North Korean Economy Watch

I was doing some research this weekend for a paper I am writing, when I stumbled on the following stories from KCNA.  It seems that although President Clinton never made it to the DPRK before his term in office ended, his brother Roger Clinton (aka “US pop singer”) did.

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U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton and his party arrive
KCNA
12/2/1999

Pop singer Roger Clinton, brother of the U.S. president, and his party arrived here today to visit the DPRK on the invitation of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee. 

They were greeted at the airport by Ri Jong Hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, and Song Sok Hwan, vice-Minister of Culture.

U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton and his party enjoy concert
KCNA
12/4/2007

U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton and his party enjoyed a concert staged by the state symphony orchestra at the Moranbong Theatre Friday.

Among the audience were Ri Jong Hyok, vice-chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, Song Sok Hwan, vice-Minister of Culture, officials concerned and working people in the city.

The artistes of the state symphony orchestra staged the orchestral pieces “Arirang,” “Dear Home In My Native Place,” “Nostalgia,” “Bumper Harvest Has Visited Chongsan Field,” a piano concerto “Korea Is One,” and so on. 

U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton and his party visit Mangyongdae
KCNA
12/5/1999

U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton and his party visited Mangyongdae on December 3. 

They looked round historical relics with deep interest, hearing an explanation about how the President Kim Il Sung was born and spent his childhood there. 

They posed for a souvenir photo in front of the old home at Mangyongdae. 

They also visited the Tower of the Juche Idea, King Tangun’s Mausoleum and Pyongyang metro on the same day and the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren’s Palace on Saturday.

Kim Yong Sun meets pop singer Roger Clinton
KCNA
12/5/1999

Kim Yong Sun, chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, Saturday met and had a talk with U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton on a visit to the DPRK.

Present there was Ri Jong Hyok, vice-chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.

U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton performs in Pyongyang
KCNA
12/6/2007

A performance was given by U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton at the Ponghwa Art Theatre yesterday.

It was seen by Kim Yong Sun, chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, Ri Jong Hyok, vice-chairman of the committee, Mun Jae Chol, acting chairman of the Korean Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, Song Sok Hwan, vice-Minister of Culture, and artistes and Pyongyangites.

Roger Clinton and his party and Korean artistes took part in the performance.

Roger Clinton presented solo pieces and his party song, dance and male and female solos.

Korean artistes staged female concert, soprano, solo and dance and other pieces.

The performance ended with a chorus “Our Wish Is Reunification.”

Kim Yong Nam meets Roger Clinton
KCNA
12/7/1999

Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK, met and had a talk with U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton and his party at the Mansudae Assembly Hall today.

Present there was Ri Jong Hyok, vice-chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.

Roger Clinton said that it was an honor for him to visit Korea, expressing the belief that the visit would contribute to the improvement of the relations between the two countries.

Gift to Kim Jong Il from Roger Clinton
KCNA
12/7/2007

General Secretary Kim Jong Il received a gift from U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton on a visit to Korea. 

He handed it to Kim Yong Sun, chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.  

Roger Clinton and his party feted
KCNA
12/7/2007

The Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee (KAPPC) gave a reception for U.S. pop-singer Roger Clinton and his party on a visit to the DPRK at the Mokran House on Monday evening.

Present there were chairman Kim Yong Sun and vice-chairman Ri Jong Hyok of the KAPPC, vice-Minister of Culture Song Sok Hwan and other officials concerned.

Vice-chairman Ri Jong Hyok in his speech said Roger Clinton has staged music and conducted social activities, adding that he is well known among the pop-music circles for presenting many lively and optimistic songs in different countries and regions of the world.

Noting that Roger Clinton and his party gave a successful performance in Pyongyang, he hoped that they would find their stay in Korea pleasant and joyful.

Roger Clinton in his speech expressed thanks to General Secretary Kim Jong Il and the KAPPC and the Korean people for providing him with an opportunity to visit the DPRK and give a performance.

He said the performance tour this time offered an important occasion, adding that all of them should make positive efforts for peace in the future, too.

An art performance was given during the reception.

Roger Clinton interviewed by KCNA
KCNA
12/9/2007

American pop singer Roger Clinton was interviewed by KCNA at Pyongyang Airport before his departure from here Wednesday.

Giving his impressions of Pyongyang, he said it looked very positive and very much peaceful.

He continued:

From the artistic viewpoint, the talented Koreans that I saw here can perform any art of the world. They are as talented people as I have ever seen. But more specific is that children here are the most talented children that I have ever seen.

They performed music and dance, just general art work.

Really, the children are brilliant.

If there is something that I like to say to the Koreans freely, one must claim, I’ll be back.

I promise to convey all of my feelings, all of my lessons and all the information I have got from brave people to our people and to my brother.

At earlier press interviews he said that he was proud of having performed in Pyongyang, and this was great generosity that the Korean people and the government granted to him.

He thanked Marshal Kim Jong Il for the generosity.

He hoped that his visit would be helpful to the improvement of the U.S.-DPRK relations.

Roger Clinton and his party leave
KCNA
12/8/2007

U.S. pop singer Roger Clinton and his party left today after concluding their Korean visit at the invitation of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee (KAPPC).

They were seen off at the airport by Ri Jong Hyok, vice-chairman of the KAPPC, and Song Sok Hwan, vice-Minister of Culture.

Before their departure, they hosted a reception at Pyongyang Koryo Hotel Tuesday evening in connection with their Korea visit.

Joong Ang Daily
10/8/2007

Representatives of the New York Philharmonic were set to arrive over the weekend in North Korea to discuss the possibility of a history-making performance in the communist nation.

Philharmonic President Zarin Mehta and public relations director Eric Latzky said they planned to explore venues and other arrangements for a potential February concert in Pyongyang.

“It’s a country that none of us have ever dreamed of going to. The next three or four days are going to be very eye-opening for us,” Mehta said by telephone Thursday from Beijing.

He and Latzky said they were embarking on the discussions with United States government support. A State Department official was accompanying the Philharmonic representatives on the trip.

“In as much as this is something that both sides are interested in exploring, we will do what we can to facilitate it,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Relations between the United States and North Korea have been tense for years. President George W. Bush once branded the country part of an “axis of evil” along with Iran and Iraq under Saddam Hussein.

But after North Korea tested a nuclear bomb last October, the U.S. softened its policy to facilitate progress on the North’s disarmament.

This week, the North pledged arms talks with Washington and other regional powers to disable its main nuclear facilities and declare all its programs by the year’s end.

Latzky said orchestra representatives had spoken with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill last month about the potential concert, and he was “very encouraging,” The New York Times reported Friday.

North Korea’s Ministry of Culture sent the renowned orchestra an invitation in August.

The Philharmonic has played in South Korea, as well as in other parts of Asia.

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.

Korea Times
Kim Tong-hyung
10/5/2007

It will be quite a long time before Pyongyang earns its stripes as a hip and happening city if it ever does. But, judging by the glimpses revealed during the three-day summit, it seems that not all is gray and grim in the North Korean capital.

First lady Kwon Yang-suk and other South Korean officials ran into a room full of headsets Wednesday at Pyongyang’s Grand People’s Study Hall as students managed to keep a straight face scribbling down English conversations played on tape.

“Repeating is the best,” said a North Korean student when asked what is the secret to learning English, providing no relief to his peers in the South who hear the same thing until their eardrums wear out.

Perhaps improving cooperation between the two Koreas will do little to better the foreign language skills of students from either side of the border who grab English books with the same enthusiasm as a kid force-fed vegetables.

However, it seems clear that Pyongyang’s youngsters of today are more concerned about internationalization than they appeared in the first inter-Korean summit seven years ago.

South Korean delegates went on to tour the Kim Chaek University of Technology where they found students, mostly studying English, searching for video files and text stored in computers.

The university’s library has 420 desktop computers, 2 million books and more than 10 million electronics books that can be accessed via a local area network (LAN) connection or from telephone modems at home.

North Korean officials were eager to show their elite students studying English to South Korean authorities, quiet a surprise from a country dominated by the “Juche,” or self-reliance, ideology.

And at least on the educational front, it seems that computers are becoming a part of everyday life for Pyongyang’s younger generation, although they are far behind their tech-savvy southern neighbors who have television on their cell phones.

Not every picture of change in Pyongyang was staged. South Korean correspondents have sent photos of young North Korean women gliding through the streets in clothes that seemed to be ripped from Vogue magazine. Some even had heavy mascara that would qualify them for a Johnny Depp pirate movie.

Bright colors of yellow and pink were easily seen among the women waving their hands to the limousine convoy of South Korean delegates upon their Pyongyang arrival.

Surely, North Korean fusionists have come a long way since their universally pale makeup and grayish attire seen by South Korean reporters during the 2000 summit.

Even North Korean government officials involved in the formal talks looked a little more contemporary than last remembered, with many of them suited up in tailor-cut, three-button suits.

The security officials looked better too. Gone were the bodyguards with big hats, khaki uniforms and oversized gun holsters who flocked around former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung back in the first talks.

Instead, North Korean bodyguards today were dressed in black suits and moved with a hand on their earpieces, making them hardly distinguishable them from their South Korean counterparts.

Korea Times
Jane Han
10/2/2007

Its just a matter of time before North Korea meets the world through the World Wide Web, as its domain “.kp” has recently been delegated for use.

The domain .kp _ short for Korea, Democratic People’s Republic _ allocated to North Korea, but currently not in use, has been officially designated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to be managed by the Pyongyang-based Korea Computer Center (KCC).

The international organization’s board voted unanimously in mid-September to accept KCC’s request to activate the domain.

Although an initial request was made in 2004, ICAAN declined permission due to the country’s lack of technology, management and governmental support.

The domain has been officially listed with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), allowing Web sites to be managed like other country domains, such as .jp (Japan) and .kr (Korea, Republic of).

Experts predict that the opening of the web domain may serve as a gateway to link the reclusive nation to the global community.

However, North Korean officials have been quoted as saying, “The domain will be strictly managed under the guidance of the central government.”

The North Korean government operates a handful of official and unofficial Web sites on computer servers based in other nations. Most of them are used to promote the country to foreigners, but access from South Korea is blocked by the South’s authorities due to its decades-old laws on national security.

Institute for Far Eastern Studies
NK Brief No. 07-9-28-1
9/28/2007

Since early this year, North Korean authorities have been systematically implementing a double-entry accounting system to keep track of cross border trade with China, and as of late have been cracking down on private sales of goods imported under state requisitions.

It has become common practice for most traders to keep two sets of books, a private accounting record, and a set of records for government use. As these traders exported state goods to China, they would conspire with Chinese counterparts and make huge profits by recording lower prices than goods were actually being sold for. In many cases, bribes are taken to turn officially imported and exported goods (minerals, seafood, etc.) over to private sellers. These facts came to light through Chinese traders in business with North Korea.

Recently, however, investigations by the Kangsung Trade Company, operated under the supervision of the People’s Armed Forces Bureau, led to the conviction and execution of a foreign currency trader in Kangwon Province, Wonsan City and another from South Hamkyung Province, Hamheung City on charges of funneling company funds for private use. The crackdown appears to be because embezzlement and other forms of corruption are on the rise.

It was also disclosed that the foreign currency trader in Hamheung was accepting money from private business operators and using the company’s name to lend import and export quota chits. Inspectors raided the homes of the suspects and found large amounts of U.S. currency and gold, as well as no small amount of Japanese yen.

The human rights NGO ‘Good Friends’ reported in last month’s newsletter, “ After Oh Moon-hyuk, foreign currency director for the Chosun Fabric 88 Trade Company in Yunsa County, North Hamkyung Province, built a private villa on a plot with a good view, and purchased a Mercedes out of pocket, he drew the attention of General [Kim Jong Il] and was exposed. He was publicly executed in the middle of last July.” The NGO went on to report, “Every day young girls were called to the villa for his enjoyment, and security forces and police made it a point not to stop by the area near the villa often.”

Trade authorities in the area report that the crackdown on these violators has had no effect on DPRK-PRC trade. High ranking officials are aware of the abuse of authority to earn money, but had to some extent turned a blind eye to the issue. The crackdown is a result of the recent considerable growth in the problem.

Korea Times
Jung Sung-ki
9/26/2007

(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 ) 

The U.S. State Department is expected to announce additional sanctions on North Korean entities connected to missile proliferation, Yonhap News reported Wednesday.

Some of the entities are believed to be linked to the Korea Mining Development Corporation (KOMID), which was designated in June 2005 in an executive order for supporting weapons of mass destruction proliferation, it said.

The measure would come at an awkward moment as envoys from six nations _ South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan _ gather in Beijing from Wednesday for a fresh round of negotiations aimed at disabling and eventually dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and programs.

The U.S. Treasury had frozen some $25 million in North Korea-related money held in a Macau bank in late 2005, a punitive measure imposed as the six countries were signing an agreement toward denuclearization. That led to more than a year’s suspension in negotiations with the North.

The new round of six-party talks is already on shaky ground with suspicions that Pyongyang may have transferred nuclear-related material to Syria, prompting the unexplained Israeli air incursion into Syria earlier this month.

Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman, said Tuesday the new sanctions are related to missile technology transfers and downplayed possible negative repercussions on this week’s talks.

“The company that was sanctioned has been sanctioned previously for the same thing. So the net effect of this is really pretty minimal,” he said. “I don’t see…any reason why this should impact on the six-party talks.”

North Korea accused the United States of defending Israel’s recent airstrike against Syria, calling the strike a grave crime that undermines regional peace and stability.

The North’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said, “Israeli warplanes’ intrusion into the territorial airspace of Syria and bomb-dropping are an outright violation of Syria’s sovereignty and a grave crime that destroys regional peace and security,” according to Yonhap.

The North’s comments came days after high-level talks between North Korea and Syria. The two countries, which deny the allegation of a secret nuclear connection, did not provide details of Pyongyang talks.

Andrew Semmel, acting U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, said earlier this month that North Koreans were in Syria, and that Syria might have had contacts with “secret suppliers” to obtain nuclear equipment.

Semmel did not identify the suppliers. However, he said he could not exclude the possibility that a nuclear black-market network, run by the disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, might have been involved.

Semmel’s comments raised speculation that an alleged Sept. 6 Israeli incursion into Syrian airspace was a strike targeting a nuclear installation. U.S. officials have said Israeli warplanes struck a target. One U.S. military officer said the strike was aimed at weapons being shipped to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

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[.]

Daily NK
Moon Sung Hwui
9/17/2007

According to the inside source in North Korea, it was revealed on 13th that there has been partially a rationing in Chongjin, North Hamkyung since August.

This is the first time to have checked about nation rationing in Chongjin since the first Summit held on June 15, 2000.

This rationing has begun even before the flood occurred, which was prior to August. This is strong evidence that the North Korean food shortage was not in serious state. There has been acknowledgement that there has been food rationing even after the flood in the beginning of September.

There has been a case of rationing in Moosan, North Hamgyung and some other regions during the first Inter-Korea Summit in 2000. There is high probability that this rationing could have relation to the upcoming 2nd Summit in October.

The insiders spoke on the phone that, “All of a sudden the Chongjin distribution center opened and started supplying to the workers and their families, an old and feeble persons and wounded soldiers with a 15-days-worth of food since August.”

The special rationings that occurred on special occasions, like the birthdays of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung was only given through the factories or People’s Units. The distribution center were often closed or usually used as the place for selling Chinese merchandises. The reason why the rationing has restarted through the distribution center is that the authorities are thinking of long-term rationings.

According to the inside source, the distributed food include corn, wheat and rice. It is hard to tell whether the rice was produced in the South or North because the rice was immediately packaged after it’s been produced from rice-polishing machines.

The inside source said that “Civilians are not in belief that there will be a continuance of rationing even in October, because there was just a 15-days-worth of rationing being distributed in September.” The rationing was only given to people who worked at particular factories which made profits.

Kim, who resides in Chongjin, staying in Hwoiryeong for his export business, claims that, “We have to get our attendance ballot stamped every day in our factory. For people who skip work for no particular reason, they are being ferreted out by the factory manager, and even the secretary of the Party. In the morning, there are so many meetings and conferences being held that it is difficult for us to think straight.”

Also, factories that had stopped functioning due to the electricity and resource loss, made workers show up at work and emphasized the importance of production culture and lifestyle culture, reinforcing the projects of fixing the buildings and cleaning the buildings.

“Our attendance is being reported on daily basis, so if we don’t go to work for several days, we are automatically taken to People’s Safety Agency immediately.”

For people who have made their livings through business are becoming increasingly dissatisfied by having to work in an inefficient factory. Some claim that, “Are we going back to how we used to be,” raising more concerns.

Kim states, “It’s not like they’re giving us abundant supply of food. We were able to breathe a little bit by doing our own business, but now it’s suffocating us to death.”

He added “We are now so strictly controlled with only a 15-days of rationing; can you imagine how much worse it can get if the rationing continues to supply fully in the future?”

The background of rationing has not been clear as of yet.

Kim Jong Il visited North Hamkyung for the onsite inspection in the beginning of August. This could be a temporary remedy taken by Kim Jong Il, to increase the effect of his visit. Furthermore, it could be his ways of increasing control on Hamkyung area, where the commute and trade with foreign countries is active.

The North Korean defector who came to South Korea in 2005, Park Jeong Chul (pseudonym) said, “The rationing can be a temporary remedy to appease the public anxiety with the upcoming Inter-Summit in October. It’s because North Korea has enough provisions for the army and there is pressure from the international society for North Korea to become more transparent, North Korea is pretending to oblige.”

DPRK watchers are generally familiar with the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) and its president, Alejandro Cao de Benos.  Alejandro has joined the rest of the DPRK blogging community and launched his own blog (in Spanish).  His blog is here.

He only has a few posts so far, but he has several pages typed up on an argument he is having with a journalist from the Spanish television station, Cuatro (4).  Apparently, Alejandro took some Spanish journalists on a recent KFA delegation, and like other journalists/film makers he has delt with (here and here), he did not like their final product.

The entire show “Love the Leader of all Things” can be seen on YouTube, but it is in Spanish: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

Here are Alejandro’s comments about the show.