North Korean Economy Watch

Well, this is too bad…

KCNA
2/25/2007

The “globalization” much touted by the imperialists is nothing but a yoke of exploitation and plunder, domination and subjugation as it is intended to put other countries under their tight control and bleed the world people white to the maximum under the spurious signboard of “co-prosperity” and a neo- colonial system whereby to completely obliterate the Juche character and national identity of other countries and nations and turn the relations between the Western multi-national monopolies and the developing countries into those between the slave owner and slaves.

Rodong Sinmun Sunday says this in a signed article.

It goes on:

The imperialists’ moves for “globalization” involve various aspects of social life but it is mainly targeted on finance and trade.

It is one of the main goals of “globalization” to make breaches in different systems of national economies in many countries of the world through “liberalization” in the fields of finance and trade and make them spill over into other fields in a bid to convert the world economy into a uniform market economy.

The reactionary nature of the “globalization” pushed forward by the imperialists is to completely stonewall the appearance of a new fair international economic order, bind the developing countries to a neo- colonial domination order and turn their politics into Western-style one through the “integration” of the world economy.

The imperialists’ moves for “globalization” aimed at neo-colonizing the whole world are entailing evermore dangerous consequences.

The above-said “globalization” is driving society into chaos and triggering off evermore acute conflict and contradictions among different ethnic groups, religious sects and political forces. To make matters worse, this is leading to armed conflicts, causing bloodshed and making a great many people displaced.

The “globalization” in the financial field is turning the world into a world in the grip of utter disorder where financial speculators ride roughshod.

The “globalization” pushed forward by the imperialists is only widening the gap between the rich and the poor worldwide.

Oh My News
Robert Neff
2/21/2007

(Check out the original post for photos)
Many people’s impression of North Korea is that of a poor country unable to feed its own people and desperate for cash. Other than selling weapons, printing counterfeit money, and engaging in the production of illegal drugs, it is thought that it has very little means of obtaining hard currency. Yet, recently, it has received a great deal of the media’s attention for its sale of gold to Thailand. Many people forget that North Korea has always had an abundance of mineral wealth — including gold.

Korea’s wealth had long been known not only in the Far East, but also in the Middle East. Ibn Khordadzbeh (844-848), an Arab, wrote that “there is a mountainous country named Silla and divided into numerous principalities. Gold abounds there.” Another Arab, Ibn Rosteh, repeated this claim in the 10th century when he pronounced Silla was very rich with gold. Arab merchants traveled from their own countries, along with the Chinese, and traded with Korean merchants along the Yesong River during the Koryo period. Most of Korea’s trade with these merchants was mainly gold and silver utensils, copper, ginseng, paper, fans and swords.

Eventually, as Korean foreign policy changed and it began to avoid most intercourse with foreign nations, this trade died, but the legends of Korea’s wealth didn’t. In 1867, Ernest Oppert, a Prussian trader from Shanghai, China, may have used Korea’s reputation for being abundant with gold, and the common belief amongst the Westerners that Korean kings were buried in coffins of solid gold, to hire a band of mercenaries to assist him in his infamous failed attempt to exhume the Korean regent’s father’s tomb and hold his remains as ransom.

Although gold is found throughout the Korean peninsula, it was, for the most, primarily mined and panned for in the mountainous regions of the northern provinces of Korea and along the eastern coast using primitive methods. This mining has gone on for literally centuries, but it wasn’t until the 1880s when several attempts, Korean and Western, were made to mine gold using “modern” methods. These efforts failed primarily because of the lack of finances, skilled labor, infrastructure and the resolve of the Korean government.

It wasn’t until 1896 when the first large mining concession was granted to a couple of American businessmen that “modern” gold mining in Korea began. This was the origin of the Oriental Consolidated Mining Company [OCMC], the first, longest running, and the richest of the Western mining concessions in Korea, and one of the richest in the world. It was soon followed by British, German, French, Italian, and of course, Japanese concessions, but none of them could compare to the wealth and size of the OCMC.

Although these mining concessions have been condemned by many modern Korean scholars as tools of exploitation by the Japanese and the West; it is also important to remember that they brought employment, education, and even higher living standards to thousands of Korean miners and their families.

The pictures accompanying this article are of the Seoul Mining Company located at Su’an (in present day North Korea) in 1915. The Seoul Mining Company was established in 1907 when two American businessmen, H. Collbran and H.R. Bostwick, leased Su’an mine from a British mining syndicate. The British had grown disenchanted with the mine and were convinced that it was not very profitable — they were wrong. Within the first six years of its operation it had produced nearly $3,000,000 worth of gold. Although the Seoul Mining Co., at first appeared to be one of, if not, the richest gold mining operations in Korea, by the early 1920s it was apparent that the gold was nearly depleted and in 1924 the mine was closed.

One of the chief problems for the early mining companies was transportation. Most of these gold mining sites had few, if any, crude roads or paths to them. It was often easier to transport supplies and equipment by flat-bottomed boats up the river to the landing nearest the mines. Then, depending on what was being transported, Korean ponies or bulls were used to manhandle the equipment and supplies to the mines.

The Korean bull was a slow moving powerful animal that was extremely docile and easily handled by its mapoo (handler), the ponies on the other hand were described as “swell-made spirited little beasts [but] generally vicious.” One early Westerner described his first encounter with his pony:

“As soon as the creature saw me approaching to mount, it reared and kicked furiously, and opened its mouth and flew at me like a tiger.”

So violent were these little ponies that a missionary remarked: “I love to see the pony shod, see him pinioned teeth and nail, in one hard knot, lying on his back under the spreading chestnut tree, with the village smithy putting tacks into him that brings tears to his eyes.”

In addition to transportation problems there was the lack of timber. Timber was essential to mining operations. In the beginning it was used as fuel to run the stamps (grinding equipment), to construct the buildings and to support the mine shafts, but timber was not always readily available in large quantities. Without timber the mines were doomed. By about 1910, most of the mines participated in reforestation programs, but for most of them they would not be around long enough to profit from these actions.

Most of the mines were in remote places, far from civilization. Obtaining enough miners to work the mines was usually not a problem, as they were generally paid better than the average Korean. However, these remote sites were home to large populations of big predatory animals — chiefly, tigers, leopards, and wolves.

Occasionally, tigers, especially ones that were too old to hunt the fleet-footed deer, would attack a lone Korean miner returning to his home at night. Often very little of the victim was found in the morning save a few pieces of ripped clothing and scuffle and blood marks on the ground. Surprisingly the animal that caused the most fatalities and was arguably the most feared was the wolf.

Sometimes wolves would creep into the small mining settlements at night and snatch children on their way to and from the outhouses. There are even accounts of wolves forcing their way into the flimsier hovels and dragging away children from the safety of their beds.

By 1939 all of the large Western gold mining concessions had been sold to the Japanese, and only a few very small mines were still operated and owned by Westerners, and even these were eventually taken over by the Japanese when Japan entered World War II. During World War II many of the mines fell into disrepair due to the negligence of their Japanese managers, and their failure to pay their Korean miners. During the Korean War, American soldiers reported that the OCMC mines were flooded and unworkable.

It has been more than 50 years since the Korean War has ended. During this time, North Korea has made great effort and progress in reopening some of these mines from the past and developing new ones. Today Western financing and expertise are still being used to aid the extraction of gold from the mountains of the north.

Korea Times
Ting-I Tsai
2/21/2007

North Korean drug companies hope that updated versions of traditional medicines promising – among other things – to treat impotence and kidney dysfunction can help cure what ails the isolated Stalinist country’s stagnant economy.

In the hope of earning badly needed hard currency by exploiting the nation’s ancient herbal-medicine traditions, North Korea’s pharmaceutical companies are producing “various traditional health products through [modern] technologies”. The effectiveness of these medicines, however, has not been scientifically proved.

The medication that has drawn the most attention is probably Neoviagra-YR, developed by the Korea Oriental Instant Medicinal Center, which promises to improve a person’s sexual capabilities, ease bone pain, and cure kidney dysfunction and arteriosclerosis.

“I got my cute baby after I took two boxes of YR. This is definitely good medication,” its advertisement quoted Pyongyang resident Kim Ming-ze, 35, as saying.

Another patient who supposedly benefited from the medication was Kim Chong-ze, 45, who said: “I hadn’t had sex for three months. My sexual function normalized after I took four boxes of YR. I can promise that this is the magic medication of the 21st century.” However, the telephone number of the Pyongyang-based company given on the advertisement was wrong.

In Beijing’s Korean neighborhood, a booth at a market sells a box of Neoviagra for US$20.

Boothkeeper Pak Mun-bin emphasized that Neoviagra is far more effective than Pfizer’s Viagra, but failed to explain how it can be used to treat both bone pain and erectile dysfunction.

He added that that the booth sold as many as 700 boxes per month, with South Koreans being major customers.

“North Korea may be a small country. but its herbal medicines are nonetheless better than Chinese ones. At least there are no fake medicines,” Pak said.

If Neoviagra is not quite exotic enough for some customers, North Korea’s Pugang Pharmaceutic Co offers another choice, the “Queen’s Appeal”, which is described as “a volcano of energies and the key to happiness”.

Its official website described it as a herbal dietary elixir formulated from the extracts of wild Epimedium koreanum, which “was used by the kings, the queens and the court ladies in ancient Korea. Makes you wild in sexual life and brings you great energy. Adverse effects: none. Contra-indications: none.”

The North Koreans are also flogging medications that they claim are capable of preserving youth.

Among the “health foods” being introduced, the most widely promoted is “Royal Blood-Fresh”. According to the package, it is a traditional health food “formulated via a high tech from fermented soybeans of the olden royal palace”. The manufacturer, Pugang Pharmaceutic Co, claims it will “make you younger and cleverer. Students will result better in exams.” It recommends taking one to two tablets for prevention, three tablets three times daily for chronic cases, and five to nine tablets three to eight times daily for acute cases. A 160-tablet bottle sells for US$39 in Beijing.

For those worried about bird flu , the North Koreans claim to have a better cure than Tamiflu, the Kumdang-2 Injection, which is “extracted from Kaesong Koryo ginseng cultivated by specific micro-elementary fertilizers involving some ultra-highly purified medicinal rare-earth elements”. An English research team, its introduction claims, concluded that the medication could “prevent and cure the virus-originated epidemic diseases including Bird’s Flu”.

Its official website described its service as a “worldwide daily supply”, with medication distributed to its representative offices in 13 countries around the world, including Cuba, Syria, Japan, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. A Pugang Han Yong Gon sales representative said any international purchase is deliverable by courier and customers can receive their medication within days.

The Pugang Pharmaceutic Co, founded in 1983, has developed numerous medications by incorporating Korea’s traditional herbs in the production of “high-technology” products, including Aphorodisia 2, a cure for vaginal diseases. The company says it operates nine state-of-the-art pharmaceutical factories in accordance with the industry’s GMP (good manufacturing practices) standard and has averaged an annual turnover of $25 million. All of the medications are legally approved by the local medical authority.

According to Western experts familiar with the nation’s medical services, most of the medications are widely distributed to local pharmacies.

One expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “North Koreans, Chinese, South Koreans, Japanese, etc, are always looking for ‘natural’ ways to reverse aging, cure [or prevent] all diseases with one potion, and to strengthen their sexual potency. And if they can make money while doing it, so much the better,” the expert said. Even if doubts do exist about the efficacy of the so-called “miracle medicines”, the expert noted: “It’s just that they want to believe in them.”

Taiwanese pharmacists and experts in traditional Chinese medicine question the legitimacy of the North Korean medicines.

Gau Churn-shiouh, a professor of the National Taiwan University’s school of pharmacy, noted that these medications “sound more like old-fashioned Chinese medications that could cure everything” that have no sound scientific basis.

Furthermore, experts in Chinese traditional medicine pointed out that all kinds of medications are poisonous, and taking them without diagnosis could lead to illness.

Hung Chin-lieh, also a professor at the National Taiwan University, said that the efficacy of ginseng is relatively limited compared with other herbs, and is not applicable to every single patient.

“The efficacies claimed by the advertisements look more like exaggerations. The main problem is that the ingredients of these medications are so vague. Without adopting the measure of ‘evidence-based medicine’, the North Koreans really should not have promoted the efficacies,” Hung said.

Yonhap
2/19/2007

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has ordered most Japanese cars in the communist country seized in a sign of his growing discontent with Japan imposing severe sanctions after the North’s detonation of a nuclear bomb last October, informed sources said Monday.

“After he paid tribute to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace on Jan. 1, he saw a Japanese car that wasn’t working blocking the road and gave a National Defense Committee edict to seize Japanese cars,” a source familiar with the North Korean situation said, asking to remain anonymous. North Korea’s founding leader Kim Il-sung’s embalmed body lies in the memorial in Pyongyang.

Korea Times
1/13/2007

Kim Jong-nam, believed to be the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, has taken charge of the overseas sales of North Korean military weapons.

The junior Kim, 35, went back to Pyongyang via a Koryo Air flight from Beijing on Tuesday after getting a lot of media attention during his three-day stay in the Chinese capital.

According to the Segye Times, a vernacular daily, Jong-nam has made profits for his country by selling military weapons such as Scud medium-range missiles and SA-16 surface-to-air missiles overseas.

He invested money in real estate and overseas banks offering high interest rates in several countries including Britain, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore, said the report based on comments from an expert on North Korean affairs in Japan.

On Sunday Kim was spotted by Japanese television crews at Beijing International Airport. His appearance in Beijing sparked interest among North Korea watchers, as the six-party talks over the North’s nuclear weapons programs were being held there.

Reports said Kim was on a three-day layover on his way back home to attend his father’s 65th birthday party, which falls on Friday.

Wearing a Reebok baseball cap and blue jeans as well as a gold necklace, Kim showed off his foreign language skills in brief interviews with the news media including Japan’s Fuji television.

Asked whether he speaks Japanese, he answered in Japanese that he didn’t understand the language. He also said he speaks a little bit of English and French as he studied in Europe for several years.

Kim said he meets with his father “sometimes” but did not elaborate on their relationship.

According to reports Kim stayed at his favorite hotel, the Kempinski Hotel located adjacent to the South Korean embassy in Beijing during his short visit.

The Toronto Globe and Mail reported earlier this month that the North Korean leader’s son has been spending most of his time for the past three years at casinos, saunas and luxury hotels in Macau, the former Portuguese enclave near Hong Kong.

Kim was photographed in the city by a newspaper as he left his favorite hotel, the Mandarin Oriental.

According to the South China Morning Post, he has frequently visited Macau’s casinos and often goes out drinking late at night.

There have been rumors that fell out of favor with his father in 2001 when he embarrassed the regime in a bizarre incident in Japan.

Kim was briefly detained at Tokyo’s airport where he tried to enter Japan on a fake Dominican Republic passport. He was on his way to visit Tokyo Disneyland, reports said.

Korea Times
2/13/2007

Initial Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement

The third session of the fifth round of the Six-Party Talks was held in Beijing among the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States of America from 8 to 13 February 2007.

Wu Dawei, vice minister of foreign affairs of the PRC, Kim Gye-gwan, vice minister of foreign affairs of the DPRK; Kenichiro Sasae, director-general for Asian and Oceanian affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Chun Yung-woo, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Alexander Losyukov, deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Russian Federation; and Christopher Hill, assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs of the Department of State of the United States attended the talks as heads of their respective delegations.

Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei chaired the talks.

I. The parties held serious and productive discussions on the actions each party will take in the initial phase for the implementation of the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005. The parties reaffirmed their common goal and will to achieve early denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner and reiterated that they would earnestly fulfill their commitment in the Joint Statement. The parties agreed to take coordinated steps to implement the Joint Statement in a phased manner in line with the principle of action for action.

II. The parties agreed to take the following actions in parallel in the initial phase:

1. The DPRK will shut down and seal for the purpose of eventual abandonment the Yongbyon nuclear facility, including the reprocessing facility and invite back IAEA personnel to conduct all necessary monitoring and verifications as agreed between IAEA and the DPRK.

2. The DPRK will discuss with other parties a list of all its nuclear program as described in the Joint Statement, including plutonium extracted from used fuel rods, that would be abandoned pursuant to the Joint Statement.

3. The DPRK and the U.S. will start bilateral talks aimed at resolving pending bilateral issues and moving toward full diplomatic relations. The U.S. will begin the process of removing the designation of the DPRK as a state-sponsor of terrorism and advance the process of terminating the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act with respect to the DPRK.

4. The DPRK and Japan will start bilateral talks aimed at taking steps to normalize their relations in accordance with the Pyongyang Declaration, on the basis of the settlement of unfortunate past and the outstanding issues of concern.

5. Recalling Section 1 and 3 of the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005, the parties agreed to cooperate in economic, energy and humanitarian assistance to the DPRK. In this regard, the parties agreed to the provision of emergency energy assistance to the DPRK in the initial phase. The initial shipment of emergency energy assistance equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil will commence within next 60 days.

The parties agreed that the above-mentioned initial actions will be implemented within next 60 days and that they will take coordinated steps toward this goal.

III. The Parties agreed on the establishment of the following Working Groups (WG) in order to carry out the initial actions and for the purpose of full implementation of the Joint Statement:

   1. Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

   2. Normalization of DPRK-U.S. relations

   3. Normalization of DPRK-Japan relations

   4. Economy and energy cooperation

   5. Northeast Asia peace and security mechanism

The WGs will discuss and formulate specific plans for the implementation of the Joint Statement in their respective areas. The WGs shall report to the Six-Party Heads of Delegation Meeting on the progress of their work. In principle, progress in one WG shall not affect progress in other WGs. Plans made by the five WGs will be implemented as a whole in a coordinated manner.

The Parties agreed that all WGs will meet within next 30 days.

IV. During the period of the Initial Actions phase and the next phase _ which includes provision by the DPRK of a complete declaration of all nuclear programs and disablement of all existing nuclear facilities, including graphite-moderated reactors and reprocessing plant _ economic, energy and humanitarian assistance up to the equivalent of 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil (HFO), including the initial shipment equivalent to 50,000 tons of HFO, will be provided to the DPRK.

The detailed modalities of the said assistance will be determined through consultations and appropriate assessments in the Working Group on Economic and Energy Cooperation.

V. Once the initial actions are implemented, the Six Parties will promptly hold a ministerial meeting to confirm implementation of the Joint Statement and explore ways and means for promoting security cooperation in Northeast Asia.

VI. The Parties reaffirmed that they will take positive steps to increase mutual trust, and will make joint efforts for lasting peace and stability in Northeast Asia. The directly related parties will negotiate a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula at an appropriate separate forum.

VII. The Parties agreed to hold the sixth round of the Six-Party Talks on 19 March 2007 to hear reports of WGs and discuss on actions for the next phase.

Korea Times
2/13/2007

1. Within 60 days, the North must shut down and seal its main nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, north of the capital Pyongyang. International inspectors should be allowed to verify the process. For the initial steps, North Korea will get energy, food and other aid worth 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.

2. The United States will begin bilateral talks with North Korea to normalize their relations and will begin the processes of removing North Korea from its designation as a terror-sponsoring state and also ending U.S. trade sanctions. No deadline was set.

3. Japan will begin bilateral talks with North Korea to normalize their relations.

4. After 60 days, foreign ministers of all the countries will meet to confirm the implementation of the agreement and talk about security cooperation in northeast Asia. Some countries will hold a separate forum on negotiations for a permanent peace settlement to replace the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War.

5. The North must provide a complete list of its nuclear programs and disable all existing nuclear facilities. In return, the North will get aid in corresponding steps worth 950,000 tons of heavy fuel oil _ details of which will be addressed in later working group discussions.

6. Five working groups will be created: denuclearization, U.S.-North Korea relations, Japan-North Korea relations, economic cooperation and on a peace and security mechanism in northeast Asia.

7. The six-nation talks will meet again March 19.

Yonhap
2/13/2007

The top U.S. negotiator in international talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program said Tuesday his country will remove its financial sanctions on the communist nation within a month.

The measure follows Pyongyang’s agreement to “disable” its nuclear-related facilities and programs in return for economic and diplomatic benefits.

“We will resolve the matter of the financial sanctions” within 30 days, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters as he returned from a six-party talks meeting, at which North Korea agreed to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear complex in two months.

His remarks partly confirmed an earlier report by a pro-Pyongyang newspaper that the U.S. nuclear envoy had last month promised his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, to remove the financial restrictions within 30 days after progress in the nuclear negotiations.

The two held three days of meetings in Berlin, which were followed by two-day talks between the countries’ financial officials in Beijing later that month.

North Korea had stayed away from the nuclear talks for over a year after the U.S. imposed sanctions on a Macau bank with suspected links to the North’s illicit financial activities in September 2005.

The six-party talks resumed late last year after a 13-month hiatus, but they again failed to produce a breakthrough as North Korea refused to discuss the nuclear issue, and instead stuck to its demand for the U.S. to remove the financial sanctions.

Tuesday’s agreement marked a milestone in negotiations that had made little progress since they began in 2003.

North Korea is to shut down the Yongbyon complex, which includes a nuclear reprocessing facility, within 60 days, and receive “emergency energy assistance equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil,” the statement said.

The nuclear talks are also attended by South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Russia and host China.

Korea Times
2/9/2007

North Korea purchased about 15,000 metric tons of rice from China late last year, reflecting a severe food shortage in the communist state, according to South Korea’s state-run trade agency Friday.

The impoverished communist country imported 7,423 tons of rice in October, 3,910 tons in November and 3,928 tons in December, the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said.

The amount of rice imported over the three-month period is about 2.6 times more than that of the same period in 2005, and it accounted for almost half of its annual rice imports totaling 38,479 tons, KOTRA said.

“North Korea’s massive rice imports following the harvest season means that its food situation is so severe. Due to the imported rice, North Korea’s market rice prices are stable so far,’’ said Kwon Tae-jin, a senior researcher at the state-run Korea Rural Economic Institute.

Another North Korea expert said the communist country might have had to take such measures because of United Nations sanctions on the North following its nuclear weapon test in October as well as South Korea’s suspension of its food and fertilizer aid to North Korea since July.

BBC
2/7/2007

As six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme resume in Beijing, the BBC’s Penny Spiller considers whether food shortages in the secretive communist state may have an impact on progress. 

Negotiators for the US, North Korea, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia are meeting in Beijing amid signs of a willingness to compromise.

While the last round of talks in December ended in deadlock, bilateral meetings since then have brought unusually positive responses from both North Korea and the US.

Such upbeat noises were unexpected, coming four months after North Korea shocked the world by testing a nuclear bomb.

The test brought international condemnation and UN sanctions, as well as a significant drop in crucial food aid.

South Korea suspended a shipment of 500,000 tonnes of food supplies, while China’s food exports last year were sharply down.

The World Food Programme has struggled to raise even 20% of the funds it requires to feed 1.9 million people it has identified as in immediate need of help.

Aid agencies warned at the time of a humanitarian disaster within months, as the North cannot produce enough food itself to supply its population. It also lost an estimated 100,000 tonnes-worth of crops because of floods in July.

‘Queues for rations’

Kathi Zellweger, of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Pyongyang, said the present food situation in the country was unclear.

No figures are yet available for last year’s harvest, and it was difficult to assess what impact the lack of food aid was having on supplies, she said.

However, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated the country was short of one million tonnes of food – a fifth of the annual requirement to feed its 23 million people.

South Korea-based Father Jerry Hammond said there were signs of shortages – not only in food but also in fuel – when he visited the North with the Catholic charity Caritas in December.

He described seeing long queues for rations, and ordinary people selling goods in the street for money to buy the basics.

“You do expect to see more shortages during the winter time,” the US-born priest, who has visited North Korea dozens of times in the past decade, said.

“But I did see a noticeable difference this time.”

High malnutrition rates

Paul Risley, of the World Food Programme, said people in North Korea may still be cushioned by the November harvest and the pinch will be felt in the coming months.

“We have great concerns,” he said, pointing out that North Korea was now in its second year of food shortages.

He says “stabilising food security” in the country will be very relevant to the talks in Beijing.

“It is certainly the hope of all who are observing the situation in [North Korea] that imports of food can be resumed and returned to prior levels,” he said.

“Malnutrition rates are still the highest in Asia, and we certainly don’t want to see those rates rise any further.”

Father Hammond thinks Pyongyang may be persuaded to consider compromises in Beijing, but is unlikely to do so as a result of any pressure from the people of North Korea.

“People are very cut off from the outside world, and there is constant propaganda about national survival. Even if they go hungry, it will be considered patriotic,” he said.

There have been signs of possible compromise from both sides in the run up to the talks.

Washington has reportedly hinted at flexibility over its offer of aid and security guarantees, as well as showing a willingness to sit down and discuss North Korea’s demands to lift financial sanctions.

Meanwhile, North Korea reportedly recently told visiting US officials it would take the first steps to disband its nuclear programme in return for 500,000 tonnes of fuel oil and other benefits.

And South Korea is keen to resume its shipments of rice and fertiliser aid – if Pyongyang agrees to freeze its nuclear programme, the Choson Ilbo newspaper has reported.

As the nuclear talks resume, all sides will be looking to translate such pressures into progress.