North Korean Economy Watch

The Council on Foreign Relations has published the Independent Task Force Report No. 64: U.S. Policy Toward the Korean Peninsula.

The publication web page is here (overview and task force members).

Download the report here (PDF).

Overview
As tensions on the Korean peninsula rise after an international investigation found that North Korea was responsible for the sinking of a South Korean warship, a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Independent Task Force warns that North Korea’s continued provocations pose a serious threat to its neighbors and that its nuclear weapons program must be stopped. “The United States must seek to resolve rather than simply manage the challenge posed by a nuclear North Korea,” asserts the Task Force.

In its report, U.S. Policy Toward the Korean Peninsula, the Task Force emphasizes that “despite the difficulty of the challenge, the danger posed by North Korea is sufficiently severe, and the costs of inaction and acquiescence so high, that the United States and its partners must continue to press for denuclearization.” The United States cannot risk “the potential spread of nuclear weapons to rogue states, terrorist groups or others—especially in the Middle East.”

The Task Force says that the United States also must provide leadership with its regional partners to “coordinate actions designed to contain the spillover effects of possible North Korean instability while insisting that North Korea give up its destabilizing course of action.” It recommends that contingency pla nning be prioritized: “Given the uncertainties and associated risks related to North Korea’s future, it is necessary and sensible for its neighbors to consider the possibility of volatility in North Korea and plan for its possible effects.”

The bipartisan Task Force, chaired by former special envoy for negotiations with North Korea Charles L. “Jack” Pritchard and former commander of UN Command/U.S. Forces Korea John H. Tilelli Jr., and directed by CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow Scott A. Snyder, is comprised of roughly two dozen distinguished experts representing a wide variety of backgrounds. The report commends the U.S.-South Korean partnership and applauds the close alliance coordination following the ship incident. The Task Force urges the passage of the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which it says is good for America and would send a strong message of support for South Korea.

While each member of the Six Party talks—China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States—has its own concerns, “any hope of resolving the North Korean standoff will depend on all parties cooperating with one another and being firm with North Korea.” The report emphasizes that “Chinese cooperation is essential to the success of denuclearization on the Korean peninsula and to ensuring regional stability.”

The report makes several specific recommendations, including calling for the establishment of a dialogue with China about the future of the Korean peninsula, bilateral talks with North Korea regarding missile development, and close consultations with allies South Korea and Japan. The report recommends that the Obama administration prioritize its approach to North Korea in the following order.

* Prevent horizontal proliferation: “The United States and its allies should heighten vigilance against the possibility of a transfer of nuclear weapons technologies or fissile material from North Korea and strengthen the capacity to carry out effective counterproliferation measures.”
* Stop vertical proliferation: “North Korea’s unconstrained efforts to develop a missile delivery capability for its nuclear arsenal would dramatically expand its ability to threaten its neighbors and further complicate prospects for reversing its nuclear program.”
* Denuclearize: “The debate over nonproliferation versus denuclearization is a false choice; the United States and its partners can and must do both by containing proliferation while also pressing for denuclearization.”

The Task Force recommends that the United States seek ways to integrate North Korea into the international community, including through cultural and academic exchanges. “The Obama administration should change long-standing U.S. policies blocking North Korea’s participation in activities of international financial institutions,” notes the report. It also condemns North Korea’s abysmal human rights record: “North Korea’s shameful human rights situation and failure to meet the needs of its people is a human tragedy that should be addressed by U.S. humanitarian assistance and other measures to improve human rights conditions inside North Korea.”

According tot he Joonang Ilbo:

The U.S. government has nominated Robert Einhorn, an expert in nonproliferation issues, as its new coordinator for implementing UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, diplomatic sources in Seoul said on Thursday.

Einhorn is currently the special adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for nonproliferation and arms control, and a source here said Einhorn is one of Washington’s leading experts in Korean Peninsula and North Korean nuclear issues.

The sources said the United States is looking to streamline the process by which it implements sanctions, as it prepares to seek a UN resolution that addresses the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan. Last week, a multinational team of investigators concluded that North Korea attacked the 1,200-ton corvette with a torpedo on March 26.

“The U.S. administration was seeking more efficient management of implementation of sanctions, which had been divided between the State and the Treasury departments,” the source said. “Philip Goldberg, the assistant state secretary at the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, had been doubling as the implementation coordinator, but Einhorn is poised to take over.

“The U.S. government also tried to strengthen its sanctions system after the second North Korean nuclear test last year, when Goldberg was named the coordinator,” the source said. Goldberg was appointed to his Bureau of Intelligence and Research post in February.

Another source said Einhorn’s nomination is also part of the U.S. government’s efforts to follow up on President Barack Obama’s order to review “existing authorities and policies” on North Korea. Soon after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak unveiled Seoul’s countermeasures against Pyongyang Monday, the White House expressed its support and said in a statement, “This review is aimed at ensuring that we have adequate measures in place and to identify areas where adjustments would be appropriate.”

According to the State Department, Einhorn spent 29 years at the department and served as a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2001 to 2009. He held arms control and nonproliferation positions at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and from 1999 to 2001 he was the assistant state secretary for nonproliferation.

In October 2000, Einhorn accompanied then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to Pyongyang, where he met Kim Jong-il twice. Einhorn was also involved in missile talks with North Korea.

“Aside from his knowledge of North Korean nuclear issues, Einhorn is tight with Gary Samore, the weapons of mass destruction coordinator at the White House, and other nonproliferation officials in the Obama administration,” another source in Seoul said. “Einhorn should be able to provide leadership in his new role.

“And since he’s also been dealing with financial sanctions on Iran as the special adviser at the State Department, Einhorn is a great fit to manage financial embargoes against North Korea.”

Another diplomatic source said the Obama administration needed to tighten its sanctions regime. The source said when North Korean overseas accounts were closed off by U.S. sanctions, they simply changed the name of the individual or the company which had opened the account and resumed transactions. The sanctions were aimed at banning transactions by companies or individuals suspected of involvement in the North’s weapons of mass destruction programs.

“U.S. officials have taken note of such [name-changing] practices and they’re preparing measures to eliminate them,” the source said.

U.S. officials are also continuing to press China to join them in punishing North Korea. In an interview with National Public Radio yesterday, Korean time, Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that because China is cooperating with the United States about nuclear issues in Iran, he hopes it will do the same in dealing with the Cheonan case.

In another related move, Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama condemned the Cheonan attack in a phone conversation and pledged cooperation with South Korea. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Japan will lower the limit on the amount of undeclared cash that can be carried into North Korea to 100,000 yen ($1,097) from the current 300,000 yen, as part of Japan’s toughened sanctions.

Read the full story here:
U.S. nominates sanctions ace
Joongang Daily
Kang Chan-ho, Yoo Jee-ho
5/29/2010

Laura and Lisa Ling have spoken publicly for the first time about Laura’s and Euna Lee’s arrest in the DPRK.

1. Here is their interview with NPR.  It is also the most informative.

2. Here is part of their interview with Larry King on CNN.

3.  Here is their interview with Current TV (Laura’s former employer).

4. Here are all the stories I posted on LAura’s and Euna’s captivity.

The name of their book is Somewhere Inside.

According to the Korea Times:

The remains of a U.S. serviceman who went missing in action during the 1950-53 Korean War were recently returned to his family for burial, almost six years after they were excavated in North Korea, the U.S. Department of Defense said Thursday.

The soldier, Army Cpl. Stanley P. Arendt, was buried on March 29 in Palantine, Ill. with full military honors, the Pentagon said in a statement.

In May 2004, a joint U.S.-North Korean team excavated a mass grave near the town of Unsan after receiving a report that an elderly North Korean national had witnessed the death of U.S. soldiers at the site.

The team recovered remains and other personal artifacts that ultimately lead to the identification of seven soldiers.

Arendt was assigned to the 8th Cavalry Regiment in November 1950. According to the Pentagon, “Arendt’s unit was involved in heavy fighting which devolved into hand-to-hand combat around their command post” near Unsan.

Some 400 men were reported missing in action or killed in action during the battle at Unsan, the statement said.

The United States conducted more than 30 excavation missions in the North from 1996 to 2005, finding the remains of what it believed to be some 230 soldiers. It estimates that the remains of some 8,000 of its soldiers are still there.

The joint excavation project between the two countries was halted in 2005 due to tensions over the North’s nuclear ambitions.

On Monday, the North threatened to abandon its efforts to preserve the remains of U.S. soldiers who went missing during the war, unless the United States agrees to restart the project soon. In response, the U.S. State Department hinted the excavations could begin again after the North returns to the six-party talks on its denuclearization.

The project had been a source of hard currency for the North, which has reportedly been struggling with a worsening food situation and reeling from the effects of its disastrous currency revaluation.

Read the full story here:
Remains of US MIA From Korean War Returned
Korea Times
Kim Young-jin
4/9/2010

UPDATE 16: 10/27/2010 – Robert Park has spoken of long-term psychological problems stemming from his captivity in North Korea.  According to the Choson Ilbo:

The evangelical activist Robert Park, who was detained in North Korea for 43 days after crossing the border from China in December last year, has spoken for the first time on South Korean TV about the ordeal. “They have really thought about this. How can we kill these people, how can we starve these people, how can we enslave these people, how can we control these people,” the Korean American told KBS on Tuesday.

He pledged to devote the rest of his life to fighting for the demise of the North Korean regime and the human rights of North Koreans.

Park recalled how he crossed the Duman (or Tumen) River on Dec. 25 last year, and was immediately arrested and beaten. “The scars and wounds of the things that happened to me in North Korea are too intense,” he said. He added that to prevent him from divulging the details of his detention, the security forces carried out humiliating sexual torture. “As a result of what happened to me in North Korea, I’ve thrown away any kind of personal desire. I will never, you know, be able to have a marriage or any kind of relationship.”

He attempted a suicide immediately after he returned to the United States and had to be treated by a psychiatrist for seven months.

Park insisted that an apology he read on North Korean TV was dictated to him. Asked why he decided to enter the North illegally armed with nothing but a Bible, he said, “I hoped through my sacrifice, that people will come together and they will liberate North Korea.”

UPDATE 15: 8/30/2010 – Doubts raised over whether Gomes attempted suicide. According ot the Choson Ilbo:

The North’s official KCNA news agency on July 9 reported Gomes tried to kill himself “driven by his guilty conscience and by frustration with the U.S. government’s failure to free him.” It said he was being treated in hospital.

After the news, the U.S. administration quickly decided to send Carter to Pyongyang. In mid-August, a U.S. State Department medical team visited the North to check on the prisoner.

But in an interview with the New York Times last Saturday, Gomes’ uncle Michael Farrow denied he attempted suicide but had gone on hunger strike.

“I wouldn’t say that he was anywhere near sick at all,” the daily quoted Farrow as saying. “Naturally he probably had some discomfort of being away from home, but other than that he held up pretty good.” This suggests that Gomes was protesting against his detention.

Gomes arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston on the same plane as Carter on Friday and went home with his family without talking to the press.

UPDATE 14: 8/27/2010- Here is KCNA coverage of Cater’s visit to secure the release of Gomes:

Report on Jimmy Carter’s Visit to DPRK

Pyongyang, August 27 (KCNA) — Jimmy Carter, ex-president of the United States, and his party visited the DPRK from Aug. 25 to 27.

Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, met and had a talk with them.

He discussed with Carter the pending issues of mutual concern between the DPRK and the U.S.

Kim Yong Nam expressed the will of the DPRK government for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of the six-party talks.

In particular, he emphasized that it is the behest of President Kim Il Sung to denuclearize the peninsula.

Jimmy Carter made an apology to Kim Yong Nam for American Gomes’ illegal entry into the DPRK and gave him the assurance that such case will never happen again on behalf of the government and the ex-president of the U.S. He asked Kim Yong Nam to convey to General Secretary Kim Jong Il a message courteously requesting him to grant special pardon to Gomes to leniently forgive him and let him go home.

After receiving a report on the request made by the U.S. government and Carter, Kim Jong Il issued an order of the chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission on granting amnesty to Gomes, an illegal entrant, pursuant to Article 103 of the Socialist Constitution of the DPRK.

Carter expressed deep thanks for this.

Earlier, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of State for Consular Affairs and his party visited Pyongyang from August 9 to 11 in connection with the case of Gomes and met officials of the Foreign Ministry and a relevant legal body of the DPRK.

The DPRK side took measures as an exception to ensure that they met Gomes three times and confirmed his condition. The U.S. side offered gratitude for these humanitarian measures.

The measure taken by the DPRK to set free the illegal entrant is a manifestation of its humanitarianism and peace-loving policy.

During the visit Carter and his party met and had an open-hearted discussion with the DPRK’s foreign minister and vice foreign minister for U.S. affairs on the DPRK-U.S. relations, the resumption of the six-party talks, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and other issues of mutual concern.

They also enjoyed a performance given by the State Symphony Orchestra.

The Pyongyang visit paid by Jimmy Carter, ex-president of the U.S., provided a favorable occasion of deepening the understanding and building confidence between the two countries.

UPDATE 13: 8/25/2010 – Jimmy Carter has arrived in Pyongyang for the second time in his life.

UPDATE 12: Jimmy Carter is reportedly gearing up to go and get Mr. Gomes.

UPDATE 11: According to All Headline News:

The United States confirmed on Monday that a four-person team visited Pyongyang recently to meet with 30-year-old Aijalon Gomes, who has been held captive since January.

Asked to comment on the visit, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told journalists, “It was a four person team: one consular official, two doctors, and a translator. We requested permission to visit Mr. Gomes. That permission from the North Korean Government was granted. The basis of the trip was simply our ongoing concerns about Mr. Gomes’s health and welfare.”

“They (the team from the State Department, Washington) were in Pyongyang from August 9 through August 11. I believe they returned on August 12,” said Crowley, adding, “They visited him (Gomes) in a hospital.”

Crowley said that although the U.S. and Swedish officials on its behalf, “requested permission to bring Mr. Gomes home,” adding, “Unfortunately, he remains in North Korea.”

“We have had conversations directly with North Korea on this issue. We have encouraged them to release Mr. Gomes on humanitarian grounds and we will continue to have that direct conversation with North Korea as needed,” Crowley noted.

UPDATE 10: US in direct contact with DPRK re: Gomes (Daily NK)

UPDATE 9: (2010-7-19) Robert Park has apparently broken his silence to speak out for Gomes.  According to KOLD News 13 (Tucson, AZ):

For the first time since his release from North Korea, Tucsonan Robert Park is speaking out.

…

He’s speaking out now to send a message about Aijalon Gomes, a U.S. citizen who’s currently being held in North Korea.

“He’s a wonderful man,” Park said. “He’s a very good friend of mine.”

Gomes, a Boston resident, crossed into North Korea one month after Park did. Gomes has been sentenced to eight years in a North Korean labor camp. But North Korea has recently threatened to increase that punishment, by invoking the country’s “wartime law,” citing growing tensions with the U.S.

It’s still not clear exactly why Gomes entered North Korea, but based on limited communications with his friend, Park believes it’s because of him.

“He was very concerned about me,” said Park, who added that crossing into North Korea was uncharacteristic for Gomes. “He was so concerned that (I) was dead, so that’s why he took this risk and he just went in.”

Park says he’s now going on a hunger strike to raise awareness and urgency about Gomes’ situation.

“I’m on the third day of my hunger strike,” he said. “I plan to not consume any food until he is released, even if that means my death.”

Park is also urging Americans to contact lawmakers to intervene.

“If you would please contact your government leaders and plead with them, raise awareness with them concerning Aijalon Gomes’s case, and ask that they make a direct visit.”

UPDATE 8: KCNA reports Gomes attempted suicide:

American Prisoner Attempts Suicide
Pyongyang, July 9 (KCNA) — American Gomes serving a prison term in the DPRK recently attempted to take his own life, according to information available from a relevant organ.

Driven by his strong guilty conscience, disappointment and despair at the U.S. government that has not taken any measure for his freedom, he attempted to commit suicide. He is now given first-aid treatment at a hospital.

The Swedish embassy here representing the U.S. interests acquainted itself with the condition of the patient at the hospital.

According to the New York Times:

In April, North Korea sentenced Mr. Gomes to eight years of hard labor and fined him the equivalent of $700,000 for entering the country illegally and for “hostile acts.”

North Korea recently threatened to increase the punishment for Mr. Gomes under the country’s “wartime law,” saying worsening tensions with the United States had created a warlike situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Mr. Gomes’s motivation for entering North Korea is unclear. He had been teaching English in South Korea before his arrest in the North. In late April, he was allowed to speak to his mother by telephone.

UPDATE 7: DPRK threatens to increase punishment of Gomes over the Cheonan situation.  Apparenlty there is no North Korean word for “Double Jeapordy“.  According to the BBC:

North Korea said it would use “wartime law” against the 30-year-old if the US continued its “hostile approach” over the sinking of a South Korean warship.

….

According to North Korea’s state news agency, US requests to free Gomes will not be accepted while the dispute over the sinking of the warship continues.

Instead the Korean Central News Agency says “there remains only the issue of what harsher punishment will be meted out to him”.

“If the US persists in its hostile approach, the latter will naturally be compelled to consider the issue of applying a wartime law to him,” state media reported.

Analysts say “wartime law” could mean a life sentence or the death penalty.

UPDATE 6: Gomes has phoned home.  According to the AP (4/30/2010):

An American imprisoned in North Korea was allowed to speak to his family by telephone Friday, state media said.

North Korea sentenced Aijalon Mahli Gomes to eight years of hard labor and fined him $700,000 in early April for entering the country illegally in January and for an unspecified “hostile act.”

Gomes, from Boston, was the fourth American detained by North Korea for illegal entry in less than a year. He had been teaching English in South Korea.

The official Korean Central News Agency reported that Gomes spoke with family on Friday. The call was allowed after Gomes asked “for a phone contact with his family for his health and other reasons,” the report said.

The brief dispatch from North Korea’s capital Pyongyang provided no further details on the call.

KCNA also said Gomes had contact in prison with a Swedish Embassy official to whom he handed a “written petition.” The report said that happened before the phone call but wasn’t specific.

The United States and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations, and Sweden handles U.S. interests in the North.

UPDATE 5: Gomes has been sentenced.  According to the BBC:

North Korea has sentenced a US citizen to eight years’ hard labour for illegally entering the country, state news agency KCNA has said.

The man, named as 30-year-old Aijalon Mahli Gomes, from Boston, admitted his wrongdoing in court, KCNA reported.

Gomes had worked as an English teacher in South Korea, and reportedly crossed the border from China on 25 January.

Swedish diplomats were allowed to attend the trial, as the US has no diplomatic presence in North Korea.

Gomes, described by colleagues as a devout Christian, was also fined 70 million won ($700,000; £460,000 at the official exchange rate). It is not clear why he entered North Korea.

Goodwill gesture?
Despite the jail sentence, analysts suggested Gomes could be freed before too long as Pyongyang tries to improve bilateral relations with the US.

“The North is not going to hold him for eight years,” Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Seoul’s Dongguk University told the AFP news agency.

“It is likely to suspend the implementation of the sentence and expel him as a goodwill gesture toward the United States.”

Gomes was the fourth American citizen to be accused of entering the country in the past year. In February, North Korea freed Robert Park, who had entered the country from China by walking over a frozen river.

He had reportedly wanted to highlight human rights issues in North Korea, but was said before his release to have admitted his “mistake”.

Last year two US journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were also arrested by North Korea on the border with China.

They were sentenced to 12 years’ hard labour but freed in August after four months in captivity, as part of a diplomatic mission spearheaded by former US President Bill Clinton.

According to KCNA:

Central Court Gives American to 8 Years Hard Labor

Pyongyang, April 7 (KCNA) — A trial of Aijalon Mahli Gomes, male U.S. citizen, was held at a court of justice of the Central Court of the DPRK on Tuesday.

An examination was made of the hostile act committed against the Korean nation and the trespassing on the border of the DPRK against which an indictment was brought in and his guilt was confirmed according to the relevant articles of the criminal code of the DPRK at the trial. On this basis, the court sentenced him to eight years of hard labor and a fine of 70 million won.

The accused admitted all the facts which had been put under accusation.

The presence of representatives of the Swedish embassy here to witness the trial was allowed as an exception at the request of the Swedish side protecting the U.S. interests.

(more…)

Koryo Tours brings some exciting news for those seeking to visit the DPRK–Hamhung will now be open to tourism–even US tourists. Sign up for the Koryo Tours newsletter on their web page here.

According to the newsletter:

1. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) drops restrictions on US tourists.
Until recently, American tourists had only been allowed into North Korea during the Mass Games for a maximum 4-night stay. Fortunately in 2010, everything has changed – we can now welcome US citizens on both group and independent tours all year around (we took US citizens on our group tours in February and March, and can confirm these changes are in effect). Check out our complete list of tours and travel options at and see what’s new!

2. Hamhung city to open to tourists
We at Koryo Tours have long prided ourselves on being the only company allowed to offer original DPRK programming, and 2010 has already proven to be a windfall. After years of continuous efforts, we are thrilled to announce our brand-new tour to Hamhung, a major industrial city on Korea’s east coast. Those on our August 7 – 16/17 Liberation Long Day Tour will be the first Western tourists to ever visit this area (again, US citizens are welcome). Our new itinerary adds a two-night Hamhung stay to the already packed ten-night schedule that includes trips to Mount Paekdu, Pyongyang, Kaesong, and other areas). Details are still in flux, but as with everywhere else, we will maximise interaction with locals and see as much as time allows. Plan on staying one night in Hamhung proper and one night at the brand new Majon beach resort, where again, no Westerners have ever been. We are now taking applications from anyone who wants to be among the first tourists in history to go to this major city and its stunning surrounding areas on either a group or independent tour. As for our returning travellers we offer special discounts, so if you were looking for an excuse to go back, this may be the trip of a lifetime for you.

3. Rajin-Sonbong/Chongjin/Vladivostok Tour
Even among the select travellers who have ventured into North Korea, Rajin-Sonbong  (Rason) remains a mystery…a remote area (even by DPRK standards) that shares a northern border with China and Russia and not possible to enter from North Korea proper.  Rason sees almost no tourists at all (literally not one western tourist in 2009!) but keeping up our tradition of breaking new ground, Koryo is preparing a 3-country, 3-time zone, 3-language tour. We start in Yanji, part of China’s Korean autonomous region, then head down to the North Korean coastal city of Chongjin, and  cross overland to Mt. Chilbo (you will be the first Western tourists to arrive there by land). After that, we head back to the free-trade zone and ride the international rail, bus and boat into Russia. We finish our tour in the jewel of Russia’s Far East, the previously closed city of Vladivostok, where travellers can either return to Beijing, fly on to Tokyo or Seoul, or even hop on the Trans-Siberian and keep going . This tour is slated for July; details are still being hammered out, but if you’re interested in seeing these mysterious, fascinating places that are as different as they are unforgettable, please contact us at info@koryotours.com

4. Centre Forward
Koryo Tours has always been more than a travel company; among other projects, we have a long history of filmmaking in the DPRK. While preparing to shoot our latest feature film, we obtained the rights to a North Korea football (soccer if you like!) movie, made in 1978 and never exported abroad – until now. Featuring DPRK film star Kim Chol, Centre Forward tells the story of a young player who reaches the first team only to see the squad hit with a crisis of confidence. Will they be able to get back to the top of their game? Remastered and subtitled with a DVD extra that interviews Rim Jong Sun the 1966 football hero who was consulted on the film. Check out the trailer at Youtube option or at  Youku option.

(Please pass this link on so we can get some viral action going!) In a World Cup year that features North Korea for the first time since 1966, this is a topical and fascinating glimpse into the sporting culture of an unknown country. For film freaks, sports fans and DPRK watchers everywhere, this is a must-see! The DVD is available for purchase at 200rmb (20EUROs) and ready in June – please contact  info@koryogroup.com for more information.

5. Korea vs. Japan Women’s Football
On May 23rd Korea DPR take on Japan in a qualifying match for the 2011 Women’s World Cup. The DPRK ladies are perennial challengers for football’s highest honours, so this should be a good game against regional (and historical) rivals Japan. Come with Koryo Tours to Pyongyang and cheer the team along with the home crowd! For information, see:
http://www.koryogroup.com/travel_NEWItinerary_0.php

6. Turkmenistan May 2010 Tour
In continuing our tradition of trips to weird and wonderful places, we are in our fifth year of tours to the Republic of Turkmenistan (next tour May 11 – 18), with an especially exciting programme. See stunning sites such as the capital city of Ashgabat (Pyongyang meets Las Vegas!) as well as ancient fortresses, giant bazaars, mega-mosques and horse racing, camp in the desert next to a giant flaming gas crater, visit the Caspian sea port of Turkmenbashi and travel by bus, plane, boat, and even horse and camel to get there. Join us on this memorable trip to a remarkable place. The ininerary is here.
[NKeconWatch: I went on this tour and recommend it!]

7. Amazing Mass Games Photos Available: Link to the website
Koryo Tours helped photographer Werner Kranwetvogel get unprecedented access to the Mass Games- absolutely sublime images- on his last trip Werner had access to the ground level but on return to Germany found his lens had a fault…and back he came to Pyongyang…but his images are testament to his drive.

UPDATE: Some additional informtaion from Paul Costello:

Stanford researcher Sharon Perry PhD, an infectious disease specialist, has been working in North Korea with a team of American health specialists to develop the country’s first diagnostic laboratory to test drug-resistant tuberculosis. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as the hermit country is formally known, witnessed a resurgence of TB in the 1990s after famines plagued the country.

The TB Diagnostics Project is being led by the Bay Area TB Consortium, which Perry directs, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington nonprofit group working to strengthen global security. The program came about after a team of North Korean health officials visited California and met with Stanford and Bay Area tuberculosis experts in 2008.

It’s unusual for any outsiders to visit North Korea, but extremely rare for Americans. Safe to say that it’s an unprecedented partnership between U.S. researchers and health officials in North Korea. So far, Perry has ventured there three times and is soon to return for a fourth visit.

I spoke with Perry for a 1:2:1 podcast about her work in North Korea. It’s a candid, revealing interview that pulls back the curtain a bit from this most mysterious nation. I found it fascinating to hear Perry describe the work there and talk about collaborating with officials from the Ministry of Health on this significant health crisis for the nation. The porous nature of geographical borders and the ability of disease to spread easily from one country to another clearly illustrates that we’re one planet and all in this together.

ORIGINAL POST: According to the New York Times:

With help from scientists from Stanford University’s medical school, North Korea has developed its first laboratory capable of detecting drug-resistant tuberculosis, scientists involved in the project said last week.

Tuberculosis surged in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea during the famines of the 1990s. (Starvation suppresses the immune system, allowing latent infections to grow.) But the country cannot tell which cases are susceptible to which antibiotics, meaning more dangerous strains could push out strains that are easier to kill, as has happened in Russia and Peru.

The project began after John W. Lewis, an expert on Chinese politics at Stanford participating in informal diplomatic talks over North Korea’s nuclear threat, realized how serious a TB problem the country had. In 2008, doctors from North Korea’s health ministry visited experts in the San Francisco Bay area. Last month, a Stanford team began installing the new diagnostics lab at a hospital in the capital, Pyongyang.

The project “represents an unprecedented level of cooperation” between North Korean and American doctors, Professor Lewis said. It is supported by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit global security group led by former Senator Sam Nunn, Democrat of Georgia, and by Christian Friends of Korea, a humanitarian group.

Although it will soon be able to grow and test TB strains, North Korea right now has none of the more expensive antibiotics that attack drug-resistant TB, said Sharon Perry, the epidemiologist leading the Stanford team. Without outside help it will also run out of routine first-line antibiotics by July, she said.

Read the full article here:
Tuberculosis: North Korea Develops TB Laboratory With Help From American Doctors
New York Times
Donald McNeil, Jr.
3/1/2010

Josh points out this table from the UNHCR (originally published by RFA):

Click image for larger version.

According to Bloomberg: 

President Barack Obama said he’ll keep North Korea off the U.S. government’s list of states that sponsor terrorism.

North Korea “does not meet the statutory criteria” for inclusion on the list, that automatically imposes sanctions, Obama wrote in a letter to congressional leaders yesterday.

Former President George W. Bush removed North Korea in 2008 after the communist state agreed to inspections of sites suspected of being part of the regime’s nuclear program. It had been designated as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1988.

Last June, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the administration was considering re-designating North Korea after it conducted nuclear and missile tests earlier in the year.

Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria are classified as state sponsors of terrorism, according to the State Department.

Read the full story here:
Obama Keeps North Korea Off U.S. List of Terrorism Sponsors
Bloomberg
Hans Nichols
2/4/2010

According to the Korea Times:

Canada granted 66 North Korean defectors refugee status in 2009, which is almost 10 times higher than in 2008, a report said Saturday.

Radio Free Asia, quoting a report from the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, said that more North Koreans are expected to receive the status as there are 59 defectors currently under review.

The North American country’s first case of granting refugee status to a North Korean was in 2000. In 2008, there were seven more cases.

…

According to the radio, a total of 93 North Koreans had also settled down in the United States as of last December.

Read the full article here:
66 North Koreans Given Refugee Status in Canada
Korea Times
Kim Sue-young
1/31/2010