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Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About the North Korean Copyright Act

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007

Knife Tricks
Paul Lukacs
8/2/2007

The following is a summary of the text of the Copyright Law of North Korea (which refers to itself as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” or “DPRK”). The Copyright Law, of which I possess a Korean- and English-language hard copy purchased while in the DPRK, does not appear to be available on the web for linking.

In reality, North Korean intellectual property laws are worthless and are not respected by the regime in Pyongyang. The United States has accused the North Korean government of creating and selling counterfeits of U.S. currency, cigarettes and pharmaceuticals. According to Human Rights Watch, “North Korea allow[s] neither the freedom of information, association, movement, and religion, nor organized political opposition, labor activism, or independent civil society.” From the perspective of a chaperoned traveler, it was obvious that all copyrightable expression in the DPRK was strictly controlled by the state and was used almost exclusively for propagandistic purposes.

The DPRK government may have promulgated its Copyright Law to provide the appearance that its domestic legislation conformed with provisions of the various multi-lateral intellectual property treaties to which the DPRK has acceded, e.g., the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

In the following section, I will summarize the DPRK copyright laws as written, without reference to whether or how they are enforced. I will generally follow the method of organization used in the classic treatise International Copyright Law and Practice, edited by Paul Edward Geller and Melville B. Nimmer.

* * * * *

Constitutional Basis. The copyright laws of the DPRK have a constitutional basis. Article 74 of the 1998 DPRK Socialist Constitution reads: “Citizens are free to engage in scientific, literary and artistic pursuits. [¶] The State shall grant benefits to inventors and innovators. [¶] Copyright and patent rights shall be protected by law.”

Legislative History. The DPRK Copyright Law was adopted on March 21, 2001, by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and amended on February 1, 2006, by a decree of the Assembly as a whole. (The 17-member Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly acts as the nation’s legislature for all but the few days a year that the Assembly as a whole is meeting.)

Policy. The DPRK Copyright Law begins with a general statement that its “aim” is to protect the rights of copyright holders and “contribute to the development of literature, art, science and technology by establishing a strict system and order in the use of copyrighted works.” DPRK Copyright Law, Article 1. (All further citations are to the DPRK Copyright Law. A statutory “article” in North Korean legal usage is analogous to a statutory “section” in U.S. legal usage.)

The Law addresses the protection of copyrights held by people who reside outside the DPRK. “The copyright of a corporate body or an individual whose country is a party to a convention to which the DPRK has acceded shall be protected by the convention. However, in the event a corporate body or an individual whose country is not a party to the same convention makes public his works for the first time in the DPRK, the works shall be protected by this Law.” Article 5.

Copyrightability. The DPRK Copyright Law does not specify any minimum standard of originality, creativity or novelty which must be satisfied for a work to enjoy protection.

One potential exception exists. The Law recognizes a copyright in “compiled works such as a dictionary or an anthology.” Article 11. “In this case, the selection and arrangement of the materials should be creative.” Ibid. Thus, the Law appears to impose on collective works an arguably non-mandatory creativity requirement (“should”) which is not imposed on other types of works.

The Law notes that copyright protection will not be accorded to unlawful works. “The copyright of any works whose publication, issuance, performance, broadcasting, show and exhibition are prohibited shall not be protected.” Article 6.

Furthermore, copyright protection will not be accorded to “documents for state management, current news or information data” unless “commercial purpose is pursued.” Article 12.

Types of Works Protected. The Law specifies the types of works that enjoy protection, which are referred to as “objects of copyright.” Article 9 of the Law provides what appears to be an exhaustive list: scientific treatises; novels; poems; music; “theatrical art such as opera, drama, acrobatics and dance”; “visual art such as film and television program”; “fine arts such as painting, sculpture, industrial art, calligraphy and design”; photography; “graphic art such as map, chart, blueprint, sketch and model”; and computer programs.

The Law does not contain an express fixation requirement. (In the United States, a work is only protected by federal statutory copyright if it is fixed in a tangible form, e.g., written on paper or captured on digital audio tape.) Consequently, performances which are not filmed or otherwise recorded may be copyrightable under the DPRK Law.

Derivative Works. The Law recognizes an “independent” copyright for derivative works (which it terms “objects of related copyright”), although the text does not state whether copyright subsists in the entirety of the adapted work or only in the newly added material. Article 10. See also Article 18 (noting that the copyright in a work which is adapted as a “visual art work” can be “exercised independently” of the derivative visual art work.)

A derivative work copyright is expressly recognized for nationalistic adaptations. “Modernized versions of national classics shall also be the object of copyright.” Article 10.

Adapters must apparently obtain permission from the owner of the rights in the underlying work, although this requirement is stated in the form of a prohibition against unauthorized adaptation. “The adapter or editor of a work shall not, in his exercise of copyright, infringe upon the right of the copyright holder of the original work.” Article 19.

“Related Rights.” The Law devotes a separate section (Chapter 5) to the “related right holder,” which is defined as the person or entity who “performs, sound-records, video-records or broadcasts using a copyrighted work.” Article 33. As with the aforementioned editors and adapters, holders of related rights “shall not infringe on the right of the copyright holder to his work.” Ibid.

Related rights holders – which include performers and broadcasters — may reproduce their works and, “in case of need,” disseminate them. Articles 34, 35, 36. The Law does not define what constitutes a case of “need.”

Persons or entities who desire to “use” a performance, recording or broadcasting “shall secure permission” from the holder of the related rights and “shall pay reasonable royalty.” Article 37.

Duration. The term of copyright protection commences upon the publication of a work. Articles 23, 24, 25.

The duration of copyright protection for a work authored by a natural person is the life of the author plus 50 years. Article 23. In the event that a work is co-authored by more than one natural person, the copyright protection for the work continues until 50 years after the death of the last surviving co-author. Ibid. Works authored by “an institution, enterprise or organization” are protected for 50 years from publication. Article 24.

Related rights are protected for 50 years “from the moment of performance, sound- or video-recording or broadcasting.” Article 38.

The 50-year duration for both copyrights and related rights commences on the January 1st following the publication, performance, recording or broadcasting of the work or the death of the author (or last surviving co-author). Articles 25, 38.

Ownership of Copyright. “The copyright holder shall be the author of works in the fields of literature, art, science and technology or the one who inherits the author’s rights.” Article 13. The copyright owner shall hold both “moral and property rights.” Id. (It is not clear if Article 13’s listing of “works in the fields of literature, art, science and technology” acts to limit the listing of “object of copyright” found in Article 9.)

The copyright in a work created “in the name” of a person is “owned” by the person. Article 16. Likewise, a copyright created “in the name” of an entity is “owned” by that entity. Ibid.

A copyright in a joint work created by two or more individuals “shall be held jointly” by the authors. Article 17. The Copyright Law does not expressly address a work jointly authored by two entities.

The issue of ownership of motion pictures and other multi-author audiovisual works is determined with a bright-line rule. “The copyright of a visual art work shall be granted to its producer.” Article 18.

Works Made For Hire. The work made for hire provision of the Law is not mandatory, but vests power in the employer. “In case a copyrighted work is created by a citizen affiliated with an institution, enterprise or organization as part of his duty, the institution, enterprise or organization in question may have priority to using the works.” Article 28.

Transfer of Copyright. Copyrights may – in whole or in part — be “transferred or inherited,” but transfer to a foreign person or entity requires government authorization. Article 21. “Related rights” can also be transferred. Article 33.

If an entity holding a copyright is “dissolved,” the successor entity shall “take over” the copyright. Article 22.

Sub-licenses or sub-assignments may be granted with the permission of the holder of the underlying rights. Article 30.

“Use of Copyrighted Works.” In Chapter 4, titled “Use of Copyrighted Works,” the Law states the various allowed “uses” of copyrighted works.

Article 26, titled “Basic Requirement,” appears to be a listing of the specific sub-rights which constitute a copyright and appears to be a statutory provision analogous to Section 106 of the U.S. Copyright Act. “The use of copyrighted works is an important undertaking of disseminating them by reproduction, performance, broadcast, exhibition, distribution, adaptation and compilation.” Article 26.

Copyrights may be used by the copyright holders or, “with . . . permission,” another person or entity. Article 27. A person or entity “shall use the copyrighted work within the permitted or authorized limit.” Article 29.

Fair Use. The Law specifies instances in which a work may be used without the permission of the copyright holder. These instances include: use “by an individual or within the family”; library, archive, museum or “memorial hall” use; “school education”; for “state management”; use in broadcast or print media “for the purpose of its introduction”; quotations (length not specified); free performances: and Braille uses. Article 32. A work may also be used without permission of the rights holder “when a copyrighted work in public places is copied” – a statutory phrase with unclear meaning. Ibid.

Moral rights. The three moral rights recognized by the Law consist of (1) the right to determine publication, (2) the right to be the publicly acknowledged author, and (3) the right to “keep unchanged the title, content, form, etc., of their works.” Article 14. The use of the word “form” implies a right to prevent the destruction or physical alteration of a work.

“Guidance and Control.” While the majority of the Law is written (or at least translated) into relatively straightforward statutory language, the portion titled “Guidance and Control of Copyright Protection” (Chapter 6) employs diction characteristic of the North Korean regime and of speeches and writings credited to Chairman Kim Jong-Il.

Article 41 reads: “Intensifying guidance and control is the principal guarantee for the correct implementation of the state policy on copyright protection. [¶] The state shall intensify guidance and control of copyright protection.”

Authority for the “guidance” of copyrights is assigned in general terms. “Guidance of copyright protection shall be undertaken by the leading institutions of publication, culture, science and technology under the uniform guidance of the Cabinet.” Article 42.

Infringement. The unspecified “leading institutions” are directed to “exercise strict control so that copyright and the related rights may not be infringed upon.” Article 45. Furthermore, people and entities are prohibited from imitating or pirating the works of others that have been submitted for publication. Article 44.

Infringers may be sued for damages equal to “the resulting losses.” Article 46.

Infringers may also face criminal or administrative sanctions. “Officials of institutions, enterprises and organizations, or individual citizens[,] who are responsible for the serious consequences resulted [sic] from their violation of this Law shall be subject to administrative or penal responsibility.” Article 47.

Copyright disputes are to be mediated and thereafter adjudicated, but the Law does not establish how jurisdiction for any specific dispute is determined. “Any dispute arising in relation to copyright shall be settled by consultation. [¶] In case of failure in consultation, it may be referred to an arbitration body or a court for settlement.” Article 48.

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Posted in Intellectual Property | 2 Comments »

Publishing of Shin Sang Ok’s Autobiography

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007

Daily NK
Kim Song A
8/2/2007

Kim Jong Il Enthralled by the Desire to Produce International Films

A memoir of late film director Shin Sang Ok titled, “I was a film” (Randomhouse) was published. Shin Sang Ok had lived quite the life having been kidnapped to North Korea with his wife Choi Eun Hee – the most famous South Korean actress of the 1970s – and later escaping.

As this book was written by Director Shin himself as an autobiography, he had finished writing in 2001 but the publication was delayed as he passed away due to the worsening of his illness. Only after a year had passed did his wife Choi Eun Hee organize the late director’s manuscript and laid it out for the world.

In the book remains the untouched film life of Director Shin that starts from his entrance into the film industry and glory days to his kidnapping and escape from North Korea and finally his advancement into Hollywood.

Shin captured the reader’s attention as he recounted various episodes of his times in North Korea after his kidnapping in 1978. He was captured this very year after inquiring about the whereabouts of his wife Choi Eun Hee who had been kidnapped to North Korea first.

One incident when he was shooting his second film, “Tale of an Escape” in North Korea. Director Shin needed a scene with a train explosion so he submitted a proposal to Kim Jong Il. He writes, “Thinking I had nothing to lose, I said I wanted to explode a real train to enhance the movie’s special effects. In response, the approval came immediately.” He recalls, “This is only possible in North Korea. It’s the first time I experienced a film shoot so spectacular.”

Such consideration was only possible because Kim Jong Il was a crazed movie fanatic. Shin claims he was quite surprised to see that there was about 15,000 films from around the world stored in a movie storage area that is pretty much Kim Jong Il’s personal property.

Shin said, “Kim Jong Il uses films for a political agenda but is also enthralled by the desire to veer off from conventional mannerisms to create a further international film of higher quality. One way to overcome such agony and dilemma was to kidnap us two.”

To Kim Jong Il, Shin even made quite dangerous remarks such as advising him to “Free oneself from worshiping individuals.” Shin claimed that the obstacle to advancing North Korean films was “Kim Il Sung instruction” and said “if [Kim Jong Il] rid the practice of worshiping individuals, the film industry will revive and the country itself will also advance.”

He also said that for the first time in a North Korean film, he inserted a caption to introduce the cast and staff and in place of the Kim Il Sung instruction, he inserted a passage from the introduction to “Les Miserables”. He claims he did not bind himself to the instruction of Kim Jong Il.

In 1983, Kim Jong Il established a film production company named “Shin Film” with Director Shin’s name. Shin says, “What if Kim Jong Il required me to make a political propaganda film for idolatry? What would I have done? In that sense, I have a unique sentiment towards Kim Jong Il.”

The book also mentions an episode about when Shin was in North Korea remembering a scene from a movie he directed while he was in South Korea. He thought that this scene was a sight for sore eyes as he secretly wrote to his brother in South Korea and asked him to burn the original copy.

In the preface he self evaluates himself saying, “With the tragic reality that not many veteran actors remain, I felt that someone needed to start archiving. Just like the title, the highs and lows of life started to cross and I lived a path that was even more dramatic than the movies I directed.”

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Posted in Art, Civil society, Film, Political economy | 2 Comments »

North Koreans Demand Cease to Scattering of Flyers: Provides Proof of Their Effectiveness

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007

Daily NK
Kim Song A
8/2/2007

“In order to transform North Korea, outside news has to enter.”

North Korea, through the North-South Korea Military working-level talks held on the 10th, proposed the cease of scattering of flyers by private organizations. This is the 16th time that North Korea has made such a request.

The North Korean authorities, through the North-South General Officers Talks held in 2004, protested that South Korean private organizations are scattering defamatory flyers, despite the fact that North and South Korea agreed to stop advertisement activities, broadcasting, or public announcements in the Military Demarcation Line region.

Related to this, Lee Min Bok, Christian Defectors Association’s representative, evaluated in a phone interview with DailyNK on the 26th, “The reason why North Korea is reacting sensitively is because many North Koreans are exposed to materials distributed by ‘leaflet balloons’ and are being influenced.”

Mr. Lee revealed his intention to continue to carry out this work, “All North Koreans, with the exception of Kim Jong Il, probably appreciate the information distribution even though they cannot outwardly express it. We will continue to carry out this work with the single-hearted purpose of relaying outside news.”

Lee, who entered South Korea in `95 via Russia and China after defecting from North Korea in `90 is well-known as “the first refugee from North Korea defined by UN.” Presently, he graduated from seminary in South Korea and is involved in spreading Christianity in North Korea.

Through the balloon, his strategy is to transform North Korea while disseminating outside news such as evangelism flyers to North Korea. The members of defector and missionary organizations sent 207 large-size balloons (as of July 18th) to North Korea this year alone.

A total of 597,816 leaflets were sent to North Korea through these balloons. Six radios and medicine such as aspirin were included as well. He who has been continuing this activity since 2002 emphasized that disseminating outside news was more important than any other work.

“In East Germany and the former Soviet Union, outside news caused the fall of Communism. East Germany’s last prime minister Lothar de Maiziere said at the time of Germany’s reunification, “West Germany tried to relay news of the outside world to East Germany. Russian-born North Korean expert, Professor Andrei Lankov said, “Soviet Union was toppled because of the radio.”

“As when Romanian citizens executed dictator Ceaucescu, the potential power of North Korean citizens will be great if North Korea collapses,” confirmed Lee of the enormous impact dissemination of flyers and radio broadcasting has had on North Korean citizens.

He said, “Failure to support or back such activity might actually ignore the latent energy of North Korean citizens. When I was in North Korea, I learned a lot from the flyers from South Korea. What I saw then is significantly helping me produce flyers to be distributed to North Korea now.”

He recalled his experience then and has produced flyers which are considerate of North Korean citizens by expressing terminology or inscriptions which may not be understood in a more North Korean way.

Regarding the content of the flyers, he explained, “It focuses on North Korean society’s devotion towards Kim Jong Il and helping them realize the areas of propagandistic lies about South Korea.”

He added, “I have lived in North Korean society, so I know what to capture to reveal the true nature of North Korea’s political power. From such intent, the defectors have to become owners of this work and must actively step forward.”

Sending one large-sized balloon to North Korea costs around 140 dollars. The cost adds up if the one counts the failed balloons due to the weak north wind. The support money from defector or missionary organizations and civilian organizations have been appropriated for this work.

Lee, who believes that a single flyer he sends can change the North Korean people, emphatically said, “There is no one who significantly recognizes our work, but in order to open and reform North Korea, I do not think there is any other way. Until North Korea democratizes and becomes reunified, I will continue this work.”

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Posted in Advertising, South Korea | Comments Closed

Kim Il-sung’s preservation

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007

UPDATE 1 (2007-8-2): I have just completed reading Andrei Lankov’s North of the DMZ.  One chapter discussed the history of preserving communist leaders in mausoleums so their remains can be venerated for years to come.  Quoting Lankov:

Kim Il Sung’s body has been embalmed and left on public display in a special glass-covered coffin. Actually, in this regard, Korea follows an established — if bizarre — Communist tradition. Like many other Communist traditions, this one originated from the USSR.

In 1924, the body of Vladimir Lenin, the founding father of the Soviet Union, was laid in a specially constructed mausoleum where it was kept in a glass-covered coffin. This mausoleum became a place of mass pilgrimage. Initially most visitors may have been driven by sincere devotion, but in later decades the major impulse bringing visitors was, more likely than not, just bizarre curiosity. Nonetheless, passions sometimes ran high. In the Soviet times, there were two known attempts to damage Lenin’s mummy in an act of symbolic resistance against the regime. On the other hand, the post—Communist Russian government has not dared to close the mausoleum, being aware that such an act is certain to spark large-scale protests and riots of the Russian Left.

In the Soviet times, a special and highly secretive research institute with a generous budget was responsible for the maintenance of Lenin’s body. Over the decades, its research staff gained unique expertise. In due time this expertise was in demand for new generations of the venerable dead.

In 1949, the Bulgarian Communist leader Dmitrov became the first person to be embalmed by the personnel of Lenin’s mausoleum. After Stalin’s death in 1953 the body of the Soviet dictator was also treated with this proven technique and put alongside Lenin’s mummy. However, in 1961 Stalin’s corpse was hastily removed from the mausoleum, to be buried below the Kremlin wall.

Meanwhile, Soviet experts were sent to take care of a number of politically important corpses across the world. They embalmed the bodies of a number of other Communist rulers: Choibalsan of Mongolia, Gottwald of Czechoslovakia, Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam, Netto of Angola (Mao’s body was treated by the Chinese themselves).

Thus, when in 1994 Kim Il Sung died, few people doubted that his body would be put on display as well. The Russians confirmed that they had taken part in treating Kim Il Sung’s body. According to unconfirmed reports a group of Russian biologists and chemists worked in Pyongyang for almost a year.

In the l950s and 1960s Moscow did not charge its clients and allies for treating the bodies of their deceased rulers. But this is not the case any more. After the collapse of the Communist system in Russia, the research center has had to survive on a very tight budget, and it is not willing to provide its unique know-how for free. Incidentally, these laboratories’ major income source is now the bodies of Mafia bosses or new Russian capitalists (it was not really easy to distinguish between the former and the latter in the Russia of the 1990s).

The fees for treating the earthly remains of the Great Leader, the Sun of the Nation, were never disclosed, but the Russians reportedly charged North Korea one million dollars. Frankly, this was a steal: Kim Il Sung died at the time when the former USSR was in the middle of its severest crisis, and ex—Soviet scientists were ready to accept meager rewards for their work.

Nonetheless, this deal was made at the time when North Korea was on the eve of the worst famine in Korea’s history. The final result of the scientists’ efforts was the mummy of Kim Il Sung which, incidentally, cannot be referred to as a “mummy” but only “the eternal image of the Great Leader.”

However, the million-dollar fee is only a fraction of the ongoing cost of keeping Kim Il Sung’s body well preserved. A few years ago a high-level North Korean bureaucrat mentioned to visiting Indonesians that North Korea paid about 800,000 dollars annually for these expenses. On might surmise that at least a part of this money goes to the budget of the same Soviet research centre which once did the embalming.

In one respect the North Koreans did not emulate other Communist countries. The bodies of Lenin, Mao, and Ho Chi Minh were laid in mausoleums specially constructed for that purpose. The North Koreans did not erect a new structure but renovated a pre-existing building, the Kumsusan Palace. This large structure was erected on the outskirts of Pyongyang in the mid—1970s. In subsequent decades it served as the residence and office of Kim Il Sung. Now this building’s huge central hall became the Great Leader’s resting place.

Unlike the USSR, where visits to Lenin’s tomb are essentially voluntary acts, the North Koreans are picked by their party secretaries to visit the Kumsusan Palace. Most of them, admittedly, do not mind going—partially out of curiosity and partially out of sincere reverence to the deceased strong- man.

For the past few years, crowds of North Koreans have passed by the body of the Great Leader who, for better or worse, ran their country for almost half a century. The visitors are required to stop for a while and bow to the glass- covered coffin containing the embalmed body. The dim lights and quiet music emphasize the quasi-religious nature of the entire scene. The visitors pay their tribute to a person who once started the worst war in Korean history, killed at least a quarter of a million people in prisons and ran what even in the Communist world was seen as an exceptionally repressive state.

Indeed, many (I would say, most) North Koreans more or less believed in what the official propaganda told them about the Great Man. All Koreans younger than 70 have spent their entire life listening to stories about Kim Il Sung’s greatness. He is supposed to be the person who defeated the Japanese in 1945, then repelled U.S. aggression in 1950 and, by keeping the cunning imperialists at bay for decades, saved North Koreans from the sorry fate of their enslaved Southern brethren. Of course, outside the North it is common knowledge that Kim Il Sung did not fire a single shot during the liberation of Korea, that the Korean war was started by him and nearly lost due to his miscalculations, that South Korea had one of the fastest growing economies of the 20th century while the North became an international basket case. But these things remain largely or completely unknown inside the North, where many people still believe in the deceased Great Fatherly Leader.

And just where did the communists get the idea of preserving their leaders in perpetuity? One hypothesis can be found in Paul Froese’s, The plot to kill God: findings from the Soviet experiment in secularization.  He claimed that many Soviet cultural practices were based on religious ones.

ORIGINAL POST (2007-6-10): My traveling comrade at Knife Tricks points to an interesting claim by an L.A. Times Journalist that the body of Kim il Sung on display in Kamsusan Memorial Palace is actually made of wax.

There are currently four communist leaders on display in this manner (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin), Ho Chi Minh, Chairman Mao Zedong, and President Kim il Sung), and claims that they are not the actual bodies have been part of travel folklore for some time.  Joseph Stalin’s body was on display next to Lenin, but was later removed.  Chairman Mao’s body is reportedly swapped out with a wax duplicate occasionally, and people in the former Soviet Union have all sorts of stories about individuals winning “Lenin look-a-like” competitions and then promptly disappearing.

I suspect that all four bodies are at least real bodies.  I have seen three of the four  myself, and the only reason that I am not four-for-four is because Ho Chi Minh was in Russia getting touched up when I visited Hanoi in 1996.  Several years later I had a conversation with an ABC reporter based in Asia who told me that there was in fact a secretive Russian firm that exclusively serviced these corpses. (If anyone knows anything about this firm, please let me know).  This seems like a lot of trouble to go through if all they were doing was re-sculpting wax.  If this was the case, then I doubt that they would go through all the risk and expense of shipping the bodies so frequently unless–as game theory teaches us–going through all the trouble makes their organic composition seem more likely.  Occam’s Razor applies unless someone can give me a reason to believe a more complex scenario.

I have read (although forgotten the cite–so disregard if necessary) that Kim il Sung was supposed to be buried in Kim il Sung Square in the pavilion that is now used for viewing parades and dancing.  After his death, plans were developed to construct what is now Kamsusan Mausoleum.  One other thing to note, which the LA Times and most other travel accounts fail to mention, is that the softball-sized tumor which grew on the left-hand side (facing him) of Kim il Sung’s neck (which is why official portraits are taken from a slight angle on the right side) was removed (or hidden by the pillow) so that it is not visible at all to the millions who have visited the presidential mausoleum.

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Posted in Civil society, Political economy, Russia, Tourism | 5 Comments »

DPRK taking steps to launch new economic area in Sinuiju

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007

According to the Choson Ilbo (2007-8-2):

North Korea early this year declared Shinuiju, a border town in North Pyongan Province, a special economic zone, North Korean officials said. Some 3,000 households in Pyongyang are to be relocated to Shinuiju under an urban development project launched there in June.

During a recent visit to China, a North Korean official told an official from the Chinese border city of Dandong the North will relocate Pyongyang citizens to the Shinuiju Special Economic Zone since they are “ideologically prepared.” Some will be assigned as workers to an industrial complex, who will be joined by officials from the Ministry of Public Security and the State Security Department, and police officers and their families.

A Dandong official said, “I understand that housing prices in the Shinuiju area have skyrocketed due to rumors that Pyongyang citizens will move in.” He said North Korean authorities plan to evict 3,000 households from Shinuiju to the city’s suburbs to make room for the newcomers. Public and state security officers in Shinuiju have begun making a list of those with dubious backgrounds and who are ideologically suspect, which rumor has it will result in a roster for eviction.

Meanwhile, the Yalu River estuary is being dredged and all private houses near Shinuiju Railway Station are being demolished, while the special economic zone is being surrounded new by barbed-wire tangles and fences.

A North Korean source based in Dandong said an earlier Shinuiju special economic zone project promoted by Yang Bin, a Chinese, was aimed at making money through casinos and entertainment facilities. But on North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s instructions, the current project is designed to build a city that can play the same role as both the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the Najin-Sunbong Free Trade Zone.

Read the full story here:
N.Korea Starts Clearing Special Economic Zone
Choson Ilbo
2007-8-2

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Posted in Economic reform, Foreign direct investment, Real estate, Sinuiju Special Administrative Region | 1 Comment »

The Electricity Situation Takes an Upturn during the Flooding Season

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

Daily NK
Han Young Jin
8/1/2007

With the flooding season also starting in North Korea, the electricity situation has taken an upturn with the increase in hydroelectric plants’ water, an insider source relayed on the 29th.

The source said, “Presently, close to 20 hours of electricity out of 24 hours in the day are supplied in big cities and in the provinces, electricity is provided for four to five hours. Compared to an hour a day beginning of the year, the situation has improved significantly.”

Further, he said, “After dinner, the heaven and earth became dark, but nowadays, electric light comes on every household. With the provision of electricity, the People’s Safety Agency is raising a racket inspecting whether or not civilians are watching foreign CDs.”

The source criticized the People’s Safety Agency’s behavior, “During winter, thieves who stole electric lines going into major organizations were threatened with severe punishment, but now, with hours of electric supply, the Agency is going around saying they will severely punish those who watch foreign movies.”

Most of North Korea is supplied by hydraulic power, but in the winter season, there is a shortage of water of hydroelectric dams, so the generation of power shrinks by half. On top of this, the recent production of fossil has decreased, which caused thermal power plants’ rate of operations to fall and worsened the shortage.

In North Korea, the wintertime electricity situation is normally the worst. During summer, the situation gets better, but from winter, it becomes worse again. With the recent flooding season, the precipitation rose and has caused an improvement in the electricity situation as a whole.

The source said, “Generally, with the resolution of the electricity shortage, the amount of operations of North Korean railroads has increased and the speed has become faster as well. North Korean railroads mostly operate by electricity. The railroads have overseen 90% of freights and approximately 60% of travelers.

On one hand, the source said, “The cases of people who can afford trades and use buses over trains are increasing. Traders prefer arriving on time and traveling comfortably, even if that means paying more money.”

He added, “Individuals or organizations can operate buses for three years after receiving business permits, but in three years, it is known that they offer the buses to the state and operate them by charter.”

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Posted in Dams/hydro, Electricity, Energy | Comments Closed

Sunshine needs new directions

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

Joong Ang Daily
Jo Dong-ho
8/1/2007

The environment for economic relations between South and North Korea has changed.

In 1998, when the Sunshine Policy was started, South Korea’s national per capita income was $7,355, while North Korea’s stood at $573. At the time, South Korea’s export volume was $132.3 billion, and North Korea’s was $600 million. In a nutshell, South Korea’s national per capita income was 13 times higher and its export volume was 220 times bigger than North Korea’s.

Since then, South Korea’s national per capita income has rapidly increased, to $18,372 as of 2006. Meanwhile, according to an estimate by the Bank of Korea, North Korea’s national per capita income hovers at around $900.

South Korea’s exports are worth $325.6 billion, nearly triple 1998 numbers, but North Korea’s export volume is merely $900 million.

Accordingly, the gap between the two Koreas’ economies has widened. Now, South Korea’s national per capita income is 20 times higher than North Korea’s. South Korea’s export volume is 325 times larger than North Korea’s.

In particular, South Korea’s economy has developed and matured a great deal in terms of quality because it opened its doors more widely after the financial crisis 10 years ago.

But North Korea still cries out for an independent, self-sufficient economy, leading to a wider discrepancy in the economies of the South and North.

In the meantime, economic cooperation between South and North Korea has developed a great deal. In 1998, trade volume between South and North Korea was worth around $200 million. In 2006, it was more than $1.3 billion. Today, large-scale projects by both the private and the public sectors are in progress, something that was unthinkable back in 1998.

Examples of these are a building project at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the government’s project for social overhead capital, such as railways and highways between the two Koreas. A variety of agreements have already been prepared, such as one protecting investments.

As a result, South Korea is North Korea’s largest export market, its second-largest trade partner and largest investor. South Korea also provides support and more assistance to North Korea than other countries.

The number of visitors to North Korea has increased as well. In 1988, 3,317 people went to North Korea, but last year more than 100,000 people visited there.

The reason why I included these lengthy statistics is to underscore the change in South and North Korea’s economies as wellas their economic relations.

In the past, South Koreans wanted to buy products made in North Korea out of curiosity, but now an item from North Korea is simply commonplace.

A small project involving North Korea made headlines in the past, but now many go unnoticed.

However, the Sunshine Policy, which has been in place since the Kim Dae-jung administration, has not changed at all.

The Sunshine Policy was aimed at inducing North Korea to change and expanding contact and exchange with North Korea was a means to achieve that goal.

That is why we did our utmost to cooperate economically with North Korea and to increase assistance to the country. As seen in statistics, these efforts have produced significant achievements on the outside.

But in the process, we became preoccupied with the means and forgot about the original goal of the policy. We continued economic cooperation with North Korea even though it carried out a nuclear test. We wanted a summit meeting with North Korea even though it meant we had to put a tremendous amount of money under the table. The Donghae line is not of much use because the railway does not run northbound from Gangneung. We connected it because North Korea wanted us to.

Maintaining contacts and exchange with North Korea has become the ultimate goal of the policy. Because of the Sunshine Policy, in which the means have become the goal, North Korea receives assistance even though it sticks to its old-fashioned ideology.

Thus, now we need to straighten out the means and the goal. The environment for economic relations between South and North Korea has changed. We can’t define the Sunshine Policy as either a failure or a success.

We have long since passed the stage where we have to pour all our efforts into the means, but we have not changed our direction to focus our energy and attention on a new goal. It is meaningless that presidential hopefuls discuss whether they will embrace or abolish the Sunshine Policy in its entirety.

In the past, starting economic relations with North Korea was the top priority even though it meant “shoveling aid across the border.” The time has come to steer the policy in the right direction.

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Posted in GDP statistics, International trade, South Korea, Tourism, Trade Statistics | Comments Closed

Pyeonghwa Motors, China’s Brilliance in talks to produce trucks in North Korea

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

Yonhap
8/1/2007

Pyeonghwa Motors Corp., a South Korean automaker with exclusive rights to produce cars for the North Korean market, said Wednesday it has been in talks with Chinese automaker Brilliance Automotive Holdings Ltd. to assemble trucks in North Korea, a company official said Wednesday.

In North Korea, Pyeonghwa Motors is assembling some 600-700 vehicles, including sport-utility ones, sedans and mini buses, a year at its plant in Nampo, near the capital Pyongyang.

The North has requested Pyeonghwa Motors to produce trucks for farmers and factory workers, the official said.

“We will soon select a truck model after consultations with North Korean and Chinese sides,” the official said on the condition of anonymity, citing protocol.

If the North Korean plant begins production of trucks, annual vehicle sales of Pyonghwa Motors in North Korea will exceed 1,000 units, the official said.

The North’s economy went into a steep decline in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to reports released by South Korea’s Bank of Korea.

However, since the late 1990s, the North Korean economy has been growing again, helped by an influx of foreign aid and better weather, the South’s central bank said.

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Posted in Automobiles, China, Manufacturing, Pyonghwa Motors | Comments Closed

IFES Monthly report

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
8/1/2007

INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS

Following two days of talks between economic representatives of the two Koreas at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, South Korea announced on July 7 that it would begin shipping raw materials to the North in exchange for DPRK natural resources. South Korea shipped 800,000 USD of polyester fabric on July 25, and is set to send the rest of the materials by the end of November. North Korea accepted South Korean prices for the goods, and will pay transportation, cargo working, and demurrage costs, as well. South Korea will pay for shipping, insurance, and the use of port facilities. On 28 July, a South Korean delegation left for the North in order to conduct on-site surveys of three zinc and magnesite mines. The team will spend two weeks in North Korea.

It was reported on 17 July that North Korea proposed a joint fishing zone north of the ‘Northern Limit Line’ dividing North and South territorial waters to the west of the peninsula. Seoul turned down the offer.

Inter-Korean military talks broke down early on 26 July after only three days of negotiations as North Korea insisted on the redrawing of the Northern Limit Line.

North Korea demanded on 27 July that workers in the Kaesong Industrial Complex be given a 15 percent pay raise. The North Korean workers will not work overtime, weekends or holidays beginning in August unless the raise is granted.

It was reported by the Korea International Trade Association on 26 July that inter-Korean trade was up 28.6 percent in the first six months of 2007, totaling 720 million USD.

RUSSIA-DPRK INVESTMENT

It was reported on 19 July that Russia and North Korea have agreed to connect Khasan and Najin by rail, enlisting investment from Russian oil companies interested in an inactive refinery at Najin Port capable of processing up to 120,000 barrels per day. The project is estimated to cost over two billion USD.

MONGOLIA-DPRK RELATIONS

During a four-day visit to Mongolia by Kim Yong-nam beginning on 20 July, the two countries signed protocols on cooperation on health and science, trade and sea transport, and labor exchange issues. This follows on the heals of an agreement to allow South Korean trains to travel through North Korean territory on to Mongolia in route to Russia and Europe.

JAPAN-DPRK PROPAGANDA

Japan took one step further to recover abductees in North Korea this month when the government began broadcasting propaganda into the DPRK intended for Japanese citizens. The broadcasts are made in Korean and Japanese (30 minutes each) daily, and updated once per week.

U.S.-DPRK PEACE PROSPECTS

U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Alexander Vershbow stated that Washington was prepared to negotiate a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula by the end of the year if North Korea were to completely abandon its nuclear ambitions.

 

EGYPT-DPRK INVESTMENT

The Egyptian company Orascom Construction Industries announced a 115 million USD deal with North Korea’s state-owned Pyongyang Myongdang Trading Corporation to purchase a 50 percent state in Sangwon Cement. To put this in perspective, the deal in worth more than four times the amount of frozen DPRK funds that had caused six-party talks to break down and delayed the implementation of the February 13 agreement.

NORTH KOREAN SOCIETY

The Economist reported on 7 July that, according to foreigners living in the North’s capital, concern for petty law appears to be weakening. Citizens are reportedly smoking in smoke-free zones, sitting on escalator rails, and even blocking traffic by selling wares on the streets.

It was reported on July 11 that a letter sent earlier in the year by the North Korean Red Cross indicated severe shortages of medical supplies. The letter stated that North Korea would accept any medicine, even if it was past expiration, and accept all consequences for any problems that arose from using outdated supplies. The (South) Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association had no choice but to reject the request.

Events were held on July 11 in North Korea in order to promote women’s health and well-being issues. Marking World Population Day, a North Korean official stated that the DPRK has cooperated with the UN Population Fund since 1986, and is now in the fourth phase of cooperation.

Seeing entertainment venues as a “threat to society”, North Korean security forces have been implementing a shutdown of karaoke bars and Internet cafes. These venues mainly cater to traders in the northern regions of the country.

It was reported on July 13 that construction of North Korea’s first all-English language university was nearing completion. The Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, funded largely by ROK and U.S. Christian evangelical groups, will hold 2600 students and offer undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in business administration, information technology, and agriculture.

Local elections were held on 29 July for DPRK provincial, city, and country People’s Assemblies. 100 percent of 27,390 candidates were approved with a 99.82 percent turnout reported.

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Posted in Agriculture, Civil society, Disease prevention, Egypt, Foreign direct investment, Health care, Institute for Far Eastern Studies, International trade, Japan, Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Labor conditions/wages, Manufacturing, Mining/Minerals, Mongolia, Music, Pyongyang Myongdang Trading Corporation, Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, Radio, Railways, Russia, Sea shipping, Trade Statistics, Transportation | 2 Comments »

Why Did the Apartment in Hyesan Collapse?

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

Daily NK
Han Young Jin
8/1/2007

Regarding the Hyesan, Yangkang province “apartment collapse incident (Reported Daily NK 7/23),” an opinion has been brought forward that the direct cause is the change in the weight load that followed from a drastic removal of the interior wall.

An internal North Korean news source quotes a witness to the incident who states, “Starting on the morning of the 19th, two construction workers were carrying on with a project to remove the wall panel of a house. When the wall panel was about to be dismantled, the concrete floor from the floor above spilled out and one side of the seven-story apartment crumbled down.”

Among the residents who had lived in the collapsed apartment, it was a trend to remodel the interior to enlarge the drawing room in a modern Chinese style. This apartment was typically a place where the relatively affluent class such as customs or trade workers resided.

Without passing building safety inspections, households would remove the wall panel that divided the small room and the kitchen to create a drawing room where they could drink tea with guests.

North Korean apartments are distributed to residents in the form of a rental apartment and if apartment residents want to change the structure, they must report this to the City Administrative Bureau under the People’s Committee that acts as the Superintendence Office for residents. However, the City Administrative Bureau has been accepting bribes and looking the other way which makes the regulations only valid in theory.

The news source also claimed, “It seems the building couldn’t withstand it anymore and collapsed. Due to this incident, 26 people have died and there are dozens more in casualties.”

In addition, they also claimed, “the Public Security Forces evacuated the residents on the side of the building without damages and demolished the entire apartment. It was a place that was clearly visible even in China and as reconstruction was difficult, it seems they demolished it all.”

Defector Kim Ju Chan [pseudonym] who had spoken to his family who lives in Hyesan said, “There has been a rumor to be alert as the apartment collapse incident is a conspiracy of the South Korean National Intelligence Service. However, hardly anyone believes this and says that this couldn’t be the result of a NIS conspiracy but from the construction of the wall panels.”

As this incident occurred during the Local Assembly representative elections, the North Korean authorities have been spreading such rumors like “South Korean NIS invasion” to prevent any changes in public sentiment.

Kim said, “In the process of handling the building debris, they also withdrew bundles of money or anything that looked valuable from private households. As the majority of the apartment residents are powerful people, it seems as there will be no other trouble.”

20 Die in Collapse of 7 Story Apartment Building
Daily NK
Kim Young Jin

On July 23, sources inside North Korea reported that a 7 story apartment building collapsed in Hyesan-dong, Hyesan, Yangkang province, killing and wounding dozens. The building stood next to the Hyesan police station and crumbled with a massive “bang,” on July 19th. Frightened residents quickly gathered and began rescue operations with the help of soldiers and social security agents.

The building was home to 42 families, six on each floor. 20 bodies were found beneath the rubble and many wounded were sent to hospitals, some arriving days later. Casualties mounted due to the lack of rescue equipment. Because the incident occurred during working hours, most of the victims were reportedly old and feeble.

The source quoted a social safety agent from the police stand who, along with other authorities, believed the building had structural deficiencies from the beginning. Others said the building was only 15 years old and represented the latest in North Korean building styles.

He added that the rescue was hampered for at least 2 days while larger machinery was brought in. While waiting, the locals were confined to the use of shovels and hoes.

Mr. Lee, a defector from Hyesan, said in a telephone conversation with the Daily NK that there are two apartment complexes beside the Hyesan police station. One is the collapsed building which was built 15 years ago and the other is 8 stories. The complexes primarily housed party members, factory management staff, and trade company employees.

An affiliate of the National Intelligence Service in South Korea mentioned to the Daily NK that “we are investigating the incident after receiving intelligence from several sources.”

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Posted in Architecture, Real estate | Comments Closed

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