NK NEWS BRIEF | March 14, 2014

A NASA image shows a recent night view of the Korean peninsula. Apart from a spot of light in Pyongyang, North Korea is almost cloaked in darkness, with China (top left) and South Korea (bottom right) on either side.

NK INTERNAL

• RFA: Miniature radios smuggled in from China are in high demand in NK as people desperately try to maintain contact with the outside world following a crackdown on visual media, according to sources inside the country. “The price of DVD players called ‘DVD’ and ‘Notel’ [portable DVD players] were approximately $65,” the source said, adding that the crackdown had caused prices for each brand to drop by nearly one-third to around $41. Conversely, as demand grows, the cost of miniature radios is beginning to climb. “The miniature radio used to be $4, but now it is hard to find even at $16,” he said of the units which typically are sold for around $1.30 in China—providing smugglers with a profitable markup.

• Daily NK: NK authorities imported new signal detectors that allow security agents to locate users of Chinese-made cellphones in border areas within minutes, resulting in a drop in the usage of cellphones. Source: “The seven arrested in Hoeryeong were suspected of attempting to escape to South Korea, and the families of those caught were investigated by security agents for 24 hours […] The security agents kept turning the cellphone on and demanding they reveal who they were speaking to. The families under interrogation had their hearts in their mouth, deeply anxious that a call would come through [when the agent was present].” It is unclear as to whether this latest measure will continue on the long-term as many believe that once the Supreme People’s Assembly elections wrap up [on March 9th] restrictions may ease. “But the measures have borne fruit, so it’s possible they will continue.” Source: “The people are now indirectly expressing their dissatisfaction, saying things like, ‘The only thing they are doing to realize the scientific and technological growth of the nation is keeping watch over the back of ordinary people’s heads.’”

• NK state media reported that KJU warned of a “cultural invasion”, reflecting concern over PY’s inability to keep the outside world at bay. KJU: “We must set up mosquito nets with two or three layers to prevent capitalist poison being persistently spread by enemies after seeping across the border into our territory.”

• Daily NK: In the SPA election season NK authorities ordered increased social control including additional surveillance and stepped up patrols.

• Daily NK on International Women’s Day in NK: The practice of celebrating emerged following the Arduous March of 1990s, when many women became primary breadwinners through market activity. Men would give gifts, buy food for the day, cook and manage the housework while women enjoyed their day off, gathering with friends to chat and play games. The celebration also differs depending on social class. Party cadres or men in the elite class who are primarily concerned about “face” are more likely to buy an expensive gift or food, rather than helping out around the house.

• KJU was elected to the highest legislative body without a single dissenting vote in his Mt. Baekdu district with 100% turnout. There was no one else on the ballot. The new parliament is expected to meet next month. US State Dept spokesperson: “I will simply say that is not a model for democracy around the world.” NK Foreign Ministry denounced Washington for “its failure to understand its electoral system.” “The spokesman for the U.S. State Department was so impudent to say that there is no democracy as regards the election… (The U.S) is ingrained with repugnance toward the Korean-style socialist system.” The NK Foreign Ministry further criticized the U.S. for “its dollar-almighty election system,” stressing that its citizens took part in the election “to consolidate the people’s power” while “fully enjoying their rights.” Ballots only have one candidate for each district. In theory, voters can choose “no,” but those who want to oppose the candidate need to cross out his or her name. It appears that KJU’s aunt Kim Kyong-hui was not elected to the SPA this time, suggesting her departure from PY politics.

ECONOMY & FOOD SECURITY

• WSJ: NK-China trade rose by 16% on-year to $546 million in January. NK-Chinese trade volume hit a record high of $6.54 billion last year as NK exported natural resources such as coal and iron ore, while importing fuel and electronics goods. KTIPA reported last year that NK’s bilateral trade with China accounted for 88% of Pyongyang’s entire external trade in 2012, up from 53% in 2005. KITA: Inter-Korean trade volume shrank 42% to an eight-year low of $1.15 billion last year, because the Kaesong complex was closed for several months after NK pulled out its workers.

• IFES: NK has been actively procuring large quantities of fertilizer since the beginning of 2014. In the past, the pattern has been to import Chinese fertilizer from March and peak during the April-to-July farming season. Import figures show that North Korea has begun to procure its fertilizer earlier than usual, beginning in January and February. This vigorous importing of fertilizer could be directly connected to the govt’s efforts to increase agricultural production.

• Daily NK: The recent increase in rice distribution and overall increase in purchasing power made the demand for corn to plummet significantly in the markets. One kilogram of rice costs 4000 won in Pyongyang, 43000 won in Sinuiju and 4400 won in Hyesan; a respective drop of 200, 200 and 100 won from the previous month. One kilogram of corn, on the other hand, can be bought for 1400 won in Pyongyang, 1550 won in Sinuiju and 1500 won in Hyesan; a 500-700 won drop from last month. It is also thought that the drop “may partly be the result of last year’s plentiful harvest and increased rice distribution in select regions, including Pyongyang. “It used to be that if the rice price was 4000 won then corn would be traded at around 2000 won. It appears now, however, that the corn price is falling irrespective of the rice price, and people are wondering why. They’re still not going out to buy it, though.” […] “When rice is expensive people get sick of corn and plan to eat rice again as soon as it becomes affordable.”

REFUGEES

• 600+ NK defectors who had originally resettled in SK are on the verge of being deported from Canada [back to SK] after their applications for refugee status had been rejected by the Canadian govt. Alarmed by a continued growth in the number of asylum requests, Canadian officials have reportedly tightened screening of qualifications. A SKorean embassy official said the two sides are in government-level consultations on the NK defector issue.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

• Reuters: The latest UN panel of experts report details how the NK govt “makes increasing use of multiple and tiered circumvention techniques” including front companies and their embassies to get round international sanctions, as well as more complicated financial countermeasures and techniques “pioneered by drug-trafficking organizations” that make tracking the purchase of prohibited goods more difficult.

• Daily NK: World leaders gathered in Seoul for the 5th Asian Leadership Conference to discuss NK including the prospect of unification. The CEO of Chosun Ilbo referred to NK as the “last frontier in the global economic system.” Former US SecDef Panetta assessed the US-NK relationship as one of a series of “provocation and accommodation,” saying that the only way to confront such a regime is with displays of strength, including the continuation of joint military exercises. Any progress on the Korean peninsula will require “complete and verifiable denuclearization,” he further noted. “North Korea must abide by international rules and regulations. Until then they can only be seen as a threat, an enemy and a potential attacker.” German PM Lothar de Maiziere also added: “The Berlin Wall did not simply collapse. Rather, the people made it happen. Unification was only possible due to the will of the East Germans themselves.” Other discussions included the dilemmas wrought by the KJU regime. CSIS Michael Green: “Keeping people on the brink of starvation is a form of control. […] the execution of Jang Sung Taek and the purge of the generals is not a sign of strength, but one of weakness.”

• WSJ: NK rebuffed SK’s latest request for talks on family reunions, saying “The setting and the atmosphere aren’t right.” The Unification Ministry also said NK sent a letter protesting against the air-dropping of informational leaflets, threatening to attack the sites where the balloons were being launched.

• Kerry urged the international community to pay more attention to what’s happening in NK. Kerry: “[North Korea] is an evil, evil place. And it requires enormous focus by the world in order to hold it accountable. And I think every aspect of any law that can be applied should be applied.”

• US missile defense official to Senate hearing: “With regard to missile defense, tangible evidence of North Korean and Iranian ambitions confirms that a limited ballistic missile threat to the homeland has matured from a theoretical to a practical consideration.”

• Washington Post: NKorean and Japanese Red Cross officials met in China to discuss the return of the remains of 21,600 Japanese who died at the end of WWII. Japan hopes the talks will be a step forward to the return of Japanese citizens kidnapped by NK in the 1970s and 1980s. NK and Japan have not had formal government talks since November 2012.

• WSJ: Baptist missionary, Kim Jung-wook, arrested for trying to build underground Christian churches in NK, appeared on state television, claiming to have worked under Seoul’s orders to “topple the North’s regime.” Chosun Ilbo: An unnamed source said 33 NKoreans who contacted or received money from the missionary face execution.

ANALYSIS & OPINION

• Kim Yonho report on Cell Phones in NK: “Kim Heung-gwang quotes a witness who graduated from Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang as saying that some soccer lovers communicated via text messages and ended up organizing a soccer club, which caught the authorities by surprise. He suspects that these unwanted developments might be part of the motivation for the government’s introduction and promotion of the new “1913 phone.””

• ICG: “Making Pyongyang abandon its nuclear weapons almost certainly would require more drastic actions, some of which could threaten Beijing’s bottom lines of no instability, no sudden regime change, no unified U.S. ally on China’s border… U.S. policymakers very likely see the limits of cooperating with Beijing, but at this stage choose to paper over differences in public… In short, there is little sign of Beijing moving towards Washington’s pressure-driven approach in the absence of Pyongyang crossing China’s red lines… China may be willing to apply pressure on North Korea to return to the Six-Party Talks. But when the table is set, Beijing will likely congratulate itself for fulfilling its responsibilities, and the ball will then be in Washington’s court as to whether talks alone are sufficient.”

• Daily NK: ‘Contrarian investor’ Jim Rogers referred to NK as a very hot investment market as unification is “just over the horizon,” at the 5th Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul. Rogers: Asia has the potential to become the world’s next region of prosperity and China has the potential to become the next world hegemon. A unified Korea would equate to a 75 million-strong labor force and access to abundant natural resources, while the opening of new and strategically vital ports could facilitate rising trade and commerce flows. A trans-Siberian railway linking Seoul with Europe could then become reality.

MISC.

• Kirby: “Because the BBC World Service is still such a globally respected voice, the revelations in the recent UN COI report demonstrate the special needs, and particular utility, of providing the BBC to the Korean peninsula.”

• UPI: Dennis Rodman vowed not to return to NK “if that is what Americans want.” “I don’t want people to look at me as the devil or an evil person. If I put anyone in harm’s way, I apologize. If you don’t want me to go back, I won’t go back.”

• Reuters: John Short, accused of promoting Christianity in PY, was released from imprisonment. Short: “I deeply apologise for what I have done by spreading my Bible tracts on February 16, the birthday of his excellency Kim Jong Il. […] I realise that the mass media of the USA and the western countries who say that the DPRK is the closed country and has no religious freedoms is inaccurate and wrong.” He signed a three-page handwritten confession written in English using language consistent with NK propaganda, with each page marked with his thumbprint in red ink.

• The Globe Theatre is scheduled to perform “Hamlet” in NK in September 2015. Amnesty International: “There’s a dark irony in the fact that Hamlet focuses on a prince wrestling with his conscience. Kim Jong Un is no Hamlet. Sadly he shows no sign of wrestling with his conscience.” Global Theatre: “We have always believed that cultural communication, and different peoples talking to each other through art, is a force for good in the world. […] Like all the best works of art, ‘Hamlet’ instigates discussion and dialogue, and like any theatre, we wish to play to, and interact with, as many people as we possibly can, in as diverse a range of locations as possible. We do not believe that anyone should be excluded from the chance to experience this play.”

• WSJ: NASA released a photo of the Korean peninsula at night. PY says economic progress is one of its main policy goals and NK has been touting progress in urban construction as well as large-scale development projects such as a ski resort. But power supply remains highly unreliable with regular blackouts. NASA: These differences are illustrated in per capita power consumption in the two countries, with SK at 10,162 kilowatt hours and NK at 739 kilowatt hour.

• AP’s Guttenfelder’s Instagram account featured in the Guardian. “Using a phone camera allowed his to take less formal shots that felt less invasive, and more intimate, particularly since North Korea lifted its own smartphone ban in March 2013.”

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