North Korean Economy Watch

North Welcomes Aid
Korea Times 
8/4/2006

North Korea’s Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Committee took a positive stance yesterday toward accepting humanitarian aid from South Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported.

“There’s no reason for us to reject flood relief from the South as long as it’s not politically motivated,” Kim Song-won, head of the committee said from Dandong, China.

The remark is the first positive comment from a North Korean official on flood relief from the South amid chilly inter-Korean relations following last month’s missile threats.

Hyundai to Deliver Aid for NK Flood Victims
Korea Times
8.8.2006

Hyundai Asan, a South Korean company in charge of North Korean business projects, said Tuesday it will send relief goods to victims of flooding near a scenic mountain on the southeastern coast of the communist country.

From Wednesday to Saturday, Hyundai Asan will deliver 500 tons of cement and 200 tons of flour, worth about 100 million won ($104,000), by trucks across the inter-Korean border for North Korean victims in the inner part of Mount Kumgang, the company said. It would be the second relief delivery from South Korea after North Korea was devastated by torrential rains late last month.

On Monday, a pro-North Korea newspaper in Japan, the Chosun Sinbo, reported at least 549 North Koreans were killed and 295 others missing, hit by floods last month.

The casualty figures were seen as the highest so far in North Korea, one of the world’s most isolated nations. y

North wants aid, just not those noodles
Joong Ang Daily
8/10/2006
 
August 10, 2006 ㅡ North Korea formally asked South Korean civic groups for humanitarian aid for its flood victims ― but it doesn’t want instant noodles.

The country said it does want construction materials, construction equipment, blankets and medicine, according to a fax sent from the communist country to a South Korean civic group. The message was the first formal request from the North seeking aid. The North Korean Committee for Implementation of the June 15 Joint Declaration sent the message to its South Korean counterpart yesterday, thanking the civic groups here for helping the North’s flood victims. In the message, North Korea specified what they prefer to be included in the aid package. Instant noodles and clothes were singled out as less-wanted items.

The South Korean committee will meet with its North Korean counterpart tomorrow at the Mount Kumgang resort to further discuss assistance. The South Korean committee has launched a fundraising drive for North Korean flood victims. Aid packages by some civic groups have already been sent to the North, and more were on their way yesterday from Incheon.

Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok is scheduled to meet today with Han Wan-sang, South Korea’s Red Cross chief, to discuss the government’s flood relief program for the North. Floor leaders of the five political parties will also meet today to discuss the aid to the North. 

Government to give aid, rice, to the North
Joong Ang Daily
8/11/2006

After consultation with the South Korean Red Cross, the government has agreed to provide an aid package including rice to help North Korean flood victims, a Unification Ministry official said yesterday. The government will announce today its official participation in an emergency relief program for the North, led by the Red Cross and civic groups here.

After the North fired seven missiles last month, the South withheld its previously promised rice and fertilizer aid in protest.

In his meeting with Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, South Korea’s Red Cross president, Han Wan-sang, asked the government to help send goods to benefit North Korean flood victims. Mr. Han said rice and construction materials are such items. Mr. Lee agreed to that proposal.

The government and the Red Cross will discuss further the shipment schedule and amount of aid.

Mr. Han was quoted by Yonhap News Agency yesterday as saying the aid package will be prepared by the end of next week.

Floor leaders of political parties, including the conservative Grand Nationals, also met yesterday to discuss the need for humanitarian aid to the North. They encouraged the government to send food, medicines and construction materials. A Grand National Party spokesman said that the food aid should include rice, although strict monitoring should follow to make sure the grain is provided to flood victims in urgent need.

The governing and ruling parties also agreed to approve a supplementary budget for the aid if necessary.

Seoul offers W10b in aid to N. Korea
Korea Herald
8/12/2006

South Korea will contribute 10 billion won ($10.5 million) to civilian relief efforts for flood-hit North Korea, an official said yesterday.

The contribution is part of an aid package that Seoul plans to give to the North, reversing an earlier decision to suspend aid in protest against the North’s missile launches last month.

Besides the contribution, the South also plans to ship official aid supplies to the North via the Red Cross.

The decision came at a policy coordination meeting between the government and the governing Uri Party, which was attended by Seoul’s point man on North Korean affairs, Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, as well as Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook.

Earlier this week, North Korea asked for help from the South to recover from devastating floods in mid-July that left at least 549 people dead and 295 missing.

The North had previously refused South Korean aid from the Red Cross, saying it would take care of the problem itself.

The Unification Ministry is to allocate the money from its inter-Korean cooperation fund, which will be used to match the funds raised by each civic organization, the ruling party official said.

A ministry official said civic organizations have so far raised over 9.8 billion won in funds and goods. Other ministry officials said the fund will be used to purchase emergency relief aid, such as rice, flour, medicine and equipment.

The government held a meeting with civic organizations yesterday to decide on the size of its support for each civic organization.

The ministry and the South Korean Red Cross agreed Thursday to provide large amounts of assistance, mainly rice, that would be “substantial enough” to help flood-hit North Korea, according to Red Cross chief Han Wan-sang.

Rep. Noh Woong-rae, a vice floor leader of the ruling Uri Party, hinted Friday that the Red Cross aid may amount to more than 70 billion won worth of goods.

“(The government) gave 70 billion won worth of support (to the North) through its Red Cross when the Ryongchon incident” took place, Noh said, referring to an explosion at a train station in a North Korean town bordering China in April 2004, which left over 160 people killed and thousands injured.

“This (the previous amount) would be considered in determining the size of its aid, but the fact that the size of the (flood-affected) area is so large this time will be considered,” he said.

South Korea has been cautious in providing assistance to the North because of its no-aid pledge over the missile crisis.

But growing public calls for aid to the North have emboldened the government. The country’s main opposition party, which has been skeptical of aid provisions to the communist state, has also been supportive of emergency aid to the North.

The aid decision boosted hopes for an improvement in inter-Korean relations, which chilled after North Korea strongly protested Seoul’s decision to halt rice and fertilizer supplies until the North resolves concerns over its missile and nuclear programs.

North Korea is one of the poorest countries in the world after natural disasters and mismanagement devastated its economy in the mid-1990s. The country relies on foreign assistance to feed its 23 million people.

From Joong Ang Daily:

North sends upbeat note on inter-Korean projects
8/7/2006

North Korea has reaffirmed its commitment toward inter-Korean economic cooperation projects, a South Korean operator of an inter-Korean business project said yesterday.

“We are confident that ongoing inter-Korean economic cooperation projects such as the Mount Kumgang tours will produce new meaningful results,” the North’s Asia Pacific Peace Committee said in a letter to Hyundai Asan Corporation, the operator of a tour program to Mount Kumgang.

The North sent the letter on Tuesday, marking the third anniversary on Friday of the death of Chung Mong-hun, the late chairman of Hyundai Asan, an arm of Hyundai Group in charge of various business projects in the communist country.

Mr. Chung committed suicide in 2003 after being interrogated by prosecutors about slush funds he allegedly provided to politicians to promote his company’s North Korea business projects, including an inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Kaesong.

It is the first time that Pyongyang expressed its stance toward inter-Korean economic cooperation projects currently underway since it launched missiles in early July.

There have been concerns that inter-Korean cooperation efforts may hit a snag after the test-launches. In response, the South suspended humanitarian aid, including fertilizer aid. The North reacted by halting reunion events for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, and also suspended the construction of a 12-story reunion center at the Mount Kumgang resort on the North’s east coast. More than 1 million South Koreans have visited since the resort was launched in 1998.

Far fewer South Koreans visited the scenic mountain resort last month, according to Hyundai Asan. The number of people taking the cross-border tour in July dropped 43 percent compared with the same period last year. A total of 19,605 people traveled there last month, according to the company. 

From the Korea Herald:

Lee opposes additional sanctions on N. Korea

South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok has taken another shot at the United States, saying that additional sanctions against North Korea were undesirable.

“The solution to the missile problem is for South Korea and the United States to collaborate and for China, Russia and other countries to cooperate […] We must think about whether what the United States does immediately equals to what the international community wants to do.”

Lee’s comments are in line with the South Korean government’s policy to expand sanctions against the communist regime and avoid creating further tension on the peninsula, government officials later explained.

Lee underscored the “South Korean government, as a valid member of the international community must make our own voice known as well.”

The Seoul government has been visibly cautious against slapping sanctions on North Korea, which test-fired a barrage of ballistic missiles July 5 despite international warnings.

“There must not be any more comments or actions that will heighten military tension on the Korean Peninsula,” Lee said.

He urged that it was most important to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table and not give it more time to further develop any weapons.

But inter-Korean relations continue to take on a sour note. Upon North Korea’s demand to halt the ongoing construction of a family reunion center in Mount Geumgang, most of the 150 South Korean workers were set to return home yesterday afternoon.

The United States, in the meantime, reportedly refused a visa application for Ri Gun, North Korea’s director-general of the North American Division at the Foreign Ministry.

Ri was set to attend a seminar hosted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University later this month.

The United States is stepping up pressure on the North through investigating its alleged money counterfeiting and by highlighting its human rights abuses.

Japan has also made moves to fortify its defense lineup against the possible threat from North Korea.

“To solve this, any form of dialogue must be accomplished (with the North),” Lee said. Seoul officials said bilateral talks between the United States and North Korea should be considered as a possibility.

Here is what the US has been up to: 6/22/2006 From the Joong Ang Daily:

U.S. and Japan press on with plans for sanctions

The recent visit to Seoul by a U.S. Treasury Department official and his stops in other regional capitals is a sign that Washington intends to tighten the financial noose around Pyongyang. After telling Korean officials that Washington might reinstate trade sanctions on North Korea that were lifted during the Clinton administration, Stuart Levey, the under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, moved on to Vietnam, Singapore and Japan. Sources in Seoul said yesterday that the main purpose of his trip was to search for bank accounts linked to illicit activities in which North Korea is engaged.

On Tuesday, the under secretary reportedly met with Vietnamese government and financial officials. A diplomat in Seoul said, “A bank account that is used by Hyundai Asan and North Korea has been under investigation there.”

Last autumn, Washington warned Banco Delta Asia in Macao of financial sanctions if it did not tighten its controls against money laundering; about 40 North Korean accounts there have reportedly been frozen. Hyundai Asan once sent its payments to North Korea to that bank; Pyongyang has directed the payments to other bank accounts in Austria and Vietnam since then.

After arriving in Tokyo on Thursday Mr. Levey reportedly gave officials there a list of persons and companies suspected of being linked to North Korea’s missile programs. The U.S. official also discussed with his hosts possible measures to block the flow of cash from ethnic Koreans in Japan to their homeland, a move Tokyo has said publicly it was considering.

In Singapore, at least one bank account has been linked to money sent by the Hyundai Group to North Korea before the 2000 inter-Korean summit between Kim Dae-jung of South Korea and Kim Jong-il. Ironically, Don Kirk, a reporter for the International Herald Tribune in Seoul, mentioned that account in an article he wrote shortly after the summit; Seoul reacted with fury and the matter lay dormant for some time. Prosecutors eventually announced in 2003 that $450 million had been sent to North Korea to induce Kim Jong-il to host the summit meeting.

As other nations study ways to step up pressure on North Korea, the Roh administration remains defiant in pursuing reconciliation. But even more important to North Korea than the South is China. Efforts to coordinate sanctions have centered on the North’s major ally and provider of food and energy; Beijing is seen internationally as having enough leverage to bring Pyongyang back to the six-nation nuclear negotiations.

But a senior Chinese general said Thursday there was little his government could do. Guo Boxiong, the vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, flatly told an audience at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., that “China cannot possibly force the DPRK to do anything or not to do anything.”

Separately in Washington, the Bush administration is planning to implement the recent United Nations Security Council resolution on North Korean missiles and nuclear programs by enacting new legislation. Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, told a news conference that a bill called the “North Korea Nonproliferation Act” is in the works. It would bar companies or individuals involved in North Korea’s mass weapons programs from doing any business with U.S. companies. The act is similar to legislation already in force, aimed at Iran in 2000 and then expanded to include Syria.

Defenses against missiles are also being given more attention. Washington and Tokyo are expected to sign an agreement on the operation of missile defense systems that includes commitments to more sharing of intelligence on North Korea. The Mainichi Shimbun, a Tokyo daily, added in an article yesterday that the agreement will allow Japan to receive U.S. satellite photos and data more quickly.

by Lee Chul-hee, Brian Lee

From the Associated Press (Via Korea Liberator)

Japan Won’t Rush Sanctions on North Korea
7/19/2006
Hiroko Tabuchi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday Japan will not rush to impose more sanctions on North Korea, amid reports Tokyo may call for five-party talks on the sidelines of a regional security forum on the North’s nuclear ambitions.

Japan, meanwhile, plans to launch two spy satellites to monitor North Korean activity by the end of the year, a news report said.

Koizumi told reporters Wednesday Japan will wait for a further response from North Korea to a U.N. Security Council resolution and a Group of Eight summit statement condemning its missile test-launches.

“North Korea should take the resolution and the (G-8) chairman’s statement seriously. I think it’s better for us to wait and see,” Koizumi said.

He also urged Pyongyang to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear weapons program, which have stalled over the North’s anger at U.S. sanctions for alleged counterfeiting and money laundering activities.

Koizumi’s remarks seemed at odds with recent hardline remarks by Japan’s top government spokesman, as well as a report carried earlier Wednesday by Japan’s largest daily newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe suggested Tuesday that Tokyo had begun preparations to impose further economic sanctions on North Korea.

The Yomiuri said Wednesday Japan was considering banning cash remittances and freezing North Korean assets in Japan early next month. The newspaper did not say where it got the information.

Tokyo has so far imposed only limited sanctions — such as barring a North Korean trade ferry from Japanese ports — against North Korea in response to its missile tests.

A separate news report said Wednesday Japan has called for five-party talks, excluding Pyongyang, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum next week to explore ways to resume stalled multilateral negotiations on the North’s nuclear ambitions.

It remained unclear whether the talks — potentially involving Japan, South Korea, Russia, China and the United States — would materialize, because Beijing hasn’t said whether it is willing to participate, Kyodo News agency reported. Kyodo did not say where it obtained the information.

Chun Young Woo, South Korea’s deputy foreign minister and chief South Korean delegate to the six-party talks, was slated to visit Japan for talks Thursday with Japanese counterpart Kenichiro Sasae.

Also Wednesday, Japan’s space agency, JAXA, said it would launch two more spy satellites using H-2A rockets, according to Kyodo. JAXA launched two spy satellites in March 2003 to monitor North Korea. JAXA officials couldn’t be reached for comment late Wednesday.

North Korea drew international condemnation this month after test firing seven missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2 believed capable of reaching parts of the U.S.

On Saturday, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution criticizing the missile tests and banning all U.N. member states from trading with Pyongyang in missile-related technology. The North has since rejected the resolution, warning of further repercussions.

KoryoPAT-Rainbow Patent and Trademark Agency:

Chapter 1. Fundamentals 
Article 1.  The Law of the DPRK on the Protection of Computer Software shall contribute to the protection of the right of copyright holders and the development of software technology by establishing strict system and order in the registration and use of software.
Article 2. Registration of software is the prime process in the protection of software. The state sees to it that the objects to be protected be decided properly and scientific accuracy, objectivity, timeliness be ensured in its registration.

Article 3.  The state sees to it that the development of software is encouraged and the moral and economic rights of software copyright holders are protected.

Article 4.  The copyright of a software that has been developed by a foreign legal person or an individual and registered first in the DPRK shall be protected by this law.

Article 5.  The state shall direct a deep attention to the work of software protection and increase its investment in the sector of software protection.

Article 6.  The treaties concluded by the DPRK for software protection shall have the same effect as this law.

Article 7.  The state shall develop exchange and cooperation with international organizations and other countries in the field of software protection.
Chapter 2. Registration of Computer Software 
Article 8.  It is an important requirement for software protection to have softwares registered in a proper way. Softwares shall be registered by the software registration organ.

Article 9.  The institutions, enterprises, organizations or citizens that want to have their software protected shall submit to the software registration organ a written application for registration. The written application for registration shall elucidate the name of the software, the name, nationality and address of the applicant, the date of application and be attached to by the medium containing the software, its outline and specification, etc.

Article 10.  The software registration organ shall deliberate and approve or reject the registration of the software within three months from the date of its acceptance of the application. In this case the software shall be debugged.

Article 11.  The deliberation of software registration shall be done in the way of ascertaining the software developer and confirming whether there is anything identical or similar to the software already registered. The deliberation of an adapted software for registration shall be done by means of inquring whether the right of the original author has not been infringed upon.

Article 12.  The software registration organ may require the data needed for deliberation from the relevant institution, enterprise, organization or citizen. The institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens should offer in time the data required by the software registration organ.

Article 13.  The software registration organ shall issue a copyright certificate in case it approves the registration. In case softwarte registration is rejected, a notice clarifying the reason of rejection shall be sent to the applicant.

Article 14.  A registered software shall be made public through the official bulletin. A registered software may not be made public subject to the request of the state or the copyright holder.

Article 15.  The institution, enterprise, organization or citizen that has any opinion against software registration may lodge it with the software registration organ within six months from the date when the registration is made public. The software registration organ shall settle the opinion within two months from the date when the opinion is received.

Article 16.  The software registration organ shall store in a designated storage the medium containing the software as well as the written application for registration of software. The storage should be equipped with the facilities needed for preventing damages and destruction of software.

Article 17.  The institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens should register the software they have brought in from abroad in the software registration organ. A software from a foreign country may not be used if it is not registered.

Article 18.  The institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens may inspect the software registry at the software registration organ. In this case they shall pay designated charges.

Chapter 3. Copyright of Computer Software 
Article 19.  The institution, enterprise, organization or citizen that has developed a software shall be entitled to be a software copyright holder. The institution, enterprise, organization or citizen that has been transferred a software copyright may also be a copyright holder.

Article 20.  The moral rights of a software copyright holder shall include;  The right to make public a software, The right to attach the name of the developer to the software,
The right to forbid any alteration of the name of the developer or the name, content, etc. of the software.
 
Article 21.  The moral rights of a software copyright holder shall be possessed by the software developer. The moral rights of a copyright holder may not be transferred.

Article 22. The economic rights of a software copyright holder shall include;  The right to copy, exhibit and circulate the software, The right to adapt the software, The right to permit the use of the software and to receive relevant charges, The right to transfer a part or the whole of the software economic rights, The right to claim indemnity for the damage caused by infringement upon the software copyright.
 
Article 23.  The transferred economic right of a software under a contract should be registered in the software registration organ. The registration should be done within seven days from the date of transferrence.

Article 24.  The copyright of a software developed in the name of an institution, enterprise or organization shall be granted to the institution, enterprise or organization concerned. The copyright of a software devoloped in the name of an individual shall be granted to the individual concerned. The copyright of a software developed by a group of people shall be owned jointly. In this case the exercise of the right shall be subject to the agreement of the developers.

Article 25.  The copyright of a software developed on consignment shall be owned according to the contract concluded among the parties. The written contract shall accurately clarify the ownership and exercise of the copyright.

Article 26.  A software copyright may be owned by a minor as well. The copyright of a minor shall be exercised through the parents or guardian.

Article 27.  If a software copyright holder has no heir or is dead without leaving a will to present his copyright to anyone else or if there is no institution, enterprise or organization to inherit the copyright, the economic rights of the software concerned shall be owned by the state.

Chapter 4. Protection of Computer Software Copyright 
Article 28.  It is incumbent upon institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens to protect software copyrights. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens should not infringe upon software copyrights.

Article 29. The term of protecting the moral rights of software copyright holder shall be indefinite and the term of protecting the economic rights shall be 30 years. In case of need, the term of protecting the economic rights may be prolonged for up to 20 years.

Article 30.  The term of protecting the economic rights of a software copyright holder shall be until December 31 of the 30th year from the day when the software is registered. The term of protecting the economic rights of a transferred software copyright shall be the remaining period from the day when the transfer is registered.

Article 31.  Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens may use a registered software subject to the permission of the copyright holder. The use of a software shall be within the range of permission.

Article 32.  The institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens that use a software should pay the designated charges. Charges shall be designated by the price assessment organ.

Article 33.  Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens may use the patented literary and artistic works for developing or adapting a software. In this case they should get the permission of the copyright holder.

Article 34.  Without the permission of the copyright holder, one may not do the following;  The acts of using, copying, exhibiting, distributing, adapting, translating, selling or telecasting a software, The acts of altering the name of a software developer or a software, The acts of exporting or importing a software, The acts of destroying or removing protection devices of software technology and offering such technology.
 
Article 35.  One may copy and use a software without the permission of the copyright holder in the following cases;  When a software is used for educational purpose in educational institutions, When a software is used for investigation of a case by a law enforcement organ, When the software has been distributed free of charge.
 
Chapter 5. Guidance and Control of Computer Software Protection 
Article 36.  It is the basic guarantee for the correct implementation of the State policy of software protection to strengthen the guidance and control of the work for software protection. The State shall intensify the guidance and control of the work for software protection.

Article 37.  Guidance of software protection shall be undertaken by the central software industrial guidance organ. The central software industrial guidance organ shall establish a proper system for software protection and regularly grasp and guide the work of registering, storing and protecting software.

Article 38.  The central software industrial guidance organ may set up its agencies in the fields necessary for registering and protecting software. The agency should consist of qualified personnel.

Article 39.  Supervision and control over software protection shall be undertaken by the central software industrial guidance organ and the supervisory and control organs concerned. The central software industrial guidance organ and the supervisory and control organs concerned should strictly supervise and control such acts as infringement upon copyrights, production, copy and circulation of computer virus as well as a software containing the content counter to the good national manners and customs, destruction or illegal inspection of a software through computer networks.

Article 40.  In case of any infringement upon software copyright, the damage shall be compensated and the money illegally gained and the software used confiscated.

Article 41.  An official of an institution, enterprise or organization, or an individual citizen who is responsible for serious consequences related with software protection by his/her violation of this law shall be liable to administrative or criminal penalty according to gravity.

Article 42.  A dispute arising in relation to software protection shall be settled by negotiation. In case it is not settled by negotiation, the dispute may be brought to arbitration or to a court for settlement.

The DPRK is a signatory to these  IP accords

• WIPO, since August 17, 1974
• Paris Convention (IP Protection), since June 10, 1980
• Patent Cooperation Treaty, since July 8, 1980
• Madrid Agreement (International Registration of Marks), since Jan. 15, 1980
• Madrid Protocol (International Registration of Marks), since Oct. 3, 1996
• Hague Agreement (International Deposit of Industrial Designs), since May 27, 1992
• Nice Agreement (International Classification of Goods & Services), since June 6, 1997
• Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification, since November 21, 2002 (source)
• Locarno Agreement (Int’l Classification for Industrial Designs), since June 6, 1997
• Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, since February 21, 2002 (source)

Here are the related agencies for registering a patent, trademerk (industrial design), and copyright:

For Patent and Inventions:
Invention Office of DPR Korea
Address: Kinmaul 1Dong, Bipa Street, Moranbong Dist.,
Pyongyang, DPR Korea
Tel: (850-2) 381 18111. Ext:8544
Fax: (850-2) 381 4410
E-mail:kpipo@co.chesin.com
Head of office: Kim Il Hyok, Director General, DPRK Invention Office

For Trademark and Industrial Design:
State Administration for Quality Management
Address: Songyo 2 Dong, Songyo Dist., Pyongyang, DPR Korea
Tel: (850-2) 381 18111. ext:8989
Fax: (850-2) 381 4480
E-mail: saqm@co.chesin.com
Head of office: Kim Hyon Chol, President, DPRK State Administration for Quality Management

For Copyright
DPRK Copyright Office
Address: Donghung-Dong, Central Dist., Pyongyang, DPR Korea
Tel: (850-2) 18111.ext:8883
Head of Office: Jang Chol Sun , Director Fax: (850-2) 381 4410
E-mail:kpeic@co.chesin.com

There are two law firms based in the DPRK that liase with these agencies on behalf of foreign interests.  These agencies are:

KoryoPAT- Rainbow Patent & Trademark Agency
P.O. Box: 19, Ryonhwa-dong 1, Central District,
Pyongyang, DPR Korea
Tel : +850-2-18777/888, ext: 8048
Fax : +850-2-3814644
E-mail : dmw@co.chesin.com

The KoryoPAT-Rainbow (Patent and Trademark Agency) was founded on August 15, 1986 and restructured on Oct. 15, 2003 to meet the requirements of the 21st century in its IP international transactions.

KoryoPAT-Rainbow is full service business law firm.  With affiliation in Government advisory bodies, industrial and commercial sectors, lawyers, organizations and international associations, the KoryoPAT-Rainbow provides the clients with a most efficient and affordable legal services.

The KoryoPAT-Rainbow holds it as its lifeline to serve their clients efficiently, qualitatively, speedily and creditably.

In the KoryoPAT-Rainbow there are over 50 staffers with 20 attorneys and agents who, as university or college graduates, are well versed in chemistry and biology, metallurgy, mechanics, electric & electronic engineering, computer software & hardware, and other fields of science and technology. They have been specially trained in IP transactions in an efficient way. 

RyongSong Patent and Trade Office
Mr. Yong-Sik Ro, Patent Attorney
P.O.Box: 75, Sangsin-dong, Sosong District,
Pyongyang, D.P.R.K.

Ms. Jong-Suk Jin, Trademark Attorney
RyongSong Patent Office (Main Office),
P.O.Box: 75, Sangsin-dong, Sosong District,
Pyongyang, D.P.R.K.

In Europe:
Ms. Un-Ae Che, European Representative
RyongSong Patent Office (Branch),
Schweglerstr. 21/3, A-1150, Vienna, AUSTRIA
Tel.:     +43-1-982-2082
Fax:     +43-1-982-2084
e-mail:  patents@dprkorea-trade.com

The RyonSong Patent Office of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea provides services to foreign and local companies and individuals for protecting intellectual properties including patents, trademarks, industrial design and copyright, in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 

The RyongSong Patent Office was established in July of 1998, and has since then been working in close partnership with numerous agencies and patent attorneys in over 60 countries throughout the World.  Fully appreciated for its high sense of responsibility, the RyongSong Patent Office provides prompt services in drawing up and filing of applications, counseling, litigation, licensing, technology transfers, and many more.

The RyongSong Patent Office is conveniently situated very close to the Invention Office of the D.P.R.K., and is staffed with highly specialized patent and trademark attorneys with university degrees in engineering, electronics, biology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry, medicine, software engineering, and others.  All attorneys have had at least 10 years of experience in the fields of science and technology research.  Furthermore, all attorneys are fluent in conversational and written English as well as Chinese.  Applications in English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese or Japanese will be translated into Korean.

Here are their procedures for registering patents, trademarks, and industrial designs.

UNESCO has listed a series of Koguryo burial sites on the world heritage list.

Here is a link to the list approved in 2004 (with coordinates for Google Earth):
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1091/multiple=1&unique_number=1269

Here is a list of accepted and “wait-listed” projects:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/kp

Here is a nice video of the sites on the UNESCO web page:
mms://stream.unesco.org/culture/nhk/north_korea.wmv

Here is a story in the BBC about North Korea’s additions to the World Heritage List.

Here is another great resource about the history of the move in the Korea Foundation Newsletter.

Apparently the job of overseeing these tombs is in the hands of the Management Bureau for Cultural Property Conservation (MBCPC) in the Korean Cultural Preservation Agency (KCPA)

Joong Ang Daily
6/22/2006

In the ground floor ballroom of the Yanggakdo Hotel annex in Pyongyang, the North Korean Chamber of Commerce hosted a trade information and investors’ relations conference on May 16. Senior North Korean trade ministry officials gave presentations on North Korea’s economic policy and investment climate. Rim Tae-dok, chief counselor of the trade ministry, said Pyongyang protected property rights of foreign investors and guaranteed the independence of their management. The North Korean official stressed that foreign investors would enjoy tax benefits and that the legal process of establishing companies in the North has been largely simplified.

Another senior North Korean official, Kim Ha-dong, also gave a presentation about Pyongyang’s export policy. Mr. Kim, a senior researcher at the trade ministry, said the communist country had been issuing permits for exports and imports after only a short review process. He encouraged investors to participate in trade.

The North Korean presentations were not very different from those given in any capitalist country, but the concept of “self-reliance” was prominent.

“We will build a self-reliant economy of Koreans and carry out trade on top of that,” Mr. Kim said. He added that North Korea’s self-reliance must not be damaged or controlled by foreign economies through trade.

During the JoongAng Ilbo’s 10-day survey of the reclusive communist country’s economic sites, Pyongyang’s dilemma ― self-reliant socialism versus economic development by attracting foreign investments ― was apparent. Some North Korean officials showed skepticism about China’s model of partially opening its economy, claiming that their country had to be run in a different manner.

“I have toured special economic zones in China several times,” said Ju Tong-chan, the North’s chairman of the National Economic Cooperation Committee. “But we have different ways of managing our economy than China, and I believe we should run our special economic zones in different ways. We are still researching our options, but we will not do it that [Chinese] way.”

China was able to expand its economy at high speed after the central government opened up the economy. It gave local governments enough independence to run business autonomously in their areas and attract foreign investment. But Mr. Ju was obviously unconvinced by the success of China’s model. The opening of the economy could boomerang, becoming a threat to the North’s system, he worried.

On factories and farms, North Koreans were still caught up – or at least gave the outward appearance of being caught up ― in a personality cult centered on the nation’s founding family. At cooperative farms and factories, the senior managers’ introductory briefings were always about the lessons taught by Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s first president, and Kim Jong-il, who succeeded him but did not assume the title of national president. These managers’ presentations began with the number of visits by the Kims to the site. There were always paeans to the communist regime’s “military first” policy and slogans to that effect were emblazoned everywhere, making it clear that the military and politics take priority over the economy.

North Korean officials were also reluctant to lay out all pertinent information to investors and journalists.

Kim Yong-il, 45, the manager of the port at Nampo on the country’s west coast, refused to cite specific numbers about the port’s freight-handling capacity. He said only that it could deal with “large amounts” of cargo.

Mr. Rim, the trade ministry chief counselor, said North Korean politics were extremely stable, which guaranteed the security of foreign investments. He gave no data or examples to support that claim of stability, however, and completely ignored the question of North Korea’s nuclear programs and how they might or might not affect stability.

Reacting to the journalists’ remarks that South Korean firms were reluctant to invest in the North because it has been difficult to make profits there, Mr. Ju, the chairman of the National Economic Cooperation Committee, said, “Why is money the priority? Inter-Korean business must be about something more than just monetary calculations.”

He was also visibly upset about Seoul’s policy on economic cooperation. “We made extremely sensitive military restricted areas at Mount Kumgang and Kaesong available to the South,” Mr. Ju said. “But the South has just given us a lot of excuses and failed to cooperate.”

He continued, “To nurture the Kaesong Industrial Complex into a world-class production facility, electronic and advanced technology industries are crucial. But labor-intensive industries are the majority in Kaesong. In this information era of the 21st century, the South has failed to bring in computers for administrative use in Kaesong.”

He also vented some spleen about the United States, asking the journalists why Seoul was so careful not to irritate Washington. He cited the U.S. restrictions on the re-export without prior approval of so-called “dual-use” goods, those with civilian and military applications, to countries it has blacklisted, including North Korea. Other international accords, such as the Wassenaar Agreement, also prevent South Korea from providing the North merchandise and commodities that have “strategic” applications.

But Mr. Ju sounded firm about continuing operations at Kaesong. “It is the nucleus of inter-Korean economic cooperation, and we must make it a success first. Then we can move on to other projects.”

He also dismissed the U.S. concerns that workers in Kaesong were laboring under harsh working conditions, but seemed to sidestep the basic question. “It is a matter that we should deal with,” Mr. Ju said. “Since we manage businesses differently, we are trying to come up with the best resolution to make direct [wage] payments to the workers.”

South Korean economists and businessmen who listened to similar presentations and looked at some of the North’s accounts were troubled by Pyongyang’s rigidity in opening up the economy. That, they said, coupled with the simmering nuclear weapons problem, is the most serious obstacle to attracting foreign investments. Unless U.S. diplomatic ties with North Korea are established, investing in facilities in North Korea and selling “made in North Korea” products on global markets would be difficult and risky, they agreed.

“If a foreign investor wants to visit a factory in the North that he has put money into, he has to obtain an invitation every time, and his schedule and movements in the North are strictly controlled,” said Kwon Yeong-wuk, the trade promotion director at the Korea International Trade Association of Seoul. “Under such circumstances, the North should not expect much in the way of foreign investments.” He said Pyongyang had a “my way or the highway” approach to the economy: If you’re here, follow our rules. The rigidity, he reiterated, is a serious obstacle to investors.

Other experts and businessmen in South Korea said Pyongyang’s attitude toward inter-Korean business in particular makes it hard to earn profit. They complain about the stress North Korean officials put on the concept that business between the two Koreas should be based on the maxim “blood is thicker than water” and not on market principles. An official at North Korea’s National Reconciliation Council argued that South Korean conglomerates should make large investments there based on that concept.

A South Korean businessman who has been looking for business opportunities in the North said he has run into a series of dead ends. “South Korean firms are doing businesses in the global market,” he said. “The largest market is the United States, and not many people would want to give that up to do business with the North.” He added that North Korea’s cheap but skilled manpower is an attractive point, but that poor infrastructure, extremely low purchasing power and the difficulty of obtaining raw materials make China and Vietnam much more attractive investment locales. Kim Yeon-chul, an academic at Korea University in Seoul, agreed with that assessment. “Large companies in South Korea have already automated their production facilities, so labor costs are not important in deciding on investments,” he said. “North Korea must improve other conditions instead of stressing the merits of its manpower or blaming outside causes.”

any letters I missed in that title?

From the Korea Times:

WFP Asks South Korea to Contribute Food to North
By Christopher Carpenter

A representative of the United Nations World Food Program said on Friday that South Korea was considered a potential donor in the new North Korean food aid program.
At a press conference in Seoul, Tony Banbury, the WFP’s regional director for Asia, said he met with officials Friday at the South Korean Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade about contributing to the program.

“Our discussions were very positive,’’ Banbury said. “They are ongoing and I think I’ll leave it at that.’’

Bae Young-han, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that while he could not confirm the meeting with Banbury, South Korea was discussing participating in the WFP effort.

“In the past, we contributed through the WFP channel,’’ Bae said.

Banbury came to Seoul on the heels of signing a letter of understanding with Pyongyang Wednesday to resume aid to the North. It was discontinued in December 2005 when North Korea asked that food aid be replaced with developmental aid.

Banbury said assistance will not be on the scale it was when they left North Korea last year, but that the assistance being provided was better than discontinuing the program completely. Around 1.9 million people will benefit under the new agreement, down from the 6.5 million the WFP was feeding when it left in December.

“The alternative to this was closing down the operation entirely and walking away,’’ he said.

The new program will provide three types of assistance. Roughly half of the 150,000 tons of food that will go to the North over the next two years will be designated for pregnant and nursing mothers, and for babies that are younger than six months of age.

Primary aged school children will receive daily packages of enriched biscuits that provide 75 percent of their daily vitamin and mineral requirements. Finally, communities involved in projects that will increase their ability to produce food will be rewarded with food aid.

“As they do the work, we will pay them in food,’’ Banbury said.

The new program, which Banbury said the North considers a transitional program that will lead to development aid, allows the 10 WFP staff who will be in North Korea to monitor the food distribution system.

The staff will have access to the institutions where food is being distributed, to the community development projects, to areas of the country that may need further assistance and to the logistical operation that brings food into the country and stores it.

Banbury said the WFP would strictly enforce its monitoring policy of “no access-no food.’’

While Banbury said North Korean officials never admitted they needed emergency food assistance, the WFP offered to increase the scope of the program if it were wanted.

“That’s a conversation we might continue in the future,’’ he said.

From the Washington Post:

After a government-imposed shutdown of more than four months, the World Food Program announced Thursday that it would resume food aid to hungry North Koreans, but on a sharply reduced scale.

Tony Banbury, the U.N. agency’s regional director for Asia, said he signed an accord with the government in Pyongyang that will allow 10 staff members to operate a $102 million feeding program, helping 1.9 million of the neediest North Koreans over the next two years.

The accord, reached Wednesday after prolonged negotiations, ended the uncertainty that has prevailed since the DPRK government announced in August that it would accept development aid but no longer wanted food aid. That forced the World Food Program, which runs North Korea’s main feeding operation, to halt work at the end of December.

Banbury called the new agreement “an important breakthrough” for North Korea’s undernourished poor. But he said the number of people receiving food would drop considerably under restrictions laid down by North Korean officials — from 6 million in 163 counties under last year’s $200 million-plus program to 1.9 million in 30 counties under the new program.

“They explained this by saying they needed less food, that their crops were getting better and that they did not want to create a culture of dependency,” Banbury told reporters during a stop in Beijing.

Because Kim’s government is highly secretive, its assertion that more food aid was unnecessary could not be verified, Banbury said. But he expressed skepticism, noting that North Korea recently sought 500,000 tons of grain from South Korea and in recent years has consistently produced nearly 1 million tons less than its annual requirement of 5.3 million tons.

Economic reforms that began in 2002 have gradually loosened North Korea’s rigidly Stalinist system and injected some life into the economy, according to reports from Pyongyang. In particular, private food markets have been allowed in recent years, providing previously unheard-of choices for those with money. Food prices soared, however, prompting farmers to sell their crops in the private sector rather than to the public distribution system at controlled state prices. This in turn made life harder for the poorest among North Korea’s 23 million people, who rely on public rations.

In response, the government announced recently that the public distribution system would resume its monopoly on food grains. How this step ties in with the economic reforms was not explained. But Banbury said the agreement to resume U.N. food aid suggested that North Korean officials realized the public distribution system could not get food to everyone who needed it despite their earlier assertion that it was time to move on to development aid.

Production and distribution of U.N. food aid will resume immediately, he said, but it will take several weeks to get operations up to speed. As it was previously, most of the food aid will be in the form of vitamin-enriched biscuits for children, enriched porridge mixes for infants and supplements for pregnant women and the elderly.

Although the number of staff members has been shaved from 48 to 10, Banbury said U.N. officials would be able to verify that the food was going to the poor and not government officials or the military. Diversion of food has been a major concern of the United States and other U.N. donor countries since Kim proclaimed that soldiers and other officials have priority in North Korea.

“We will not be providing food to any areas of the country where our staff does not have full access,” Banbury said.

From Yonhap:

A U.S. human rights organization on Thursday urged North Korea to allow international monitoring of food distribution, saying its recent policy changes on outside aid may cause renewed hunger among its people.

Recent decisions by Pyongyang to suspend the operations of the World Food Program in the country and revive the food rationing system may leave many in hunger, said Washington-based Human Rights Watch in a press conference in Seoul.

“North Korea has gone back to precisely the same place, when the famine began,” said Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director of the organization, referring to the mid 1990s in which two million North Koreans supposedly died of hunger.

North Korea adopted a series of policies last year that irked international human rights organizations. It asked the U.N. relief agency to end emergency food aid and its monitoring in September and then announced the reinstatement of the public distribution system, in which the government provides rationing of food and equipment to individuals.

Citing interviews with North Korean defectors and World Food Program officials, the rights watchdog said the food rationing system operates on a priority basis, feeding Workers’ Party members and military and police officers while leaving many ordinary people in hunger.

Despite its improved harvest in recent years, North Korea still suffers from a chronic food shortage, it said, with the country needing approximately 6 million tons of grain a year to provide basic nutrition for its 22 million people.

The North’s grain production hovers at 4.5 million tons and it receives 750,000 tons in aid from South Korea and China, but still falls short of demand, the organization said, citing statistics from the South Korean government.

It urged Seoul to strengthen the monitoring in the North to make sure the needy people get the food.

South Korea shouldn’t “simply passively accept that it is inevitable that North Korea cannot be influenced,” Malinowski said.

North Korea experts in Seoul, however, said the recent decisions by the communist country suggest it is making efforts to stand on its own rather than depend on emergency donations. And the revival of the public distribution system illustrates its improved food situation, they said.

“When the rationing system was reduced (in the late 1990s) it was because the government didn’t have food to distribute. Now that it has expanded the rationing system, it is in a better situation,” said Chon Hyun-joon, senior research fellow with the Korea Institute for National Unification, a public research body on North Korea in Seoul.