NK NEWS BRIEF | July 31, 2014

Young NKorean girls hold up signboards with the names of participating countries during an opening ceremony at the Songdowon International Children’s Camp, July 29, 2014. | Photo: AP

• DongA Ilbo, via Daily NK: On May 24th, 50 students from the prestigious “Pyongyang No.1 Middle School,” which is attended by the children of senior officials, died in a bus accident on the way to Songdowon Children’s Camp on the east coast. The students were traveling through the Masik Pass in Gangwon Province when their bus–which lacked seatbelts–overturned, killing all those aboard. This was allegedly the second serious bus accident this year, following another on the way to Masikryong Ski Resort in January that saw 30 lose their lives.
• Time: The Songdowon International Children’s Camp in Wonsan, a 30 year-old summer camp in NK, is supposed to help young foreigners get acquainted with the isolated country, attracting over 300 attendees from Russia, China, Vietnam, Ireland and Tanzania. Charging 270 USD per child, the camp boasts activities like cooking, volleyball, swimming at a private beach, boating and even access to a water slide. Accommodations include air-conditioned rooms with video games.
• Yonhap: NK has issued new 5000 KPW banknotes featuring portraits of KJI and KIS. The 5000 KPW note is the highest value bill in NK, and the move is likely intended to idolize KJI further.
• Yonhap: PY will likely resume the Arirang Mass Games in 2015 after skipping it this year due to renovation work at the event’s venue, according to Koryo Tours.
• Daily NK: Chosun Sinbo proclaimed that “killer heels” are trending on the streets of NK. Ri Mi Ok, a female manager at Potonggang Shoe Factory: “The trend changes so quickly here; it’s so hard to keep up. […] Women refuse to wear heels less than 5cm. Even the men, especially the younger ones, are into shoes that have high platforms and pointy toe boxes.” Defector: “PY women are influenced by Ri Sol Ju and the Moranbong Band, so they like to wear strappy heels. Some people say that this fashion taste runs contrary to socialism, but women rebut these accusations by pointing out that ‘even the Marshal’s wife wears them.’”
• Daily NK: The asking price for a basic men’s haircut is 1,000 KPW but fresh styles, mostly inspired by dramas, run up to 6,000 KPW (equivalent of 1kg of rice). “Using the latest South Korean products indicates social class and living standard so people are desperate to keep up. If people can’t follow the trends they are ostracized.”
• RFA: Top officers of one of NK’s crack army brigades have been sacked after soldiers under their command shot and killed a member of a powerful military unit tasked with providing security to KJU during a routine checkpoint stop.
• The Guardian: During the three hottest days of the year in mid-July known as “sambok”  both N/SKoreans feast on “samgyetang” (chicken soup with ginseng) and/or dog meat to “energize tired bodies and improve appetites.” NKoreans who cannot afford dog, chicken or rabbit meat eat “yujigo” (sticky rice, oil, eggs, and sugar boiled for 24 hrs) which is believed to prevent colds throughout the winter.

ECONOMY & FOOD SECURITY

• Yonhap: Six new SEZ’s including one in PY were announced by KCNA, bringing the total announced since last November to 19. Chinese professor Jin Qiangyi: “Many Chinese companies still feel daunted by doing business in the country because there is no clear policy to guarantee investors’ interests.”
• Yonhap: NK imported 58,387 tons of cereal crops from China in H1, down 53% from last year, according to Seoul-based KITA’s data. NK’s fertilizer imports from China also plunged 21.3% to 109,531 tons during H1. Prof Lim Eul-chul: “Of late, North Korea has appeared to move to reduce its economic dependence on China and diversify its foreign economic partners.”
• Yonhap: NK exported 1.87m USD worth of rare earth minerals to China in May and June after a 15 month break, according to KITA data. NK’s exports of anthracite coal fell 23% in the H1 to 571.2m USD compared to a year ago, while ironstone declined 5% to 120m USD.
• Yonhap: Seoul gave the green light for Hyundai’s Chairwoman Hyun to visit Mount Gumgang with a delegation of 22 Hyundai officials for a commemoration of her husband who died 11 years ago, and also to inspect Hyundai properties at the mountain resort.

REFUGEES

• Yonhap: ROK NIS changed the name of the “joint interrogation center” that investigates newly arrived defectors to “defector protection center.” The NIS has also ditched closed-door interrogations in a bid to enhance transparency and protect the human rights of defectors. With the ratio of female defectors being around 70%, the NIS also plans to hire full-time female attorneys.

HUMAN RIGHTS

• Daily NK: After a US State Dept report listed NK as one of the worst violators of freedom of religion in the world, Uriminzokkiri hit back with a video showing a NKorean church with a minister declaring, “The church provides basic resources for and guarantees that Christians can freely lead their religious lives.”
• Yonhap: Ambassadors from the US, France and Australia called on the UNSC to discuss the UN COI report on NK human rights violations.
• Reuters: Chosun Sinbo reported that “Bae said he had heard that the U.S. government is doing everything it can for his release but feels disappointment that there has been no sign of resolution when he is approaching two years in his stay in (the North) and that he feels abandoned by the U.S. government.”

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

• Yonhap: USG’s Glynn Davies called NK “increasingly a global outlier in every sense,” and said: “It is clear that UN sanctions are having an effect and are diminishing North Korea’s ability to profit from its illicit activities… Can China do more to exercise its unique levers of influence over Pyongyang? Of course. And we remain in close touch with Beijing about ways we can work together to bring the DPRK to the realization that it has no other viable choice but to denuclearize.”
• AP: ROK MOD reported that NK fired four short-range projectiles off its east coast. Although NK routinely test-fires missiles, artillery and rockets, the number of tests this year is much higher than in previous years.
• US DOD: “We are aware of… reports that the North Koreans fired several short-range ballistic missiles. Rather than spend their money polluting the waters around North Korea, they should spend their money feeding their people.”
• WSJ: US Treasury Dept put sanctions on two NKorean companies that allegedly tried to ship arms from Cuba to NK last year.
• AFP: 200 anti-PY activists launched 50 large helium balloons across the DMZ carrying 770 pounds of snacks including 10,000 Choco Pies from the border city of Paju.
• Yonhap: The US House of Representatives has passed HR 1771, the NK Sanctions Enforcement Act. It still needs to be passed by the Senate, and mid-terms are coming up in November.
• Yonhap: ROK military sources claimed that three NK MiG-19 fighters have crashed this year, leading to the suspension of drills involving the aircraft.
• Yonhap: ROK MOU: “For now, we have no plan to first propose (Asian Games participation talks) since the North Korean side unilaterally declared the failure of the previous meeting and walked out of it.” NK also plans to send six reporters to Incheon to cover the upcoming games.

ANALYSIS & OPINION

• Zachary Przystup: “The wheels of change are in motion in North Korea; the U.S and South Korea should grease them. First, they should increase funding for organizations that transmit foreign radio broadcasts into North Korea… Second, they should support NGOs—such as Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, Choson Exchange, and LiNK—that expose human rights violations in North Korea and provide training and exchange programs to North Koreans. Investing in the above strategies does not guarantee regime reform, but early returns tell us they are making a difference. That alone is more than can be said of any other attempt to bring change to North Korea.”
• Fast Company: A NKorean architect imagines the future (and it looks like the Jetsons).
• Chosun Ilbo: The US Air Force, seemingly worried US airmen posted in SK are not taking the mission seriously enough, are implementing a drinking ban and curfew for one month for new arrivals, encouraging DMZ tours and mandating anti-sexual violence education.
• Daily NK: Summer holidays for NKorean university students start early August and can last 10 to 20 days. A few opt to undergo plastic surgery during their time off, which remains illegal in NK, but the majority attend private lessons related to their field of study or engage in task-based learning arranged by their college. The concept of a part-time job is nonexistent, but many students offer private tutoring during such breaks. In contrast to the focus on Korean, English, and mathematics in SK, NKoreans tend towards subjects like art, music, and sport.
• VOA: NK imported an average of 19,000 bags (60kg per bag) of coffee per annum from 2000 to 2012, meaning about seven cups of coffee per person per year. Average yearly coffee consumption per South Korean is 2.037 kilograms, over 50 times greater than North Koreans.  

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