble moving up to the rank of a major. So when you look at the benefits enjoyed by those under the Cadres' 5th Section [in domestic and residential positions] they’re just beyond the pale.”

*Translated by Natalie Grant

 

[KimJongilia]

Seeking promotion, soldier arrested for looting elementary school

Kang Mi Jin | 2016-02-02 16:05

Multiple gifts bestowed on a Pyongyang elementary school by Kim Jong Un were stolen last month, leading to the arrest of an administrative supply soldier at a reserve military training unit, who said he had carried out the act to curry favor with a high-ranking cadre, Daily NK has learned.

“There was a burglary at Unha Elementary School in the Ryongsong district around mid-January, and the perpetrator was later apprehended,” a source from Pyongyang told Daily NK on Monday. “The individual is an administrative soldier at a reserve training unit near Unha Scientists’ Street, so the atmosphere there is pretty fraught.”

An additional source in the capital corroborated this news.

He continued, “What’s adding to this is the fact that the man arrested for the crime claimed, ‘This was not just for my own benefit. I won’t go down for this alone,’ implying there were others involved, and that’s why his brigade is on high alert."

The pilfered gifts included a computer, television, and musical instruments that Kim Jong Un had presented to the school in 2013 after conducting an on-site tour. The offerings were touted as evidence of the “supreme leader’s benevolence,” and as such, the failed burglary attempt will not be treated like an average theft.

“If it were just a simple burglary, it could have ended with a labor-training sentence, but there’s already word from the judicial office handling it that will not be the case,” the source said. “Stealing presents gifted by the Marshal (Kim Jong Un) is bad enough, but the fact that he sold it and used the money to pay up bribes to high-ranking cadres is worse, so everyone who has ties with this individual is under interrogation."

The leadership is highly sensitive to the issue of “doing damage to the highest dignity,” and is expected to interpret the recent incident in the harshest light possible. "Kim Jong Un may deduce that his fearpolitik path has yet to root out the issues of corruption and bribes and try to use this instance to set an example--execution looming in the most severe case ,” speculated the source.

Strong reactions are already brewing among those in the lower echelons of society. Many point their fingers both at the soldier who chose such extreme measures to climb up the ranks as well as the high-ranking cadres inciting these corrupt practices. Incidents like this one, according to the source, fan the flames of exasperation among those forced to sustain a system of ubiquitous bribery among cadres in order to survive.

“People say that officers practically leave soldiers with no choice but to steal, and they’ve been very critical of the State Security Department agents and Party cadres who took bribes at the training unit," he reported.

“As far as the soldier in question, who jumped at the chance to carry out the school heist during winter vacation while students were out collecting compost and scrap metal, people comment on the audacity he would have had to to muster up to rob a school to get a promotion."

Some people even joke that the General’s (Kim Jong Un’s) gifts have “played into the hands of this bribery culture.” While the incident will likely invite tighter monitoring accompanied by myriad events underscoring Party loyalty, North Korean residents, all too familiar with this predictable chain of events, note that “none of it will last long; the bribery issue will persevere," he concluded.

*Translated by Jiyeon Lee

 

[KimJongilia]

Three Party cadres flee, SSD in pursuit

Seol Song Ah | 2016-02-05 12:10

North Korea has dispatched a compact special team of State Security Department [SSD] personnel to China tasked with the capture of three wanted Party cadres: two who fled from North Korea and one who fled his post in China. The sweep comes amid an uptick in cadres hatching escape plans, citing anxiety instilled by Kim Jong Un’s penchant for fearpolitik tactics.

A source close to North Korean affairs currently residing in China told Daily NK on Thursday that the three-man task force has not only been combing through the usual border area locals-- Shenyang, Yanji, etc.--but extended the search as far inland as Beijing. An additional source in China, also personally involved with this matter, corroborated this news.

The task force has been commanded to exercise absolute discretion, attempting to covertly track down the wanted parties by canvassing areas including, but not limited to, North Korean consulates, restaurants run by the North in China, and trading operations headed by the Korean-Chinese community.

Wielding photos of the escapees and leaving no stone unturned in its expansive search, "the team is feverishly doing everything it can to arrest and repatriate these Party cadres," he said.

Pyongyang has hitherto dispatched agents from the SSD and General Reconnaissance Bureau to arrest defectors and those who overstay their personal travel permits in China, sending cohorts of some 150 agents to do the job at times. This, the source said, spurred by Kim Jong Un’s “repatriate escapees without question” directive.

However, the decision to send such a small group on this occasion is unusual, and indicative of how desperate the state is to try to keep this incident under wraps.

“The team has only requested help from managers who double as SSD undercover informants at foreign-currency earning offshoots in China. They secretly monitor and report back on the activities of their assistant managers and other employees," he said. "Also, the help they’ve solicited from the Korean-Chinese community has only come from those with a reputation for being tight-lipped and a longstanding trade relationship with North Korea."

But no degree of stealth can match the power word of mouth commands, with rumors already flying about the prominent escapees among the North Korean community in China. Said rumors point to the possibility for one of the defectors in question to be among “some high-level officials at overseas post said to have recently and suddenly severed the line of communication,” according to the source, who reasoned that the state will not grow the task force for fear of inciting more speculated.

Worryingly for the task force agents, failure to bring in the defectors is only excused by locating their whereabouts, and “if they can’t even figure out that much, they would find it hard to save their own lives,” he explained.

On some occasions, if these agents are neither able to locate the escapees nor arrest them, they look for other ways to produce results and sidestep repercussions from more senior officials. Forging documents is one way, by making them appear as though the persons of interest have fled to South Korea or were murdered.

“Other methods involve going after droves of regular defectors to try to produce tangible achievements,” he said, adding that this is why North Korean refugees hiding in China, already vulnerable to forcible repatriation at the hands of the Chinese authorities, should exercise extra caution under these conditions.

*Translated by Jiyeon Lee

 

[KimJongilia]

​

 

[KimJongilia]

New pleasure craft in North Korea’s Nampho port

50-meter craft pictured for the first time in satellite imagery, possibly used by DPRK leadership

Leo Byrne
February 5th, 2016

Satellite imagery of North Korea’s Nampho port reveals what appears to be a new 50-meter pleasure craft, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA).

The boat which was first spotted by Curtis Melvin at the U.S.-Korea Institute in Washington D.C., and can be seen docked at the naval headquarters of North Korea’s West Sea fleet.

“There are no other publicly available satellite images of this ship anywhere in North Korea, so it is either new or well-hidden in previous satellite imagery. Also, the boat appears to primarily be a lake or river craft (long and short), not something adept for negotiating the open seas,” Melvin told NK News.

“No visitors have reported seeing or photographing this boat. We are under the impression that this boat was imported, at one point or another,” Melvin added, though admitted more me definite proof had so far been hard to come by.

The boat was pictured nearby a naval parade which took place down river. The event was not mentioned in North Korean media, but involved hovercrafts, submarines, gunboats and even what look to be jet-skis, leading to speculation members of North Korean leadership were in attendance.

When not in the water the pleasure craft could be housed in a part of Pyongyang’s Taesong district reserved for use by the North Korean elite. Melvin said the boat house is the only one in the area large enough to accommodate the pleasure craft.

The new boat joins a number of other pleasure craft visible on satellite imagery around the DPRK’s coasts. In 2013, an NK News investigation revealed Kim Jong Un’s $7 million yacht, originally manufactured by British company Princess.

UN sanctions prohibit the sale of pleasure craft, cars and other luxury items to North Korea, but patchy implementation often means that prohibited goods can still find their way across the DPRK’s borders.

“We have begun examining luxury river and lake watercraft from China, Russia and Europe to try and find a match for the satellite image,” Melvin said.

 

[KimJongilia]

Fragile habitats devastated by fisheries push

Choi Song Min | 2016-02-03 16:23

Following Kim Jong Un’s calls for the nation to glean all it can from what the young leader dubbed an “ocean abundance,” the subsequent and sustained pursuit by North Korea's fisheries legs to scour the surrounding seas has caused widespread damage to its marine resources.

“Recently, the Cabinet’s Ministry of Land and Environment Protection published a report on the ocean ecosystem and preservation of marine habitats,” a source from North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on January 27. “According to the report, fish populations had been returning to healthier levels in the West Sea [Yellow Sea] but these destructive practices exercised by the fisheries offices are rapidly reversing that progress.”

Two additional sources in South Hamgyong Province corroborated this news.

The fisheries units have been conducting excessive fishing without any consideration of scientific methods aimed at conservation and imitgating repercussions on the environment. "This all comes on the back of Kim Jong Un’s orders to produce a wealth of supply for fisheries," he said. "Accordingly, military-affiliated fisheries arms have utilized destructive, indiscriminate methods like bottom trawling and either destroyed or diminished a number of prominent fish species’ habitats."

Moreover, Kim Jong Un has already toured military fisheries operations and awarded those who have well performed at the Korean Workers' Party [KWP] Central Committee building on two separate occasions, further encouraging proactive fishing work by others hoping to measure up and gain recognition.

“Our former General [Kim Jong Il] conducted endless ocean patrolling and crackdowns through surveillance agencies in the name of protecting marine resources,” the source asserted, stating that the former leader even issued a mandate from the National Defense Commission banning bottom trawling, and for other spells, banned fishing boats from going out to sea.

Where these measures did extend some degree of protection to marine ecosystems, the lack of safeguards further inland quickly saw the mountains go bare. Conversely, he noted, rather than seeking a more balanced approach, “Kim Jong Un has slapped restrictions on land cultivation for reforestation efforts but encouraged reckless pillaging of the ocean.”

*Translated by Jiyeon Lee

 

[KimJongilia]

North Korea may be preparing to launch missile any day after bringing time frame forward

US President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with President Xi Jinping of China, North Korea’s main ally and neighbour, and agreed a North Korean launch would represent a “provocative and destabilising action”.

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 06 February, 2016, 7:43pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 06 February, 2016, 7:44pm

Reuters in Seoul

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: Reuters

North Korea may launch a rocket that it says will carry an earth observation satellite as soon as Sunday, after bringing forward and shortening the time frame for the launch, the Japanese and South Korean governments said on Saturday.

North Korea had earlier told the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) it would launch the rocket some time February 8-25, triggering international opposition from governments that see it as a long-range missile test.

Japan and South Korea said North Korea had issued a Notice to Airmen that the launch would take place some time between Sunday and the following Sunday, February 14.

Isolated North Korea says it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme. But it is barred under UN Security Council resolutions from using ballistic missile technology.

Tension has been high on the Korean peninsula following the North’s fourth nuclear test, on January 6. A rocket test now would compound fears about North Korea putting a nuclear warhead on a missile that could reach not only South Korea and Japan but possibly even the west coast of the United States.

North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, sending into orbit an object it described as a communications satellite.

The new time frame was set amid rising expectations that a launch was likely to happen soon, with US government sources on Friday saying North Korea could be ready by the US Super Bowl kickoff on Sunday, which will be Monday in Korea.

Satellite images of North Korea’s Sohae rocket launch site show apparent fuelling activity seen in the past shortly before a rocket launch, said Washington-based 38 North, a North Korea-monitoring project.

The IMO, a United Nations agency, did not immediately respond to a Reuters query for confirmation. The International Telecommunication Union, another UN agency, said it was not aware of an amended time frame for the launch from North Korea.

On Friday, US President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with President Xi Jinping of China, North Korea’s main ally and neighbour, and agreed that a North Korean launch would represent a “provocative and destabilising action,” the White House said.

Obama and Xi also said they would coordinate efforts to respond to North Korea’s nuclear test last month and said they would not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapon state.

“The leaders emphasised the importance of a strong and united international response to North Korea’s provocations, including through an impactful UN Security Council Resolution,” the White House said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticised North Korea in remarks made on Friday in Namibia, according to a report released on the Chinese foreign ministry’s website, calling on the UN Security Council to take further action.

The United States and China have appeared divided over how to respond to North Korea, with Washington urging tougher sanctions and Beijing stressing the need for dialogue.

Japan has said it would shoot down the rocket if it threatens the country, and on Saturday accelerated the deployment of two additional PAC-3 missile units in response to the revised launch time frame, a Japanese defence ministry official said.

 

[KimJongilia]

‘Serious questions about North Korea sanctions’: Leaked UN report raises doubts about whether measures against Pyongyang have had any effect

The recommendation could put pressure on China, North Korea’s main supporter and chief supplier of goods, which appears reluctant to step up measures for fear of heightening regional tensions.

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 06 February, 2016, 1:26pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 06 February, 2016, 1:26pm

Kyodo in Seoul

A North Korean soldier at a launching site in Tongchang-ri. Photo: AP

Despite multiple rounds of sanctions to penalise North Korea for undertaking its prohibited nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, the country continues to advance its efforts, calling into question the United Nations sanctions regime, according to excerpts of a UN report.

The report also mentions a drone found on a South Korean island bearing a resemblance to Chinese-made drones and recommended expanding a ban on unmanned aerial vehicles, currently limited under previous Security Council resolutions.

The recommendation could put pressure on China, North Korea’s main supporter and chief supplier of goods, which appears reluctant to step up measures for fear of heightening regional tensions. The report is to be presented to the Security Council next month.

The report argues that North Korea has been “effective” in evading sanctions laid out by past resolutions, the first of which was imposed nearly a decade ago, after its first nuclear test. It also calls for blacklisting several more individuals and entities and increasing dissemination of information about the various sanctions in place.

“Given the stated intentions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, its continued efforts to enhance the scope of its nuclear and missile programmes, as well as to seek international acceptance and legitimacy for these prohibited programmes, there are serious questions about the efficacy of the current United Nations sanctions regime,” the report says, referring to the country’s official name.

The document, produced annually by a group of experts under the Security Council’s sanctions committee on North Korea, takes note of the country’s fourth nuclear test on January 6.

Meanwhile, the Security Council is considering how to craft a new set of sanctions to respond to the latest provocation. Council members such as the United States and Japan are calling for tougher measures.

As to why the sanctions regime has failed to deter Pyongyang, the report cites “the low level of implementation of the resolutions” by member states. This could stem from an apparent lack of political will, inadequate legislation and lack of understanding of the resolutions, as well as regarding the measures as a low priority.

The panel thus encourages “non-reporting” member states to comply with their reporting obligations through regular open briefings and regional meetings.

The recommendation on expanding the export ban to include drones with an autonomous flight control and navigation capability follows the panel’s investigation into North Korean drones. They have made headlines in recent years after they crashed in the South.

According to the report, a North Korean drone with an autopilot that landed in the South bears “distinct similarities” to the UV10 produced by Beijing-based Microfly Engineering Technology Co. Microfly said in the report that the model was sold to RedChina Geosystems, which equipped it with the autopilots. They also declined to identify “other buyers”.

Satellite imagery shows the Sohae Satellite Launching Station. Photo: Reuters

The report points to possible intermediaries who channelled the drones to North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, a spy agency. Drones with a range of over 300km and a payload of more than 500kg are currently subject to the UN sanctions regime.

The drone that crashed into Baengnyeong island does not fit that criteria, according to last year’s Panel of Experts report. In this year’s report, however, the panel recommends blacklisting those with an autopilot, as well as with reconnaissance capabilities and navigation capability.

The report also calls for any systems, equipment or components specifically designed that could be integrated into drones to be added to the list of prohibited items.

Member states should “exercise due diligence” when exporting commercial drones with ranges below 300km and reconnaissance capabilities to North Korea as they could be used for military purposes, the panel advises.

The panel also called out Ocean Maritime Management Co – a North Korean shipping company previously blacklisted for weapons smuggling – for re-registering 14 of its 15 apparently in-service ships under new names.

Additionally, the panel said it has investigated several cases from at least eight countries that may violate the luxury goods ban.

It is also looking into two gold bullion shipments from Ghana to North Korea, among other instances of precious metals being shipped to the country.

The document was produced by experts from Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – the permanent five members of the Security Council – along with Japan, South Korea and South Africa.

 

[KimJongilia]

North Korea executes army chief of staff: Reports

Reuters
First posted: Wednesday, February 10, 2016 10:34 AM EST | Updated: Wednesday, February 10, 2016 10:55 AM EST

North Korea's army chief of staff Ri Yong Gil makes a speech in Pyongyang, on Aug. 24, 2014, in this still image taken from KRT file video footage. North Korea has executed Ri Yong Gil, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Feb. 10, 2016, which, if true, would be the latest in a series of executions, purges and disappearances under its young leader. (REUTERS/KRT via Reuters)

SEOUL - North Korea has executed its army chief of staff, Ri Yong Gil, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, which, if true, would be the latest in a series of executions, purges and disappearances under its young leader.

The news comes amid heightened tension surrounding isolated North Korea after its Sunday launch of a long-range rocket, which came about a month after it drew international condemnation for conducting its fourth nuclear test.

A source familiar with North Korean affairs also told Reuters that Ri had been executed. The source declined to be identified, given the sensitivity of the matter.

Ri, who was chief of the Korean People's Army (KPA) General Staff, was executed this month for corruption and factional conspiracy, Yonhap and other South Korean media reported.

Yonhap did not identify its sources. The source who told Reuters the news declined to comment on how the information about the execution had been obtained.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service declined to comment and it was not possible to independently verify the report.

The North rarely issues public announcement related to purges or executions of high-level officials.

A rare official confirmation of a high-profile execution came after Jang Song Thaek, leader Kim Jong Un's uncle and the man who was once considered the second most powerful figure in the country, was executed for corruption in 2013.

In May last year, the North executed its defence chief by anti-aircraft gun at a firing range, the South's spy agency said in a report to members of parliament.

The North's military leadership has been in a state of perpetual reshuffle since Kim Jong Un took power after the death of his father in 2011. He has changed his armed forces chief several times since then.

Some other high-ranking officials in the North have been absent from public view for extended periods, fuelling speculation they may have been purged or removed, only to resurface.

 

[KimJongUn]

Three Party cadres flee, SSD in pursuit

Seol Song Ah | 2016-02-05 12:10

North Korea has dispatched a compact special team of State Security Department [SSD] personnel to China tasked with the capture of three wanted Party cadres: two who fled from North Korea and one who fled his post in China. The sweep comes amid an uptick in cadres hatching escape plans, citing anxiety instilled by Kim Jong Un’s penchant for fearpolitik tactics.

A source close to North Korean affairs currently residing in China told Daily NK on Thursday that the three-man task force has not only been combing through the usual border area locals-- Shenyang, Yanji, etc.--but extended the search as far inland as Beijing. An additional source in China, also personally involved with this matter, corroborated this news.

The task force has been commanded to exercise absolute discretion, attempting to covertly track down the wanted parties by canvassing areas including, but not limited to, North Korean consulates, restaurants run by the North in China, and trading operations headed by the Korean-Chinese community.

Wielding photos of the escapees and leaving no stone unturned in its expansive search, "the team is feverishly doing everything it can to arrest and repatriate these Party cadres," he said.

Pyongyang has hitherto dispatched agents from the SSD and General Reconnaissance Bureau to arrest defectors and those who overstay their personal travel permits in China, sending cohorts of some 150 agents to do the job at times. This, the source said, spurred by Kim Jong Un’s “repatriate escapees without question” directive.

However, the decision to send such a small group on this occasion is unusual, and indicative of how desperate the state is to try to keep this incident under wraps.

“The team has only requested help from managers who double as SSD undercover informants at foreign-currency earning offshoots in China. They secretly monitor and report back on the activities of their assistant managers and other employees," he said. "Also, the help they’ve solicited from the Korean-Chinese community has only come from those with a reputation for being tight-lipped and a longstanding trade relationship with North Korea."

But no degree of stealth can match the power word of mouth commands, with rumors already flying about the prominent escapees among the North Korean community in China. Said rumors point to the possibility for one of the defectors in question to be among “some high-level officials at overseas post said to have recently and suddenly severed the line of communication,” according to the source, who reasoned that the state will not grow the task force for fear of inciting more speculated.

Worryingly for the task force agents, failure to bring in the defectors is only excused by locating their whereabouts, and “if they can’t even figure out that much, they would find it hard to save their own lives,” he explained.

On some occasions, if these agents are neither able to locate the escapees nor arrest them, they look for other ways to produce results and sidestep repercussions from more senior officials. Forging documents is one way, by making them appear as though the persons of interest have fled to South Korea or were murdered.

“Other methods involve going after droves of regular defectors to try to produce tangible achievements,” he said, adding that this is why North Korean refugees hiding in China, already vulnerable to forcible repatriation at the hands of the Chinese authorities, should exercise extra caution under these conditions.

*Translated by Jiyeon Lee

 

[KimJongilia]

Did North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un order the execution of his army chief of staff?

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 10 February, 2016, 6:25pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 10 February, 2016, 6:25pm

Reuters in Seoul

Ri Yong-gil, who is standing directly behind North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un in this 2013 photo was reportedly executed for corruption and factional conspiracy. Photo: Rodong Sinmun

North Korea has executed its army chief of staff, Ri Yong-gil, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, which, if true, would be the latest in a series of executions, purges and disappearances under its young leader.

The news comes amid heightened tension surrounding isolated North Korea after its Sunday launch of a long-range rocket, which came about a month after it drew international condemnation for conducting its fourth nuclear test.

A source familiar with North Korean affairs also told Reuters that Ri had been executed. The source declined to be identified, given the sensitivity of the matter.

Ri, who was chief of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) General Staff, was executed this month for corruption and factional conspiracy, Yonhap and other South Korean media reported.

Kim’s uncle Jang Song-thaek was executed in 2013 after a special military tribunal found him guilty of treason, only days after he was stripped of all posts and expelled from the ruling Workers’ Party. File photo: Kyodo

Yonhap did not identify its sources. The source who told Reuters the news declined to comment on how the information about the execution had been obtained.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service declined to comment and it was not possible to independently verify the report.

The North rarely issues public announcement related to purges or executions of high-level officials.

A rare official confirmation of a high-profile execution came after Jang Song-thaek, leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle and the man who was once considered the second most powerful figure in the country, was executed for corruption in 2013.

In May last year, the North executed its defence chief by anti-aircraft gun at a firing range, the South’s spy agency said in a report to members of parliament.

The North’s military leadership has been in a state of perpetual reshuffle since Kim Jong-un took power after the death of his father in 2011. He has changed his armed forces chief several times since then.

Some other high-ranking officials in the North have been absent from public view for extended periods, fuelling speculation they may have been purged or removed, only to resurface.

 

[KimJongilia]

South Korea punishes Pyongyang for rocket launch by halting work at Kaesong joint industrial park

Closure of the industrial zone, the last functioning inter-Korean joint project and a key source of hard currency for North Korea, is certain to further escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 10 February, 2016, 5:39pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 10 February, 2016, 5:39pm

Associated Press in Seoul

About 54,000 North Koreans are employed by about 120 South Korean companies operating factories in the zone, which opened in 2005 to combine South Korea’s capital and technology with North Korea’s cheap labour. Photo: Reuters

South Korea said Wednesday that it would suspend operations at a joint industrial park with North Korea in response to the North’s recent rocket launch, the first time in the park’s decade of operation that Seoul has halted work there.

The move comes after North Korea on Sunday launched a long-range rocket considered by other countries to be a banned missile technology test.

South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said at a news conference that the suspension of operations at the industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Kaesong would stop the North from using hard currency earned there to develop nuclear and missile technology.

The industrial zone is the last functioning inter-Korean joint project and a key source of hard currency for North Korea. Photo: EPA

The park, which started operations in 2005, has provided 616 billion won ($560 million) of cash to North Korea, Hong said.

South Korea’s government will provide financial compensation to companies that operate at Kaesong, Hong said. It will begin pulling South Koreans from the park on Thursday.

There was no immediate reaction to the move from North Korea.

The park is the last major cooperation project between the rival countries. Combining South Korean initiative, capital and technology with the North’s cheap labour, it has been seen as a test case for reunification. Last year, 124 South Korean companies hired 54,000 North Korean workers to produce socks, wristwatches and other goods.

North Korea launched a rocket Sunday purportedly to put an Earth-observation satellite into orbit - an action widely seen as a cover for testing its ballistic missile technology - and conducted in early January its fourth nuclear test, both in defiance of earlier UN Security Council resolutions. Photo: Reuters

South Korea’s government and companies invested more than 1 trillion won ($852 million) to pave roads and erect buildings in the zone, which lies in a guarded, gated complex on the outskirts of Kaesong, North Korea’s third-largest city.

South Korean companies in Kaesong survived during past periods of tensions that led to the suspension of other inter-Korean projects. A major interruption to the park’s operation happened in 2013, when North Korea pulled out its workers in protest of South Korea’s joint military drills with the United States.

 

[KimJongilia]

Pyongyang expels South Koreans from Kaesong industrial zone, orders military takeover

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 11 February, 2016, 8:27pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 11 February, 2016, 8:27pm

Agence France Presse in Seoul

South Korean vehicles returning from North Korea's joint Kaesong Industrial Complex pass the customs, immigration and quarantine office near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea. Photo: AP

North Korea on Thursday expelled all South Koreans from the jointly-run Kaesong industrial zone and placed it under military control, saying Seoul’s earlier decision to shutter the complex had amounted to a “declaration of war”.

Pyongyang said it was seizing the assets of all the 124 South Korean companies operating factories in Kaesong, which lies 10km across the border inside North Korea.

In a key move, it also cut two key communication hotlines with Seoul, leaving authorities in the South scrambling to verify the status of up to 250 South Koreans believed to have been in Kaesong when the expulsion order was issued.

“We will make the utmost efforts to make sure that all our nationals return home safely,” Seoul’s Unification Ministry said in a statement.

But reporters near the border crossing said very few vehicles had passed back into the South.

During a previous surge in tensions over Kaesong in 2013, South Korea’s defence minister had mentioned a contingency plan, “including possible military action” if the safety of citizens in the estate came under direct threat.

The North’s aggressive measures marked a significant escalation of cross-border tensions that have been elevated since North Korea carried out a nuclear test last month and a long-range rocket launch on Sunday.

Seoul had announced on Wednesday it was closing down operations at Kaesong, and the North said it would now experience the “disastrous and painful consequences” of that action.

Cargo on an overloaded vehicle slumps off to the side after arriving from the Kaesong joint industrial zone, outside a military checkpoint in Paju on February 11, 2016. Photo: AFP

By shutting Kaesong, the South had destroyed the “last lifeline” of North-South relations and made a “dangerous declaration of war”, the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) said in statement.

Relations between the two Koreas have always been volatile, but analysts said the current situation risked turning into a full-blown crisis.

“Now we can say that all strings between the Koreas have been cut and that there are no more buffers,” said Ko Yoo-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

“An escalation of tensions is inevitable, and I see further trouble ahead with Kaesong and the issues of seized assets, especially if North Korea militarises the zone,” Ko said.

All South Koreans were ordered to leave Kaesong by 5pm Pyongyang time (4.30pm Hong Kong time) and told they could take nothing but their personal possessions.

The North also said it had ordered a “complete freeze of all assets,” including raw materials, products and equipment.

The owners of the South Korean companies in Kaesong had sent more than 100 empty trucks into the North on Thursday morning in the hope of bringing out as much as they could.

Several people who crossed into the South early in the morning said they had noticed an increased military presence in Kaesong, including armed soldiers carrying backpacks and sleeping bags.

South Korean soldiers stand guard on the road leading to the Kaesong joint industrial zone at a checkpoint of the CIQ immigration centre near the Demilitarized Zone. Photo: AFP

Despite the ban on removing anything beyond their personal belongings, a few trucks that managed to cross the border around the time of the expulsion order were carrying factory materials.

“No one stopped us when we were moving our goods into the truck,” said Park Seung-gul, the manager at a textile company in Kaesong.

Defending its decision to halt operations at Kaesong, Seoul said North Korea had been using the hundreds of millions of dollars in hard-currency that it earned from the complex to fund its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

The move was slammed as “utterly incomprehensible” by the Kaesong company owners who said their businesses were being destroyed by politics.

Born out of the “sunshine” reconciliation policy of the late 1990s, Kaesong opened in 2004 and proved remarkably resilient, riding out repeated crises that ended every other facet of inter-Korean cooperation.

Earlier in the day, the United States signalled its own unilateral moves against North Korea, with the US Senate unanimously adopting a bill expanding existing sanctions.

 

[KimJongilia]

Seoul cuts power to factory park after North Korea puts it under military control and expels workers

PUBLISHED : Friday, 12 February, 2016, 1:34pm
UPDATED : Friday, 12 February, 2016, 1:34pm

Associated Press in Seoul

South Korean owners of factories in the suspended inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex attend an emergency meeting held by the council of South Korean companies operating in the park, in Seoul, South Korea, on Friday. Photo: AP

South Korea has cut off power and water supplies to a factory park in North Korea, officials said on Friday, a day after the North deported all South Korean workers there and ordered a military takeover of the complex that had been the last major symbol of cooperation between the rivals.

It is the latest in an escalating standoff over North Korea’s recent rocket launch that Seoul, Washington and their allies view as a banned test of missile technology. The North says its actions on the Kaesong complex were a response to Seoul’s earlier decision to suspend operations as punishment for the launch.

Goods topple from an overloaded truck as it crosses into South Korea after departing from the Kaesong Industrial Complex on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

On Thursday night, the 280 South Korean workers who had been at the park crossed the border into South Korea, several hours after a deadline set by the North passed. Their departure quashed concerns that some might be held hostage, and lowered the chances that the standoff might lead to violence or miscalculations.

But they weren’t allowed to bring back any finished products and equipment at their factories because the North announced it will freeze all South Korean assets there.

The North also said it was closing an inter-Korean highway linking to Kaesong and shutting down two cross-border communication hotlines.

“I was told not to bring anything but personal goods, so I’ve got nothing but my clothes to take back,” said a manager at a South Korean apparel company at the complex, who declined to give his name, speaking by phone before he crossed to the South.

Chang Beom Kang, who has been running an apparel company in Kaesong since 2009, said from South Korea that his company has about 920 North Korean workers – who didn’t show up Thursday – and seven South Korean managers at Kaesong.

He said one of his workers, who entered Kaesong earlier Thursday, was about to cross the border to return to South Korea with thousands of women’s clothes produced at the factory. But at the last minute the employee had to drive back to the factory to unload the clothes because of North Korea’s announcement that it would freeze all South Korean assets there.

“I’m devastated now,” Kang said by phone, saying he’s worried about losing credibility with clients because of the crisis.

Seoul’s Unification Ministry said in a statement Friday that it had stopped power transmissions to the factory park. Ministry officials said the suspension subsequently lead to a halt of water supplies to Kaesong.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen since North Korea carried out a nuclear test last month, followed by the long-range rocket launch on Sunday that came after Seoul had warned of serious consequences.

In one of its harshest possible punishment options, South Korea on Thursday began work to suspend operations at the factory park. Seoul said its decision on Kaesong was an effort to stop North Korea from using hard currency earned from the park to pay for its nuclear and missile programmes.

The North’s reaction was swift.

The country’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement later Thursday that the South’s shutdown of Kaesong was a “dangerous declaration of war” and a “declaration of an end to the last lifeline of the North-South relations.”

Such over-the-top rhetoric is typical of the North’s propaganda, but the country appeared to be backing up its language with its strong response.

The statement included crude insults against South Korean President Park Geun-hye, saying she masterminded the shutdown and calling her a “confrontational wicked woman” who lives upon “the groin of her American boss.” Such sexist language is also typical of North Korean propaganda.

North Korea, in a fit of anger over US-South Korean military drills, pulled its workers from Kaesong for about five months in 2013. But, generally, the complex has long been seen as above the constant squabbling and occasional bloodshed between the rival Koreas, one of the last few bright spots in a relationship more often marked by threats of war.

A group of people braved the rain for hours on the southern side of a cross-border bridge on Thursday anxiously waiting for their family members and co-workers to return to South Korea.

“I don’t think I want my husband to ever work in Kaesong again,” commented a woman who declined to give her name but said her husband was a manager at Taesung, a maker of cosmetics products.

“Whenever the North does something provocative, we worry about our loved ones,” she said.

The factory park, which started producing goods in 2004, has provided 616 billion won (US$560 million) in cash to North Korea, South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said.

Combining South Korean initiative, capital and technology with the North’s cheap labour, the industrial park has been seen as a test case for reunification between the Koreas. Last year, 124 South Korean companies hired 54,000 North Korean workers to produce socks, wristwatches and other goods worth about US$500 million.