North Korean Economy Watch

Yonhap
9/20/2007

[excerpt] 

The South Korean government plans to ask the National Assembly to significantly increase its budget for inter-Korean cooperation projects and aid programs for North Korea, the Ministry of Planning and Budget said Thursday.

Seoul hopes to increase the fund for its cross-border projects to 750 billion won (US$812 million) next year from 500 billion won this year, according to the ministry.

The amount of money allocated for its humanitarian projects will also increase 14 percent to some 530 billion won, the government said.

“The increased budget for humanitarian programs will go to providing half a million tons of rice and 400,000 tons of fertilizer,” each up 100,000 tons from what Seoul provided this year, a government official said while asking not to be identified.

The requests for budget increase are still subject to approval by the parliament, but observers believe the amount of Seoul’s economic aid or assistance will be significantly increased next year following the upcoming summit of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang from Oct. 2 through Oct. 4.

The government was widely expected to promise large assistance and economic cooperation at the summit, only the second of its kind since the two Koreas were divided at the end of 1950-53 Korean War.

Meanwhile, the government also said it would request a total of 895 billion won for its official development assistance next year, up 23.3 percent from some 725 billion won in 2007, as part of efforts to boost its grants and soft loans for developing and under-developed nations to 0.12 percent of its gross national income from 0.08 percent.

Daily NK
Kim Chan Ku
Institute for Far Eastern Studies
9/19/2007

(UPDATE: On Oct. 23, [2008] the State Department blacklisted two North Korean companies, Korea Mining Development Corp. and Korea Taesong Trading Co., for violating U.S. bans on the sale of equipment used in building missiles or other weapons of mass destruction to Iran and Syria. Citation: “North Korean Plane Was Grounded at U.S. Request “, Wall Street Journal, Jay Solomon, 11/1/2008 )

Kimchaek boasts one of the largest steel factories and fishing ports in North Korea especially that of Daesung General Company’s east coast headquarters.

However, at once-famous seaport everything including ship, freezer, packing factory was obsolete and rust. Most of the Soviet-built machines in factories were at least 20 to 30 years old. And there were neither enough spare parts to fix machinery nor job orders, so the factories had stood still for a long time.

I consulted with local North Korean officials in Kimchaek and reached an agreement: ship repair dock will be built in Kimchaek, steel products necessary for building floating dock would be Daesung General Company’s responsibility, and other issues concerning building land factory and management of joint-stock company would be decided in Pyongyang.

Also we finished negotiation over fish export and Pollack fishing by trawler. Thus basic problems were solved.

I came back to Pyongyang on September 30. And another businessperson, Mr. Kim Sung Chan of Pamco Trading, told me his will to invest fifty percent of the capital.

All of sudden, Daesung General Company notified us that among our previous agreements, only the site of repair dock was decided and asked us to wait, promising final decision would delivered in one month.

To start first phase of building factories, it was most critical to have steel products ordered from state. We believed the promise from the North (to take responsibility of providing iron plates) and returned to America.  However, after two month had passed, there was no news from Pyongyang. Curious, I called back and was told to visit North Korea as soon as possible.

On December 9, 1989 I arrived at Sun An International Airport. In Pyongyang, vice president of Daesung General Company (president was absent, traveling abroad) said “we asked the state for iron plates, but production plan was omitted in 1990 fiscal year so one more year of waiting is inevitable, or send us steel plates.”

In other words, our business plan was totally embarrassed and we had to make a new one.  Again, I conferred with Mr. Kim and found out a solution, which was to buy a used floating dock from an American port. There was a fifty-year old used floating dock in Miami, Florida that we were able to buy. If repaired, it seemed available for another twenty years.

Finally, two obstacles had our plan failed. Firstly, it was supposed take at least three month and five hundred thousands US dollars (twice the price of dock) to convey the floating dock by sea. Secondly, (and more fundamental problem) the US government would not permit to sell the dock to North Korea. We were not even possible to transport the dock to Hong Kong and then to North Korea.

Because acquisition of required steel plate for floating dock was failed ultimately, the daring business had gone nowhere. Wasted much money and more than a year of time, I was so depressed at that time[.]

Bloomberg (h/t One Free Korea)
Bomi Lim
9/19/2007

North Korea was dropped from the U.S. list of countries producing illicit drugs, a sign of further relief of tensions between the two countries.

“North Korea is not affecting the United States as much as the requirements on the list,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Christy McCampbell said on Sept. 17 in Washington, according to a transcript of her speech on the State Department Web site.

Ties are improving between the U.S. and North Korea after a February agreement on ending the government in Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. As North Korea moves to scale back the program, the U.S. has promised to review ways of improving ties with the communist country, including removing it from a list of states that sponsor terrorism.

North Korea agreed to a year-end deadline to disclose and disable its nuclear facilities after it shut down and sealed its sole operating reactor at Yongbyon in July.

North Korea was first mentioned in the annual presidential report on “major illegal drug transit and drug-producing countries” in 2003, when President George W. Bush said the U.S. would fight the country’s suspected drug trafficking.

Daily NK
Jeong Jae Sung
9/18/2007

North Korea has requested for negotiations to begin at the Inter-Korean Summit Talks on the co-development of the Kaema Plateau, also known as “the roof of Korea.” The request was taken into consideration by the Ministry of Unification.

In light of North Korea’s request, the Ministry has recently conducted a survey of North Korean defectors from South Hamkyung, Yangkang and Jagang, where the Kaema Plateau is located, regarding the significant geographical features, the status of current development at the plateau, and the intentions of the North Korean government.

Kim Hyung Seh (pseudonym), a North Korean defector from Yangkang, stated that “I was told by interested parties at the Ministry of Unification that right after the Summit Talks North Korea will deliberate the Kaema Plateau development issue and that they needed my cooperation for a sound investigation.”

According to Kim, the questions asked focused on the North Korean government’s purpose in developing the Kaema Plateau, the potential value of this site as a tourist resort, and wether or not there is enough possibility for tourism given the ever increasing number of visitors from Mongolia.

He asserted that “the Kaema Plateau is a huge forest which has no value as a tourist attraction at the moment. All the particular tourist attractions in North Korea retain villas owned by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, but there are none at Kaema Plateau, which speaks for itself.”

Kim also added that the affiliates of the Ministry of Unification did not know where the Kaema Plateau was.

“It is difficult for North Korea to develop the area around Kaema Plateau, which is why they followed the shoreline to develop their railways. In order to make this project possible, the basic transportation infrastructure such as airline facilities, roads and railroads must be established first” advised Kim.

The Ministry of Unification has denied every having conducted these surveys. Regarding the interviews with defectors, one affiliate of the Ministery said “We have not held such meetings,” and another said that “We have met [with the defectors], but we never asked about the Kaema Plateau issue.”

Kim Joong Tae, the Director of the Ministry of Unification’s Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Team, who interviewed Kim, told the DailyNK that “North Korea has never suggested the development of Kaema Plateau. The Ministry merely asked North Korean Defectors about tourism development at Mt. Baekdu.”

The Kaema Plateau is situated across the Middle and Southern region of Yangkang Province, South of Northwest Hamgkyung and East of Jagang. The total area is 14,300 km2 and the height is 1,340m. It is the highest and widest plateau in the entire peninsula, also known as “the roof of Korea.”

Kaema Plateau has abundant forest resources which provide avariety of material lumber. There is also a rich supply of mineral resources, including steel, magnesite, gold, apatite, and copper.

The only source of transportation infrastructure is the military airfields in Pungseo and Jangjin.

It is probable that North Korea’s reason for suggesting the development of Kaema Plateau is to make it tourist site, showcasing various amusment parks and ski resorts. As it is now, this area is completely restricted to civilian traffic. If transportation in the high region is developed, this could be applied for military purposes.

Lee Jin Young (pseudonym), a defector currently residing in South Korea’s Yangcheon district, explained that “the Kaema Plateau is so treacherous that it is only used as a military training field for Special Forces. This was the one area that allied forces could not get control of, even during the Korean War.”

She also added that, “rather than developing Kaema Plateau as a tourist attraction, they should develop the Baekmoo Plateau which includes Mt. Baekdu. The suggestion to develop the Kaema Plateau can only be seen as their intention to construct a better transportation infrastructure.”

Therefore, even if South Korea were to agree to the co-development of Kaema Plateau, there will be huge difficulties regarding the expansion of the social infrastructure and compromising with the military. In particular, the construction of Korean roads, railroads and airfields in the region is sure to cost a lot of money.

Yonhap
9/14/2007

North Korea and Myanmar on Friday signed an agreement on cooperation between their foreign ministries, the North’s official news agency reported without providing details.

“An agreement on cooperation between the foreign ministries of the DPRK and Myanmar was inked here on Friday,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a dispatch from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

The DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.

The agreement is viewed as the first concrete step toward normalizing the countries’ relations since they agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties in April.

Myanmar severed its ties with the communist North in 1983 following a failed assassination attempt by North Korean agents on then South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, who was visiting the south Asian nation.

Twenty-one people, including South Korean Cabinet ministers and presidential aides, were killed in the 1983 bombing.

Friday’s agreement was signed by the North’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il and his Myanmarese counterpart U Kyaw Thu, according to the KCNA report.

Institute for Far Eastern Studies
NK Brief No. 07-9-13-1

It has been reported that Chinese and North Korean governments are working in unison to push forward with a plan to jointly build a goods distribution center in the North Korean city of Sinuiju. According to Yonhap News, China proposed a plan for North Korea to build a ‘DPRK-PRC Friendship Distribution Center’ in Sinuiju, and the two countries are currently involved in negotiations over the idea. North Korea has already signed an investment agreement welcoming Chinese investment firms.

In conjunction with this, North Korean Chamber of Commerce Secretary General Yoon Young-suk held an interview with Yonhap News in the Chinese city of Changchun on September 3. At that time, while refuting a new push for the development of the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region, he stated that “regarding the procurement of a range of goods required in [North Korea], I have heard talk of a plan for a DPRK-PRC Friendship Distribution Center in part of the Sinuiju region.”

The scope of trade between China and North Korea is growing by the day, yet the Sinuiju Customs Office responsible for customs clearance for Chinese imports was limited from the beginning, and the need for a replacement facility has been brought up time and time again. This new distribution center appears to be in response to these calls for a larger facility. The construction of the center will be a cooperative project involving materials and capital from China, while North Korea will provide the land and labor.

A trader from Pyongyang acting as a confidential informant stated, “repairs on the road portion of the [steel bridge spanning the Yalu River connecting Dandong and Sinuiju] carried out from the 10th to the 26th of last month were also part of the material aid from the Chinese.” Officials at the North Korean consulate in Shenyang traveled to the bridge on the 23rd of last month to inspect the progress of the upgrades.

Not long ago, a Chinese trader traveled to Pyongyang, then by road to Sinuiju and over the river to Dandong. He observed, “many construction workers involved in large-scale ground leveling construction work along the railroad tracks running through the heart of downtown Sinuiju,” and, “approximately 10-20 meter deep, very large scale construction appeared to be underway.”

Yonhap
9/13/2007

The United States is preparing to provide heavy fuel oil to North Korea as part of incentives it pledged for Pyongyang’s denuclearization, the State Department said Thursday.

Sean McCormack, the department spokesman, said the notification this week to Congress of such intent was “done with an eye towards” North Korea fulfilling its commitments.

“What it does is, it prepares us in the case we do need to fulfill some commitments” on the part of the U.S., he said.

South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan are members of the so-called six-party talks that in February struck an agreement to eventually dismantle Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and programs. The communist state would receive in return political and economic benefits, including diplomatic normalization with Washington and Tokyo.

One of the economic incentives is 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil to be provided by the five parties. South Korea already delivered 50,000 tons as North Korea shut down its primary nuclear facilities, fulfilling the first phase of the denuclearization deal.

The second phase requires North Korea to disable the facilities and declare all of its nuclear stockpile.

Reuters reported Wednesday that the U.S. administration sent the legislative notification this week, saying it was prepared to give North Korea US$25 million in heavy fuel oil.

According to the document cited by Reuters, the administration deems the initial progress in the six-party talks “sufficient justification to begin preparations for a first shipment by the United States.”

McCormack said while there is preparation, the actual aid is still predicate on North Korea’s fulfillment of its promises.

“If North Korea does in fact follow through on their commitments as stated under the understanding of that phase two commitment, then the other parties have some commitments,” he said. “This would be part of the U.S. fulfilling that commitment, although it’s not done yet.”

After a bilateral nuclear deal in 1994 between Pyongyang and Washington, the U.S. had annually shipped 500,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to the North as energy assistance. The shipment was stopped after the U.S. accused North Korea in 2002 of cheating by running a secret uranium-based weapons program.

Washington Post
Steven Goff
9/11/2007

CHENGDU, China, Sept. 11 — North Korea wrested a tie from the heavily favored United States women’s soccer team in the opening round of the World Cup Tuesday night, scoring two goals within four minutes after an injury to a star U.S. forward left the Americans with just 10 players on the field.

U.S. Coach Greg Ryan elected to play shorthanded in anticipation of star striker Abby Wambach returning later in the game. Wambach did return, but only after the Americans lost their one-goal lead and fell behind, 2-1.

In the 69th minute, Heather O’Reilly ripped a perfectly placed shot to the upper corner to salvage a 2-2 tie before 35,100 spectators on a rainy night at Chengdu Sports Center Stadium.

The U.S. team — which has never finished worse than third in four previous World Cups — will face 2003 runner-up Sweden here Friday and play African champion Nigeria next Tuesday in its Group B finale. The top two finishers in that group will advance to the quarterfinals.

Despite their status as the tournament favorite, the Americans learned very quickly that Tuesday’s match was not going to be easy.

Ryan offered a mild surprise in his starting lineup, moving left back Stephanie Lopez — at age 21,the team’s youngest player — into the midfield and playing with only three defenders. There had been speculation that he might also use two forwards instead of the usual three to offset North Korea’s midfield strengths, but on this night, Ryan stuck with his dangerous trio of Wambach, O’Reilly and Kristine Lilly.

The North Koreans adapted better than the Americans to the wet conditions, using their technical skill to take the early initiative and mount a steady attack. An early shot on goal skipped wide in the opening minute, and a long ball out of the back forced U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo to come off her line and smother the ball before a Korean forward could make contact.

The Americans then began to find their footing and put pressure on North Korea’s keeper. Lori Chalupny poked an eight-yard attempt wide, O’Reilly created space on the left side of the penalty area and Cat Whitehill pounded three free kicks from distance into the box.

In the 26th minute, Korean midfielder Ri Un Suk nearly broke the scoreless deadlock with a 25-yard shot that streaked fractionally wide of the left post. Thirteen minutes later, Kim Yong Ae, who had replaced the injured Ho Sun Hui midway through the half, sent a glancing header just beyond the left corner.

The best threat, however, belonged to the Americans as Wambach headed Lopez’s corner kick off the crossbar and Lilly’s rebound bid was deflected wide.

Intermission arrived without a goal. But in the second half, the match opened up.

The Americans went ahead in the 50th minute when Lilly supplied a superb pass to Wambach clear on the right side of the box. Wambach’s 14-yard attempt had just enough pace and direction to skip off goalkeeper Jon Myong Hui’s hands and fall into the far corner of the net. It was her 78th goal in 97 international appearances.

After Lilly sent a 20-yard free kick just wide of the left post, the match took a wild and unexpected turn.

Wambach bumped heads with a Korean player and suffered a cut in the back of her head. Wambach had to leave the game with blood pouring from her head. She headed toward the locker room for repairs, and had just passed behind the U.S. bench when the Koreans struck for the 58th-minute equalizer.

Solo was in proper position to handle Kil Son Hui’s rising 22-yard shot, but let the ball slide between her wet gloves and drop into the net.

Things continued to unravel for the Americans when, in the 62nd minute, Kim Yong Ae took advantage of a wayward U.S. clearance and slid a 12-yard shot into the far corner, putting the Koreans ahead and sparking a wild celebration on the field and in the stands.

Wambach returned two minutes later, bringing the U.S. team back to full strength. In the 69th minute, Lilly’s cross was deflected twice to O’Reilly, who stung a 10-yarder into the top far corner.

Solo made amends for her earlier gaffe with a spectacular diving save on a laser shot by Ri Un Gyong. In a pregame news conference, FIFA President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter expressed concern about the lopsided result of Monday’s tournament opener — an 11-0 victory by Germany over Argentina — and the ramifications it might have on the organizing body’s decision on whether to expand the field to 24 teams from 16 in 2011.

“Definitely, I did not like this result,” he said. “This is not good when we look forward to the future to perhaps have 24 teams.”

However, in response to a follow-up question, Blatter added: “It’s only the first match. For us, it will be good if we can open this competition because in 1995 I said the future of football is feminine and it is still feminine.”

FIFA (the International Federation of Association Football) will decide this fall whether to expand the field and also determine the host country for the 2011 tournament. Canada, Germany, Australia and Peru are the top candidates, Blatter said.

Korea Herald
Lee Joo-hee
9/11/2007

Informal exchanges between the United States and North Korea are thriving against the backdrop of maturing nuclear negotiations at the six-party talks, news reports said yesterday.

The exchanges vary from invitations to cultural and sports events, to a sightseeing tour in the United States by North Korean officials.

North Korea invited the New York Philharmonic Orchestra last month to play in Pyongyang. The renowned orchestra is yet to accept the offer, but the U.S. State Department has already said that it was up to them to make the decision, despite the embargo on travel and trade with the North.

Washington has also approved a tour around the capital city by the members and families of North Korean U.N. representatives this past weekend. The North Korean diplomats were usually restricted from traveling outside New York City.

A North Korean Taekwondo sports team is set to compete in exhibition matches in the United States next month.

The string of events is in stark contrast to just a year ago, when the North’s missile test in July chilled relations between the United States and North Korea.

Back then, bilateral contacts with the communist regime were still taboo under President George W. Bush’s policy.

With progress in the six-party talks, the cultural and informal exchanges appear to be flourishing hand-in-hand with increasing political exchanges, the reports said.

The latest progress on the nuclear front is the arrival of a U.S. delegation headed by Sung Kim, deputy chief of the U.S. negotiating team to the nuclear talks. He arrived in Seoul yesterday before starting a five-day trip to the North to discuss disabling the North’s nuclear facilities.

In the meantime, three North Korean boxers are to participate in the World Boxing Championships opening in Chicago next month — for the first time in over 10 years.

An information and human resources exchange program between Syracuse University of the United States and Kim Chaek University of Technology of North Korea also resumed recently. The program was halted following Pyongyang’s nuclear test last October. Upon the resumption, the United States reportedly approved a three-month visa for North Korean officials this month, compared to a 10-day visa in the past.

In February, the American Association for the Advancement of Science hosted an academic seminar with North Korean officials to discuss science and technology cooperation.

The United States and North Korea are currently discussing ways to normalize diplomatic relations in return for the North’s nuclear disablement as part of the denuclearization agreement reached at the six-party talks.

Michael Rank at NKZone (which seems to be making a comeback) has pointed out:

British Council is looking for three English language teacher trainers as part of its “high-profile project [that] has been running since 2000.”

The British Council website states:

Senior English Trainer – £28,240 a year, plus benefits

English Trainers (2 posts) – £24,877 a year, plus benefits

Contract from 1 November 2007 to 31 August 2008

Benefits including free accommodation, medical insurance and pension provision

JOB SUMMARY
The British Council/Foreign and Commonwealth Office English language project in the DPRK aims to deliver quality programmes in teacher/trainer training and to develop the curriculum and related materials as well as assessment systems at leading institutions in Pyongyang. This high-profile project has been running since 2000, and we are now seeking three experienced English language teaching professionals to fill the above posts, which will be based at these institutions.

For all posts you will have: a diploma level qualification in TEFL (eg UCLES DTEFLA/Cambridge ESOL DELTA, Trinity College London Dip TESOL); a minimum of 3 years’ ELT and teacher training experience overseas; course/curriculum planning and materials development. Additionally: for the Senior Trainer post you will have an MA in TEFL/Applied Linguistics (or equivalent) plus experience of teaching ESP and of people management. For one of the Trainer posts, content and language integrated learning (CLIL) teaching experience is required, and, for both posts, an MA in TEFL/Applied Linguistics (or equivalent) is desirable.

Note: Local restrictions mean that UK passport holders only can be considered for this post. These are unaccompanied posts, although in exceptional cases the authorities might agree to a married couple.  Employment is subject to permission from the DPRK Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs.

WHO WE ARE
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We work in 110 countries and territories reaching millions of people each year, and increase appreciation of the UK through the arts, education, science, governance and sport.

HOW TO APPLY
Please apply using the materials below.

   Information sheet
   Behavioural competencies
   Guide for external applicants
   Application form
   Guidance on completing the application form
   Senior English Trainer – Information about the job
   English Trainer (with CLIL) – Information about the job
   English Trainer – Information about the job

Closing date for applications: 12 noon, Thursday, 20 September 2007. Applications should be returned to TMP, initially by e-mail, then hard copies by post. Interviews will be conducted on 4 and 5 October 2007 in Manchester.

Please return completed application forms quoting reference OA07016 to:

Lisa Hampton
TMP
Chancery House
53-64 Chancery Lane
London WC2A 1QS

Telephone: 020 7649 6046
Fax: 08700 339318
E-mail: britishcouncil@tmpw.co.uk

If you are unable to download the application form and details please contact Lisa Hampton.

OUR RECRUITMENT POLICY
The British Council is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and is keen to reflect the diversity of UK society at every level within the organisation. We welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We also offer application packs in the following formats: large print, Braille, computer disk or audio tape.

We guarantee an interview to disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria.

We are the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.