The Pyongyang Times is the DPRK’s weekly English-language newspaper. It has long been available via Naenara, but restricted behind an exclusive login and password. On Friday I noticed that the articles are now free to view without an account.
Pictured above is the main screen for the current issue.
Click here to read the Pyongyang Times in English. It appears to be available in the other languages in which Naenara posts as well.
Pictured above: Samsu Dam construction (Google Earth)
According to the Daily NK:
Located at the base of Mt. Nokbong, near Hyesan in Yangkang Province, one particular village of 24 households saw its schools, public facilities and all other vestiges of welfare disappear following the construction of the Samsoo Power Station in 2004, which deprived the area of power.
And yet this village is now overflowing with people. They are here from all over the country, cramming homes and the nearby valley with one purpose in mind; searching for gold. Housewives, workers, university students, farmers, children, drifters, criminals, soldiers and bureaucrats; men and women alike from all different classes are living in this one place with the same aim.
The majority of people dig, without permission from the authorities and with only rudimentary tools. Their only wish is to avoid having to leave town and, hopefully, find some gold. The soldiers and bureaucrats, on the other hand, do not dig, instead using their authority to cream a share of others’ profits.
The daily mission of most people is to dig a hole to extract the ore, take it to the riverside to wash, and then sell it to buy food. With work clothes and a hammer, wash bowl, strong burlap sack, metal bucket, candles, shovel, rope, and a washcloth and drain (with a wooden partition to make it easier to trap gold), they enter the mine.
First the ore has to be dug out of the mine, at which point it can be taken up to the riverbank in the bucket and sprayed with water to remove stones and dirt, then the gold separated off with the washcloth.
Those who get on the wrong side of the bureaucrats or armed forces in this process have their tools confiscated, and any gold they have sweated for as well. Complaint is out of the question. Men who show the slightest resistance are flogged and women sprayed with water and sworn at. For this reason, many people consider bribes of cigarettes or alcohol to be a necessary cost of doing business there.
Those without money enter the mines under the cover of darkness, collect large quantities of dirt and take it away to clean.
As you would expect in these circumstances, accidents are commonplace.
On June 16, 2008, a 39-year old man from Hyesan who had carried more than 200 bags full of soil to the riverbank since dawn finally stopped for lunch, when he heard a cry for help from a person who had tried, and failed, to cross the river. The rescue mission became a tragedy when the man himself drowned.
That particular spot had been used to hunt for gold when the reservoir was dry; but now it was more than 10m underwater. The man, exhausted from hours of backbreaking labor, had been unable to get out. Other people who had been dealing with their own ore nearby tried to save him, but it was no easy task.
The security forces and army eventually combined to retrieve the man two days later. Two days after that, the deceased man’s widow returned to dig for gold on the same riverbank where she had lost both her husband and 9-year old son.
This is just one story that amply demonstrates the heart wrenching reality of life in North Korea. Even to the present day hunger continues to drive people to the foothills of Mt Nokbong. The struggle to survive goes on as ordinary people dig away at the riverbed, all the while hoping to avoid becoming a victim of the regime.
You can read previous posts on the impact of the Samsu Dam here.
Read the full story here:
A Modern Day Gold Rush
Daily NK
Kang Mi-jin
3-15-2011
UPDATE 7 (3/15/2011): According tothe AP (via USA Today), North Korea’s gymnasts have been banned from the 2012 London Olympics:
North Korea’s gymnasts are still barred from the 2012 London Olympics as punishment for age falsification, despite the country’s reform efforts.
North Korea asked the International Gymnastics Federation for leniency last month after firing the outgoing president of its Gymnastics Association, its international director and her secretary, and banning them from gymnastics, according to a statement Tuesday from the FIG. North Korea also approved an identification and registration process for its gymnasts.
But FIG president Bruno Grandi said North Korea had failed to appeal in time, and he wouldn’t interfere with the governing body’s disciplinary procedures.
North Korea was given 21 days to appeal after the FIG issued a two-year ban from international competition in November, its second punishment for age falsification. The FIG imposed the current sanction, which lasts until Oct. 5, 2012, after finding that Hong Su Jong listed three different birth dates (1989, 1985 and 1986) in registering for international competitions from 2003 until this year, including the 2004 Athens Olympics.
North Korea has also banned Hong for life and ordered her to return all medals and titles “as the result of grave negligence and damage caused to the Association’s reputation,” according to the FIG release.
The FIG began investigating Hong after she entered last month’s worlds using the third different birth date of her career — 1989. She won the silver medal on vault at the 2007 worlds listing 1986 as her birth year. She competed in Athens using a birth year of 1985, which, if she was born in 1989, would have made her 14 or 15 — too young to compete. Gymnasts must turn at least 16 in the calendar year of an Olympics to be eligible.
North Korea was banned from the 1993 world championships after the FIG discovered that Kim Gwang Suk, the 1991 gold medalist on uneven bars, was listed as 15 for three years in a row.
Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s, when the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to help protect still-developing athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age has been 16 since 1997, and the FIG now requires gymnasts competing at most international events to have a license proving their age for their entire career.
UPDATE 6 (11/5/2010): According to the International Gymnast:
North Korea is suspended from international competition until October 2012 for age falsification and false registration, the International Gymnastics Federation announced Friday.
As IG reported in September, North Korean gymnast Hong Su Jong’s birth year has appeared over the years as 1985, 1986 and 1989. For the 2010 World Championships, the North Korean federation submitted Hong’s birth year as 1989, meaning she was underage at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
On Oct. 5, the FIG’s Disciplinary Commission provisionally suspended the North Korean federation for 30 days, leaving the country out of October’s world championships in Rotterdam. North Korea appealed but the FIG upheld the suspension, stating the federation’s offered excuses for the varying birth dates were not credible.
Hong’s case is the second age falsification offense for North Korea. The North Korean women were banned from the 1993 World Championships after the FIG discovered gymnast Kim Gwang Suk had been registered as being 15 from 1989-1991.
The FIG Presidential Commission followed the Disciplinary Commission’s recommendation to suspend North Korea for two years, from Oct. 6, 2010 to Oct. 5, 2012, and to forbid its participation “in any capacity in any competition or activity authorised or organised by the FIG, any Union, any National Federation, any club or in any international event.”
The FIG stated that Hong also is not allowed to compete in any domestic competition during that period of time.
“The FIG’s decision is a clear signal to those who would willfully disregard the current rules surrounding gymnast age. The health of its athletes and respect for the law are among the International Gymnastics Federation’s highest priorities,” the FIG stated.
The sanction includes not only the women’s team, but also North Korea’s male gymnasts and rhythmic gymnasts. Notably this affects male standout Ri Se Gwang, the only gymnast who has competed two vaults of the maximum difficulty of 7.2 (piked double front-half and Tsukahara double back with a full twist).
The latest birth date for Hong Su Jong — March 9, 1989 — confirms the long-held suspicion that she and her sister, Hong Un Jong, are twins. Hong Un Jong, whose date of birth has been listed consistently as March 9, 1989, won the gold medal on vault at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Hong Un Jong did not compete at the 2004 Olympics.
The FIG also hit the North Korean federation with a fine of 20,000 Swiss Francs (approximately $20,800). Several years ago, the North Korean federation was temporarily suspended from the FIG for being unable to pay its membership dues.
The FIG showed leniency, however, by not stripping Hong of the silver medal she won on vault at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart for the infraction of “false registration.” Although a 1989 year of birth would have been made her age eligible in 2007, Hong was registered in Stuttgart using a passport that listed her year of birth as 1986. All passports are photocopied, the FIG told IG.
North Korea may appeal the sanction in writing within 21 days, the FIG stated.
UPDATE 5 (11/5/2010): According to AFP:
North Korean gymnast Hong Su Jong has been banned for two years by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) for lying about her age.
The FIG provisionally suspended Hong, a silver medal winner on the vault at the 2007 world championships, on October 6 after discovering she had registered for various international events claiming to be three different ages.
“The FIG’s decision is a clear signal to those who would wilfully disregard the current rules surrounding gymnast age,” the sports world governing body said in a statement on Friday.
“The health of its athletes and respect for the law are among the International Gymnastics Federation?s highest priorities.”
The ban runs until October 5, 2012, with the North Korean gymnastics federation ordered to pay a 20,000 Swiss Franc (15,000 euros) fine.
The gymnast and her federation have 21 days to appeal.
Hong had been registered with three different birth years for international competition over the past six years.
At the Athens Olympics in 2004 she was down as having been born on Match 9, 1985 but the date of March 9, 1989 was given for the worlds in Rotterdam last month which North Korea were excluded from competing in.
At the same time, she was registered with a date of March 9, 1986, birthdate at the 2007 world championships, where she won the silver medal on vault.
If Hong was born in 1989, she would have been ineligible to compete in Athens. Gymnasts must turn 16 in the calendar year of an Olympics in order to be eligible.
North Korea were banned from the 1993 worlds after FIG discovered that Kim Gwang Suk, the 1991 gold medallist on uneven bars, was listed as 15 years for three straight years.
UPDATE 4 (10/30/2010): FIG to decide DPRK case soon. According to Intlgymnast.com:
The International Gymnastics Federation will decide with the next 10 days when North Korea’s gymnasts can return to competition following an age falsification case, an FIG spokesman told IG.
The FIG’s Disciplinary Commission has invited the North Korean federation’s representatives to hearings Tuesday and Wednesday at the FIG headquarters in Lausanne.
On Oct. 6, the FIG provisionally suspended the North Korean gymnastics federation for 30 days for suspicion of age falsification and false registration in the case of Hong Su Jong. The North Korean federation registered Hong, a 2004 Olympian, under three different birth years: 1985, 1986 and 1989. A birth year of 1989 — used to register Hong for the 2010 World Championships — would have made her ineligible for the 2004 Olympics.
While the FIG’s Disciplinary Commission investigated the case, the commission’s president acted to provisionally suspend the federation for 30 days, preventing the team from competing at last week’s world championships in Rotterdam.
The North Korean federation immediately appealed the suspension, but it was rejected, and the team was unable to take part in Rotterdam.
“The provisional suspension will expire on Nov. 8,” the FIG’s Philippe Silacci said. “The commission will made a decision prior to this date.”
At immediate stake is North Korea’s participation in the 16th Asian Games, which begin Nov. 13 in Guangzhou, China. The North Korean women were second as a team at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, where Hong Su Jong also placed third all-around and first on uneven bars.
The FIG’s Disciplinary Commission will present its findings to the FIG Presidential Commission, which will determine if further disciplinary action is warranted. It is doubtful that the FIG would issue a substantial monetary fine to the North Korean federation, which at one time was suspended temporarily for being unable to pay its FIG dues.
The Hong Su Jong case is North Korea’s second offense. The FIG banned the North Korean women from competing at the 1993 World Championships after gymnast Kim Gwang Suk was registered as being 15 in 1989, 1990 and 1991.
The FIG also could decide to strip Hong of the silver medal she won on vault at the 2007 World Championships, even though she was age eligible at the time, because of the “false registration.” If Hong Su Jong’s year of birth is confirmed to be 1989, it would mean she was registered using a falsified passport in Stuttgart, where her year of birth was listed as 1986.
Hong’s sister, Hong Un Jong, won the 2008 Olympic gold medal on vault. The latest birth date for Hong Su Jong confirms she and Un Jong are twins.
UPDATE 3 (10-14-2010): DPRK gymnasts barred from 2012 olympics. According to the AP via USA Today:
North Korea will not be able to send teams to the 2012 London Olympics after international gymnastics officials rejected the federation’s appeal of a ban imposed because a gymnast falsified her age.
The International Gymnastics Federation said its appeal tribunal ruled Thursday that North Korean explanations did not justify lifting a provisional 30-day suspension handed down last week because of Hong Su Jong’s violation of age rules. The ban prohibits North Korea from competing at any international competitions, including the world championships that begin Saturday in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and are the first step in qualifying for the London Games.
The top 24 teams at worlds advance to next year’s world championships in Tokyo. North Korea still might be able to send individual athletes to London depending on whether more sanctions are imposed.
North Korea can make a final challenge at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The FIG imposed its ban after finding that Hong had entered worlds using the third different birth date of her career. She listed her birth year as 1989, but FIG documents show that she competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2006 worlds using a birth year of 1985. She won the silver medal on vault at the 2007 worlds listing 1986 as her birth year.
If Hong was born in 1989, she would have been ineligible to compete in Athens. Gymnasts must turn at least 16 in the calendar year of an Olympics to be eligible.
This is the second time North Korea has been punished for age falsification. The federation was banned from the 1993 world championships after the FIG discovered that Kim Gwang Suk, the 1991 gold medalist on uneven bars, was listed as 15 for three years in a row.
Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s, when the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to help protect still-developing athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age has been 16 since 1997.
The FIG requires all gymnasts who represent their countries at most international meets to have a license that proves their age for their entire career.
UPDATE 2 (10-13-2010): The North Koreans have appealed their suspension. According to International Gymnast Magazine:
After it was discovered that three different birth years had followed the March 9 birth date (1985, ’86 and ’89) of Hong Su Jong (pictured here) since she competed in the 2004 Olympics, the President of the FIG Disciplinary Commission provisionally suspended the North Korean federation as of Oct. 6, 2010, for 30 days. North Korean officials were given five days to file appeal, which they did on Oct. 11.
The appeal will be judged by the President of the FIG Appeal Tribunal within five days. The world championships in Rotterdam, which begin on Oct. 16, serve as a qualifying competition to the 2011 Worlds in Tokyo.
“If the decision is final and stands, [North Korea] could only participate with individual gymnasts in Tokyo,” FIG Secretary General Andre Gueisbuhler told IG.
Gueisbuhler also said that if the suspension is upheld, it would affect all gymnastics disciplines of the North Korean federation, men and women.
UPDATE 1 (10-7-2010): The North Koreans have been suspended. According to USA Today:
North Korea’s gymnasts have been suspended from the world championships starting next week because one team member’s age had been falsified.
The International Gymnastics Federation said Thursday it provisionally suspended North Korea’s federation and gymnast Hong Su Jong for 30 days, ruling them out of the worlds being held Oct. 16-24 in Rotterdam and any other international or national event.
North Korea which entered four women, including Hong, and two men to compete at the worlds can appeal to the FIG within five days.
The FIG’s disciplinary commission met Wednesday and noted that Hong’s entry for the worlds had her birth date as March 9, 1989.
FIG documents show that she competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2006 worlds using a birth year of 1985, and won the silver medal on vault at the 2007 worlds using 1986. American Alicia Sacramone was the bronze medalist on vault in 2007.
If Hong was born in 1989, she would have been ineligible to compete in Athens. Gymnasts must turn at least 16 in the calendar year of an Olympics to be eligible.
“The USA has always played very correctly and followed the rules. We would be very happy to see other countries doing the same thing,” said Martha Karolyi, coordinator of the U.S. women’s team. “From time to time, it’s frustrating to see some people are not playing by the rules. I’m very happy the FIG stands up and is trying to track down these mistakes.”
Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s, when the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to help protect still-developing athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age has been 16 since 1997.
North Korea was banned from the 1993 worlds after the FIG discovered Kim Gwang Suk, the 1991 gold medalist on uneven bars, was listed as 15 for three years in a row.
Earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee stripped China of its team bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics for using an underage gymnast.
That case followed an investigation by FIG into unproven claims that some of China’s gold-medal team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics could have been as young as 14.
The governing body now requires all junior and senior gymnasts who represent their countries at most international meets to have a license that acts as proof of their age for their entire career.
ORIGINAL POST: According to the AP:
International gymnastics officials are investigating another case of possible age falsification, this time of a North Korean gymnast who listed three different birth dates.
North Korea and Hong Su Jong will be given a chance to explain the discrepancies at a hearing and in written statements, the International Gymnastics Federation said Saturday.
Hong’s birth date is March 9, 1989, on the entry list for the world championships this month in Rotterdam, Netherlands. But she had a March 9, 1985, birth date at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2006 world championships, and a March 9, 1986, birth date at the 2007 world championships, where she won the silver medal on vault.
If Hong was born in 1989, she would have been ineligible to compete in Athens. Gymnasts must turn 16 in the calendar year of an Olympics to be eligible.
…
Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s, when the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to help protect still-developing athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997. North Korea was banned from the 1993 world championships after the FIG discovered Kim Gwang Suk, the 1991 gold medalist on uneven bars, was listed as 15 for three years in a row.
I think instances of cheating are fairly rare with North Korean teams though I do remember two other reports. The first is when North Koreans were caught cheating at the International Mathematical Olympics. The second report is from the 2008 Olympics where two athletes tested positive for doping.
Read the full story here:
NKorean gymnast investigated for 3 birth dates
AP (Via USA Today)
10/2/2010
North Korean market footage
Kim Song Min (김성민), founder of Free North Korea Radio, has posted some video footage of a North Korean market.
You might be able to see it here, but I make no promises. It definitely won’t work from China.
Nothing remarkable, but interesting. Of course the market is dominated by female vendors. Bread and dried squid were for sale. Also, shoe shines seemed to be popular.
I wish I knew what people were saying in the background.
North Korean Legos
The Russian blogger that brought us the DPRK’s Linux OS, the DPRK’s PDA device, and the DPRK’s film camera, now brings us the DPRK version of Legos:
Interestingly, the toys come with instructions in both English and Korean. Maybe the producers are hoping for an opportunity to export in the future? Finally some actual socialist building blocks behind which the children of the world can unite! You can read more in Russian here. You can read more in English here (via Google Translate)
Pyongyang Metro Photos
Most visitors to the DPRK visit the Puhung and Yongwang Metro Stations. Satellite images here and here. Google has also cataloged lots of pictures pictures of these stations: Puhung, Yongwang.
The Ponghwa Metro Station is located at 39.012100°, 125.744452°–next to the Party Founding Museum. This station is not visited by foreigners as often, but here are some photos: One, two, three, four.
The Kaeson Metro Station is next door to the Arch of Triumh (39.043059°, 125.754027°). A friend sent some North Korean postcards that seem to come from this station, though the pictures look like they were taken in the 1970s: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.
Pyongyang goes pop: sex scandal on the socialist music scene
According to a story in The Guardian:
There was mild controversy last year when a secret video featuring Wangjaesan’s female dance troupe entered the public domain. The video was being privately circulated among the elite, but reached the North Korean public before making it over the border to China – and therefore the world. Normally seen in traditional, body-cloaking hangbok dresses as they perform polite folk numbers, this little clip revealed unprecedented levels of sexiness in Pyongyang, as the girls popped up in sparkly hot pants and did the splits. Western displays of decadence like this are illegal but, given Kim Jong-il’s alleged love of pornography, perhaps he turned a blind eye to this one.
The video of the dancers can be found here (though it is a VERY slow download) or you can watch it on YouTube here and here. I could not find a better version this time around. Here is the original story in Yonhap (2009-11) when the story broke (with picture).
UPDATED: This video is allegedly of the same group.
The 4 of 31 fishermen
I have not spent much time blogging about the 4 of 31 North Korean fishermen who drifted to the South and do not wish to return to the DPRK. I did track down the six videos the North Koreans filmed with the family members. They were posted to YouTube by Uriminzokkiri. See them here: One, two, three, four, five, six. If anyone can translate these, or give us a rough idea, I would apprecaite it.
KFA sets up branch in Israel!
Alejandro Cao de Benos seeks to build sympathy for the DPRK among the Israelis.
UPDATE: Lankov has ammended his Asia Times (in full below) article with this information published in the Korea Times:
North Korea remains a poor country, to be sure, and malnourishment is still widespread there. Nonetheless, North Koreans do not starve to death any more, and their access to consumer durables has improved considerably. TV sets are common, DVD players have ceased to be a rarity, and the number of mobile service subscribers grows in leaps and bounds. Even computers have begun to appear in more affluent North Korean houses.
However, there is an interesting paradox: this improvement does not necessarily mean that North Korea is becoming more stable.
A few weeks ago I discussed the economic situation in North Korea with a European colleague, one of a small number of people who do research on the North Korean economy. We both agreed that the economic situation in North Korea has improved over the last decade, and that this upward trend is likely to continue. But then my colleague said: “But this is not going to save the Kims’ regime. Actually, the recent economic improvements are bad news for them.” I could not agree more. My interlocutor spent his childhood and youth in the Soviet Union and East Germany, and he knew what he was talking about.
It has often been assumed that the extreme deprivation is what might trigger the regime collapse in North Korea. This indeed might be the case, but world history shows that people seldom rebel when their lives are really desperate. In a time of mass starvation people are too busy looking for food.
Most revolutions happen in times of relative prosperity. A typical revolution is initiated (or at least prepared) by the people who have the time and energy to discuss larger issues. Another condition for a revolutionary outbreak is a widespread belief that an attractive alternative to the current existence is available.
ORIGINAL POST: Lankov writes in the Asia Times:
Spring arrived, and the international media once again began to report that another famine was looming in North Korea. Such reports appear every year, and so far every such alarm has been eventually proven to be false.
When reading the alarmist reports, the present author, a native of the Soviet Union, cannot help but think about the Soviet media’s habit of reporting that a crisis in the capitalist West was becoming ever-more profound. This “crisis” kept deepening, irrespective of the actual state of affairs in the developed West.
Messages about the “threat of hunger” apparently hanging over North Korea largely come from two groups. On the one hand, they are disseminated by political activists who oppose the Kim family regime and want to underline the economic inefficiency of the North Korean government. On the other hand, similar messages are regularly sent by groups that are involved in providing humanitarian assistance to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – in the current uneasy international situation alarmism helps to get more aid.
However, the actual situation is different. North Korea is a destitute place, to be sure, and in the past two to three months the food situation deteriorated, no doubt. Nonetheless, in recent years, the economic situation of the population has improved markedly.
Almost no economic statistics are available when it comes to North Korea: the authorities discontinued the publication of statistical data almost half a century ago, in the early 1960s. Almost everything one reads about the current state of the economy should be seen as a guesstimate, and hence should be approached with considerable caution. Nevertheless, experts agree that recent years have been a time of economic growth, albeit this growth has been slow and uneven.
The most oft-cited estimates of the economic situation in the DPRK are produced by the Bank of Korea. According to its analysts, the average annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the DPRK for the years 2000-2009 was 1.3% (though there were years when GDP declined).
This author frequently talks to North Korean refugees and their stories confirm this picture. The lives of North Koreans are tangibly better than 10 years ago – and keep improving slowly.
North Korea remains a poor country, though. Even rice, the staple food of East Asia, remains beyond the reach of the majority. The basic daily food of most North Koreans is boiled corn accompanied by pickled vegetables. Meat and fish appear on the table only occasionally, being a rare delicacy.
However, one thing is important: throughout the past seven or eight years, there has been little hunger in North Korea, even though malnourishment remains common. A meal of boiled corn is now regularly available to all but a very small minority of North Koreans. This is a far cry from the late 1990s, when between half million and one million people perished in a famine.
People have become much better dressed, largely due to the availability of cheap Chinese garments. Some durables, not so long ago inaccessible to the majority of the population, began to appear in North Korean houses after 2000. It seems that in the prosperous border towns of the northern provinces, which are the major target of the present author’s research interest, about 80% of all households have television sets, and about 25% have DVD players.
Merely a few years ago, a fridge was a sign of luxury. It still remains a rare symbol of worldly success and is present only in the wealthiest houses, being the North Korean equivalent of a Porsche, but nonetheless, even fridges are becoming less uncommon.
The same can be said about computers – the penetration rate in the border towns seems to be 1-3%. A home computer is seen as a luxury, but it is nonetheless an affordable one for a small but growing number of families. The mobile phone market is booming: some 300,000 handsets are in use, largely in the capital, Pyongyang. Even private cars have begun to appear – something that was almost unthinkable until recently (admittedly, a private car in North Korea is roughly as rare as a private jet in the United States – and it carries a comparable weight as a status symbol).
All this is accompanied by an increase in income differentiation. There is no way to gauge the Gini coefficient (measure of the inequality in wealth) in North Korea, but it is obvious that income inequality is large and growing, not least because the major role in the new economy is played by the informal market sector.
North Korea’s nouveau riche are entrepreneurs or corrupt officials who often do business by proxies, as well as people who have profitable connections with China (usually through family ties). It is in their houses which one finds refrigerators and computers, and it is them and their children who frequent expensive – by North Korean standards – restaurants in Pyongyang.
On the other hand, one should not describe the situation by applying the oft-repeated but primitive and often misleading cliche about “the poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer”. Incomes of ordinary North Koreans, however modest, are growing as well and perhaps have approached the level at which they were around 1990, the time when the crisis struck. For the majority of our readers, this would appear to be a level of abject poverty, but as long as North Koreans remain ignorant about the outside world (as they are), they are likely to perceive it as acceptable.
One can only speculate the reasons behind this improvement. Different factors might be in play. First, in the past 10-15 years a new, essentially capitalist economy, grew in what once was a perfect example of a Stalinist state. Now it seems that a majority of families make a living in the private sector, and its growth might account for the general economic improvement. Second, it seems that the state-run sector (or what remains of it) also adapted and learned to work in new conditions. Third, the large role played by foreign (in recent years – only the Chinese) aid, which North Korean diplomats know how to squeeze.
However, these changes do not necessarily bode well for the regime’s future. People who talk about the alleged deterioration of the economic situation in North Korea often are those who hope to see the regime collapse and assume that a food crisis might become the proverbial last straw to bring it about.
This is not really the case. People seldom rebel when their lives are desperate: they are too busy looking for food and basic necessities. Most revolutions happen in times of relative prosperity and are initiated by people who have time and energy to discuss social issues and to organize resistance. Another condition for a successful revolution is a widespread belief in some alternative that is allegedly better than present-day life.
There is little doubt that the North Korean elite welcome signs of economic growth, but paradoxically, this growth makes their situation less, not more, stable. North Koreans are now less stressed and have some time to think and talk – more so since the once formidable surveillance and indoctrination system was damaged during the crisis of the 1990s, perhaps beyond repair.
Since the economy is increasingly under the influence of China, the elite has become more aware about the outside world – in other words, they are beginning to realize how poor they actually are compared to their neighbors. They are learning that there is an alternative, and they have some time to discuss this.
Last but not least, the spread of new technologies is dangerous for the regime in the long run. In a sense, the North Korean power elite is unlucky: they run an anachronistic dictatorship whose survival depends on isolation, but they do it in an era in which new technology is largely about processing information, not materiel.
More or less every DVD player is used to watch foreign – even South Korean – movies that give more than a glimpse of overseas lifestyles, and this makes many old propaganda lies unsustainable. Computers, which come with USB ports, are even more potentially dangerous. Mobile phones enable people to communicate. They are afraid of eavesdropping, and with good reason, but it is doubtful whether the North Korean security police can handle an explosive growth in communications.
One might point at the recent Chinese experience as a testimony to an autocratic regime’s ability to withstand such challenges and even benefit from new technology. After all, the Internet is a good environment for spreading and enhancing nationalism that is now the de-facto mainstream ideology of China. However, North Korea is no China, the existence of a rich and free South makes its situation dramatically different and inherently unstable.
So, the improvement of the economic situation in North Korea might actually shorten the life expectancy of the Kim family regime. At any rate, this is too early to see. But one thing is certain: the annual outbursts of alarmist reporting about the looming food crisis should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Read the full story here:
Why the Kim regime will falter
Asia Times
Andrei Lankov
3/11/2011
Quite unlikely yet, but …
Korea Times
Andrei Lankov
3/13/2011
According to the Daily NK:
This year, the North Korean authorities have been cracking down on the sale and distribution of products, tools and materials coming out of the Kaesong Industrial Complex. As a result, such Korean goods, formerly an expensive but popular choice in Hwanghae and South Pyongan Provinces, are now hard to find in markets.
A source from South Pyongan Province who spoke with The Daily NK in China explained, “Right up until last year, literally anything being made in the Kaesong Complex was available in the market, including clocks, metal, screws, clothes, underwear, toys and parts of electronics. However, the amounts have fallen dramatically since regulations were strengthened.”
The reason behind the regulations is unclear, however; the source suggested it could only be because of deteriorating inter-Korean relations.
Regardless, the source went on, “Nowadays, revealing the fact you sell those Kaesong Complex goods results in high fines and puts you in a bind” Therefore, he went on, “Only bread (Choco Pies), stainless steel or ceramic bowls and underwear are being sold.”
One consequence of the crackdown is that it makes the sale of other South Korean products smuggled in from China equally difficult. Albeit with some provincial differences, clothes and electronics cannot now be displayed on stalls, and must be sold in alley markets in secret.
A source from Shinuiju explained, “Market watch guards go around markets every day inspecting stalls with no notice; their investigation into South Korean products is really severe.” He explained, “If they find goods with Korean writing on, they confiscate them and give them back after two or three days later, after fines have been paid.”
“I hear there was a decree from above reinforcing crackdowns, but won’t this only lead to bribes?” the source pointed out.
Even when readily available, South Korean products are at the top of the price range, so most average families cannot afford them; one Choco Pie, a circular, individually wrapped chocolate cake made famous by the movie “JSA”, is between 180 and 200 won, a set of women’s underwear is 90,000 won, and a set of roughly ten plates, five or six small bowls and some coffee cups is around 250,000 won.
The source reported, “Due to the severe regulations, some traders sell them at home or in secret, hiding the goods behind the curtain.”
Interestingly, one South Korean official with the Kaesong Industrial Complex told the Daily NK that product leakage is not a problem at Kaesong, saying, “There have been almost no cases of complete products leaking out, but it is possible for stock, tools or things provided to workers like Choco Pies. However, the leaks are not enough to affect factory management.
And yet, one defector who used to be a worker in a shoe factory in charge of testing product quality explained that the siphoning off of materials, complete products, tools and other things is common among North Korean workers.
“The way they hide things and bring them out of the factory is really expert. I sometimes put up to 20 pairs of shoes on my body and came out of the factory. If you wear a long, thick winter coat then it is not so remarkable. Sometimes we did it in collusion with the factory manager.”
Read the full story here:
South Korean Products Disappear from Markets
Daily NK
Park Jun Hyeong and Mok Yong Jae
2010-3-10
According to the Daily NK:
A spate of car thefts over the last few months in Chongjin, North Hamkyung Province is said to have been done by military drivers trying to cling onto their posts, according to a source.
The source said some of the thieves were apprehended in an intensive crackdown on car theft carried out from late January to early February by the People’s Safety Ministry (PSM), and subsequently revealed the details.
According to the source, the drivers, in collusion with civilians, stole “servi-cha”, or service cars, and sold the parts, apparently in order to purchase gas and other things they needed to keep their own vehicles running.
Service cars are vans, trucks or buses used to transport people and cargo in lieu of an adequate public transport system.
Even though the PSM in the province apparently launched an investigation into the case, it was apparently unsuccessful because base Party cadres protected the drivers, so now the issue has developed into a tug of war between the military and the provincial PSM.
Speaking on the 7th, the source explained, “The drivers, who are part of a platoon which manages private cars for cadres under the 45th Division of the 9th Corps, which is stationed in Chongjin, hid the stolen cars in a parking lot on-base and sold the parts.”
He explained, “Agents from the Criminal Investigations Section of the PSM tried to access the corps, but 9th Corps cadres including the political commissar and the base National Security Agency head instructed soldiers not to allow them to get onto the base under any circumstances.”
One of the arrested men apparently admitted, “We utilized the fact that the security forces cannot search military bases.”
According to the source, their dire situation drove the drivers to car theft. He said, “An official’s cars projects his pride, so if a driver cannot run his car properly even on condition of having no gas or parts, it is difficult to hold on to that position.”
“The authorities used to turn a blind eye to the military earning money for fuel by supporting foreign currency earning companies or individuals by helping them carry their cargo. However, the military police’s crackdown even on military vehicles has recently been reinforced, so drivers found themselves in that difficult situation,” he concluded.
Following the Arduous March, drivers have played a role of growing importance in the North Korean economy. Here are some previous posts on the DPRKS transporters and transportation market: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3, Story 4, Story 5.
Read more here:
Military Drivers Involved in Car Theft
Daily NK
Im Jeong Jin
3-8-2011
UPDATE: The Daily NK (2011-3-7) reports that the DPRK’s recently minted commemorative coins have been been appearing in the markets:
Chosun Workers’ Party cadres who attended the Delegates’ Conference in Pyongyang on September 28th were each presented with a commemorative gold coin. Now, however, some of the same coins have begun to appear on the open market, according to a source from North Pyongan Province who spoke with The Daily NK on Sunday.
The commemorative coins were minted from gold, silver and nickel by the Chosun Central Bank, and form part of a tradition of coin presentation for state events or to commemorate notable national achievements which began with the 75th birthday of Kim Il Sung in 1987 and continued with the joint 50th anniversary of the Party founding and 50th anniversary of the liberation of the country from Japanese rule in 1995.
The money needed to obtain the raw materials for the 2010 coins was apparently gathered by Bukang Trading Company, which operates under the Workers’ Party.
“The Delegates’ Conference commemorative coins which have appeared on the market are mostly being sold by people who trade with China,” the source explained. “They are not pure gold, but there is a good amount of gold in them, so the price is reasonably high.”
Kim, who defected to South Korea in the second half of the 1990s, said that such coins used to be treated with the greatest of respect, explaining, “When I was in North Korea, I saw a number of commemorative coins. Even until the end of the 1990s, people looked after them at home as a precious thing and a source of great pride. The coin itself was evidence of a person’s status.”
However, recently people’s values have changed a great deal. The source from North Pyongan said, “In those days, even a starving man wouldn’t sell a ‘gift’ from the Suryeong or the General. But now, no matter how precious the gift may be, people will sell it in the market without a second thought.”
“Watches with Kim Il Sung’s name on and various commemorative coins do appear in the market sometimes,” he went on, adding, “Things which were beyond our wildest dreams in the olden days are becoming normal. Sellers point out, ‘What am I supposed to do with possession of this kind of thing?’ Having something to eat is better.”
More than being a simple indication of difficult economic times, the act of selling something which was intended to be thought of as a personal gift from a benevolent leader appears to present compelling evidence of the deteriorating authority of the regime and its control of social discipline. This seems to be particularly so given that the commemorative coins must be being sold by cadres, in theory the most loyal group of North Korean citizens and certainly one which needs to remain loyal if the regime is to maintain its grip on power in the long term.
ORIGINAL POST (2010-10-4): The DPRK is issuing gold and silver coins to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Worker’s Party.
Images courtesy of Daylife.com.
Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
NK Brief No. 11-03-07
3/7/2011
The number of male workers in Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) increased according to the Ministry of Unification (MOU). Since the establishment of the complex, women made up 84-85 percent of the total work staff. But from last May, the number fell below 80 percent and currently is around 74 percent.
In contrast, the number of male workers steadily increased from 15 percent from last year to 26 percent, an increase of over 10 percent.
Out of the new hires of all of last year, 56 percent were male. Even sewing factories generally dominated by female employees began to accept male workers.
Many of the South Korean companies in Kaesong preferred young female workers over male for higher work efficiency; but with declining manpower, more male workers are being hired than previously.
An official from the MOU stated, “We are facing difficulties with labor supply lately,” and added, “Many are even coming from Pyongyang in addition to the nearby areas of Kaesong.”
The total production output of Kaesong Complex reached 323.32 million USD last year, an increase of 26 percent against the previous year.
Kaesong is a popular employment spot for the North Koreans due to its higher wages and extra perks including coupons exchangeable for daily necessities and free coffee and snacks.
The MOU official also noted that even in times of troubled inter-Korean relations, North Korean officials and workers on several occasions have expressed their hopes for the KIC to continue. “KIC is a space we acquired from the North for the purpose of fulfilling our national strategy. We need to be more proactive in utilizing this opportunity to its full potential.”
On the other hand, North Korea sent a letter proposing working-level talks on the industrial complex to the South earlier last month. In the letter the North expressed, “We hope for your active support to resume the working-level talks of the Kaesong Industrial Complex at the earliest possible date to revitalize the currently stagnant business. We look forward to your positive response.”
On January 8, the DPRK officially proposed for the resumption of KIC working-level talks at the earliest possible date through a statement made by the spokesperson of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea. Specifically, late January or early February was suggested.
On January 18, the Central Special Zone Development Guidance of North Korea also proposed through its representative for working-level talks related to the KIC to be held in Kaesong on February 9.
The request from the DPRK is analyzed to be an attempt to relax restrictions prohibiting new businesses and investments in the KIC from the “May 24 Sanctions” that the South Korean government put into effect in 2010 following the sinking of the South Korean naval corvette Cheonan in March of last year.
From the Choson Exchange web page:
We are looking to build our knowledge pool in the areas of contract negotiations, microfinance and bond markets as there have been requests for knowledge assistance in these areas from Pyongyang. We are told that North Korean firms need to negotiate more effectively with their Chinese counterparts, and require legal training to do so. The fundamentals of micro-finance and bond markets are also of interest to some financial organizations. We expect initial programs for these areas to take place in April to May this year.
The executive director of Choson Exchange, Geoffrey See, also wrote the following article in the East Asia Forum:
Choson Exchange recently prepared a program for North Korean students to learn business, finance and economics overseas through university courses and internships.
They consulted a range of North Koreans on how it should structure such a program and ‘the Australia National University’ often came back as the model to follow. Up until 2006, ANU hosted North Korean trainees studying economics under programs supported by international and Australian aid agencies. The Australian exchange program was clearly well-regarded by outward-looking North Koreans.
But what would Australia gain from such programs?
A resolution to the constant series of crises on the Korean peninsula is obviously in Australia’s interest. Conflict on the Korean peninsula can destabilize the region and in a worst-case scenario draw China and the United States into a military conflict involving Australian troops. This would cause incalculable harm to the Asia-Pacific economy because of its impact on all the major Northeast Asian economies, not to mention the human cost of conflict. Australia also has long and particular historical interests in commerce with North Korea.
There are some things that Australia can facilitate for North Korea which is in their mutual interest, but which neither the United States nor South Korea can provide anytime soon. The opportunity for North Korean students to study economics, business or law in Australia in long-term university programs is one such crucial shared interest. Yet such programs are currently impossible because of autonomous sanctions in place since 2006 that deny visas to visiting North Koreans. This policy is counter-productive. It trades off the ability to shape longer-term outcomes on the Korean peninsula for short-term public displays of opprobrium. The only countries whose sanctions can hurt North Korea are the countries that actually trade with it. This policy is also unusually harsh of Australia. The United States takes a more nuanced stance by allowing visits by North Koreans for some purposes while publicly preventing political delegations to express its political support for US allies, chiefly South Korea. Similarly, Australia can publicly express its disapproval of current North Korean activities alongside efforts to develop exchanges that shape a future that goes beyond the present stalemate.
These educational exchanges provide Australia with an effective way to shape longer-term dynamics on the Korean peninsula. One way the Korean crisis will end peacefully is when North Korean elites calculate that benefits of economic integration with the rest of the world are great enough to make the costs of confrontation unsustainable. Overseas education can shift this cost-benefit calculus because it equips a new generation of North Korean leaders with the knowledge and the networks to benefit from international trade and integration.
Choson Exchange recently placed a North Korean student in an internship with an international consulting firm. Without such networks, the opportunity would not have materialized. The student also needed coaching on how to explain why his prospective-employer might find value in taking him on. He assumed that a good score on an international English test was the qualification he needed even though most selective employers see fluency as a minimum threshold, rather than a core selling point. This experience helped us see things from the North Korean perspective: there are hardly any commercial benefits to speak of when one lacks knowledge and networks to realize those benefits.
Now is the time to help build this knowledge and network base. North Korea has been active over the past year setting up institutions to promote economic development. This includes the State General Bureau of Economic Development, the Daepung Group, and the State Development Bank. Choson Exchange has led finance workshops with the State Development Bank, and Bank managers agree that training is needed and appreciated. By helping to educate the next generation of North Korean businessmen, economists, financiers or lawyers who will eventually fill these institutions, Australia can play a role in shaping these emerging institutions in North Korea, institutions that could have important ramifications for how North Korea interacts with the rest of the world in the future.
Australia has the opportunity to redefine how such exchanges are conducted. To maximize impact in developing institutions in Pyongyang, we need to think in terms of a “talent pipeline.” We need interlinked programs targeted at different age-groups: training workshops targeting senior or middle management at these institutions, overseas scholarships targeted at university students or recent graduates, and a way to bring both groups together to help maximize opportunities for scholarship recipients to move into the emerging institutions.
Australia has the base from which to take initiatives with North Korea. The North Korean institutions that are looking outwards explicitly seek to build on what has been done with Australia, and specifically through the Australian National University program for training in economics. A comprehensive settlement of the Korean problem is much more likely if we begin again to put this infrastructure in place and help with institutional development in North Korea.
