Archive for May, 2014

Weekend fun: Pyongyang tilt shift

Friday, May 16th, 2014

It has been a long time since I did a “fun” post. Since there are so many North Korea bloggers and writers these days, it is hard to find as much unique material to highlight, or by the time you get around to it, 15 other North Korea bloggers and news organizations have already posted it… This post has been in my draft folder for ages, however, so I should probably just get it out there…

Miniature Pyongyang

Several photographers have been able to use a tilt-shift photograpy to create “miniature” pictures of the DPRK. I find them fascinating. Here are some of the pictures I have found online:

PY-tilt-shift-2014

Full size photos and others like it can be found here.

Here is a tilt-shift photo of the DMZ.

Here and here are two more great examples captured from the Juche Tower.

Here is a photo of the Juche Tower.

Here is one of the Kim Il-sung statue in Chongjin.

Share

Market prices stable despite lean period

Friday, May 16th, 2014

According to the Daily NK:

Rice prices in North Korea remain stable despite the arrival of the April-May “spring hardship period,” inside sources have conveyed to Daily NK.

Spring months are usually tough because food supplies run low as North Korea, with its relatively low level of external trade in foodstuffs, waits for the early domestic potato harvest at the end of June. This in turn impacts market rice prices; in May 2012, the price of a kilo of rice skyrocketed by 20% in a single month.

However, this year has been a good one. Sources convey that a kilo of rice is trading in Pyongyang, Sinuiju and Hyesan for 3700, 3850 and 3900 won respectively. This is consistent with preceding months, and below the 4000 won mark initially recorded last December.

The price of corn, often used as a cheap substitute by low-income households when rice gets expensive, is also showing a stable or downward trend. At 800-1000 won per kilo, it is 500 won less than it was in April.

Several factors are contributing to this relative stability, a Hyesan source contended. Firstly, work units on cooperative farms are bringing their stores of rice to market in bulk payment for resources for the planting season. Secondly, May has seen a small decrease in the exchange rate, and this has helped to keep the rice price down in terms of imports.

“It’s the spring planting season and work units have to purchase resources like diesel and fertilizer. People say that ‘rice is money,’ and now they’re selling rice they had stored from last year to purchasing farming products. This means there is enough rice in the markets and the price is stable,” the source said.

A Pyongyang-based source also reported stable market prices, as well as consistent state ration delivery in April.

“The authorities have been continually distributing rations and there is sufficient rice in the markets. More people are buying meat including pork because some laborers had a wage increase. The rice price could drop even further,” he assessed.

Nevertheless, experts in Seoul assert that rice prices could be negatively affected by current dry conditions in the country’s western breadbasket zones

Cho Bong Hyun of the IBK Economic Research Institute clarified to Daily NK, “The recent price stability in North Korea’s markets is because of continuous distribution since the release of military rice reserves last year. Expectations around this year’s output could also impact prices further down the line. Some will plan to store rice if they anticipate this year being a lean one, which will in turn drive up the rice price.”

Read the full story here:
Market Prices Stable Despite Lean Period
Daily NK
Lee Sang Yong
2014-05-16

Share

DPRK expected to produce 1.9 mln tons of rice in 2014

Tuesday, May 13th, 2014

According to Yonhap:

North Korea is expected to produce 1.9 million tons of rice in 2014, the same amount that the country is estimated to have produced last year, the U.N. food agency said on May 13.

The figure represents an increase from 2010, 2011 and 2012 when North Korea’s average rice production reached 1.7 million tons, the Food and Agriculture Organization said in a biannual global food report posted on its website.

The report said per capita rice consumption in North Korea is forecast to reach 67.8 kilograms this year, compared with 65.4 kg from a year earlier.

It also said North Korea is forecast to produce 2.3 million tons of maize this year, compared with 2.2 million tons in 2013.

Rice is a key staple food for both South and North Koreans, though North Koreans also rely on maize due to chronic food shortages.

The North has relied on international handouts since the late 1990s when it suffered a widespread famine that was estimated to have killed 2 million people.

I spent a good 15 minutes looking for the report (which was never cited by name–sloppy reporting). If the report is to be found on the UNFAO web page, they sure don’t make it easy for a curious person to find.

Read the full story here:
N. Korea expected to produce 1.9 mln tons of rice in 2014: U.N. food agency
Yonhap
2014-5-13

Share

Medical Science Conference & Women’s Health Initiative

Monday, May 12th, 2014

The Pyongyang Project is hosting an interesting conference in the DPRK. According to the organizers:

Overview

This mission seeks to develop educational contacts between foreign institutions and select DPRK universities, medical schools and hospitals. A visiting delegation of experts and academicians will provide interactive lectures for women’s health providers located at various sites in the DPRK. Delegate applications will also be considered from medical students and graduate students in the health professions. Themes for women’s health covered during this conference include:

• Reducing maternal mortality and neonatal death
• Improving GYN cancer screening and treatment (including breast cancer)
• Sharing new advances in treatment of miscarriage (and infertility)
• Updating community practice for routine wellness/health maintenance

Other themes, such as infectious disease, will also be covered if there is interest among delegates. While in the DPRK, delegates will interact with DPRK colleagues in a variety of contexts to discuss clinical questions concerning patient care. Evidence‐based research will be reviewed to discuss current best practice, as informed by international standards.

Program objectives are achieved across a range of settings inside the DPRK—either didactic lectures or less formal small group presentations. In addition, delegates will have opportunities to learn about women’s health issues in the DPRK, so the program facilitates a two‐way dialogue among all participants. This will be particularly beneficial to visiting doctors having questions regarding traditional Korean medicines, about which little is published outside the DPRK.

This program strongly encourages sustained academic partnerships between DPRK investigators and foreign colleagues on areas of shared research interest, and anticipates collaborative publications to follow in peerreview medical or scientific journals.

August 1st through August 10th, 2014.

There is a registration fee.

Learn more here (PDF)

Share

Kim Jong-un’s trip to Onchon AFB

Sunday, May 11th, 2014

Rodong Sinmun has reported:

[Kim Jong-un] visited the operational airfield in the western region together with Ri Sol Ju to guide “the Combat Flight Contest among Air Commanding Officers of the Air and Anti-Air Force of the KPA – 2014”.

This air demonstration took place in Onchon, part of Nampho City.

Onsong-AFB-KJU-visit-2014-5

Onsong-2-AFB-2014-5

Pictured above television and satellite images of the same AFB in Onchon.

Sunan Airport in Pyongyang is only about 32 miles (51km) from Onchon AFB, so if flown directly, the route would have just taken a few minutes.

sunan-onchon-2014-5

Some of the aircraft used in the show are not normally stored along the AFB runway. They could have been flown in from other airfields or they are stored underground at a nearby underground AFB:

Onsong-underground-runway

[Note: In an earlier version of this post I named it “Onsong” which was just a stupid mistake and pretty embarrassing. Never blog when you are in a hurry.]

Share

DPRK-Russia personnel exchanges and economic cooperation expand

Thursday, May 8th, 2014

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
2014-5-8

North Korea and Russia have been garnering attention lately as closer ties are being formed between the two nations through personnel exchanges and increased economic cooperation. It may even appear as though Russia has begun to edge out China as North Korea’s closest ally.
 
An event was held in Pyongyang on April 28, 2014 in celebration of Russia’s donation of dozens of fire engines to North Korea, openly showing the close ties between the two nations. In attendance were high-level officials from both countries, including Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev from Russia and Ro Tu Chol, Vice Premier of the Cabinet of the DPRK.
 
Through this ceremony, it can be seen that Russia is expanding the variety of goods and aid provided to North Korea, which mainly consisted of basic supplies such as food and medicine. In addition to the donation ceremony, many other events showing improved economic cooperation between the two nations were held that day. Such events include the signing of an economic and trade cooperation agreement between the DPRK’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Russian Federation’s Amur Regional Government, and the signing of a cooperation agreement between the railway transportation sectors of the DPRK’s Ministry of Railways and Mostovik Scientific and Production Organization, a large Russian corporation specializing in design and construction.
 
Prior to the ceremony, a delegation from the Russian Center for Energy and Security Studies visited North Korea from April 22 to 28, and another delegation from the Russian state of Sakhalin signed an economic cooperation and trade protocol with North Korea on April 24. The spur in Russian economic cooperation and high-level visits to North Korea seems to have started with Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, who ventured to Pyongyang late last March.
 
The recent development in relations between the Russian Federation and the DPRK is clearly reflected in North Korean state media, which in the month of April published nearly 200 articles mentioning Russia. Meanwhile, articles mentioning China numbered at a mere 120 during the same time period.
 
On the other hand, the exchanges between China and North Korea are on a downslide. An overview of North Korean media reports last month reveal that except for China’s National Tourism Administration friendship delegation that paid a visit to Pyongyang on April 25, no other exchanges were observed between the two nations last month. The DPRK-China trade volume for the first quarter decreased 2.83 percent to 1.27 billion USD from the previous year.
 
The fewer exchanges between China and North Korea are believed to have some connection to the purge of Jang Song Thaek which occurred in December 2013. Thus, the rise in recent exchanges between Russia and North Korea can be seen as North Korea’s effort to reduce its dependence on China.
 
The Kim Jong Un regime continues to emphasize the importance of diversifying trade for the country’s economic development. For Russia, there is a need to expand friendly relations with North Korea to widen Moscow’s political and economic influence on the Korean peninsula and gain access to more ice-free ports like North Korea’s Rajin Port. Moreover, this may be in line with Russia’s strategic effort to seek a breakthrough with the United States and other Western countries on the Ukrainian crisis by strengthening cooperation with North Korea.

NKeconWatch: 38 North has more analysis here.

Share

Who uses Rason’s ports? Lease confusion explored (UPDATED)

Wednesday, May 7th, 2014

UPDATE 2 (2014-5-7): The exact legal status of some of the ports remains a mystery. I have attempted to clarify and point out some of the remaining areas of confusion below.

Rason-port-9-2013

Pictured above (Google Earth): A 2013-9-14 satellite image of Rason Piers 1 and 2. Pier 1 (Top) is used by the Chinese. The Royale Star is docked at Pier 2.

When Jang Song-thaek was purged, among the laundry list of offenses he was alleged to have committed against the regime was this:

Jang made no scruple of committing such act of treachery in May last as selling off the land of the Rason economic and trade zone to a foreign country for a period of five decades under the pretext of paying those debts.

This phrase had Pyongyang watchers abuzz over whether Chinese contracts in Rason were in any danger of being violated by the North Korean government. Of course it was immediately unclear what enterprise(s) would be affected since we are all unaware of any significant deals reached in May of 2013.

A recent statement by a  North Korean official in the Hong Kong media has, however, raised the issue of contract credibility in the DPRK yet again.

According to Yonhap:

Chinese companies have not leased piers at a port of North Korea’s free trade zone, a Pyongyang official has told Hong Kong media, raising speculation that the shock execution of the North Korean leader’s uncle might have soured business ties with its key ally.

China reportedly agreed to invest about US$3 billion in developing the free trade zone in North Korea’s northern tip of Rason, formerly known as Rajin and Sonbong, in late 2011. The special trade zone sits across the border from China’s northeastern Jilin province.

There have been media reports that Chinese companies have leased two piers at the Rason port, but Kim Chun-il, a division chief of the port’s foreign business bureau, denied such reports during an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV.

Asked by a Phoenix TV journalist whether China won the right to exclusively use two piers at the port, Kim replied in Korean, “There are no piers that are specially used by the Chinese side.”

“They (Chinese people) have said so, but we have never formally rented out Pier 1 and Pier 2 to them,” Kim said.

The interview was made during a 72-minute special TV program on the Rason trade zone, which was aired on April 19. The program’s video footage can be seen on the website of Phoenix TV.

Kim said that Russia leased the Pier 3 at the port, adding that North Korea plans to modernize the two piers on its own.

The Chinese media did indeed claim at least once (see here) that they were “using” Piers 1 and 2. And Dr. Bernhard Seliger told us back in September 2012 that the Chinese were using the port, although no lease was signed [see below].

However, it is not true that the North Koreans have never announced an agreement on Pier 1 at Rason. I posted an article (back in March of this year) in which Choe Hyon Chol, section chief of the new State economic Development Commission, stated the following:

The Rajin Port, a transit trade port, is the hub of international cargo transit transportation and transport of exports and imports of entrepreneurs who invested in the zone.

The port has assignments to transport marine products for export from the East Sea of Korea and every kind of cargoes from and to northeast area of China and Far East Region of Russia.

The Rajin Port consists of three wharves; wharf No. 1 is designed to be renovated and operated by China Dalian Chuang Li Co., Ltd. and wharf No.3 by Rason International Container Transport J. V. Company to be set up according to the contract with Russian Rail Trade Co., Ltd.

I cannot imagine that a Chinese company is going to renovate and operate the pier without a clear contract. Of course the status of that contract is now called into question. Has the Chinese firm pulled out?  Have the North Koreans canceled the contract? Are North Korean individuals from different agencies just not on the same page? Who knows?

Still no word on Pier No. 2.

Great recent photos of Rason port by Ray Cunningham here.

You can read the Yonhap story here:
N. Korean official says no piers for China at special trade zone
Yonhap
2014-5-2

UPDATE 1 (2012-9-5): It appears the information in the original post is out-of-date now. So here is an update:

Pictured Above (Google Earth): Rajin Port

Dr. Bernhard Seliger of the Hanns Seidel Foundation writes in with an update on the Rajin Port:

The 80 year old port has three piers, of which the No. 3 pier is used by the Russians. They have a long-term lease (50 years starting in 2008) and while they are currently doing some work there, it is not being used for exports.

China is interested in using Pier No.1 (where it rents a warehouse to store coal) and Pier No. 2 (currently in use by the Koreans). Plans have also been expressed (now cancelled) to build 2 new piers (No. 4 and 5) (See here). For many years the Chinese and North Korean governments have negotiated a pier rental agreement, but for now there is no concrete result–though at numerous times it has been maintained that China already rented the port. What exactly the problems are is not known. For now China uses the port to bring coal from the northernmost Heilongang Province to southern China via a sea route, an event which took place twice this year.

Theoretically, the port as a handling capacity of 3 million sq. tons, however the maximum real handling was 800.000 tons in 1979, while last year it was 200.000 tons. The depth of the harbor is 9 m.

In a report from Xinhua (2012-8-28), the Chinese assert they are using ports 1 and 2.

China […] was using No. 1 and 2 piers, while Russia had leased No. 3 pier, said an official in charge of foreign affairs of the port.

So there is some discrepancy between the Chinese account and Dr. Seliger.

ORIGINAL POST (2010-5-23): What are the three piers at Rason used for? 

rajin-ports-thumb.jpg

The City of Rajin (Rason) has three ports (pictured above–click for large version).  According to a 1998 UNDP report, Pier No. 1 (on the right) was known as the “Russian-Japanese Bulk Fertilizer Terminal. It has now been leased by the Chinese. Port No. 3 (left) was formerly known as the Rajin Alumina Terminal.  This is now leased by the Russians (see here). A fellow North Korea-watcher tells me that Pier No. 2 is reserved for the North Koreans.

KBS recently ran a video on recent changes in Rason. I have uploaded the segment to YouTube (Apologies to readers in China).  You can see the video here.

On a side note, if anyone in China has the time and savvy to rip videos from my YouTube account and re-post them on Youku please go for it.

Share

DPRK – Nigeria agreement

Wednesday, May 7th, 2014

According to the Guardian (in Nigeria, not UK):

Nigeria and North Korea have embarked on a multi-focus trade strategy to further deepen the bilateral relations in the various aspects of national development of both countries .

These was contained in the joint communique issued at the end fourth session of the Nigeria -Democratic People’s of Korea (DPRK) two days meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

The communique said that the two countries recognized the need to further deepen the bilateral relations in the various aspects of national development , especially issues of common interest , and agreed to strengthen and enhance the level of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Both countries recognized the relevance of industrial development in nation building and pledged to re-invigorate Economic , Trade , Investment and Industrial cooperation .

The two countries also recognized the role of agriculture and food security to national growth and agreed to expand the scope and scale of cooperation in these areas of Agriculture , Stockbreeding and Fishery sub-sectors.

According to the communiqué, both countries expressed the desire to strengthen programmes and cooperation in the field of Education , and in this context agreed to share achievements and experiences in basic and secondary , vocational and technical , as well as education , and promote cooperation in identified and prioritized fields through exchange of education officials , university professors , guest lecturers, experts and researchers.

Nigeria and DPRK recognized the need for cooperation and exchange of information using modern technology between the public sectors of both countries and promote the private sector in Nigeria , and any other identified fields of common interest.

Speaking at the closing session of the event , the Permanent Secretary , Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Martin Uhomoibhi, noted that Nigeria has been supportive of North Korea in the multilateral setting .

According to him , the relationship between the two countries date back to 38 years ago when the diplomatic relations was established on May 25, 1976.

Commending the participants he said ” let me , at this stage commend the experts and officials of both countries for the zeal , commitment and diligent they have exhibited to ensure a very fruitful and successful 4th session of our joint commission .”

Meanwhile , the two countries agreed that the 5th Session of the joint commission will hold in Pyongyang at a date to be mutually agreed through diplomatic channel.

More in The Diplomat.

Read the full story here:
Nigeria, North Korea partner on bilateral trade, investments
Nigerian Guardian
John Okeke, Abuja
2014-5-7

Share

Loopholes in UN sanctions against North Korea

Tuesday, May 6th, 2014

A new article in 38 North by Hugh Griffiths and Lawrence Dermody.

Here is the introduction:

The latest United Nations report on North Korean sanctions has once again highlighted the role of foreign companies in cases of UN sanctions evasion. TheMarch 2014 report by the independent Panel of Experts assigned to monitor sanctions against the DPRK on behalf of the UN noted the widespread involvement of foreign companies.

A new SIPRI study backs up the UN report and goes further, showing that foreign company involvement in North Korean sanctions violations is not new and is more than just a trend-foreign companies and individuals travelling on foreign passports constitute an overwhelming majority of those identified as involved in the violation of both multilateral and unilateral sanctions dating as far back as 2004.While the majority of companies and individuals identified as involved in sanctions violations are either registered abroad or hold foreign passports, the international community continues to overwhelmingly target companies and individuals registered in North Korea. This targeting takes the form of “designations” by which the United Nations and the European Union together with countries such as Australia, Japan and the US order asset freezes on particular companies, as well as trade bans, and slap travel bans on named individuals traveling on North Korean passports.

These dynamics–identified for the first time in the SIPRI study–may have implications for policy-makers seeking to apply new rounds of sanctions on North Korea in response to any fourth nuclear test.

Most firms designated by the UN and the EU as well as Australia, Japan and the United States are North Korean-registered trading companies while virtually no North Korean transportation companies have been designated. In conREAD MOREtrast to trading companies which have few fixed assets and can easily switch name and other forms of corporate identity, transportation companies that utilize aircraft and ships are easier to monitor and track despite name-changes. Given the key role that transportation plays in the logistics of sanctions evasion, the SIPRI study provides a number of recommendations in support of these and other findings….

Share

North Korea food rations for Kim Il-sung birthday

Tuesday, May 6th, 2014

According to Yonhap:

North Korea doled out 420 grams of food to each person per day in April, the same amount as in the previous month, a news report said Tuesday.

Citing the U.N. World Food Program’s office in Pyongyang, the Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that last month’s daily food ration per capita was unchanged from March though the North marked the 102 birthday of Kim Il-sung, founder of the communist country and grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un.

The founding father died in 1994, and his birthday is one of the most important holidays in North Korea.

The RFA said April’s daily food ration was much lower than the 600 grams recommended by the U.N. agency.

North Korea’s daily food ration, which amounted to 400 grams in January, has been hovering at 402 grams since then.

The Washington-based Voice of America (VOA), meanwhile, said the WFP provided 2,405 tons of food aid to the impoverished country last month.

The food assistance in April was up 50 percent from March and the largest monthly amount this year, but it was much lower than the 4,093 tons provided during the same month a year earlier, the VOA reported.

The WFP has also suspended operations of five out of its seven confectionery factories in North Korea due to a fund shortage, the VOA said.

Read the full story here:
N. Korea rations 420 grams of food to each person in April
Yonhap
2
014-5-6

Share