NK NEWS BRIEF | June 26, 2013

One of the reasons change in North Korea is inevitable | Graphic: LiNK, featured in The Atlantic

NK INTERNAL

• Daily NK: Ri Yong-ho, former KPA Chief-of-Staff purged in July 2012, has had his name removed from the official funeral committee listing of KJI. High level defector: “Funeral committees are responsible for events held upon the deaths of supreme leaders, and their content and order is analogous to the domestic North Korean power structure itself.”

• New Focus Intl: In order to circumvent authorities’ crackdowns on viewing illegal foreign media and to cope with inconsistent power supplies, there is growing demand for miniature TVs/MP4 players with USB input ports that are capable of running on voltages as low as 12v.   

• RFA: A SKorean movie depicting the Korean War, “71: Into the Fire”, has been widely circulated around North Hamgyeong’s Chongjin city. Though authorities have gone to great efforts to arrest those responsible for its spread, a source inside NK commented, “It is insane to crack down on a movie that has already spread as far as possible.” Another source stated that although the movie’s popularity has died down, it left a “lasting impression” on those who viewed it.  

• AP on the dilapidated state of public health in NK, including antiquated technology and procedures, and statistics that display the backwardness of NK’s healthcare system. “Government health spending ranks among the world’s lowest, with one WHO estimate putting it at less than $1 per person in 2006.”

ECONOMY & FOOD SECURITY

• NK will offer a maximum 50 year lease on land for the economic development zones it wants to set up across the country to spur outside investment, similar to the leases in the KIC and Rason economic zones.

• Daily NK: NK is stressing the need to prepare for protection of the crops from annual flooding. Defector: “Due to the lack of cement, levees are only constructed of dirt and rocks. Just a little rain causes them to collapse, so we have to reinforce them again every year. People just sneer at their local cadres when the order comes to rebuild the levees, wondering what the point is when the same thing is going to happen the next year.”  

• According to the MOU, inter-Korean trade reached only 320,000 USD in May, 73 times less than the amount recorded for April.

HUMAN RIGHTS

• SK’s National Assembly adopted a resolution calling on NK to “instantly send Korean war prisoners back home” and to “accept Seoul’s request for cooperation to resolve relevant issues.”

• US State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report 2013: “In February 2013, five North Korean workers at a Russian construction site died because they could not escape the carbon monoxide-filled room where they were being confined; the door was locked from outside.”

• The BBC World Service’s plans to establish broadcasts for the NKorean people have been hit by a 2.2m GBP annual budget cut. BBC’s Peter Horrocks: “We’re still looking at the feasibility of it. We’ve always said if we can find a practicable and cost-effective means of doing it, it would be worth doing… This year it will be hard to [progress plans] because of the Foreign Office cut we had 10 days ago but it’s definitely on the wish list for the future.”

• SKorean students from about 10 universities have launched the University Students’ Council for North Korean Human Rights. “We, university students, will carry out various activities to encourage South Korean citizens to pay attention to the need to improve human rights conditions in the North.”

REFUGEES

• Defector Kim Hyuk speaks about his experience in NK, recounting some of the items he took with him while crossing into China. “The razor, you can use to slash yourself. And the safety pin, you can use it for getting out of handcuffs. You can also use it for suicide if you swallow it. If I had been repatriated to North Korea, I would have tried to kill myself.”  

• “Amnesty International believes the government of Laos violated international law and standards by forcibly returning these nine teenagers to North Korea where they at risk of punishment rather than providing them with international protection.”

• Video of NK’s propaganda ‘press conference’ with the nine young refugees repatriated from Laos (Korean).

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

• SK’s National Intelligence Service disclosed classified transcripts of a 2007 dialogue between then-President Roh and KJI regarding the disputed West Sea maritime border. Roh said he “shared the same perception” with Kim, who suggested both Koreas should create “a joint fishing area” or “a peace zone” around the NLL. But the transcript also shows that Roh made no clear remarks indicating that Seoul should give up the NLL. The opposition Democratic Party has accused the NIS of releasing the transcript to divert public attention from the indictment of its former director on charges of ordering a team of agents to start an online campaign to discredit opposition forces.

• In addition to denying human rights violations in his country, NK’s ambo to the UN Sin Son-ho used a rare press conference to call on UN members to ignore sanctions, urged direct peace talks with the US, and called for the dismantling of the “UN Command” in SK.

• China has agreed to a plan to expand a U.N. sanctions committee on NK and unveil the panel’s new blacklist. Under the plan, the sanctions committee will add another member to its group of experts.

• NK Tech: Anonymous initiated its June 25th cyberattacks. NKorean websites, SKorean and Chinese websites all went down. Anonymous has yet to produce the NKorean documents it promised in previous announcements.

• A newly published report by a U.N. Security Council committee calls on countries with diplomatic and commercial ties to NK to be on the lookout for illicit efforts by NKorean diplomatic envoys to secretly use their stations to proliferate and acquire nuclear technology.

• NK News: Reps from NK front company Hesong Trading Corporation allegedly offered 3,500km range missiles to a British arms dealer at a price of 100m USD each.

• SKorean KIC business leaders demanded access to their facilities to do necessary repair jobs by July 3, warning that otherwise they may have to take necessary steps to close their business and file for compensation. KIC firms reported losses closing in on 1 billion USD since the April closure.

ANALYSIS & OPINION

• The Economist: A guest lecturer recounts his experiences in PY, as he held discussions on economics with members of the finance ministry and central bank. “[During an interactive class exercise] The first spokeswoman suggested privatisation of the state-owned companies, to raise hard currency, and to foster competition to improve efficiency. Her group proposed raising interest rates to attract inward investment. It argued for time, to mitigate the consequences of austerity on the work force. Another group suggested adding value to the raw materials, by turning them into desirable finished products. A third suggested bringing in multilateral institutions to help tide people through the austerity drive. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Not least, I was shocked at how freely and easily they were speaking out.”

• Sokeel Park outlines six reasons change in NK is inevitable: Economic divergence, information flows, the explosion of corruption, refugees bridging back into NK, the Jangmadang Generation, and strengthening bonds between the people.

MISC

• Reddit AMA with a woman born in Pyongyang, who escaped and is now working as a prostitute in Macau.

NK News Brief acronyms.

Sign up to receive the NK News Brief by email here.

Donate

Your generous donation will rescue and support North Korean refugees.

Donate

100% funds programs.