North Korean Economy Watch

UPDATE 3: The Swedish Embassy has been gratned to the unnamed second American.  According to Reuters:

North Korea has allowed Swedish diplomats to visit a U.S. citizen detained nearly two months ago after allegedly entering the country from China, the U.S. State Department said on Monday.

“We can confirm that on March 14 the DPRK (Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea) granted the Swedish embassy, our protecting power, consular access to a detained U.S. citizen,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

Crowley declined to provide any further information about the U.S. citizen. Sweden represents U.S. interests in Pyongyang in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.

The United States said in January that North Korea had informed it that it was holding the American, but since then has provided no information about the case.

North Korea’s official news agency said the American was detained after crossing into its territory from China, accusing him of “trespassing” and saying he was under interrogation.

South Korean news reports have said the border-crosser was a 28-year-old man who said he entered the socialist North because no longer wanted to live in the capitalist world.

I doubt anybody in the  KFA has the balls to try this.

(more…)

UPDATE 2: Well apparently the World Council of Churches is in bed with the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  According to their most recent press release:

Nearly 140 leaders from the world’s churches, North and South Koreans among them, have called for the formation of an inter-Korean confederation even before complete reunification of Korea can take place. Agreement was reached at the close of a three-day meeting in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong where the Christian leaders expressed unrelenting hope for peace and reconciliation among Koreans, despite the stark realities of the ongoing division of the Korean peninsula.

The call for a confederation came in a communiqué developed by the group at the end of their international consultation on Korean reunification. The “Tsuen Wan Communiqué” says the confederation option would involve progressive steps such as peaceful co-existence and the furthering of economic cooperation between the two Koreas.

The proposal for an inter-Korean confederation was presented to the group jointly by church leaders from North and South Korea on the final day of deliberations.

The “confederation system would respect both governments”, said the Rev. Kang Yong Sop, chairman of the Korea Christian Federation of North Korea, in a presentation to the group on Friday morning.

“North and South Korea must first recognize each other’s systems and engage in cooperation in any field possible, and institutionalize the results,” said Suh Bo Hyug, a member of the National Council of Churches in Korea’s reconciliation and reunification committee: “Only then will they move closer to reunification.”

The communiqué was the outcome of a consultation on peace, reconciliation and reunification of the Korean peninsula held 21 to 23 October 2009, sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA).

Of course the confederation plan was raised by Kim Il sung years ago and the DPRK is still pushing that vision as an intermediary step towards reunification.

And if there was any doubt remaining:

They also called for all sanctions against North Korea imposed by the United Nations Security Council to be lifted, for immediate bilateral talks between the United States and North Korea, and for North and South Korea to implement fully the 15 June 2000 North-South Joint Declaration and the 4 October 2007 Declaration, both of which spelled out a number of goals and steps toward reunification.

UPDATE 1:  The WCC issued an interesting press release following their visit to the DPRK.  Here is an excerpt:

Visiting North Korea at the invitation of the Korean Christian Federation of North Korea, Kobia and the delegation visited three churches on Sunday 18 October.

In addition to visiting the Bong Soo Church the delegation also visited the Chilgol Church in the capital, Pyongyang, and a house church of 12 members in the town of Sunam which is near Pyongyang.

Continuing with the Corinthian example Kobia told the Bong Soo congregation that no church is more important than the other. “The body is whole when all the parts cooperate with each other,” he said. “Therefore in his letter to the churches in Corinth, Paul appeals to the community to recognize each other as being a very important part of the body.”

The Bong Soo Church was constructed in 1987 with funding from the North Korean government and the Presbyterian Church of Korea. The church is thoroughly modern with a full sound system, balcony and music text on a large screen in front of the church, a video camera system, a high-lofted ceiling and an area for a large choir.

Bibles and songbooks line the seating areas for the congregations. Within the church compound is a recently constructed theological seminary where 12 students are now enrolled to earn degrees in evangelism.

The Bong Soo worship service overflowed with music from the choir, soloists and several women’s groups, mostly singing traditional hymns. Asked if the abundance of music was especially for the WCC delegation, a congregation member said no, “this happens every week.”

The smaller congregation at the Chilgol Church, which the WCC delegation also visited, has been in existence since the late 1800s. The current building is relatively new, as the original building was destroyed in the Korean War by the U.S. bombing of Pyongyang.

A WCC delegation member asked the congregation about the noticeable absence of children in the churches. While acknowledging this is a challenge within North Korean society, they said the children are involved in a broad range of other activities and some will at a later age come to church. They said it was their job to teach their children at home about Christianity.

On Sunday afternoon the WCC delegation visited a house church of 12 members who meet in a home in the community of Sunam outside of Pyongyang. They said the house church movement within North Korea is growing.

The church meets on Sundays, sitting on the floor of the living room of a member’s home. One member brings an accordion to accompany the singing. The singing in the North Korean church tends to be extraordinarily rich and is a key part, along with prayer and teaching, of any worship service.

Read the full press release here.

ORIGINAL POST: According to the press release on their web page (written before departure):

The visit is at the invitation of and being organized by the Korean Christian Federation (KCF) of North Korea and will take place 17 to 20 October.

“We will be meeting with the churches, government officials and learning about the life and witness of churches in North Korea,” said Dr Mathews George Chunakara, director of the WCC Public Witness programme and the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, who will be a member of the delegation travelling with Kobia. “We will be participating in the worship service at Bong Soo Church in Pyongyang, where the WCC general secretary will preach.”

The churches in North Korea are involved in social development and humanitarian aid assistance, and the members of WCC’s ecumenical fellowship have been supportive to the KCF for the past several years, said Chunakara.

The visit is taking place at a time when intense multilateral diplomatic efforts and negotiations are under way on issues related to denuclearization of North Korea and resumption of Six Party Talks, which were stalled for some time after North Korea withdrew from the talks.

Although North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is said to have made the announcement to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Pyongyang last week during his three-day visit that North Korea would return to the Six Party Talks, it is also reported that Kim Jong-il said the return would be dependent on the progress of its planned bilateral talks with the US.

The WCC has been relating with the churches in North Korea for the past 25 years, with the first official visit having taken place in 1985. In the early 1980s the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs initiated a process aimed at peace, reconciliation and reunification of the Korean peninsula and bringing church leaders from North and South Korea together.

This is the second visit of a WCC general secretary in ten years. In 1999, then general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser visited North Korea.

After the visit to North Korea, the delegation will travel to Hong Kong to participate in an international consultation on peace, reconciliation and reunification of the Korean peninsula, which will be held from 21 to 23 October.

The WCC general secretary will be accompanied by WCC staff members Mathews George Chunakara, Christina Papazoglou, Mark Beach and Peter Williams, as well as the general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia, Dr Prawate Khid-arn.

Critics of the DPRK have long argued that the primary purpose of Korean Christian Federation is to attract aid from foreign religious organizations. This is probably true to some extent, but the organization has been around since the 1940s so it is likely that by this point its mission within the political system is more complicated than to function only as an aid magnet.

Here are a few older posts about the KCF.

According to Yonhap:

Inter-Korean trade grew for the first time in 13 months in September amid improving global economic conditions and eased cross-border tensions, customs data showed Monday.

According to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service, trade between South and North Korea amounted to US$173.17 million last month, up 2.6 percent from a year earlier when the global financial turbulence first began following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Also according to Yonhap however, the DPRK and RoK failed to agree on an aid-for-family reunions deal:

The two Koreas on Friday ended their day-long negotiations over further cross-border family reunions and other humanitarian issues without reaching any concrete agreement, with Pyongyang asking for resumption of aid by Seoul, officials said.

In the meeting arranged by Red Cross offices from both sides, South Korea proposed holding new rounds of reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War next month in both Seoul and Pyongyang, and again around February at the North’s Mount Kumgang resort.

But aid is not off the table.  According to the Korea Times today:

The government has been reviewing whether to subsidize non-government organizations through the inter-Korean cooperation fund in order to provide aid to North Korea, according to the Ministry of Unification, Monday.

“The government is mainly checking plans to offer health and medical care,” ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters. “But details have yet to be determined.”

Chun reiterated that Seoul is sticking to its existing stance that it will provide North Korea with humanitarian assistance regardless of the political climate.

According to government sources, the subsidy would total less than 1 billion won (about $853,000).

The plan, however, is not related to North Korea’s request for humanitarian aid made during the inter-Korean Red Cross talks last Friday, the sources said.

Seoul has also been reviewing whether to provide the reclusive state with government-level support such as food and fertilizer aid, according to ministry officials.

The inter-Korean cooperation fund has served as a lifeline for cross-border business projects, including the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the Mt. Geumgang tourism program, which has been suspended.

It is also a main source of South Korea’s economic aid to the impoverished North.

The cash pot was introduced in 1990 in order to boost personal exchanges, economic cooperation and trust-building between the two Koreas.

In August, the ministry approved a plan to subsidize 10 civic groups with approximately 3.6 billion won ($3 million) from the fund for relief activities involving North Korean babies, pregnant women and other social minorities.

The government originally planned to distribute the money starting from April but North Korea’s provocations postponed the plan.

As reported before, the South Korean government has spent just 5% of the funds it budgeted for inter-Korean projects this year.

At the same time North Korea is soliciting aid from South Korean and Western religious origanizations.  See here, here, and here in just the last few days.

UPDATE: A detail oriented reader has pointed out that there is no DPRK embassy in Helsinki.  It was closed, and DPRK-Finnish relations have been handled from the DPRK’s embassy in Stockholm. See the comments below for more. 

According to the Voice of the Martyrs web page:

An anonymous fax believed to have been sent from the North Korean embassy for Finland promises workers affiliated with The Voice of the Martyrs (USA) that “something very bad will happen to you” if VOM continues a special project to share the Gospel via weekly fax transmissions to government and business representatives of the restricted Asian nation.

During the past year VOM has made an effort to collect as many fax numbers as possible inside North Korea, one of the world’s most isolated nations. VOM sends weekly faxes containing Christian messages and Scripture passages on love and forgiveness to each of the fax numbers.

Apparently, the project has touched a nerve at the highest levels of North Korea’s repressive government.

“We know who you are,” begins a fax, written in Korean but without a signature. “We warn you that if you send this kind of dirty fax again something very bad will happen to you. Don’t do something you will regret.”

The threatening fax came to a VOM-affiliated office just days before two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were sentenced to 12 years hard labor for allegedly crossing the border into North Korea. It came just one day after the latest round of faxes sent by VOM to North Korean fax numbers.

“This fax is good news,” said Todd Nettleton, VOM’s director of Media Development and the author of a book on the history of Christianity in North Korea. “This means that the faxes are getting through, and they are being read. It is highly unlikely that this type of response would have been made from an embassy without some approval from Pyongyang.”

The Voice of the Martyrs exists to serve persecuted Christians living in restricted nations, and to help spread the gospel in those nations. The ministry has been active in North Korea for decades, including launching tens of thousands of “Scripture Balloons,” helium filled balloons that are printed with Scripture passages and other gospel messages.

The most recent fax sent to North Korean businesses and government offices included stories of Christians loving Communists — even the Communists who abused or tortured them. It was taken from the writings of Richard Wurmbrand, VOM’s founder who was held for 14 years in communist prisons in Romania.

“North Korea presents some great challenges, but the Good News of Jesus’ love cannot be stopped,” said Nettleton. “We simply have to find more creative ways to deliver that message, and The Voice of the Martyrs is committed to doing that.”

A PDF of the fax can be seen here.

Here is an English translation of the faxes the religious group is sending.

Coverage of the story in Chairstian Today.

Josh suggests some non-religious messages.

North Korea Uncovered version 18 is available.  This Google Earth overlay maps North Korea’s agriculture, aviation, cultural locations, markets, manufacturing facilities, railroad, energy infrastructure, politics, sports venues, military establishments, religious facilities, leisure destinations, and national parks.

This project has now been downloaded over 140,000 times since launching in April 2007 and received much media attention last month following a Wall Street Journal article highlighting the work.

Note: Kimchaek City is now in high resolution for the first time.  Information on this city is pretty scarce.  Contributions welcome.

Additions to this version include: New image overlays in Nampo (infrastructure update), Haeju (infrastructure update, apricot trees), Kanggye (infrastructure update, wood processing factory), Kimchaek (infrastructure update). Also, river dredges (h/t Christopher Del Riesgo), the Handure Plain, Musudan update, Nuclear Test Site revamp (h/t Ogle Earth), The International School of Berne (Kim Jong un school), Ongjin Shallow Sea Farms, Monument to  “Horizon of the Handure Plain”, Unhung Youth Power Station, Hwangnyong Fortress Wall, Kim Ung so House, Tomb of Kim Ung so, Chungnyol Shrine, Onchon Public Library, Onchon Public bathhouse, Anbyon Youth Power Stations.

North Korea Uncovered v.16
Download it here

The most recent version of North Korea Uncovered (North Korea Google Earth) has been published.  Since being launched, this project has been continuously expanded and to date has been downloaded over 32,000 times.

Pictured to the left is a statue of Laurent Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  This statue, as well as many others identified in this version of the project, was built by the North Koreans. According to a visitor:

From the neck down, the Kabila monument looks strangely like Kim Jong Il: baggy uniform, creased pants, the raised arm, a little book in his left hand. From the neck up, the statue is the thick, grim bald mug of Laurent Kabila (his son Joseph is the current president). “The body was made in North Korea,” explains my driver Felix. In other words, the body is Kim Jong Il’s, but with a fat, scowling Kabila head simply welded on.

This is particularly interesting because there are no known pictures of a Kim Jong il statue.  The only KJI statue that is reported to exist is in front of the National Security Agency in Pyongyang.  If a Kim Jong il statue does in fact exist, it might look something like this.

Thanks again to the anonymous contributors, readers, and fans of this project for your helpful advice and location information. This project would not be successful without your contributions.

Version 16 contains the following additions: Rakwon Machine Complex, Sinuiju Cosmetics Factory, Manpo Restaurant, Worker’s Party No. 3 Building (including Central Committee and Guidance Dept.), Pukchang Aluminum Factory, Pusan-ri Aluminum Factory, Pukchung Machine Complex, Mirim Block Factory, Pyongyang General Textile Factory, Chonnae Cement Factory, Pyongsu Rx Joint Venture, Tongbong Cooperative Farm, Chusang Cooperative Farm, Hoeryong Essential Foodstuff Factory, Kim Ki-song Hoeryong First Middle School , Mirim War University, electricity grid expansion, Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground (TSLG)” is also known as the “Musudan-ri Launching Station,” rebuilt electricity grid, Kumchang-ri suspected underground nuclear site, Wangjaesan Grand Monument, Phothae Revolutionary Site, Naedong Revolutionary Site, Kunja Revolutionary Site, Junggang Revolutionary Site, Phophyong Revolutionary Site, Samdung Revolutionary Site, Phyongsan Granite Mine, Songjin Iron and Steel Complex (Kimchaek), Swedish, German and British embassy building, Taehongdan Potato Processing Factory, Pyongyang Muyseum of Film and Theatrical Arts, Overseas Monuments built by DPRK: Rice Museum (Muzium Padi) in Malaysia, Statue de Patrice Lumumba (Kinshasa, DR Congo), National Heroes Acre (Windhoek, Namibia), Derg Monument (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), National Heroes Acre (Harare, Zimbabwe), New State House (Windhoek, Namibia), Three Dikgosi (Chiefs) Monument (Gaborone, Botswana), 1st of May Square Statue of Agostinho Neto (Luanda, Angola), Momunment Heroinas Angolas (Luanda, Angola), Monument to the Martyrs of Kifangondo Battle (Luanda, Angola), Place de l’étoile rouge, (Porto Novo, Benin), Statue of King Béhanzin (Abomey, Benin), Monument to the African Renaissance (Dakar, Senegal), Monument to Laurent Kabila [pictured above] (Kinshasa, DR Congo).

By Michael Rank
Link to full report by Lord David Alton and Baroness Caroline Cox  at the bottom of this story

A British politician who visited North Korea this month to investigate the country’s human rights record and promote dialogue said she had been pleasantly surprised to come across an active Protestant seminary in Pyongyang with about 10 students and a church with a Bible on every pew.

Baroness Caroline Cox, who visited Pyongyang as vice chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for North Korea, also urged the United States to end hostilities with North Korea and open an embassy in Pyongyang, just as Britain did 10 years ago.

Cox, a devout Christian, said she was sure the congregation at the Protestant Pongsu church included many genuine worshippers as well as some officials and informers, and that the church was not simply a propaganda showcase for the regime.

She told NKEW that the church was “surprisingly big” and that the attached seminary had been opened with South Korean support and that South Koreans had apparently provided the Bibles. She was told that about 300 people regularly attend Sunday services.

She said she that although “there is a show element in it”, she did not believe the seminary could be written off simply as an empty showcase, as she had to push quite hard to visit it and some officials did not seem aware of its existence.

Cox said Choe Thae Bok, chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly, repeated an official invitation to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to visit the DPRK. Choe met Williams when he visited London in 2004.

Cox and the Parliamentary Group’s chairman, Lord Alton, a fervent Catholic, also visited the recently opened Russian Orthodox church which she described as “extremely beautiful” and where they met two North Korean priests, Fathers Thaddeus and Theodore.  She said the Moscow-trained Father Thaddeus was particularly warm and open, but she added that the congregation appeared to consist entirely of Russian diplomats and business people rather than North Koreans.

The delegation also, somewhat surprisingly perhaps, called for senior North Korean military officials to be invited to visit Sandhurst, Britain’s premier military academy.

Cox said their visit, their second to Pyongyang, was aimed at building “bridges not walls” and that she believed there are “people [in North Korea] who genuinely want to dig themselves out of the hole they have been dug into by the Great Leader.” She and Alton first visited North Korea in 2003.

The two said in a statement that they were were “less than encouraged by our visit to Changchung Catholic Cathedral and our meeting with Mr Jang Jae On, Chairman of the Korean Consultative Society of Religious Believers.

“The delegation expressed their dismay at the continued failure to provide a resident Catholic priest and the lack of progress in normalising relations with the Holy See.

“The delegation emphasised to Mr Jang that if the DPRK wishes to send a positive message about its respect for religious freedom, as enshrined in its Constitution, it would address these two fundamental issues.

“Concerns were also raised about why the importing of Bibles should remain a serious offence, which has been treated in some cases as a capital offence. The delegation gave Korean Bibles to their hosts as a sign of respect and we hope these were received in the spirit in which they were given.”

On the political side, the group’s recommendations include:

1. “a call to the incoming Administration of President Barack Obama to instigate a formal cessation of hostilities and normalisation of relations with the Democratic Peoples republic of North Korea (DPRK). The United Kingdom established a diplomatic mission in the Pyongyang ten years ago; this would be an opportune moment for the United States to do the same.

2. “a recognition of the error of not linking human rights and security concerns in the six-party talks - constructive critical engagement with Pyongyang is recommended: a ‘Helsinki Process with a Korean Face.’

“a call for renewed concerted international pressure to grant access to Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn - the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, access to the DPRK. He has estimated that 400,000 people have died in the camps in the last 30 years.

3. “encouragement of the DPRK to allow greater freedom of information for its citizens and access for aid agencies to carry out their work – in particular in the areas of capacity building and health care.

Their principal findings include:

1. deep concerns over human rights, humanitarian and security issues – issues they raised during high level meetings with DPRK government ministers and officials.

2. the consequences of deteriorating relations between North and South Korea which could jeopardise a historic opportunity for progress.

3. observations about political and religious liberties, including some positive developments which were noted and appreciated.

Their full report can be read  at the London/Korea Links web page.

From the Methodist Church of Great Britain:

This month, The Fund for World Mission will grant £5,000 to help the Church in North Korea run a food production company to help people there.

Steve Pearce, Partnership Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, said: “Times are particularly hard for all the people of North Korea at the present time. The North Korean population is cut off and isolated from the rest of the world and dependent on the regime for their needs. Food is scarce for many – there are problems in the supply of humanitarian aid.

“Christianity is treated as ‘a bad element’ in this socialist country. Christians have been beaten, arrested, tortured, or killed because of their religious beliefs but local sources estimates the number of underground Christians to be at least 200,000, maybe many more, and many of them are imprisoned for their faith.

The British Methodist Church and the Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification and Development on the Korean Peninsula have been developing common projects with Church representatives from North and South Korea, North America and Europe.

Read the full article here:
Methodist Church lends support to Christians in North Korea
Methodist Church of Great Britian
1/12/2009

Individuals and organizations who smuggle radios into the DPRK, whether for personal gain or for altruistic reasons, do not to attract attention to themselves.  This makes it difficult to determine just how many foreign-made radios can be operated, and by whom, in the DPRK.

This week, however, Christian broadcaster Trans World Radio announced that it will distribute 3,400 radios in the DPRK this year alone:

International Christian broadcaster Trans World Radio (TWR) confirmed Friday, November 7, that it has secretly distributed thousands of radio receivers in North Korea, one of the world’s most isolated Communist nations. 

“TWR already delivered 3,100 radio’s in recent months and the plan is to increase that number to 3,400 by the end of this year,”  said TWR-Netherlands from its headquarters in the Dutch town of Barneveld. “Radio is the only way for North Koreans to hear the Gospel.  However receivers sold in the country are only tuned to the state-run network,” TWR added.

TWR said it has set up a transmitter in the region to reach the people of North Korea with Christian programming and encourage underground churches. “Most Christians in North Korea are not able to share their faith with other believers openly, and are forced to worship in secret.”?

Who knows how many of these radios will end up in actual use, but this is just one organization in one year.  Is it plausible to believe that over 10,000 radios are smuggled into the DPRK in a year? Are there reasons to doubt or qualify these numbers?  Why would they announce this if it was true?

Source:
Christian Broadcaster Smuggles Radio’s To North Korea   
Bos News Life
Eric Leijenaar
11/7/2008

Sometimes the headlines write themselves.

According to the Union of Catholic Asian News (excerpt):

For the first time in almost 60 years, a Catholic priest will stay in North Korea, and look after the welfare of local workers.

Franciscan Father Paul Kim Kwon-soon says he will stay in Pyongyang, probably beginning in late November, and serve as a “social worker” for factory workers in the first joint North-South business venture.

Returning to South Korea from a visit, Father Kim told UCA News on Nov. 4 that North Korea is allowing him to run a newly built welfare center in Pyongyang that houses a soup kitchen, a free clinic and a public bath, even though “they know I am a Catholic priest.” As a visitor, he will have to renew his visa every two months.

According to Father Kim, the three-story welfare center he will manage is within the factory premises and will provide the workers with services such as medical checkups, meals and haircuts. It will have the capacity to offer free meals to up to 1,500 workers a day.

“I can say that the center will be a turning point in the humanitarian aid to the North,” the priest noted. “We only could send aid materials” in the past, he pointed out, whereas he can now bring aid materials to the North and provide direct service.

Saebyol General agreed last February to establish the center after three years of “great efforts” on the part of his Order of Friars Minor, Father Kim explained.

During the four-day visit to the North, Bishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik of Daejeon presided at the opening ceremony of the center on Oct. 30, the priest reported.

On Nov. 1 Bishop You, former president of Caritas Corea, the Korean bishops’ social service organization, celebrated a Mass at Changchung Church, the only Catholic church in North Korea, to thank God for opening the center. About 50 South Korean Catholics including eight priests and four Religious took part. No North Korean Catholics attended.

Father Michael Lee Chang-jun, secretary of Caritas Corea, accompanied Bishop You. He told UCA News on Nov. 5 that he wished “the center could provide its service not only for the workers, but other North Korean people in the neighborhood.”

Cecilia Lee Seung-jung, North Korea program manager for Caritas Internationalis, the worldwide confederation of Caritas organizations, earlier called the agreement on the center a significant development. She pointed out that inter-Korean exchanges have been limited since the current government in Seoul assumed office last February.

Records of South Korea’s Unification Ministry show aid to North Korea from the South Korean government and civil groups amounting to US$63.6 million from January to September 2008, while in 2007 it totaled US$304.6 million.

According to Church sources, North Korea maintains that 3,000 Catholics in North Korea practice their faith at “home worship places” across the country, with no residing priest or nun. Between 1949 and 1950 all priests and nuns who remained in the North were executed or disappeared.

It is very interesting that the mission will be operated out of a South/North joint venture company rather than North Korea’s Changchung Cathedral in eastern Pyongyang.  There are countless reasons why concerned parties believe this to be a superior arrangement.

To learn more about Pyongyang’s new hemp factory, click here.

To read the full story mentioned ablove, click below:
Catholic Priest To Work In North For Social Welfare
Union of Catholic Asian News
11/6/2008