North Korean Economy Watch

Daily NK
Yoon Il Geun, Lee Sung Jin
12/19/2007

Yanji, China — According to a testimony from a source inside the North, some underground churches operating in the North are, in fact, fake churches which take orders from the National Security Agency and whose mission is to unmask underground Christians.

“It was found to be true that the conspiracy department of the National Security Agency operating in the border area had established a fake church consisted of its security agents,” said the source to a DailyNK reporter on Monday at a private place in Yanji. The source himself is involved in an underground church within the North.

The source revealed a shocking reality, saying, “Some security agents disguise themselves as defectors and deliberately approach those Korean churches operating in China. From the churches, the agents receive money and bibles. Then, the agents establish a fake church.” The source added, “While taking money from the Korean churches in the name of financial support for missionary work, the agents devote themselves to hunting down domestic underground churches connected to the churches in China.”

The source said that he heard about the above-mentioned activities from an individual working at the National Security Agency, and such activities were an open secret among security agents.

“The received bibles are used as wastepaper and taken to paper processing plants, and the received money goes to the National Security Agency,” said the source. “The agent who told me about the agency’s secret activities said sneeringly, ‘The paper from the bibles is good for cigarette rolling paper,’” said the source resenting the agent’s anti-religious behavior.

The source said that the security agency runs the fake church not only to crack down Christians but also to make money. Many Christian organizations in the South provide financial support for pastors engaged in missionary work for North Koreans in the China-North Korea border areas. The source said that those security agents operating the fake underground church make a decent living thanks to the money they receive from the South’s Christian organizations.

“Unless the churches of the South tightly manage their supporting activities for underground churches and Christians of the North, their activities might end up enriching the security agents and causing harm to underground Christians,” the source said.

In the North, the act of missionary work is considered a felony, and individuals convicted of the felony are either sent to a political concentration camp or executed in public.

Todd Nettelton, director of news services with the Voice of the Martyrs, a US-based Christian missionary organization, said, “North Korean Christians defend their faith in the midst of oppression, arrest and torture by the regime.” The director said, “When these Christians gather together for bible study or worship, they have to be careful for safety. For instance, they form a small group of three to four people and cloak the windows of their meeting place.”

“Hometown,” a South Korean monthly run by individuals who were born in the North but displaced into the South during the Korean War, reported in its November edition that the North Korean authorities recently arrested Mr. Cho who was secretly engaged in missionary work in Dongrim of North Pyongan Province along with his mother and two younger siblings. The monthly said, “The remaining three family members trembled in fear and eventually took their life by jumping from the Dongrim Waterfall on October 12th.

In October, the US State Department again designated the North as one of “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)” for the country’s persecution of religion. In fact, the North has been designated as the CPC for seven years in a row.

Every year, the US State Department releases a report on religious freedom in the world. The 2007 report said, “Although the Construction of the DPRK guarantees freedom of religion, there is no such thing in reality. The country’s situation of freedom of religion remained as bad as it was before this year.”

The most authoritative map of North Korea on Google Earth
North Korea Uncovered v.7
Download it here

This map covers North Korea’s agriculture, aviation, cultural locations, manufacturing facilities, railroad, energy infrastructure, politics, sports venues, military establishments, religious facilities, leisure destinations, and national parks. It is continually expanding and undergoing revisions. This is the sixth version.

Additions to the latest version of “North Korea Uncovered” include: A Korean War folder featuring overlays of US attacks on the Sui Ho Dam, Yalu Bridge, and Nakwon Munitians Plant (before/after), plus other locations such as the Hoeryong Revolutionary Site, Ponghwa Revolutionary Site, Taechon reactor (overlay), Pyongyang Railway Museum, Kwangmyong Salt Works, Woljong Temple, Sansong Revolutionary Site, Jongbansan Fort and park, Jangsan Cape, Yongbyon House of Culture, Chongsokjong, Lake Yonpung, Nortern Limit Line (NLL), Sinuiju Old Fort Walls, Pyongyang open air market, and confirmed Pyongyang Intranet nodes.

Disclaimer: I cannot vouch for the authenticity of many locations since I have not seen or been to them, but great efforts have been made to check for authenticity. These efforts include pouring over books, maps, conducting interviews, and keeping up with other peoples’ discoveries. In many cases, I have posted sources, though not for all. This is a thorough compilation of lots of material, but I will leave it up to the reader to make up their own minds as to what they see. I cannot catch everything and I welcome contributions.

The most authoritative map of North Korea on Google Earth
North Korea Uncovered: Version 6
Download it here

This map covers North Korea’s agriculture, aviation, cultural locations, manufacturing facilities, railroad, energy infrastructure, politics, sports venues, military establishments, religious facilities, leisure destinations, and national parks. It is continually expanding and undergoing revisions. This is the sixth version.

Additions to the newest version of North Korea Uncovered include: Alleged Syrian nuclear site (before and after bombing), Majon beach resort, electricity grid expansion, Runga Island in Pyongyang, Mt. Ryongak, Yongbyon historical fort walls, Suyang Fort walls and waterfall in Haeju, Kaechon-Lake Taesong water project, Paekma-Cholsan waterway, Yachts (3), and Hyesan Youth Copper Mine.

Disclaimer: I cannot vouch for the authenticity of many locations since I have not seen or been to them, but great efforts have been made to check for authenticity. These efforts include pouring over books, maps, conducting interviews, and keeping up with other peoples’ discoveries. In many cases, I have posted sources, though not for all. This is a thorough compilation of lots of material, but I will leave it up to the reader to make up their own minds as to what they see. I cannot catch everything and I welcome contributions.

Version 5: Download it here (on Google Earth) 

This map covers North Korea’s agriculture, aviation, cultural locations, manufacturing facilities, railroad, energy infrastructure, politics, sports venues, military establishments, religious facilities, leisure destinations, and national parks. It is continually expanding and undergoing revisions. This is the fifth version.

Additions to the latest version of “North Korea Uncovered” include updates to new Google Earth overlays of Sinchon, UNESCO sites, Railroads, canals, and the DMZ, in addition to Kim Jong Suk college of eduation (Hyesan), a huge expansion of the electricity grid (with a little help from Martyn Williams) plus a few more parks, antiaircraft sites, dams, mines, canals, etc.

Disclaimer: I cannot vouch for the authenticity of many locations since I have not seen or been to them, but great efforts have been made to check for authenticity. These efforts include pouring over books, maps, conducting interviews, and keeping up with other peoples’ discoveries. In many cases, I have posted sources, though not for all. This is a thorough compilation of lots of material, but I will leave it up to the reader to make up their own minds as to what they see. I cannot catch everything and I welcome contributions.

I hope this map will increase interest in North Korea. There is still plenty more to learn, and I look forward to receiving your additions to this project.

Daily NK
Kim Yong Hun
9/10/2007

It was reported that a religion criticizing Socialism has been on the spread in North Korea’s army, and various publications and CDs relaying information on South Korea has been transmitted in secrecy.

It is the first time ever to be reported that there has been a spread of religion within the North Korean army.

On the 6th of September, the Committee for Democratization of North Korea collected and revealed an educational-purpose document, which was issued by the Chosun People’s Army Publishing Department. This 18-page manuscript, issued in March, 2007, was used in the two months following to educate soldiers and commissioned officers about the increase in soldiers relying on religion and foreign publications. According to the document, there is a need to re-indoctrinate the North Korean People’s Army in order to suppress the inflow of capitalism.

It warned that, “We should not look, listen, read the documents, broadcastings and video or audio materials made by the enemy. The enemy is using Radio and TV to launch false propaganda through well-made, strategic news and intrigue.” and “While the enemy continues to attack us with their political indoctrination, our soldiers must not sway to their influence. We must block off all means of broadcasting through which the enemies can trespass.”

The document states that “the CDs, recordings and publications from the enemies all contain information about their development of and the prosperity of capitalism. Their corruptive culture and lifestyle is embellished ingeniously in such a strategic manner. The signalmen must comply with all rules when using their radiotelegraph and every soldier must work to confiscate small-sized semiconductor radios and pocket-sized TVs.”

The reason why the North Korean military is complying with educational-purpose philosophy indoctrination is because the wide-spread transmission among soldiers of South Korean dramas, CDs, and publications that contain information on capitalistic society is seen as a serious problem.

In particular, the report advises very strictly that the soldiers not be dazzled by religion, and to pursue socialism no matter what. It conveys that religion is not only taking over the regular citizens but is becoming an influence within the army of North Korea.

The document states that, “The enemy is sending bibles, audio and video materials related to religion and superstition through various routes. They are placing spies within international delegations entering our borders to spread their religions and superstitious beliefs and win our citizens over to their side.”

In addition, “Religion and superstition are like poison that corrupts socialism and paralyzes class consciousness. Our soldiers must, more than ever, instigate a revolutionary awakening to defy the enemies’ maneuvers.”

It continues on, cautioning that “soldiers must be wary of superstition, religion and the foreign lifestyle, and when they find evidence of such things, must immediately stop them from spreading further. We must not get involved in the enemy’s strategic propaganda. Getting involved in the psychological warfare of enemies is considered high treason; and therefore, we must fight against it, considering this issue an emergency.”

It is also emphasized that, “Alcohol, Sex and Money are poisons that ruin our ideology and belief. We must increase the ideological indoctrination, ideological struggle and legal struggle in order to fight the spread of these elements of capitalistic ideology.”

The Committee for Democratization of North Korea revealed that “According to North Korean defectors, there have been consecutive economic downfalls since the nuclear tests, causing much difficulty in the daily lives of North Korean citizens. It is known that the situation for soldiers has worsened as well.”

The educational-purpose document is a kind of propaganda tool explaining background, measures, and outlines of the domestic state. Different indoctrination documents are distributed to different groups of individuals: what is disseminated among politicians differs from that which is given to workers or military.

Now available on Google Earth! 
(click above to download to your own Google Earth)

North Korea Uncovered v.3

Google Earth added a high-resolution overlay of the area between Pyongyang and Nampo.  In it, most of the Koguryo tombs listed with UNESCO are now distinguishable.  In addition, viewers can see the latest Kim Jong Il palace (including a yacht), the DPRK’s premier golf course, and the Chinese-built Taean Glass factory.  I have also made some progress in mapping out the DPRK electricity grid.

This is the most authoritative map of North Korea that exists publicly today.  Agriculture, aviation, cultural institutions, manufacturing, railroad, energy, politics, sports, military, religion, leisure, national parks…they are all here, and will captivate anyone interested in North Korea for hours.

Naturally, I cannot vouch for the authenticity of many locations since I have not seen or been to them, but great efforts have been made to check for authenticity. In many cases, I have posted sources, though not for all. This is a thorough compilation of lots of material, but I will leave it up to the reader to make up their own minds on the more “controversial” locations. In time, I hope to expand this further by adding canal and road networks.

I hope this post will launch a new interest in North Korea. There is still plenty more to learn, and I look forward to hearing about improvements that can be made.

Yonhap
Sohn Suk-joo
7/18/2007

North Korea Wednesday banned a tour of downtown Kaesong by South Koreans in an apparent protest against Seoul’s decision to scale down a Buddhist pilgrimage program to an ancient temple there, sources here said.

North Korea closed off downtown Kaesong to South Koreans in retaliation for the South’s refusal in July 2006 to allow the North to change its South Korean business partner for tours of the city. But since January, it has opened the main street of the medieval capital city to South Korean officials and tourists off and on.

On Wednesday morning, North Korean authorities did not allow some 60 Woori Bank officials to tour the heart of the city, and canceled a scheduled trip by South Korean financial supervisory officials to Kaesong the following day, according to the sources.

“According to industry sources, the North’s measure comes as a result of the South’s limiting of a pilgrimage program to Yongtong Temple,” said Kim Kyu-cheol, president of the South-North Forum, a civic group for inter-Korean economic cooperation.

The South’s Unification Ministry limited the number of pilgrimages to once a month, even though the North agreed to an unconditional number of pilgrimages to the restored temple as long as it could charge each tourist US$50.

Cheongtaejong, one of South Korea’s major Buddhist orders, also protested the decision, saying it would limit freedom of religion as many Buddhists are waiting to make a visit.

The government decision was made after North Korea requested a new deal on its tour business in 2005. The North wanted an agreement with Lotte Tours Co. despite having exclusive contract with Hyundai Asan, operator of the Mount Geumgang tours.

The South Korean government rejected the North’s request, saying the change could happen only if Hyundai Asan voluntarily pulls out of the business.

New Zealand Herald (hat tip DPRK Studies)
David McNeill
7/13/2007

North Korea is set to take a potentially giant leap out of the intellectual cold with the construction of a new all-English language university staffed by academics from around the world and teaching the cream of the country’s graduate students.

Construction of the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology is nearing completion on a 100ha plot leased by the People’s Army in the North’s capital. The Army has loaned 800 solders to build the campus, which is largely funded by a network of Christian evangelicals.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is believed to have personally ordered the site cleared for use and granted the university the right to hire staff from anywhere in the world.

The university is expected to eventually have 2600 undergraduate and postgraduate students and to help train a new generation of elite business executives and technicians.

The project’s leaders in South Korea and the United States are playing down its potential impact for fear of spooking the North’s jittery authorities, but agree that it represents potentially a seismic shift in the reclusive state’s largely frozen relations with the rest of the planet.

“It will be the country’s first international university,” said Professor Chan Mo Park, co-chair of the university and a prominent Seoul scientist.

“The North has good universities but they don’t communicate with the rest of the world. This will let everyone know that the capacity of their scientists is very high.”

Despite crumbling facilities, Pyongyang’s standards of computer science, software and applied mathematics are world-class, say experts, and its youth are bursting with pent-up business energy. The university is expected to generate spin-off businesses and eventually a Silicon Valley-style business park.

The faculty of 45 will offer an MA in business administration as well as courses on information technology and agriculture to an initial cohort of about 150 students recruited from the country’s top research institutions.

Given the scale of foreign involvement and the money poured into the new campus so far, those involved say they are confident it will open its first research laboratories this autumn and its doors to students next spring.

But the legendary unpredictability of the Kim Jong-Il government could still throw a spanner in the university’s works.

Download it to your Google Earth here! 
(substantial improvements over version 1)

Using numerous maps, articles, and interviews I have mapped out North Korea by “industry” (or topic) on Google Earth. This is the most authoritative map of North Korea that exists publicly today.

Agriculture, aviation, cultural, manufacturing, railroad, energy, politics, sports, military, religion, leisure, national parks…they are all here, and will captivate anyone interested in North Korea for hours.

Naturally, I cannot vouch for the authenticity of many locations since I have not seen or been to them, but great efforts have been made to check for authenticity. In many cases, I have posted sources, though not for all. This is a thorough compilation of lots of material, but I will leave it up to the reader to make up their own minds on the more “controversial” locations. In time, I hope to expand this further by adding canal and road networks.

I hope this post will launch a new interest in North Korea. There is still plenty more to learn, and I look forward to hearing about improvements that can be made.

Korea Times
Tong Kim
7/1/2007

Recently I visited Gaeseong with a South Korean humanitarian group that provides anthracite for fuel to underprivileged people in both Koreas. The group carries out a voluntary campaign in the name of “sharing love and anthracite.’’ It so far has provided the poor with over ten million pieces of processed anthracite.

Our trip to Gaeseong was to deliver another 50,000 pieces of processed anthracite in five large trucks. From Seoul we drove only about 45 minutes to reach the southern border of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). I had passed through the Panmunjeom Joint Security Area a couple of times traveling to Pyongyang before, but it was the first time for me to travel on the paved direct highway to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.

Upon arrival at the Bongdukni railroad station _ about a few miles north of the complex _ we were welcomed by the vice chairman of the Gaeseong People’s Committee, who appreciated the provision of anthracite as well as our offer to help North Koreans unload the anthracite.

From Bongdukni we went to Gaeseong City, where we visited several famous historic sites of the old capital of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), including the Seonjuk bridge, where the stain of bloodshed by a king’s royal servant remains, still detectable. Standing at the courtyard of Sungkyunkwan, which was the dynasty’s highest royal educational institute, were gigantic ginkgo trees more than a thousand years old.

The buildings were impressively well maintained. On display inside the buildings were neatly arranged historical artifacts, which help visitors see what life was like in Korea a millennium ago. With other cultural assets, like the royal tombs and an old Buddhist temple, I thought Gaeseong would present itself as an excellent tourist attraction.

Then we went to a “hotel district’’ where many traditional tiled Korean homes remain undamaged as if they had never withstood the Korean War. An able tourist guide told us that these buildings are now used as lodging for tourists. We were led into one of the homes, where we had a good traditional dinner served in Korean brassware.

From there we went to the complex, which I knew was controversial from a political perspective since its inception. Opponents ask why South Korea should help North Korea when it spends scare resources on the development of missiles and nuclear weapons. Proponents argue it is a constructive approach to the eventual resolution of security and political issues.

After I saw the vast area of the industrial park _ one million pyeong (approximately 25 square miles) _ I felt there would be no way to reverse the course of inter-Korean economic cooperation. Under a 50-year lease, Hyundai Asan has cleared the land by leveling off the hills and filling the rice paddies and fields, and it is still building the necessary infrastructure to support the industrial park.

At present 22 South Korean companies _ mostly small- and medium-sized firms _ are operating in the complex and five new plants are under construction. On this North Korean territory, about 12,000 North Korean employees are working with 680 South Koreans, who are largely managers. By 2012, the complex is expected to employ over 100,000 North Koreans.

These companies produce goods _ including shoes, clothes, watches, kitchenware, plastic containers and electric cords _ mostly for South Korean consumers. Under a neo-liberal policy pursued by the ROK government, the complex makes sense as the average monthly wage is only $57, which is only half of Chinese labor costs and less than 5 percent of South Korean counterparts’ salaries.

After an overview briefing at the Hyundai Asan Control Center, we went to the Shinwon Clothing Plant, where 880 North Korean women _ who looked between 20 to 40 years-of-age _ were working hard concentrating on their jobs along the 15 production lines on two floors. There were no dividing walls on each floor. The uniformed workers all looked healthy and productive.

The plant’s manager told me he has only nine people from the South to work with the North Koreans. His company began operating in February 2005 with 330 workers on two production lines. He said his company is satisfied with the productivity and the workmanship of its North Korean employees. His company provides many facilities for the workers, including a large dining hall where the workers receive free meals, recreation rooms, showers and even a Christian chapel.

Perhaps the future of the expanding industrial park depends very much on the exportability of its products to overseas markets including the United States. This brings up two points: resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and the inclusion of the complex as an “outward processing zone’’ as discussed but still pending resolution in the agreed Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

Without exportability, which I doubt would be fully feasible before North Korean denuclearization, the industrial complex may not be able to attract big international companies who keep looking for lower labor costs to compete in the contemporary neo-liberal global market.

There are other problems with the inter-Korean industrial park, including the transparency of the payment system, labor practices and environmental concerns. But these are only peripheral issues compared to the issue of war and peace, which also affects the South Korean economy. As the nuclear issue seems to be moving forward, and as I believe it will be resolved at the end, I do see good prospects for success of the complex.

We went to Gaeseong, a city of 300,000 people, through some poverty-stricken rural villages. It was heartbreaking to see North Korean people who looked undernourished and poorly sheltered in their rundown homes with broken windows. I saw children looking skinny, underdeveloped and hungry _ walking home after school, with their arms on the shoulders of their buddies, just like I used to do when I was their age.

I visited North Korea many times but I never had an opportunity to observe the economic plight of the North Korean people in the rural areas. I could see only a little bit of the deprivation last month when I went to Inner Geumgang Mountain through a few under-populated villages beyond the DMZ.

I know the conservatives blame the North Korean regime for this. My problem with them is such blame or hard-line policy has not helped alleviate the hardship of the poor people whose poverty is not their fault. I support humanitarian aid to the North, despite some negative views.

I know North Korea is trying hard to improve its economy in order to better feed, clothe and house its people. I have seen some encouraging indicators of change in North Korea. Once it feels free of perceived threat from outside, I expect the North to give up its nuclear program and concentrate on transforming the economy, which will eventually lead to political and social transformation as well.

It is time to work harder to resolve the security issue, while providing minimum humanitarian aid to the people in the North. Providing anthracite is a good example of humanitarian assistance, which I believe should enlist broad support from the South Korean public. What’s your take?

Tong Kim is former senior interpreter at the U.S. State Department and now a research professor at Korea University and a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).