North Korean Economy Watch

UPDATE 3: 0-0 Draw in Seoul

From the Associated Press (via the IHT):

Amid an atmosphere of goodwill, South Korea and North Korea tied 0-0 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier Sunday.

With both teams already through to the final round of qualification, the match had the feeling of a friendly from start to finish. The visitors were given a rousing reception when they appeared for warmups. The respective anthems were played before 55,000 fans in Seoul’s World Cup Stadium, including 500 North Korean supporters. At the final whistle, fans applauded both sets of players.

Both teams finished with 12 points, though South Korea took the top spot in Group Three due to superior goal differential.

The draw for the final round of Asian qualification will be made on June 27 and matches begin in September.

UPDATE 2: North Korea tops Jorday 2-0, next stop Seoul!

From the Associated Press (via Herald Tribune):

North Korea reached the final stage of Asian qualifying for the 2010 World Cup with a 2-0 win over Jordan on Saturday, ensuring neighbor South Korea also progressed.

Two goals from Hong Yong Jo gave North Korea 11 points from 5 games, meaning it can finish no lower than second in Group Three, and therefore progresses to the final 10-team round that will decide Asia’s berths at South Africa 2010.

North Korea travels to Seoul for the final match to take on South Korea on June 22.  The match had been in some doubt as North Korea officials demanded that the game be held in a third country or on the southern island of Jeju. The Korean Football Association refused to compromise and North Korea finally agreed Friday to play the match in Seoul. The team will arrive in the South Korean capital on June 19.

Read the full story here:
World Cup: North Korea beats Jordan 2-0, puts North and South Korea in last qualifying round
Associated Press (via Herald Tribune)
6/14/2008

UPDATE 1: North Korea’s World Cup Football shenanigans made headlines earlier this year when Pyongyang refused to raise the South Korean flag and play its national anthem in a regulation match.  FIFA responded by moving the game to Shanghai, China, where North Korean Economy Watch was able to attend.  Well the DPRK men’s team has risen to second place in its qualifying bracket (see original post below), and now that it has only two games left, Pyongyang again inserts politics into sport.

From the Korea Times:

The South’s Korea Football Association (KFA) had a meeting with its North counterpart in Gaeseong Tuesday, and the North side asked the KFA to host their match, scheduled for June 22 at Seoul World Cup Stadium, in another country due to a cold relationship between the two sides and ongoing rallies in Seoul.

The North Korea Football Association also asked Mohamed bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), last month to change the site of the June 22 match.

However, FIFA, which has already selected referees and match supervisors, ignored the North’s pleas, and the KFA also stated that it would stick with the original schedule.

South Korea’s action compelled the North to propose Jeju Island, where the North’s under-17 squad participated in the U-17 World Cup last year, as an alternative. But the original plans were not changed.

ORIGINAL POST:The North Korean national men’s team toppled Turkmenistan 1-0 last week in the 2010 World Cup qualifier.  With the game heading toward a goalless stalemate, Choe Kum Chol scored with 19 minutes remaining to put the North Koreans in sight of a place in the final round of qualification.

North Korea now has 8 points, putting the team at the top of group 3. 

On June 14, North Korea will host Jordan in Pyongyang.

On June 22, North and South Korea will meet in Seoul.  For coverage of their March game in Shanghai, click here.

Read the full stories here:
North and South Korea draw 0-0
Associated Press
6/22/2008

North Korea downs Turkmenistan 1-0 in World Cup qualifier
Herald Tribune (via Associated Press)
6/7/2008

N. Korea Disputes Match Location
Korea Times
Kang Seung-woo
6/11/2008

From Yonhap:

The British Football Association has donated some 600 items of sportswear such as gym suits and sweat pants to North Korea, a pro-Pyongyang daily in Japan said Tuesday.

The sportswear was delivered to the North Korea’s football association in a ceremony held in Pyongyang on Thursday with the British Ambassador to the country John Everard attending, the Choson Sinbo newspaper said.

Read the full article here:
British football association donates gym suits to N.K.: report
Yonhap
6/17/2008

(Click on image for larger view)

Using Naenara and a Chinese language news broadcast, I pieced together Pyongang’s 2008 Olympic torch relay route.

UPDATED: 6/25/2008
The relay began at the Juche Tower and passed by the Golden Lanes Bowling Alley, East Pyongyang Theater (where NY Phil played) and crossed Chongnyu Bridge to West Pyongyang.  Here it passed the Friendship Tower (commemorating Chinese support in the Korean War), Chinese Embassy, Immortal Tower of Kim il Sung, Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, Pothong River Gate, Central Train Station, Kim il Sung Square, Mansu Hill, Chollima Statue, Arch of Triumph, and finished at Kim il Sung Stadium where the relay ended. 

More on the torch relay can be found here.

This will be included in the next version of North Korea Uncovered (Goolge Earth).

UPDATE: Associated Press (via Herald Tribune) 

North Korea won the 2008 Women’s Asian Cup with a 2-1 win Sunday over defending champion China.

Two second half goals in 10 minutes saw the North Koreans come from behind in the final to beat their neighbor and win their third Asian crown in the past four tournaments.

Bi Yan opened the scoring for China with a long-range shot in the 11th minute, and it held that advantage to halftime.

North Korea drew level in the 57th minute with a header from Asian player of the year Ri Kum Suk, who scored a hat trick in the semifinal win over Australia.

The North Koreans went ahead in the 66th when China goalkeeper Zhang Ranyu was only able to block a shot into the path of Kim Young Ae, who put the ball into the net.

ORIGINAL POST:
Women’s Asian Cup: Ri Kum Suk hattrick sinks Australia, puts North Korea in final
Associated Press
6/5/2008

Ri Kum Suk scored a hattrick to power North Korea into the final of the Women’s Asian Cup with a 3-0 win over Australia on Thursday.

North Korea will meet the winner of Thursday’s later semifinal between China and Japan.

Ri, the reigning Asian Football Confederation women’s player of the year, opened the scoring in just the second minute, and doubled the lead four minutes before halftime when she blasted home after a pass from Ri Un Suk.

Australia, which only lost the 2006 final by a penalty shootout, pushed hard for a goal to get back into the contest, but Ri sealed the result on the hour when she shot between the goalkeeper’s legs.

North Korea is a two-time winner of the Women’s Asian Cup, with titles in 2001 and 2003.

The DPRK’s golf facilities are all easily recognizable from Google Earth:  There is the 18 hole course half-way between Pyongyang and Nampo; there is a smaller 9-hole course next to the Yangakdo Hotel; there is a driving range in the Sosan sports district; and there is even a three hole course east of town just south of the Ponghwa Barrage on the Taedong River (This area could be the Ponghwa Executive Apartments mentioned in Kim il Song’s North Korea).

According to Yonhap, the DPRK has successfully expanded their number of golf holes by 60%–increasing them from 30 to 48:

The “Kumgang Ananti Golf and Spa Resort,” including a 18-hole golf course, will open to the public Wednesday after nearly four years of construction, Emerson Pacific Group, a Seoul-based leisure firm, said.

Built on about 1.7 million square meters of land, the resort also has a spa, a hotel and restaurants that provide nice sea and mountain views, according to Kim Min-jeong, a publicity official of the company.

The golf course has already drawn media attention over its 929-meter number three hole, the world’s longest.

The facility, however, will be operated on a membership-only basis for the time being, Kim said, adding that the company plans to open the facility to individual tourists around next year.

Emerson Pacific is waiting for Pyongyang to give the company permission to employ about 200 North Koreans, including 60 caddies, at the resort, the official said.

Read the full story here:
Golf course to open at North Korea’s Mt. Geumgang
Yonhap
5/27/2008

Koryo Tours Press Release
5/12/2008

British run Koryo Tours have just been informed that this year’s Mass Games in North Korea have been expanded to include two different events, both staged in Pyongyang’s May Day stadium with a full compliment of 100,000 performers. Running from August 4th until the end of September every day bar Sunday will see a 100 minute afternoon performance of an all-new Mass Games show named ‘Prosper the Motherland!’ staged specially for the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 9th September 1948. The classic ‘Arirang’ an 80 minute gymnastic and socialist realism extravaganza will be performed in the evening.

Koryo Tours are running their usual full compliment of tours during this time and details can be found on their website.  Koryo Tours offer regular group tours, tours for US citizens (only possible during the Mass Games), specialized trips including to Mount Paekdu, independent tours for small groups, as well as many others. This will likely be a bigger opening event than the Olympics and on a larger scale than ever before.

UPDATE: photos from North Korea’s first cricket game:

ORIGINAL POST:

The venue: Mt. Taesong Park. 
Click on image for larger view.

This week Pyongyang hosted its first ever cricket match.  I hope to get an update on the game when the team returns to China.  Until now, here is what we know from the Telegraph:

The three visiting teams for the Twenty20 tournament will be largely expatriates from England, Australia, South Africa and Holland who are based in Shanghai.

The North Korean side will be boosted by staff from the Indian and Pakistani embassies.

The tournament was planned by Bryan Clark, a British employee of the logistics firm DHL, which has an office in Pyongyang, and the Shanghai Cricket Club, which has been leading attempts to develop the game in China.

The game will be immortalized in the next version of “North Korea Uncovered” on Google Earth.

Read the full story here:
North Koreans take on the English at cricket
Telegraph
Richard Spencer
4/24/2008

UPDATE: You Tube has video footage of the Pyongyang leg of the Olympic torch relay taken from foreign news sources.  Judging from the videos, it looks like the ceremony kicked off at the Tower of the Juche Idea, and Pak Do ik was the first relay runner.

Here is coverage on CNN  (the announcers make at least two mistakes.  They identify the paper flowers people are waiving as Kimjongilia, and they call Kim Jong Il North Korea’s “President”– let’s get with the program people).

Here is coverage on Russian Television.

Here is more extensive print coverage from the AP.

I still have not managed to find the entire olympic torch route in Pyongyang or official DPRK coverage of the event.  If you find this information, please let me know.

ORIGINAL POST:   

North Korea’s most famous footballer (domestically), Pak Do ik, will be carrying the Olympic torch (for the first time ever) through Pyongyang:

Pak was introduced to modern western audiences through his appearance in the documentary The Game of Their Lives, released in 2002.  He scored the winning goal against Italy in the 1966 World Cup allowing the DPRK to enter the quarter finals (where the the DPRK lost to Portugal after being up 3-0 early on).

80 individuals were selected for the torch relay, and most are DPRK citizens with significant athletic accomplishments under their belts–such as Jong Song-ok, who won the 1999 World Athletics Championship. The remainder of the runners are officials with the International Olympic Committee, the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang, representatives of Chinese residents in North Korea and major sponsors of the torch relay.

It also looks like the torch might cross the DMZ: 

The torch is set to pass from South Korea to North Korea in the early hours of April 28 before heading to Vietnam that evening aboard a flight.

The 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) section linking Juche Tower to Kim Il Sung Stadium, both major landmarks in Pyongyang, was chosen for the event, it said.

It indicated Pyongyang citizens will be mobilized to stand along the street while the torch passes, by saying, “A large welcoming crowd will cheer for the torch runners.” (Joong Ang Daily)

UPDATE: According to Yohnap, the torch will be flown from Seoul to Pyongyang.  

Read the full article here:
Athletes selected to carry the torch in North Korea 
Joong Ang Daily
4/21/2008

N.K. preparations for torch relay almost complete: KCNA
Yohnap
4/23/2008

More politicization of the Beijing Olympics…

The United Nations has withdrawn its staff from the Olympic torch run in North Korea amid concerns that the relay will be used as a propaganda stunt.

The decision followed a heated internal debate among foreign donors, who face a constant battle with Kim Jong-il’s government in their efforts to get food and aid to impoverished people.

It is believed to be the first acknowledgment by the world body that the Olympic torch relay is a political event that can be exploited by unscrupulous governments, diplomats said.

and…

“Unicef originally decided to participate in the Pyongyang leg of the Olympic torch run in response to a request from, and as a demonstration of support for, the International Olympic Movement,” said Christopher de Bono, a spokesman for the organisation.

“However, we are no longer convinced that Unicef’s participation in the run will support the aim of raising awareness of the situation of children in the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of, or North, Korea] and elsewhere,” he said.

“Unicef has decided, in concert with other UN family entities, to withdraw from the Pyongyang relay.”

Read the full article here:
UN pulls out of North Korea Olympic torch ceremony amid fears of propaganda coup
Times of London
Michael Sheridan
4/6/2008

Update 2 - 6/9/2008: YouTube video of the game

Both national anthems played

North Korean tem thanks the fans 

Update 1 -  4/3/2008: Interesting coment on DPRK sports social norms below… 

By pure serendipity I happened to be in Shanghai last week when the DPRK and South Korea faced off in their first world cup qualifier.  As readers are aware, this match was supposed to be held in Pyongyang, but after the DPRK refused to raise the South Korean flag (preferring instead a single “unification” flag), FIFA moved the game to Shanghai.

Both flags were raised and national anthems were played–then the players took to the field.  The game was pretty exciting.  Although the final score was 0-0 both teams played like they wanted to win.  The South Koreans were the clear favorites, so it was a surprise when the game ended in a tie.  Fortunately, I could not contact my bookie from China.

Above: the North Korean fans sitting directly below me.

Although it was a “home” game for the North Koreans they were drastically out-numbered by Southerners and contained together in their own section.

Scarves available from Koryo Tours!

The Northerners were quite accessible, however, in the hallways at half-time and after the game. The few I spoke with were language students, business students, engineering students, and businessmen, mostly all from Beijing and Shanghai.  They were organized into groups like Japanese tourists, but it was nice they made the effort bringing out some supporters for the home team. 

Thanks to Simon for the tickets, scarves, and the title.

UPDATE
nkmonitor:
The DPRK fans seem pretty friendly. By the way, where they mostly Chaoxian Zu or actual DPRK citizens? Where they aware of the controversy surrounding the match?

Simon: 
All the ones in white clothes (as seen in the pics taken from above) were full-on DPRK citizens, as mentioned in the piece above they were mostly working in Beijing and Shanghai; there were airline staff, businessmen, students, waitresses, etc all there. The Chinese chaoxian zu seemed to be sitting on the upper stand across the stadium, at least there were a load of people dressed drably, not really making any noise and they had a couple of NK flags out so I assume this was them. The NKs in the lower stand made a bit of noise and had big singalong at the end. When people attend matches in Pyongyang they tend to just sit in silence regardless of how it is going so this did make a refreshing change from that scenario.