Archive for the ‘Domestic publication’ Category

Weekend fun: Iron Facebook curtain, DPRK at night, Photoshop fun

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Three sets of pictures related to the DPRK:

Iron Facebook CurtainThe first image obtained via Aid Watch presents a December 2010 map of Facebook connections.  Notice anyone missing?  (Egypt is there!)

You can see a high resolution version of this image here.

DPRK at night and economic growthThe second image obtained from Aid Watch compares growth in electricity coverage at night between the two Koreas.  This is the first image I have seen like this which makes side-by-side comparisons:

Click image for larger version

I overlaid these images to Google Earth to determine areas of relative growth and decline.  Surprisingly, Pyongyang and Chongjin showed dimmer and smaller electricity signals, indicating lighting was more prolific in 1992 than in 2008.  I would have expected their electricity signals to be just as, if not more, pronounced in 2008.

The areas of growth, where electricity signals are more (modestly) pronounced, include Kaesong (개성), Huichon (희천), Songgan (성간), Thaechon (태천), and Anju (안주).  Most of these are somewhat expected since they have received much publicized foreign (Kaesong) and domestic investment, particularly in power station development.

Also worth noting are the growth of lighting in South Korea and China.

Photoshop Fun: The third set of interesting images come from a Chinese reader who sends along these images from Korea magazine,  the monthly picture magazine published by the DPRK (See e-version here).  The images have been altered to give the impression of plenty.  Below see images of photoshopped goats, swimmers, and bread:

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DPRK focuses on CNC in 2011: Kim Jong-un’s birthday passes quietly

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
NK Brief No. 11-01-11
(1/11/2011)

On January 7, the Korean Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun ran an article introducing the Huichon Ryonha Machine Complex, which manufactures Computer Numerical Control (CNC) systems. The article appeared just before Kim Jong Un’s birthday, and the CNC system appears to be attributed to the youngest son of Kim Jong Il.

The newspaper introduced the machine complex by calling for advancements in the coming year, stating that the CNC system manufacturer “saved our country” and that it was the envy of everyone, catching eyes around the world. The article also proclaimed that “the fatherland” was “growing younger and stronger” with the implementation of vanguard-technology CNC, and that equipment filling a space the size of seven soccer stadiums was set to further the push for industrialization. The reference to ‘growing younger and stronger’ is thought to refer to Kim Jong Un.

In particular, the article stated that North Korea “is not a country that only answers the hardline talk of aggressors with a more hardline response,” and that the North “is not a country that answers the nuclear cudgel of the aggressors as a satellite-launching country or a nuclear country by name alone.” Rather, “the citizens living on this land will answer with vanguard technological breakthroughs” in the face of the economic and technologically dominant aggressors.

North Korea’s satellite launch and nuclear programs were credited to Kim Jong Il in both domestic and international propaganda. The article emphasizing ‘vanguard technological breakthroughs’ is part of a campaign in which the succession system and Kim Jong Un’s reputation are being built on economic and technological development. Increasing propaganda touting CNC technology, in particular, is reflective of the realization of Kim Jong Un’s leadership role.

On one hand, there were no special ceremonies on January 8, the first birthday of Kim Jong Un’s to pass since his official emergence into DPRK politics. In fact, according to the Daily NK, Kim Jong Un’s birthday is not acknowledged in the official calendars issued by Pyongyang at the end of last year.

Last year, North Korea recognized Kim Jong Un’s birthday as a special holiday, with laborers and farm workers all having a day off. Within the Party, the day is known as “the people’s holiday,” and there were internal celebrations attended by Party members. A source within North Korea explained to Daily NK, “with no official promulgation of a successor, it doesn’t make sense to make the Young General’s birthday a holiday.”

While it’s clear that Kim Jong Un will move up through the ranks to take his father’s leadership position, he has to first be officially established within the Party before his birthday can be celebrated on a national level. Furthermore, since the currency reform measures at the end of November, 2009, prices skyrocketed and the lives of the people grew more difficult. With the current atmosphere within North Korea, it would not benefit Kim Jong Un to be cast into the spotlight by politicizing his birthday.

In addition, North Korean authorities have been emphasizing the ‘battle’ for light industrial development and the improvement of the lives of the people through the New Year’s Joint Resolution and other articles in state-run newspapers and media, while the people of North Korea have been gathering in groups to have the joint resolution explained and the key points emphasized. In this situation, it appears authorities decided that public celebration of Kim Jong Un’s birthday would be distracting.

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Caveats on information originating in the DPRK

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

According to the Korea Times:

North Korea’s former premier Yon Hyong-muk died, presumably of pancreatic cancer in 2005. At the height of his career, he was the most powerful person in the North outside the Kim Jong-il family. He was premier of North Korea from 1989 until 1992.

He is the person who signed the South-North Basic Agreement in 1991. The agreement on reconciliation, nonaggression, exchanges and cooperation is regarded as the bible for inter-Korean relations.

This week, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that Kim Jong-il had killed him. Yon’s story is one of many stories making outsiders feel puzzled when they read news on North Korea.

Verifying reports on North Korea is quite elusive and puzzling.

For the past two decades, there have been occasional reports over the imminent collapse of North Korea. Then people wonder why this does not happen.

We are showered with a wide variety of news on North Korea daily. There have also been reports on the execution of North Korean technocrats. Later some of them appear at official functions again. Then people ask themselves whether some people concoct stories to undermine the North or for their political gain.

South Korean media often depend on refugees and their organizations which have their own agenda ― to harm the North Korean system or to work for the democratization of North Korea. These sources are familiar with how the North is ruled and understand the North Korean language. They often claim that they received specific pieces of information from their collaborators living in the North. Those sources of information were never confirmed, however.

Stories often sound interesting, and even believable, but have no proven grounds. The Japanese press is equally imaginative in reporting make-believe stories, but not credible factual stories, on North Korea.

RFA which is often quoted by South Korean news organizations, also depends heavily on North Korean refugees for its reporting.

In other words, many of the news stories reported in the press are unconfirmed stories. It is like saying, “We do not care if people believe it or not, but this is our story.’’.

Verification is not that difficult on such news on economic policy like currency reform, control over markets, daily life and the economy. If people hear more or less from different sources, it is probably true. However, such confirmation is only possible on news about market policies, prices and administrative regulations at lower levels.

Over half of all published reports on domestic power politics and succession, have eventually been shown to be false.

Over the last three to four years, each of the three sons of Kim Jong-il, as well as other members of his family were reported to be confirmed successors.

There is no way to prove the alleged power struggle or succession. Nothing can be done to substantiate such reports until official announcements are made.

Many South Korean news agencies quote North Korean defectors in publishing articles. Are these defectors representing North Korean society? Do they know the inside story of the regime? They may be talking about either end of an elephant. It is difficult to know everything about North Korea without knowing the full picture of an elephant.

A story on a defector is sometimes published as if it were representing North Korean society. News agencies sometimes boast that they have communication channels with many North Koreans inside the North. Is it really possible for North Koreans inside the tightly controlled society to communicate with the outside world?

Even different news agencies interpret the same North Korean story from their ideological angles. The conservative Chosun Ilbo and progressive Hankyroreh often publish the same article from different angles. We need to take them with a grain of salt.

Many online news outlets on North Korea have cropped up in South Korea. People wonder who sponsor these news outlets. They need money to run the news outlets. Without advertising, how can they stand on their own two feet? What are their purposes for running such news outlets? Are they seeking to topple the North Korean regime? Are they dedicated to reporting news without any bias?

They make daily reports on the North. It may be naive to believe all of them. It is also naive to distrust all of them.

In checking news on North Korea, we need some steps. First is common sense. Repeated news by different agencies and media may be true. All media in Korea copy Yonhap articles. We can also obtain technical data through Google Earth, open-source data, statistics from the U.N. and various sources such as JETRO, KOTRA, IAEA, WFP, NGO reports and International Crisis Group.

Human intelligence is also vital. They include defectors, visitors to North Korea, both former and incumbent diplomats in the North and government officials. Out of these sources, only defectors are willing to talk to the media or open source networks, and others will not speak to the media. Accumulated know-how based on expertise is also necessary. When there are reports, it may be safe to contact North Korea experts for verification or interpretation.

When the truth of news is difficult to confirm, it is difficult for policymakers to make a decision on North Korea. Whether accurate or inaccurate, news on North Korea has an impact on South Koreans and policymakers. Making a judgment on assumptions, not on facts, is quite risky and dangerous. Leaders need to be careful in commenting on North Korea as their impact is quite widespread. Talking about North Korea based on unconfirmed news is all the more dangerous.

Read the full story here:
Accuracy of reports on North Korea
Korea Times
Lee Chang-sup
2011/1/6

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2011 Joint editorial collection

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

Naenara has posted a summary of the DPRK’s annual joint editorial. You can read it in English here.  You can read it in Korean here.

For those of you unable or unwilling to access the Naenara web page, I created a PDF document which you may access here (English) and here (Korean)

Below I will maintain an updated list of media stories that cover the joint editorial.

Pictured above: Propaganda posters that “encourage the popular masses to carry out the militant tasks set forth in the joint New Year editorial” (KCNA)

Report 7 from IFES:

DPRK New Year’s Joint Editorial emphasizes light industry for improving the lives of the people
NK Brief No. 11-01-05-2
(1/5/2010)

In North Korea’s 2011 New Year’s Joint Editorial, the main theme was again the development of light industry in order to improve the lives of the people, just as last year, and emphasis was placed on Party leadership, self-reliance, and the principles of socialist economic management. Under the slogan, “Let’s bring about a decisive turn in the improvement of the people’s standard of living and the building of a great, prosperous and powerful country by accelerating the development of light industry once again this year,” light industry and quality of life improvements were again highlighted as part of the advance toward the 2012 goal of opening the doors to a Strong and Prosperous Country, but this issue was only lightly touched upon.

On the other hand, considerable space was allotted to the section on inter-Korean relations. Inter-Korean dialog and cooperation were emphasized, and the editorial positively evaluated its efforts toward unification, stating that “Last year our nation’s movement for the country’s reunification made dynamic progress even in the face of the vicious challenges of the separatist forces inside and outside.” In 2010, the Joint Editorial was more pessimistic, calling South-North relations “aggravated” by vicious maneuvers of “splittist forces.” This year, the editorial called for “all Koreans in the north, south and abroad join efforts and bring a new phase of independent reunification!” Under this slogan, Pyongyang appeared to take a very positive stance, citing the need to east tensions between the two Koreas, to remove the danger of war and safeguard peace, and to proactively promote dialogue and cooperation.

Under the banner of ‘national prosperity’, the article emphasized creating an atmosphere of dialog and cooperation between the two Koreas, and highlighted the need to diffuse the situation that the Lee Myung-bak government drove “to the brink of war.” Despite the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island incidents, the North maintained a consistent effort to reopen Keumgang Mountain tourist resort and other steps to repair inter-Korean relations. For North Korea, a tense military atmosphere between the two Koreas is not helpful in its bid to successfully reach its goal of a Strong and Prosperous Country by 2012 by building an economically strong state. Pyongyang also needs to manage relations with Seoul in order to improve relations with the United States and others.

The editorial calls for bringing about “a decisive turn in the improvement of the people’s standard of living and the building of a great, prosperous and powerful country,” and launching “an all-out, vigorous offensive for a breakthrough to realize the wish of the President to build a prosperous country, and thus greet the centenary of his birth as the greatest holiday of Kim Il Sung’s nation and a great event of humankind,” setting 2012 as the goal for opening the doors to a Strong and Prosperous Country. The editorial emphasized that “this year’s general offensive is a continuation of the grand onward march for improving the people’s standard of living, and its new, higher stage,” and is Party policy that “the improvement of the people’s standard of living should be regarded as the most important issue, the highest goal of its struggle, and carried through to the end.”

In the 2010 New Year’s Joint Editorial, Party policy was described as it’s “steadfast determination and resolve to have our people, who have weathered difficult hardships following the party, enjoy being blessed with socialism to their hearts’ content by having the achievements of the great upswing actually be allotted to the people, and to blossom into reality, without fail, the sublime intent and desires of the fatherly leader, who dedicated his entire life to the people.” This year, “light industry is the major front in the general offensive,” while “light industry and agriculture [were] the main fronts of the struggle” in 2010.

Regarding light industry, the editorial emphasized, “The sector of light industry should pay first and foremost attention to making the factories and enterprise . . . keep their production running at a high level,” and that they “should focus on the production of primary consumer goods and other necessities widely used in life, and expand and augment the overall production of other consumer goods.”

The economic section mentioned coal, electricity, iron and steel, as well as transportation as four vanguard industries, emphasized improvements in light and chemical industry, and said that “the agricultural front is the lifeline for solving the problem of people’s living.” The editorial also states, “Breaking through the cutting edge that all sectors should surpass in the shortest time the scientific and technical standards the world has reached,” on the basis of self-reliance and the principles of socialist economic management. The section would lead one to believe that North Korea needs Chinese-style reforms in order to develop its economy, yet it bases these campaigns on self-reliance and the socialist principles of “strict discipline . . . in planning, finance and labour administration.”

This year, North Korea’s New Year’s Joint Editorial continues to push for light industrial development in order to improve the lives of the people and open the doors to a Strong and Prosperous Country in 2012. However, now, after hammering out public financing during last year’s Party conference, the Party is reaffirming that development will be on the basis of “our-style” of reform.

Report 6 from KCNA: The Pyongyang rally has been posted to YouTube.

Report 5 in Yonhap:

About 100,000 North Koreans gathered Monday in Pyongyang to show support for their country’s economic push outlined in a New Year’s message, holding high the portraits of their leader Kim Jong-il and his late father, the communist state’s official media said.

The scene marks the latest in a series of mass rallies the North has organized nationwide since a joint press editorial on Jan 1. called for the revival of light industries ahead of a landmark year.

North Korea has designated 2012 as a moment in its history to rise as a “powerful, great and prosperous country.” The year marks the centennial birthday of Kim Jong-il’s father, Kim Il-sung, and analysts say the regime appears to be trying to improve people’s living standards in a bid to create a mood favorable for its second hereditary power succession underway in Pyongyang.

“Slogan boards were set up at the site of the rally, saying hurray to the revolutionary ideas of Great President Kim Il-sung and Dear Leader Kim Jong-il,” the Korean Central TV said.

Since his death in 1994, Kim Il-sung, who founded the country, has assumed the post of “Eternal President.” The impoverished North runs a massive cult of personality around the Kim family. Kim Jong-il is now grooming his third son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor.

The rally, which brought together a wide collection of propaganda flags, began with a hymn to Kim Jong-il, the television said, while the participants pledged to fervently carry out the New Year goals.

North Koreans are said to be forced to memorize joint press editorials released every New Year’s Day. The editorials are scrutinized by outside officials and analysts for hints into the isolated country’s political and economic plans.

North Korea this year also called for dialogue with South Korea despite tensions that arose when it shelled a South Korean border island and killed four people on Nov. 23. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said in his New Year speech on Monday that his country would retaliate harshly if North Korea provoked it again, even though he left room for dialogue open.

Analysts believe the North, one of the poorest countries in the world, will have difficulties reviving its economy unless it opens up for outside resources. The North, which fears outside influence may undermine its grip on the 24-million population, made little mention of a need to open up economically in its New Year editorial.

Report 4 in the Daily NK:

North Korea has asserted as its goals for 2011, “improvement of the people’s lives and constant pursuit of construction of the strong and prosperous state” through its annual “Common Editorial” carried by the three major publications of state; Rodong Shinmun, Chosun People’s Army and Youths’ Advance Guard.

The publications, which carry the propaganda of the Party, military and Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League respectively, released the editorial this morning under the heading, “This year let us realize a decisive change in improving the people’s lives and constructing the strong and prosperous state by once more accelerating light industry.”

Without mentioning nuclear issues or improving relations with the U.S., and only scant mention of the succession, the editorial mostly reiterated the contents of last year’s editorial; “improving the people’s lives through development of light industry and agriculture.”

This year’s piece started with an evaluation of the last ten years, calling it a “victorious decade” and asserting, “Juche 99 (2010) was the year when phenomenal issues which showed the strong and prosperous future happened in consecutive order.”

Specifically, it pointed to the Delegates’ Conference of the Chosun Workers’ Party as the biggest achievement of the last year.

Regarding the Delegates’ Conference, it went on, “It was a significant chance to raise the authority of the Party in all possible ways and reinforce and develop our Party into an eternal Comrade Kim Il Sung Party,” adding that the Conference was “the fundamental background for the succession and completion of the achievements of the Party and Juche revolution.”

In terms of Kim Jong Il’s activities, it defined the last year as “a historical year when the excellent leadership of comrade Kim Jong Il was displayed at the highest level,” and emphasized, “The General’s leadership work, which led the whole military and people into a brave, aggressive war, was truly extraordinary and intelligent.”

The editorial praised Kim Jong Il’s diplomatic activities, stating, “Two visits to China by the respectful General were historic trips to raise the conventional friendly relations between China and Chosun onto a new level which have prepared the advantageous surroundings for our revolution.”

This appears to suggest that the biggest of Kim Jong Il’s achievements was obtaining Chinese support for the Kim Jong Eun succession.

After the evaluation of the previous year, strategies, goals and major slogans for the New Year followed as normal, and as normal all is led by a quotation from Kim Jong Il; this year, “We have to bring forth the bright future of the strong and prosperous state through constant innovation and advancement, while harboring a deep faith in our victory.”

Regarding the economy, it stated, “This year’s all-out battle is the constant, enormous march for an enhancement to people’s live,” and “light industry is the primary frontier of the all-out battle.”

Among the most interesting points may turn out to be, “The movement of August 3rd people’s consumer good production has to be carried out actively,” which may suggest that the authorities are set to partially allow autonomy of production, an idea which stands apart from recent strong-armed attempts to return to the socialist economy of yesteryear.

August 3rd people’s consumer goods refer to all the necessities made independently with by-products or recycled materials from each factory, enterprise or collective farm to help them generate revenue.

The editorial also demanded indirectly loyalty to Kim Jong Eun, who became the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission under the Central Committee of the Party through the Party Delegates’ Conference in September, asserting, “Holding aloft the slogan, ‘Let’s defend the Central Committee of the Party surrounded by great comrade Kim Jong Il with our lives,’ we have to inherit solidly the precious tradition of believing absolutely and following the Party and Suryeong.”

It additionally implied that the North may take a hard-line towards South Korea this year, stating that, “The spirit of the People’s Army, which resembles its great supreme commander, is the fighting spirit of the Mt. Baekdu, and its way of reacting is through urgent and merciless annihilation.”

It also explained that the major reason for the latest confrontation between North and South is the South’s policy towards the North.

It asserted, “South Chosun authorities must come to the path of withdrawing their policy of anti-reunification, confrontation with the same nation and respect and implement the June 15 Joint Declaration and the October 4 Inter-Korean Summit Agreement.”

Saying, “If the flame of war bursts to life on this soil, there will be nothing but a nuclear disaster,” the editorial threatened, “The whole nation should never forgive the criminal maneuvers of pro-American and belligerent elements, which have dragged the situation into a war in collision with foreign forces.”

In conclusion, the editorial finished, “While unifying strongly around the Central Committee of the Party led by great comrade Kim Jong Il, let’s create decisive change in the construction of the strong and prosperous state with deep faith.”

Report 3 in  the Wall Street Journal:

The annual New Year’s message from North Korea’s authoritarian regime urged the country’s 24 million citizens as usual to work together for a stronger country, but it was more militant toward South Korea than last year’s statement was.

The message issued Saturday contained no signs of a new direction in overall economic and diplomatic strategy. It warned the South’s government to stop what it called “north-targeted war moves” and a “smear campaign” against it.

The New Year’s message is one of the few regular statements from Pyongyang that offer an opportunity to gauge the tone and direction of the regime, and is always a curiosity to outsiders because of its totalitarian language.

Running nearly 6,000 words in English, the message followed the usual pattern by first recalling the past year’s accomplishments. It then turned to focus on 2011 with a one-sentence declaration of purpose for the nation, which was immediately underlined by a quotation from dictator Kim Jong Il.

This year, Mr. Kim was quoted as saying, “We should bring earlier the bright future of a thriving nation by making continuous innovations and advance, full of confidence in victory.”

Most of the message focused on a long-promoted drive by the North’s government to build a “prosperous nation” by 2012, the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, who is Kim Jong Il’s father. The elder Mr. Kim founded North Korea and was its absolute ruler from 1948 until his death in 1994. Kim Jong Il in September 2010 tapped his youngest son, Kim Jong Eun, as heir apparent, in a sign the family will attempt a third generation of control over the nation of 24 million.

As in previous New Year’s statements, the last 1,500 words or so of the 2011 message were devoted to the tension between North and South Korea, which has spanned decades.

The message indirectly referred to North Korea’s Nov. 23 attack of a South Korea-controlled island, the first attack by the North on South Korean land since the war of the 1950s. The North in Saturday’s message again blamed South Korea’s government and “outside forces,” a reference to the South’s allies, the U.S. and Japan, for inciting the attack with “north-targeted war moves.”

“The danger of war should be removed and peace safeguarded in the Korean peninsula,” the message said. That was stronger language than it used in the 2010 New Year’s message, when it said, “The way for improving north-south relations should be opened.”

By contrast, the 2010 statement didn’t use the word “war” in describing the tension with the South. Instead, it called the South’s government “vicious” and urged Seoul to “refrain from committing acts that may aggravate the confrontation and tension.”

Both the 2010 and 2011 statements outlined a number of steps the South’s government should take to avoid trouble with Pyongyang. It urged Seoul to halt weapons purchases and end its military alliance with the U.S.

“Collaboration with outside forces leads to war and national ruin,” the 2011 message said. “The entire nation should never tolerate the criminal moves of pro-U.S. war hawks who stake their fate on foreign forces and drive the situation to the brink of war in collusion with them.”

The message also reiterated the North Korean regime’s oft-stated themes of independent development, which it puts into practice by limiting freedoms of its citizens, including their ability to travel and obtain information about the outside world while telling them there is no life better that the North Korean one.

“There are no party and people in the world as great as ours, which have an ever-victorious history and a highly promising future,” it said.

The New Year’s statement is printed in every major North Korean newspaper and read on state-run broadcasts. Its state news agency also distributed the entire message Saturday, along with seven separate news stories about it on that day and several more on Sunday.

Report 2 in the  Wall Street Journal:

North Korea’s authoritarian regime, in its annual New Year’s message, on Saturday underlined its desire to take over South Korea and warned the South’s government to stop what it called “north-targeted war moves” and a “smear campaign” against it.

Much of the nearly 6,000-word message repeated statements it made last year and in previous years. Most of it focused on a long-promoted drive by the North’s government to build a “prosperous nation” by 2012, the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, who founded North Korea and was its absolute ruler from 1948 until his death in 1994.

Mr. Kim’s son, Kim Jong Il, has led North Korea since then and, in late September 2010, tapped his youngest son Kim Jong Eun as his heir apparent, in a sign the family will attempt a third generation of control over the nation of 24 million.

As in the 2010 statement, the last 1,500 words or so of the 2011 message was devoted to the decades-long tension between North and South Korea. The Korean peninsula was divided by other countries in the aftermath of World War II. Since then, North Korea’s regime has spoken of “reunification” under its totalitarian leadership.

South Korea’s government, meanwhile, envisions a united Korea with its democratic government in control. The North’s government calls that vision “antireunification” and “treachery.”

“Today there is no more vital task than national reunification for the Korean people,” the North’s message on Saturday said. “The stand of attaching importance to the nation, the stand toward independent reunification, is the touchstone by which to distinguish patriotism from treachery.”

The message indirectly referred to North Korea’s Nov. 23 attack of a South Korea-controlled island, the first attack by the North on South Korean land since the war of the 1950s. The North in Saturday’s message again blamed South Korea’s government and “outside forces,” a reference to the South’s allies the U.S. and Japan, for inciting the attack with “north-targeted war moves.”

“The danger of war should be removed and peace safeguarded in the Korean peninsula,” the message said. That was stronger language than it used in the 2010 New Year’s message, when it said, “The way for improving north-south relations should be opened.”

The 2011 statement went on to outline a number of steps the South’s government should take to avoid confrontation, including a halt to weapons purchases and its military alliance with the U.S. “Collaboration with outside forces leads to war and national ruin,” the message said. “The entire nation should never tolerate the criminal moves of pro-U.S. war hawks who stake their fate on foreign forces and drive the situation to the brink of war in collusion with them.”

It called for “active efforts” to “create an atmosphere of dialogue and cooperation” between the two Koreas and said “free travel of and exchanges between people from all walks of life should be ensured.”

The message also reiterated the North Korean regime’s oft-stated themes of independent development, which it puts into practice by limiting freedoms of its citizens, including their ability to travel and obtain information about the outside world while telling them there is no life better that the one they are leading.

“There are no party and people in the world as great as ours, which have an ever-victorious history and a highly promising future,” it said.

The New Year’s statement is one of the main messages of the year by the North’s leadership to its people. It is printed in every major North Korean newspaper and read on state-run broadcasts. Its state news agency distributed the entire message, along with seven separate news stories about it early Saturday.

Report 1 in Yonhap:

North Korea called Saturday for defusing tension with South Korea, warning of a “nuclear holocaust” should another war break out on the peninsula, as the impoverished communist state made its last annual pitch for economic revival ahead of a landmark year.

A joint New Year’s editorial by the North Korean press did not make clear allusions to the country’s ongoing hereditary succession nor did it repeat the 2010 call for ending the state of enmity with the United States even though it did renew a pledge for denuclearization.

The editorial, considered a blueprint for Pyongyang’s policy goals, came amid the highest level of animosity between the Koreas in decades after the North bombarded a South Korean island on Nov. 23, killing four people in one of the worst attacks since the 1950-53 Korean War.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has vowed retaliation while Seoul and Washington have teamed up to conduct joint military drills in a show of force to the North and a warning against provocation.

“Confrontation between north and south should be defused as early as possible,” the North said in the editorial jointly released by Rodong Sinmun, Joson Inmingun and Chongnyon Jonwi.

“If a war breaks out on this land, it will bring nothing but a nuclear holocaust,” it said, arguing that war was averted last year because of “our persevering efforts” and calling for the creation of “an atmosphere of dialogue and cooperation” this year.

North Korea typically makes calls for dialogue with the South in an effort to extract politically motivated aid, which Seoul has suspended since President Lee took office in early 2008.

The North also demanded that the South end its series of military exercises, accusing Seoul of aligning with “U.S. war hawks” and driving the situation to the brink of war.

The New Year’s message came after Lee expressed his hope earlier this week for the resumption of multilateral denuclearization-for-aid talks on the North. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson of the U.S. visited North Korea last month and won a pledge from the North to allow the return of international nuclear monitors on its soil.

The series of developments signaled a growing mood for the resumption of the stalled talks that include the two Koreas, the U.S., Russia, Japan and China. The so-called six-party negotiations have not been held since late 2008.

“The DPRK is consistent in its stand and will to achieve peace in Northeast Asia and denuclearization of the whole of the Korean peninsula,” the North’s joint editorial said, using the country’s official title, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

North Korea alarmed the world in November when it revealed through U.S. scholars that it was operating thousands of centrifuges to enrich uranium, a second track to building nuclear bombs.

The country, which has conducted two nuclear tests since 2006, claims the uranium enrichment, coupled with the construction of a light-water reactor, is for peaceful energy use. The U.S. sees the argument as a thin cover for advanced nuclear arms development.

Stressing that light industries are the “major front,” the North said standards of living for its people should be improved ahead of 2012, the year the leadership has designated as a moment in its history to rise as “a great, prosperous and powerful country.”

“Next year we will be greeting the centenary of the birth of President Kim Il-sung,” the country’s founder who passed his power to his son Kim Jong-il upon his death in 1994, the editorial said.

“We should launch an all-out, vigorous offensive for a breakthrough to realize the wish of the President to build a prosperous country,” it said, calling for a “full-scale offensive” to revive the moribund economy.

The North suffered extreme inflation and social unrest in some regions after a botched currency reform in late 2009 sent the prices of staples soaring high. The failure to reassert control on the market economy reportedly led authorities to make a public apology.

“Improving the economic management becomes more urgent at the moment, when the national economy is put on the trajectory of revitalization,” the editorial said, calling for a boost in the production of “primary consumer goods and other necessities widely used in life.”

“The sector of light industry should turn out commodities that would be favored by people,” it said.

Analysts have said the North will step up its efforts to address the economic plight of its people as it moves to justify its second hereditary power succession.

“Despite the attack on Yeonpyeong Island, North Korea is seen demonstrating an open-minded stance on inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation to tackle the current status of isolation,” said Chung Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute in Seoul.

“However, I think military tensions would remain for the time being as the North also emphasized combat preparedness of its military,” Chung said.

The North unveiled the third son of its aging leader Kim Jong-il as a four-star general last year, anointing him as throne successor even though Kim Jong-un was no older than 28.

The editorial said the ruling party conference in September — in which Kim Jong-un rose to high political posts — marked a “a spirit of single-hearted unity to invariably defend the centre of unity and leadership despite the passage of time.” But it did not make comments that could be seen as directly related to succession.

Kim Jong-un has been touted by North Korean media as someone most capable of further developing the songun, or military-first, policy chartered by his father, who reportedly suffered a stroke in 2008.

The editorial said the 1.2 million-strong military should “conduct intense combat training in an atmosphere of actual battle as required by the tense situation,” warning the North will not pardon an act of invasion “even an inch.”

“We should further strengthen the militant might of the People’s Army,” it said, suggesting Pyongyang will continue to invest large resources in arms development despite economic difficulties.

The North claims it has developed nuclear arms to deter an invasion by the U.S., which signed a truce with the North at the end of the Korean War. The peninsula remains technically at war because no peace treaty has been signed.

Read the full stories here:
North Korea Issues New Year Warning
Wall Street Journal
Evan Ramstad
1/2/2010

North Korea Warns South in Annual Message
Wall Street Journal
Evan Ramstad
1/1/2011

N. Korea calls for ending tension with S. Korea, reviving economy
Yonhap
Sam Kim
1/1/2011

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DPRK economic activity in 2010

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
NK Brief No. 10-12-29
12/30/2010

In the New Year’s Joint Editorial issued last January, the North Korean government vowed to improve the lives of the people by focusing on light industry and agriculture. Early in December, the North Korean government-run media reflected on the year’s achievements, stating that advances in industry and improvements in the lives of the people had made unprecedented leaps in 2010.

As North Korea pushes forward with its attempt to “open the doors to a Strong and Prosperous Nation,” Pyongyang has poured significant effort into reviving its economy. In mid-December, the [North] Korean Central News Agency released a report on the 2010 activities of Kim Jong Il, noting that he had made 65 visits to sites related to the nation’s economy, more than twice as many as the 31 visits made to military sites. In 2009, Kim Jong Il made 58 visits to economic sites and 43 visits to military sites, suggesting that the leadership has shifted its focus to the economy this year.

On December 9, the Choson Sinbo published an article in which it highlighted the importance of improving the lives of the people and called an “economic renaissance” critical to the achievement of a “great and prosperous nation.” It also stressed the need for an independent people’s economy as the foundation for such a recovery.

As the North has worked to establish a self-sustaining economy this year, it has highlighted the Kimchaek Iron and Steel Complex as an example of ‘Juche’ production. North Korean media has highlighted the improvements in mining production, in Kimchaek as well as other areas, and has reported that the metals industry has undergone a “revolution” this year. The media has reported surprising production gains at the Hwanghae and Chollima steel complexes, and claim that these production levels have been repeated throughout the country.

Not only has the North celebrated “Juche steel”, but also “Juche textiles” and “Juche fertilizer.” In February, North Korea reopened the modernized “February 8 Vinalon Factory,” highlighting the factory as representative of the country’s independent textile production capacity and likening the new Vinalon factory to a new representation of North Korea’s socialist economy. On March 8, the KCNA called the Vinalon factory the new face of “the brilliant future of the Strong and Prosperous Nation.”

As for “Juche fertilizer,” the North’s media sang the praises of the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex, reporting that the anthracite gas process developed there allowed for steady agricultural production without needing to import fuel or other raw materials, and stated that if the process can be further institutionalized, it should be able to provide for the basic needs of the entire country.

Pyongyang has set as a goal the resolution of the country’s fertilizer shortage by producing one million tons of fertilizer by 2012 in the Hungnam Fertilizer Complex and the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex, stating that for every ton of fertilizer, it can produce ten tons of rice. The media has reported that the North will produce “over ten million tons of grain” in 2012 with the expected million tons of fertilizer.

Improvements in textiles, fertilizer, and other light industries are directly related to raising the standard of living for North Koreans. Kim Jong Il visited the Samilpo factory in Pyongyang in April, and for the rest of the year, state media heralded the advancements made in the factory and called for industries throughout the country to follow in its footsteps. Throughout the year, North Korean media highlighted numerous factories and light industries to illustrate the regime’s efforts at improving the standard of living.

The North Korean government has set a goal of resolving its food, clothing and housing shortages. In order to meet the food demands of the people, the regime seeks to increase grain output by boosting fertilizer production through ‘samilpo’-style factory enhancements. In order to assure everyone is clothed, the regime is relying on the Vinalon factory and increased domestic production. As for housing, the state has set its sights on the construction of 100,000 new houses by the year 2012.

At the forefront of the North’s push for modernization and increased production is its “Computer Numerical Control” (CNC), a vaguely defined idea that has been attributed to Kim Jong Un, the third son and probable successor of Kim Jong Il. As Pyongyang pursues a “strong and prosperous nation” by 2012, state-controlled think-tanks and industries are focusing on CNC as the means for modernization and increased productivity.

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Friday Fun: “For the good of ladies”

Friday, December 10th, 2010

1. This first item is from the DPRK publication Korea Today—an article hilariously titled “For the Good of Ladies“:

For those who do not wish to visit the DPRK’s new Naenara webpage, I post the text below.  The story perfectly demonstrates the fundamental problem with economic calculation in a socialist society (or the non-price political allocation of resources):

One summer day in 1979 the leader Kim Jong Il went to see the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital under construction. Looking up with great delight at the grand concrete skeleton of the building completed in a short span of time, he entered the central hall, when an official told him that they were going to lay only the ground, first and second floors with marble and the rest with scagliola because it would cost too much to lay all the floors with marble.

“What then do we use marble for? All the floors should be laid with marble,” said Kim Jong Il. After a while of deep thought, he proposed making a decorative floor of jewels, which are much better than marble. The officials were all amazed at his suggestion of using valuable natural jewels for the floor decoration.

Kim Jong Il reiterated his suggestion, saying they had better make a jewel floor by plastering the central hall, the main passage for all patients and visitors to the hospital, with a mixture of natural jewels.

This was how over 100 tons of natural jewels and colour stones were supplied to the project, and the floor of the central hall was studded with rubies, sapphires, topazes and other precious jewels, reminding one of a jewel carpet.

I have no idea how to build a hospital, but I am fairly confident that this was a poor suggestion.

UPDATE: here is the “jewel carpet”

2. The second item is some interesting video footage shot by a representative of the Czechoslovakian Embassy (1989/1990) and posted on YouTube.  Check them all out here.  Below area  few select videos:

Pyongyang Military Circus (YouTube)

Mangyongdae Funfair (YouTube)

Panmunjom 1 (YouTube)

Panmunjom 2 (YouTube)

Panmunjom Service Center (YouTube)

3. The third item is a new web page featuring selected pictures of Kim Jongil’s guidance tours.  Check out “Kim Jongil looking at things“.

4. The Fourth item is a discussion that is part art and part propaganda.  Is this Kim Jongun or not?

38 North and Leonid Petrov offer some information.

UPDATE: it is not.  The painting is of Kim Il-sung in Manchuria.

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Crack in Orwellian paradise

Sunday, November 21st, 2010

Lankov writes in the Korea Times:

One of the most important peculiarities of North Korean life is the degree of isolation of North Koreans from entire world. The government does not want them to be aware of some facts which contradict the officially approved picture of the world and their own country. To make sure that propaganda has no competition, the North Korean authorities eliminate all possible sources of alternative information.

Few if any Communist countries were as efficient as North Korea in cutting their population off from the unwanted and unauthorized knowledge about the world beyond the nation’s boundaries.

Few North Koreans are ever allowed to leave their country. The only statistically large but non-privileged group of people with overseas experience was the Siberian loggers who were sent to the wilderness of Southern Siberia from the late 1960s onwards. However, that part of the world is not famous for a high density population, so their contact with the locals was kept at a bare minimum (and North Korean authorities saw to this).

All other groups of North Koreans who were allowed to travel overseas formed the upper crust of society and by definition were carefully chosen for their supposed political reliability. These privileged few were diplomats, crews of the North Korean ships and planes as well as a handful of the people who were allowed to participate in international exchanges, largely of academic nature. These people had a lot to lose, and they also knew that their families would pay a high price for any wrongdoing they committed, thus they seldom caused trouble. They are least likely to talk much about overseas life.

There were students, of course, but their numbers were very small ― perhaps, less than 10,000 North Koreans ever graduated from foreign universities (just for comparison: some 240,000 South Koreans are studying overseas right now).

The North Koreans cannot buy or read books published overseas ― no exception is made even for books from other Communist countries. All non-technical foreign publications are kept in special departments of libraries and one needs a security clearance to access them. In these departments the subversive material could be read only by the trustworthy people who obtained special permission from security police.

Of course, radio was the major source of worries for the Pyongyang leaders. So, North Korea is the only country which outlaws the use of the radio sets with free tuning. All radio sets are permanently fixed on the wavelength of the official Pyongyang broadcast, and police conduct random house checks to ensure that technically savvy owners have not re-modeled their sets.

In a clearly Orwellian twist, the government does its best to keep the populace cut off from the past as well. All periodicals and most books more than ten years old are to be sent to the same special departments with access being limited to the people with proper security clearance. Even speeches of the Great Leader are edited (rewritten) from time to time to meet the demands of the ever changing political situation.

Why did they do it? The answer seems to be obvious: the governments know that they have to hide the huge difference in economic performance between North Korean and its neighbors, and above all ― between North and South Korea. Currently, the ratio of per capita income between two Korean states is estimated to be at 1:15 at best and 1:50 at worst. This is the largest gap which exists worldwide between two countries which share a land border, and this gap is powerful proof of North Korea’s economic inefficiency. The government understands that once the populace learns about the gap, the situation might get out of control. To prevent it, they work hard to keep people ignorant about the outside world.

Until 2000 or so, they have been generally successful, even though some snippets of dangerous information found their way to North Korea. Things began to change in the late 1990s when North Koreans began to move across the porous border with China. Most of the refugees did not stay in China, but eventually returned to North Korea. They brought back stories of Chinese prosperity, DVDs with South Korean TV shows and small, easy-to-hide transistor radios with free tuning.

Since then, things began to change, and the information self-isolation system began to fall apart. However, it might be premature to believe that it has been damaged beyond repair. Yes, people in the borderland area are aware that they live in a poor and underdeveloped society. Many people in Pyongyang also came to realize this. But it seems that in more remote parts of the country the isolation still works reasonably well.

Sometimes I wonder how shocked North Koreans will be when exposed to the outside world for the very first time. We can be sure that their surprise will be huge ― and perhaps, their disappointment about their country’s past will be huge, too.

Read the full story here:
Crack in Orwellian paradise
Korea Times
Andrei Lankov
11/21/2010

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DPRK cabinet discusses 4th quarter projects as Chinese participation grows in the Pyongyang International Trade Fair

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
NK Brief No. 10-11-8-1
11/8/2010

North Korea held an extended meeting of the entire Cabinet in order to discuss the types of projects to be pursued in the last quarter of the year, and to strategize on how these projects should be implemented.

On October 28, the CHOSUN SHINBO reported on an article in the MINJU CHOSUN, which is under the control of the North Korean Cabinet. According to the article, efforts are being made to strongly construct the foundation upon which exemplars of the ‘military-first’ era will be erected. Production lines and facilities in all realms of the People’s Economy need to come into alignment with CNC, and efforts need to be made toward modernization, environmental protection, and reforestation. In particular, the Cabinet has pledged to decisively improve city management and restore socialism in cities and agricultural villages. Efforts will be focused on restoring socialist principles to economic management and ensuring that the centrally planned national economy is implemented.

The newspaper also reported that the North’s Cabinet held discussions on how to successfully fulfill all the goals set for the third quarter while creating a strategy to meet all of the targets set for the annual People’s Economy. It is unknown exactly when this meeting was held, but Premier Choi Yong-rim and other Cabinet members were all in attendance, as were city and town People’s Committee representatives, committee members from factories and farming communities, economic planners, and managers from critical factories and organizations.

As officials discuss economic reforms, the sixth annual autumn Pyongyang International Trade Fair was held from October 18-21, and it saw a greater Chinese presence than the thirteenth annual spring trade fair held last May. This could be the result of Kim Jong Il’s August visit to China. According to the newspaper, seventeen countries were represented by over 140 companies (48 from North Korea, 93 from abroad) — This was three countries and over twenty companies more than were at the spring fair. India participated for the first time this fall.

An official from the trade fair told the newspaper that the increased participation from Chinese companies was a direct result of Kim Jong Il’s recent visit to China’s northeastern region and the improved economic relations between Pyongyang and Beijing that came out of that visit. From machinery and equipment to steel products, electronic goods and light industrial products, food, pharmaceuticals, traditional herbal medicines and chemical products, over 57,000 products in over 2,300 different categories were on display. This is more than 600 categories of goods not seen last year.

Foreign companies participating in the fair signed contracts with North Korean offices for sales, technology exchanges, joint ventures, and investment opportunities, building on the ‘Introduction and Negotiations on the Investment Environment of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’ held on October 18.

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DPRK steps up reporting of KJU

Friday, November 5th, 2010

According to the Daily NK:

The North Korean state media has stepped up the level of its Kim Jong Eun propaganda in an attempt to stamp his identity in the minds of the North Korean people.

According to a report carried by Chosun Central News Agency, Rodong Shinmun was expanded to ten pages on November 4th to include a full-page spread about Kim Jong Il and Jong Eun’s onsite inspection of Heecheon Power Plant in South Pyongan Province.

Rodong Shinmun normally covers six pages, although important events regularly lead to it being expanded.

On the first and second pages of the Heechon Power Plant edition there were photos and commentary about the inspection; the remaining pages contained nothing but photos.

Chosun Central TV also reported the news of the onsite inspection at around 5:10P.M. on the same day, and, in a highly unusual move, simultaneously released 145 pages of related images.

Of them, 86 were of Kim Jong Il and/or Kim Jong Eun, and 59 were of power plant facilities; 13 of 45 showed father and son together; and 8 showed only Kim Jong Eun, who appeared in the same style and color of overcoat as his father.

This is the second time this year that Rodong Shinmun has been expanded to report one of Kim’s onsite inspections while completely excluding other news; his onsite inspection at Ryongseong Food Factory and Pyongyang Flour Factory was released over 12 pages on January 24th.

The newspaper has also been expanded to more than ten pages in order to report Kim Jong Il’s public activities in detail alongside other news on a number of further occasions during 2010: an onsite inspection at Kim Il Sung University electronic library on April 13 covered eight of ten pages; another at Ryongseong Machinery Factory in Hamheung on May 22 took up nine of ten; Goksan Factory in Pyongyang on August 26 required six of ten; and the Party Delegates’ Conference on September 29 took up eight of ten.

Heecheon Power Plant, which is designed to generate 300,000kW of power, is under construction in the upper reaches of the Cheongcheon River. It is scheduled to be completed in 2012 alongside other “Strong and Prosperous State” construction projects including that of 100,000 houses in Pyongyang.

In addition, the Daily NK reports that the DPRK media is using honorific words to describe KJU.

North Korea’s state media has begun to apply the highest form of honorific speech to Kim Jong Eun’s name and descriptions of his movements, according to a Radio Press report released yesterday.

According to Radio Press, while broadcasting the movements of Kim Jong Il on October 27th, a Chosun Central Television announcer explained that a Chinese delegation had “given a gift to Chosun Workers’ Party Central Military Commission Vice Chairman, Comrade Kim Jong Eun”, using both the highest form of “to” and “give” available in the Korean language.

In addition, on the 29th of last month both Chosun Central Television and Pyongyang Broadcast announced the fact that the international media had reported the presence of Kim Jong Eun and Kim Jong Il at a mass rally with the highest form of “to” and by amending the verb “to attend” to reflect the esteem with which the successor is officially held..

Hitherto, only three people in North Korea have been spoken of in this way; national founder Kim Il Sung, son Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Il’s mother, Kim Jong Suk.

This method of referring to Kim Jong Eun appears to represent an important part of ongoing attempts by the authorities to idolize and elevate the successor’s status, while seeming also to reflect the speed with which the succession process is being undertaken.

Read the full stories here:
Cover-to-Cover Kim in Rodong Shinmun
Daily NK
11/5/2010

North Korean Media Speaking of Kim Jong Eun in Honorifics
Daily NK
Kim Tae Hong
11/4/2010

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Rimjingang to be published in English

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

According to the Mainichi Daily News:

A magazine composed almost entirely of materials smuggled out of North Korea by reporters living inside the country has just launched its first English edition in an effort to reach a wider audience.

The quarterly Rimjingang has been available in Korean and Japanese since 2008. The English edition will be published about twice a year from now on, chief editor Jiro Ishimaru said at a recent meeting in New York University, adding that digital editions in various formats will be available from 2011, including one from Apple Inc.’s iBook store.

Published by Asiapress International, a Japan-based journalists’ organization, the magazine is named after a river in the Korean Peninsula flowing north to south across the demilitarized zone. It operates with eight North Koreans who report clandestinely while living in such capacities as driver, factory worker and mother.

All of the reporters left North Korea because of economic hardships but returned to the country after being recruited to work for the magazine, which provides them with journalistic training and recording equipment.

In a country that tightly regulates information, taking images of street-level North Koreans for outside distribution would most likely be construed as treason. For safety, the identities of the North Korean reporters are completely shrouded in secrecy — they do not know each other or what their colleagues are doing, Ishimaru said.

The reporters periodically cross the China-North Korea border to deliver what they have recorded. The materials include digital images of people who foreigners would rarely have access to — a woman making merchandise at home to sell at a market, homeless children looking for food in a dump, clothing regulation enforcers on the lookout for youngsters wearing unacceptable fashions such as tight-fitting pants, and young soldiers scavenging for food from a farm.

“The reporters are taking risks because they have a strong will to let the outside world know the reality in North Korea and inspire a desire to improve the situation there,” Ishimaru said.

Some of the recent materials cover the paralyzing effect of the November 2009 currency redenomination in which North Korea slashed the value of the won, setting the exchange rate between the old and new bills at 100 to 1 and imposing restrictions on the quantity of old bills that could be swapped for new ones. The move was widely seen as the state’s attempt to reinforce control of the economy.

The magazine shows one of those affected, a woman identified as “Ms. Kang,” who is in her 50s and makes a living selling general goods such as plates and bowls procured in China.

Shortly before the devaluation, “Ms. Kang” reportedly took out a loan of 10 million won, worth about $3,000 at the time, from an acquaintance. Now she struggles with a huge debt as no currency trader will exchange her old won into Chinese yuan, leaving her unable to buy goods in China. She is also unable to convert them into the new won beyond the 100,000-won limit.

“Because the Americans don’t know very much about North Korea, we wanted to include some introductory pieces that explain people’s everyday lives there, including the impact the market is having,” said Bon Fleming, an American editor who translated the bulk of the material for the English edition.

Suzy Kim, assistant professor of Korean history at Rutgers University, said she was most impressed by the abundance of visual footage in the magazine. But she added, “Many of the stories in the magazine are anecdotal — there is as yet no way to collect enough information to present a statistical context for the stories.”

In order to make up for its heavy dependence on a handful of reporters, Kim suggested that the magazine can improve by incorporating a wider variety of views about North Korea from people with different backgrounds, experiences and opinions.

Ishimaru said North Korea is a nation changing fast and so are its people, contrary to the oft-reported images of brainwashed citizens. One of the forces behind the change is the increasing availability of digital media, a trend fueled by the influx of Chinese electronics, including VCD players, which are much more affordable than DVD players, he said.

Illegal copies of South Korean TV dramas crossed the border into North Korea en masse around 2003 via ethnic Korean communities in northeastern China, where watching South Korean satellite broadcasting programs became popular in the late 1990s, according to Ishimaru.

“What allowed the North Korean government to exert tight control over the daily lives of its people was the state’s food rationing system, which taught everyone to remain submissive as long as they were fed,” Ishimaru said.

Since the collapse of the public distribution system in the famine of the 1990s, however, people have been forced to fend for themselves and have become less afraid of the authorities, he said.

“You can no longer talk about North Korea without talking about the expansion of the market economy there,” Ishimaru said.

“The question is not about food — it’s whether North Korea will open up to the outside world or not.”

Previous posts about Rimjingang can be found here.

I have added Rimjingang to my list of North Korea media outlets all of which can be found here.

Read the full sotry here:
Undercover magazine on North Korea launches English edition
Mainichi Daily News
10/28/2010

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