DPRK Taekwondo team touring the US – last show tonight

June 14th, 2011

Pictured above: A member of the DPRK TKD team trains a middle school student in Boston, MA.  See other photos here.

According to Yonhap:

A group of North Korean taekwondo athletes arrived in the United States Thursday (June 9) for a rare performance tour abroad amid hopes of a thaw in Pyongyang-Washington relations as the U.S. appears to be preparing for the resumption of food aid.

The 17-member team, which left Pyongyang on Saturday, arrived in San Francisco at 10:40 a.m. by way of Beijing.

This will be the second time the group has toured the US (The first time in 2007).  The web page for both tours (2007 and 2011) is here.  It appears the last performance is tonight in Delaware Valley.

A documentary on the 2007 tour will be released soon (web page here and trailer here). According to PRWeb:

This June, the North Korean National Taekwon-Do Demonstration Team perform for American audiences on the east coast. This cultural exchange follows their historic 2007 Taekwon-Do Goodwill Tour sponsored by Iowa resident, Woo-Jin Jung, which is being made into a documentary film called “Tong-il: Breaking Boards, Bricks, and Borders” by Texas filmmaker, Luan Van Le, and independent production company, LUV Films.

From June 11 through June 14, 2011, a 17-member North Korean Taekwon-Do delegation will travel and perform in Boston, MA, New York City, and New Jersey, for their 2011 TKD Goodwill Tour. Spearheaded by Grandmaster Woo-Jin Jung, a US citizen, it is a cultural exchange to promote peace between North Korea and the USA. Filmmaker, Luan Van Le, has been following Jung’s efforts for the feature documentary called “Tong-il” which covers Jung’s biography as well as the first 2007 North Korea/USA TKD Goodwill Tour.

The Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice backed by the USA on the South Korean side and the Soviet Union on the North Korean side, leaving the peninsula divided to present day. The absence of a peace treaty leaves all parties in a technical state of war and hostilities. Through 2010, the diplomatic relationship between the USA, South Korea, and North Korea dove to an all time low and hinges on North Korea’s feared nuclear weapons program. Since the relationship between the USA and North Korea are vital to any eventual peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula, the TKD

Goodwill Tours are efforts to help jumpstart diplomatic endeavors through non-governmental people-to-people exchanges. The practice of Taekwon-Do espouses building a more peaceful world and Grandmaster Jung strives to exemplify the philosophies taught through this Korean martial art.

Luan Van Le was given permission by the North Korean government to travel and film in North Korea in June of 2007 and was given exclusive access to film the North Korean delegation through the October 2007 TKD Goodwill Tour, which traveled to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cedar Rapids, IA, Louisville, KY, and Atlanta, GA, over two weeks. The 2011 tour is meant to introduce the North Koreans to new cities and audiences. LUV Films, the company responsible for the production of “Tong-il,” will be on-hand to record the New York segment. The documentary “Tong-il” is currently in the editing and post-production phase and is set to be finished this summer.

To learn more about the documentary go to http://www.tong-ilmovie.com and to attend the June event visit http://www.usnktkd.com.

You can learn more about the bizarre history of Taekwondo and North Korea here.

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Posted in Sports, USA | 1 Comment »

M/V Light returns to DPRK

June 13th, 2011

According to the New York Times:

The United States Navy intercepted a North Korean ship it suspected of carrying missile technology to Myanmar two weeks ago and, after a standoff at sea and several days of diplomatic pressure from Washington and Asia nations, forced the vessel to return home, according to several senior American officials.

Washington made no announcement about the operation, which paralleled a similar, far more public confrontation with North Korea two years ago. But in response to questions about what appears to be a growing trade in missiles and missile parts between North Korea and Myanmar — two of the world’s most isolated governments — American officials have described the episode as an example of how they can use a combination of naval power and diplomatic pressure to enforce United Nations sanctions imposed after the North’s last nuclear test, in 2009.

It was a rare victory: a similar shipment of suspected missile parts made it to Myanmar last year before American officials could act. Despite the Obama administration’s efforts to squeeze North Korea with both economic and trade sanctions, there are continuing reports of sophisticated missile technology exchanges, some of it by air, between North Korea and Iran, among other nations.

North Korea, aware that shipments leaving the country are under increased scrutiny, has found a profitable trading partner in the authoritarian government in Myanmar.

The extent of that trade is unclear to American intelligence agencies. Two years ago, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton publicly expressed suspicions that Myanmar was attempting to purchase nuclear weapons technology, but it recently said it was too poor to use such technology. And the evidence has been scant at best. (In 2009, India inspected a North Korean ship that was believed to be carrying equipment for a nuclear reactor to Myanmar, but quickly discovered that its contents were legal.)

The most recent episode began after American officials tracked a North Korean cargo ship, the M/V Light, that was believed to have been involved in previous illegal shipments. Suspecting that it was carrying missile components, they dispatched a Navy vessel, the destroyer McCampbell, to track it.

“This case had an interesting wrinkle: the ship was North Korean, but it was flagged in Belize,” one American official said, meaning it was registered in that Central American nation, perhaps to throw off investigators.

But Belize is a member of the Proliferation Security Initiative, an effort begun by President George W. Bush’s administration to sign up countries around the world to interdict suspected unconventional weapons. It is an effort that, like the military and C.I.A. drone programs, Mr. Obama has adopted, and one of the rare areas where he has praised his predecessor.

According to American officials, the authorities in Belize gave permission to the United States to inspect the ship.

On May 26, somewhere south of Shanghai, the McCampbell caught up with the cargo ship and hailed it, asking to board the vessel under the authority given by Belize. Four times, the North Koreans refused.

As in the 2009 case, which involved the North Korean vessel the Kong Nam 1, the White House was unwilling to forcibly board the ship in international waters, fearing a possible firefight and, in the words of one official, a spark “that could ignite the Korean peninsula.” Moreover, the Americans did not have definitive proof of what was in the containers — and a mistake would have been embarrassing.

“There is always a chance that the North is setting us up for a raid that they know will find nothing,” one official said. “So we want to make sure we don’t fall into a trap.”

By happenstance, a group of senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — including a representative from Myanmar — was in Washington while the slow-speed chase was occurring 8,000 miles away. On May 27, when the group visited the Old Executive Office Building opposite the White House, Gary Samore, the president’s top nuclear adviser, addressed the officials, urging Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia to fully join the nonproliferation effort.

He then surprised the Asian officials by telling them he had a “sensitive subject” to raise, and described the American suspicions, providing the group with a picture of the ship on its way to Myanmar. He reminded them that under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874, which was passed in response to the North Korean nuclear test in 2009, its vessels are to be inspected if “reasonable grounds” exist to suspect that weapons are being exported.

“The Burmese official in the room protested that we were making accusations,” said one American official familiar with the exchange. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has denied stockpiling missiles or buying parts from North Korea. It repeated those denials during recent visits to the country by a midlevel State Department official and by Senator John McCain.

American officials dismiss those denials, pointing to years of evidence of missile-related purchases during both the Bush and Obama administrations. But they concede they are mystified about Myanmar’s motives. The missiles that they believed were aboard the M/V Light have a range of about 350 miles, meaning they could hit parts of India, China, Thailand or Laos — all unlikely targets.

The message apparently got across. A few days later, long before approaching Myanmar, the cargo ship stopped dead in the water. Then it turned back to its home port, tracked by American surveillance planes and satellites, and suffering engine trouble along the way.

And according to the Wall Street Journal:

Under pressure from the U.S. and other countries, a North Korean vessel called the M/V Light turned around in the South China Sea two weeks ago and returned to the North last week, U.S. and South Korean officials said Monday.

Among the countries that agreed to apply pressure was Myanmar, a previous destination for North Korean weapons, a senior U.S. official said. Some reports said the North Korean ship was bound for Myanmar, but the U.S. official, Gary Samore, special assistant to President Barack Obama on weapons of mass destruction, said its final destination wasn’t clear.

“It was headed for the Straits of Malacca, which would have required it to pass between Malaysia and Singapore,” Mr. Samore said. “Since we had alerted the Singaporean and Malaysian authorities, there might have been concern [in Pyongyang] whether it could pass through the straits without action by either of those countries.”

The ship turned around, without the U.S. resorting to force, before reaching the straits.

North Korea’s state media haven’t reported on the latest journey of the M/V Light, keeping with a silence it maintained over previous interceptions of its weapons-ferrying ships and planes.

The incident is unlikely to change the fundamental standoff between North Korea and other nations over its nuclear-weapons program. The U.S., China and other countries have tried to lure North Korea back to the so-called six-party talks, in which Pyongyang has been encouraged to give up its nuclear pursuit in exchange for economic incentives and security guarantees.

Mr. Samore said the multilateral cooperation is a signal to North Korea that other nations remain committed to enforcing the trade limitations set forth by the U.N. Security Council several weeks after Pyongyang tested a nuclear weapon in 2009.

…

U.S. officials in late May began tracking the M/V Light, and a U.S. Navy destroyer intercepted it on May 26 and followed it down the Chinese coast for several days. Meanwhile, American diplomats won agreement from several southeast Asian nations to stop the ship if it attempted to make port.

U.S. officials also discussed the M/V Light with North Korean officials several times via the North’s U.N. delegation, a so-called back channel the two countries use because they don’t maintain official diplomatic relations.

“The North Koreans claimed the ship was going to Bangladesh with a cargo of industrial chemicals,” Mr. Samore said. “We have no way to verify whether any of that was true. And we had good reason to be suspicious with this ship, which in the past has been involved in the export of weapons to [Myanmar] and other locations in the Middle East.”

Read the full stories here:
U.S. Said to Turn Back North Korea Missile Shipment
New York Times
David Sanger
2011-6-12

North Korea Keeps Silent on Ship’s Turnaround
Wall Street Journal
Evan Ramstad
2011-6-14

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Posted in Arms shipment, Illicit activities, Sea shipping, Transportation, UN, UN Security Council | Comments Closed

Foreign used clothing popular in DPRK

June 12th, 2011

According to the Daily NK:

The North Korean authorities are reportedly reacting more strictly than normal to overt sales of products from South Korea in the country’s domestic markets.

One Korean-Chinese man engaged in business in Pyongan and Hwanghae Provinces told The Daily NK on June 11th, “They’re cracking down hard on products from the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the jangmadang, and are reacting more strongly than before to South Korean products, too. There are no South Korean goods on sale openly.”

Sources say that in many cases this means that traders are being told to remove tags indicating South Korean origin.

The same trader explained, “Community watch guards come to the jangmadang and tell us to remove tags written in Chosun then sell them. They are thoroughly cracking down on things saying ‘Made in Korea’. Even though the clothes are of good quality, and therefore clearly South Korean, if there is no tag, then they are not prohibited.”

Currently, used clothes are said to be selling better than new ones, however. This is partly because people have little cash and are gravitating towards the cheaper prices, and partly because they don’t trust new products.

The trader explained, “The image of South Korean clothes is good as far as used clothes selling better than new ones goes. People think that new clothes are of poor quality and really expensive.”

He explained the reason for the low quality, saying, “Currently, producers are buying fabric in China to bring back and manufacture clothes in Chosun, and then they put ‘Made in China’ tags on them.”

A woman’s short-sleeve t-shirt is now worth 5,000 won for a new one but just 1,500 won for a used one. Since the price difference is huge and new ones are of questionable quality, decent used ones sell better.

Another source from Changbai in China corroborated the story, explaining, “Everybody from North Korea asks us to send them used stuff to sell. We go to Guangzhou to buy used clothes smuggled in from South Korea, and send them to North Korea. The demand from North Korea for South Korean used clothes is pretty high.”

Meanwhile, due to mobilization for seasonal agricultural work, the North Korean markets are currently operating from 5 PM to 7PM. They normally open at 2 PM.

However, the Korean-Chinese trader explained that despite the afternoon market closures, farms are facing an uphill battle, saying, “Since anyone who wants to survive has to trade, the number of traders has doubled. And since almost everyone is trading and their focus is on that, there is no way the farming work can go well.”

Read the full story here:
“Remove Tags, then Sell Them”
Daily NK
Park Jun Hyeong
2011-6-13

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Posted in Black markets, Clothing, Economic reform, General markets (FMR: Farmers Market), South Korea | Comments Closed

UNSC expands panel of experts mandate

June 10th, 2011

Here is the press release from the UNSC:

Security Council
6553rd Meeting (AM)

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS UNTIL 12 JUNE 2012 MANDATE OF PANEL OF EXPERTS

HELPING MONITOR SANCTIONS ON DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

The Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts helping monitor sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for an additional year, until 12 June 2012.

Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 1985 (2011) maintaining the current mandate of the group that it established in June 2009. At that time, the Council also condemned a nuclear weapons test conducted by the East Asian country and toughened the sanctions regime on it, calling for stricter inspections of cargo suspected of containing banned items related to the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile activities, and tightening the arms embargo and financial restrictions. (See Press Release SC/9634)

Through today’s text, noting the importance of credible, fact-based, independent assessments, analysis and recommendations from the Panel, the Council also presented the group’s reporting and consultation requirements. It urged all States to cooperate with the Panel and the sanctions regime.

The meeting began at 10:10 a.m. and ended at 10:14 a.m.

Resolution

The full text of resolution 1985 (2011) reads as follows:

“The Security Council,

“Recalling its previous relevant resolutions, including resolution 825 (1993), resolution 1540 (2004), resolution 1695 (2006), resolution 1718 (2006), resolution 1874 (2009), resolution 1887 (2009) and resolution 1928 (2010), as well as the statements of its President of 6 October 2006 (S/PRST/2006/41) and 13 April 2009 (S/PRST/2009/7),

“Recalling the creation, pursuant to paragraph 26 of resolution 1874 (2009), of a Panel of Experts, under the direction of the Committee, to carry out the tasks provided for by that paragraph,

“Recalling the 12 November 2010 interim report by the Panel of Experts appointed by the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 26 of resolution 1874 (2009) and the 12 May 2011 final report by the Panel,

“Recalling the methodological standards for reports of sanctions monitoring mechanisms contained in the Report of the Informal Working Group of the Security Council on General Issues of Sanctions (S/2006/997),

“Noting, in that regard, the importance of credible, fact-based, independent assessments, analysis and recommendations, in accordance with the Panel of Experts’ mandate,

“Determining that proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as well as their means of delivery, continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,

“Acting under Article 41 of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

“1. Decides to extend until 12 June 2012 the mandate of the Panel of Experts, as specified in paragraph 26 of resolution 1874 (2009), and requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary administrative measures to this effect;

“2. Requests the Panel of Experts to provide to the Committee no later than 12 November 2011 a midterm report of its work, and further requests that, after a discussion with the Committee, the Panel of Experts submit to the Council its midterm report by 12 December 2011, and requests also a final report to the Committee no later than 30 days prior to the termination of its mandate with its findings and recommendations, and further requests that, after a discussion with the Committee, the Panel of Experts submit to the Council its final report upon termination of the Panel’s mandate;

“3. Requests the Panel of Experts to provide to the Committee a planned programme of work no later than 30 days after the Panel’s appointment, encourages the Committee to engage in regular discussions about this programme of work, and further requests the Panel of Experts to provide to the Committee any updates to this programme of work;

“4. Urges all States, relevant United Nations bodies, and other interested parties to cooperate fully with the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1718 (2006) and with the Panel of Experts, in particular by supplying any information at their disposal on the implementation of the measures imposed by resolution 1718 (2006) and resolution 1874 (2009);

“5. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.”

Previous reports by the Panel of Experts can be found here and here.

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Posted in Arms shipment, Aviation, Illicit activities, International trade, Sea shipping, Transportation, UN, UN Security Council | Comments Closed

Friday Fun: Kim Jong-il’s Train

June 10th, 2011


The North Koreans produced a two-part documentary on Kim Jong-il’s recent visit to China which was aired on North Korean television.  In part one of the documentary, we can see some video images of the office aboard Kim Jong-il’s train.  His large wooden desk, which he does not seem to use for friendly/informal meetings, is at the head of the room with comfortable leather chairs along the sides.  There is a door on the back wall which provides access to another room on the train cart — I assume a private office or other personal area.  The floors appear to be made of polished wood.  On the desk, there is a framed photo and maybe an couple of ashtrays?  Most noticeably there is a large flat-screen television mounted on the wall above Kim’s desk.

Part I of the documentary was too long for me up upload to Youtube, but the segment aboard the train is here.

Part II of the documentary is here.

Below is a decent image of what many believe is Kim Jong-il’s train parked outside the Kim family compound in Ryongsong-guyok, Pyongyang (룡성구역, 39.110716°, 125.788507°, Google Maps)

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Posted in Railways, Transportation | 6 Comments »

Rason’s Chinese investor tour

June 10th, 2011

Pictured above (Google Maps): The Wonjong Bridge and route traveled by Chinese drivers from the border to Rason

UPDATE 6 (2011-6-15): Here is a great news video of the Chinese driving tour:

Click image to watch video at YouTube

UPDATE 5 (2011-6-10): Barbara Demick writes in the L.A. Times:

No doubt the most attractive part of the package for China is the access to the port in Rajin, part of a larger special economic zone known as Rason. In 1860, China’s weak Qing dynasty signed a treaty that ceded a long strip of coastline to Russia, leaving Chinese Manchuria landlocked. The use of the port in Rajin makes it easier to transport raw materials from the resource-rich region of northeastern China to the industrial hubs in southern China. In December, the Dalian-based Chuangli group, which had spent $3.6 million renovating the port, shipped 20,000 tons of Manchurian coal through the North Korean port to Shanghai.

“It is faster and cheaper to ship through North Korea’s port than to use the railroads,” said a businessman who was in Rajin this week as preparations were underway for the groundbreaking. “Everybody in Rajin is very excited about what the Chinese are doing. They think it will bring jobs.”

UPDATE 4 (2011-6-9): KCNA coverage of the Hwanggumphyong ground breaking ceremony also mentioned developments in Rason:

The [Hwanggumphyong] ceremony was followed by announcing the start of the reconstruction of the Rajin Port-Wonjong road, ground-breaking ceremonies of Athae Rason Cement Factory and the Rason, DPRK-Jilin Province, China High Efficiency Agricultural Model District and departing ceremonies of Chinese domestic freight transit transportation via Rajin Port and private car tourism as the first phase projects for the start of the joint development of the zone.

UPDATE 3 (2011-6-10): China’s Global Times reports on the Chinese business tour:

The first self-drive tour from China to North Korea started on Thursday, with around 100 tourists setting off from Changchun, Jilin Province, to Rason, North Korea, China News Service (CNS) reported.

A total of 24 vehicles carrying around 100 travelers including well-known entrepreneurs, officials with the Changchun Tourism Bureau and provincial government took part in the tour, according to a staff member surnamed Wang with the publicity department of the China Youth Travel Service (CYTS) Tours Corporation Jilin Branch, which organized the tour.

“We’ve spent more than a month preparing for the activity. We sent invitations to tourists and negotiated with the Rason government,” Wang told the Global Times on Thursday.

The tour will last from June 9 to 11, and the cost for each tourist was more than 1,000 yuan ($149), an anonymous staff member with the executive office of the CYTS Tours Corporation Jilin Branch told the Global Times on Thursday.

After assembling at the Changchun Exhibition and Conference Center on Thursday morning and identifying each car with a number, the tourists began their journey at 7 am and planned to reach Hunchun, the border city in Jilin Province that leads to North Korea, in the afternoon, according to the CNS report.

“The 24 vehicles were all provided by the tourists themselves, but we have dispatched a car to lead them and they were all given interphone sets in case some of them fall behind,” she told the Global Times on Thursday.

After passing through Hunchun, the tourists will reach Rason district and tour guides dispatched by the Rason government will lead them to visit Rajin Port and Rajin Bay.

There, they will be able to enjoy children’s performances and also visit local scenic spots, according to the staff member with the executive office of the CYTS Tours Corporation Jilin Branch.

“There were so many people who called to ask about this activity, so I believe we will organize a second tour in the near future,” she told the Global Times.

The North Korean government plans to develop Rason, located in the border area between China and North Korea, into an international economic zone. At the end of May, the North Korean government allowed Chinese tourists to make the self-drive trip to Rason to enjoy its scenery, according to CNS.

“Allowing self-drive tours from China to North Korea means a lot to both countries, because it will increase the interaction and enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples, and consequently, enhance friendly relations between the two countries,” Yang Zhenzhi, a professor at the School of History and Culture (Tourism) with Sichuan University, told the Global Times, adding that the decision will also help to boost economic ties between the two countries.

UPDATE 2 (2011-6-4): According to an earlier report in the Donga Ilbo a “groundbreaking ceremony” for the Rason area will also take place Thursday (June 9).  No doubt this will take place just before the convoy of Chinese investors crosses into the DPRK.  According  to the article:

Sources in China`s Yanbian Autonomous District in Jilin Province and Dandong in Liaoning Province said Friday that the groundbreaking ceremony for the special district in Rason Special City will be held Thursday and that for the development of Hwangkumpyong in the Yalu River near Shinuiju will come Tuesday.

UPDATE 1 (2011-6-6): The news out today indicates that, as earlier reported (see original post below), a convoy of Chinese investors will travel the new road from Wonjong to Rason to explore investment opportunities.  There are a few interesting differences between the time the story was originally published (in April) and today:

Firstly, and the least interesting point, the “investment convoy” is about nine days behind the original schedule. Originally the convoy was to depart for the DPRK on June 1.  The convoy now appears to be departing on June 9.

Secondly, the convoy appears to be operated by a different Chinese tour company.  Back in April the convoy was being coordinated through the Sanjiang International Travel Agency in Hunchun.  The convoy departing this week, however, is run by CYTS Tours.  I do not know enough about either of these businesses to speculate on treasons for the last minute switch in partners.

Thirdly, the cost of the trip has increased significantly.  In April the Sanjiang Travel Agency said the trip would cost 680 Yuan.  Now CYTS Tours says the cost will be 1450 Yuan per person, and the convoy size will be limited to 30 vehicles.

Here is the most recent report in the Donga Ilbo:

Chinese nationals can start traveling Thursday to Rason, a free trade zone in North Korea`s northeastern region, with their own cars for three days.

This is in line with the development plan linking the Chinese cities of Changchun, Jilin and Tumen that the Chinese government is promoting, China’s Xinhua News Agency said Friday.

For starters, the service launched by CYTS Tours will begin with fewer than 30 cars. Travel costs will be 1,450 yuan (224 U.S. dollars) per person, including lodging and eating. Whether anyone has applied remains unknown, however.

People who will start from Changchun Thursday will drive 500 kilometers to Hunchun in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and then enter North Korea through the maritime customs at Quanhe. After crossing the Tumen River, they will go through immigration procedures at the customs office in the North Korean village of Wonjeong-ri and then go to Rason through a Hunchun-Rason road under construction.

The travelers will tour the port of Rajin and then tour Rajin Bay by boat. They will watch a children’s show and visit Sea Village and Wang Hai Guo, where the late founder of North Korea Kim Il Sung visited.

A source at CYTS Tours said, “The product was designed as a part of the (Chinese) government’s travel development plan for Changchun, Jilin and Tumen.”

ORIGINAL POST (2011-4-4): According to the Choson Ilbo:

North Korea is reportedly allowing Chinese motorists to drive to the special economic zone of Rajin-Sonbong so they can look around for investment opportunities there.

A spokesman for Sanjiang International Travel Agency in Hunchun, China on Friday said a group of Chinese motorists will tour Rajin-Sonbong and Duman near the North Korean-Chinese-Russian border under an initiative by the Tourism Bureau of Jilin Province on May 31-June 1. Sanjiang specializes in travels to the lower reaches of the Duman (Tumen) River in North Korea and Russia.

The two-day trip will cost 680 yuan (approximately W115,000) per person.

The Sanjiang staffer said small groups of Chinese motorists have gone to Rajin-Sonbong before, but this is the first large-scale trip organized by the Jilin provincial government and the first time tourists are visiting Duman.

The aim is apparently to lure Chinese investors to Rajin-Sonbong. Early this year, the North agreed with Hunchun city to build a large recreation center and park in its special economic zone.

Back in March 2008, the North allowed South Korean motorists to travel to the scenic Mt. Kumgang resort, but only four months later the tours were suspended after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier.

Related historical information:

1. Bridge on China-North Korea border being renovated (2010-4-13)

2. DPRK-China border bridge opens (2010-6-23)

3. Who uses Rajin’s Ports? (2010-5-23)

4. Rason port facilitates intra-China coal distribution (2011-1-4)

Read the original stories here:
China to allow nat`ls to travel to Rason, N.Korea, by car
Donga Ilbo
2011-6-6

Chinese Motorists to Tour N.Korean Investment Zones
Choson Ilbo
2011-4-5

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Posted in Automobiles, China, Economic reform, Foreign direct investment, Google Earth, International trade, Rason Economic and Trade Zone (Rajin-Sonbong), Special Economic Zones (Established before 2013) | 2 Comments »

HgCapital challenged over DPRK links

June 9th, 2011

According to City Wire:

Private equity investment trust HgCapital Trust was challenged over links to pariah state North Korea at an investor conference this week.

Ian Armitage, chairman of HgCapital, was asked to explain the trust’s links to talc mines in North Korea via its ownership of the Finnish firm Mondo Minerals.

Talc is a mineral used to make talcum powder but also for paper making, plastic, paint and many other industries. Mondo is the world’s second largest producer and, according to Armitage, the company sells 390,000 tonnes per year. Of this 1,500 tonnes comes from North Korea.

Mark Partington, an investment trust investor attending the conference held by Numis in London, said he was concerned that the mine may have used political prisoners in its labour force.

Armitage told Citywire that Mondo ‘didn’t own a mine in North Korea and had no hand at all in operating a mine but does get supplies from that mine through a joint venture that is part owned by the mine and part owned by Mondo.’ He said that Mondo was just a customer of the mine.

Armitage said that Mondo’s relationship with North Korea was in place when HgCapital bought Mondo and that US investors in the fund had been asked if they objected – at the time there was a ban on investing in ‘axis of evil’ states – and had allowed the deal to go ahead.

But he said: ‘In terms of what happens around the world it is not our job to make moral decisions about difficult countries.’ He added: ‘We are not the world’s policeman and we do not take responsibility for what suppliers (of Mondo) do.’

Mondo makes up about 5% of HgCapital Trust’s portfolio of companies and it is believed that HgCapital is looking to sell the firm – rumours which have not been denied by HgCapital Trust. The trust has a market value of £360 million and it is about 10% of HgCapital’s larger unlisted private equity fund.

The trust is in Citywire Selection, our shortlist of investment ideas, and its shares have returned 42% over the last three years while its net asset value (NAV) has risen by 22%. The shares are now trading around a 4% premium to NAV which means that the shares are worth more than the underlying companies owned by HgCapital.

Read the full story here:
HgCapital challenged over North Korea links
City Wire
Rob Mackinlay
2011-6-9

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Posted in Economic reform, Foreign direct investment, Mining/Minerals, Mondo | Comments Closed

Sinuiju SAR/SEZ Version 5: Hwanggumphyong-ri and Wihwa Islands

June 8th, 2011

Pictured Above (Google Earth): The new PRC/DPRK economic zone: Hwanggumphyong-ri (Sindo County) and Wihwa Island (Sinuiju and Uiju Counties).  See islands in Google Maps here and here.

UPDATE 13 (2011-6-14): US urges caution.  According to Yonhap:

“We urge transparency, extreme caution and vigilance in any business dealings with North Korea. We urge all United Nations member states to fully implement U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874, which target North Korea’s continued involvement in proliferation, nuclear weapons development and procurement of luxury goods,” the White House official said on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. and South Korea have been putting economic pressure on the impoverished North, which refuses to dismantle its nuclear program and continues military threats. But China, the North’s largest benefactor, has maintained close economic ties with North Korea, prompting criticism that it is undermining U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang imposed after its nuclear and missile tests in 2006 and 2009.

UPDATE 12 (2011-6-9): Here is coverage of the groundbreaking ceremony in KCNA.

UPDATE 11 (2011-6-10): Barbara Demick, writing for the L.A. Times, highlights the low-key nature of the ground-breaking ceremonies as well as providing details of the lease agreements.  According to the article:

Pyongyang publicized the ceremonies, but official Chinese news outlets did not send reporters attend and carried just brief dispatches based largely on news releases. The lack of publicity in China may reflect Beijing’s ambivalence about doing business with an unreliable neighbor and a desire to avoid international criticism for propping up a nuclear-armed country with an abysmal human rights record.

…

China reportedly signed a 50-year-lease for the 4.6-square-mile Hwanggumpyong, where a 30-minute ceremony was held Wednesday. The South Korean Yonhap news service reported that large balloons flew overhead with the slogans “Friendship between China and North Korea” and “Joint Development.” The low-lying island, south of the Chinese city of Dandong, is currently used for farmland and a North Korean military installation. A smaller island called Wihwa is also part of the deal.

The Chinese are also building a new bridge to the islands that is eventually supposed to be extended to reach to the North Korean mainland.

UPDATE 10 (2011-6-10): Caijing, which is (according to the Wall Street Journal) China’s leading finance newspaper has just published a lengthy article (in Chinese) about North Korea and states at the beginning of the article the “urgent need for internal reforms to adapt to the trend of market forces”. Here is the article.

UPDATE 9 (2011-6-9): Xinhua reports on the ground breaking ceremony:

Officials from China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have reached a consensus to jointly develop two economic zones in the DPRK, according to a press release issued by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.

From Tuesday to Thursday, Chinese and DPRK officials convened in northeast China’s Liaoning and Jilin provinces for the second meeting of the Development Cooperation and Joint Steering Committee.

Their meeting concerned the development of the Rason Economic and Trade Zone and the Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone.

The joint development of the two economic zones in the DPRK will be “government-guided, enterprise-based and market-oriented,” according to the press release.

Both sides agreed to work together and give full play to their respective advantages in the development of the economic zones, the release said.

China and the DPRK have agreed to build the economic zones into a model of Sino-DPRK economic and trade cooperation and a platform to promote economic and trade cooperation with the rest of the world, the release said.

Both sides also held launching ceremonies for several cooperative projects during the meeting, according to the press release.

The meeting was jointly presided over by Chen Deming, Chinese Minister of Commerce, and Jang Song Taek, the administrative director of the Korean Workers’ Party.

The committee held its first meeting in the DPRK’s capital of Pyongyang last November.

UPDATE 8 (2011-6-9): The Choson Ilbo reports on the Hwanggumphyong opening ceremony:

The ceremony started at 10:40 a.m. and took half an hour. Huge balloons with messages like “Friendship between China and North Korea” and “Joint Development” floated in the air above while a military brass band played. Some 300-400 people attended, a stark contrast from the ground breaking for a new bridge connecting Sinuiju in North Korea to China’s Dandong across the Apnok (or Yalu) River at the end of last year, which lasted just 10 minutes with a few dozen regional officials present. AP’s Pyongyang correspondent was allowed to cover the event.

UPDATE 7 (2011-6-9): A reader notes int the comments that it is probably incorrect to refer to this development as a “Special Administrative Region” because we have yet to see if there is any new administrative apparatus which will control the new zone.  So until we see such a development I will refer to this as a “Special Economic Zone (SEZ)”.

UPDATE 6 (2011-6-7): Yonhap reports that Jang Song-thaek attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Hwanggumphyong today (Wednesday):

North Korea and China on Wednesday broke ground on a border island to develop it into an economic zone, spurring speculation that Pyongyang may embrace Chinese-style economic development to try to revive its faltering economy.

The groundbreaking ceremony came on the heels of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s weeklong trip to China in May to study the neighboring country’s spectacular economic development, his third trip to China in just over a year.

On Wednesday, some 1,000 people from North Korea and China, including Kim’s brother-in-law, Jang Song-thaek, and Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming, attended the ceremony on Hwanggumphyong Island in the Yalu River that separates the two countries.

Several dozen giant advertising balloons were floating in the air as a military brass band played festive songs, and hundreds of doves were released at the ceremony.

The messages on the balloons read “North Korea-China friendship and joint development” in a symbolic gesture for their commitment to the project.

The two sides also reportedly signed a deal on the joint development project, including lease terms on Hwanggumphyong. No details were immediately available.

UPDATE 5 (2011-6-7): KCNA announces (here and here) the establishment (and expansion) of the Special Administrative Region (SAR or SEZ):

(KCNA: 2011-6-6) DPRK Decides to Set Up Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone

The DPRK decided to set up the Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone in order to boost the DPRK-China friendship and expand and develop the external economic relations.

A decree of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly was promulgated on June 6 in this regard.

According to it, Hwanggumphyong-ri, Sindo County, Sangdan-ri, Hadan-ri and Taji-ri, Sinuiju City and Soho-ri, Uiju County of North Phyongan Province shall belong to the zone.

The sovereignty of the DPRK shall be exercised in the zone.

The development of the zone shall start from the Hwanggumphyong district.

and…

(KCNA: 2011-6-7) Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone to Be Set Up

The Japanese Tokyo Shimbun Tuesday released the following report titled “Close to setting up economic zone on DPRK-China border:”

The Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK Monday promulgated a decree on setting up the Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone in the border with China. It was reported that the sovereignty of the DPRK would be exercised in the zone and the development of the zone would start from the Hwanggumphyong district.

Both Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands are within the territory of the DPRK along the River Amnok flowing along the DPRK-China border. It was basically agreed to develop Hwanggumphyong by the joint efforts of the DPRK and China. A ground-breaking ceremony is expected to take place within one or two days.

The project for building the DPRK-China Amnokgang Bridge which started at the end of last year is making brisk headway on the river. It seems that a discussion on the above-said zone was held during the China visit by General Secretary Kim Jong Il in May and it is likely to put greater impetus to economic cooperation between the DPRK and China and development of the border area with the decision as an occasion.

The SPA Presidium of the DPRK, explaining the reason for setting up the economic zone, said it was to boost the traditional DPRK-China friendship and expand and develop external economic relations.

South Korean CBS released similar news on the same day.

In a separate note, it is nice to hear the construction on the second Yalu River bridge is “making brisk headway”.  The north Korean media has not reported on the bridge in some time.  The bridge does not run through any of the newly created Special Economic Zone.

UPDATE 4 (2011-6-5): According to the Donga Ilbo, the groundbreaking ceremony is supposed to take place tomorrow (Tuesday).  On Thursday a groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Rason.

UPDATE 3 (2011-5-30): The groundbreaking ceremony was cancelled.  It is unclear when development will begin. According to the Choson Ilbo,

There has been no official comment from China, but a ground-breaking ceremony for the development scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled, apparently because China had second thoughts. “Since last year, I’ve had business officials from other regions like Tianjin and Qingdao, asking me whether there’s any vacant office spaces for rent,” said a business owner in Dandong.

But people in Dandong have not lost all hope of potential development of the area. One Chinese businessman who has traded with North Korea since the 1990s, said, “Business projects with North Korea usually take a long time to materialize, and talk of developing Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa islands have been around for a long time, so I feel they will happen someday.”

Other major projects are already under way in Dandong. The Chinese city plans to build a new city in the Langtou area to house 200,000 people by 2020. A bank building and high-rise apartments have already sprung up in the area, which was a barren tract of land just three years ago. And a new bridge is being built linking Langtou with the North Korean border town of Ryongchon across the [Amnok] River.

UPDATE 2 (2011-5-10): Development of Hwanggumphyong Island is reported to begin this month (May 2011).

According to the AFP:

North Korea and China will start work on developing a river island on their border this month, a report said Tuesday, amid an international drive to coax Pyongyang back to nuclear disarmament talks.

The two countries plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony on May 28 for development of the island on the Yalu River, the South’s Yonhap news agency said.

Pyongyang has reportedly worked out a special law to set up a free trade zone on the island, which is separated by a narrow waterway from the Chinese city of Dandong.

…

The two sides have agreed to turn the island into a base for logistics, tourism and manufacturing that would be linked to China’s industrial complex to be built in Dandong, Yonhap said.

There is still no sign that Wihwa Island is receiving any special development.

UPDATE 1 (2011-3-30): Huangjinbing Island (mentioned below) is the Chinese name of Hwanggumphyong Island (Hwanggumpyong, Hwangkupyong, 황금평: 39.961121°, 124.316044°). The Chinese recently built a fence around this island.

Using Google Earth (39.964363°, 124.288470°) we can see both before and after satellite images of the fence construction which separates the DPRK’s island territory from the PRC’s. Dates: 2009-10-2 (Left/Before), 2010-4-5 (Right/After)

According to the Telegraph:

Fences more than 13ft [3.962 m] high, topped with barbed wire, are now being erected along an eight-mile stretch of the Yalu river around the Chinese city of Dandong. This is a popular escape point for North Korea refugees seeking food or better lives, Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

“It’s the first time such strong border fences are being erected here. Looks like it is related to the unstable situation in North Korea,” a resident said of the work which began last November but is ongoing.

Previously the border was only marked by a 10ft-high fence which “anybody could cross if they really wanted”, the resident added.

Fears for the stability of North Korea have been heightened in recent weeks with reports of a growing food crisis following the severest winter in 60 years and an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that has hit the oxen that are still mainly used to plough the North’s fields.

This week, in a highly unusual step, foreign aid agencies based in Pyongyang issued a joint statement warning that 6 million North Koreans now need urgent food aid because crops of potatoes, wheat and barley have all failed.

As an aside, at least one report claims this island has been leased to China.

Read the full Telegraph story below:
China builds higher fences over fears of instability in North Korea
Telegraph
Peter Foster
3/30/2011

ORIGINAL POST (2010-2-25): In September 2002 the North Korean government announced the Siuiju Special Administrative Region/ Special Economic Zone.  It did not end well.  The idea of implementing a Sinuiju SAR/SEZ, however, has never faded away–though it has taken different forms.

Sunuiju Version 1: The initial vision of the city, under a Yang Bin administration, was the creation of a very liberal and independent territory which would supposedly be free of Pyongyang’s dictates in exchange for tax revenue.  The Hong Kong-style “Basic Law” can be found here.

Sinuiju Version 2: In March of 2007 the North Koreans decided to move the SAR/SEZ territory out of the Sinuiju city center on two Islands in the Tumen River:  Bidan and Wihwa.

Sinuiju Version 3: In August 2007 creation of a special zone had reportedly already begun, however, this time the project is located in the Sinuiju city center (not remote islands).

Sinuiju Version 4: In January 2009 the Yomiuri Shimbum reported that the SAR/SEZ had once again moved out to  Wihwa Island.

Today Adam Cathcart emailed me a report in the Huanqiu Shibao featuring the following statement by a PRC foreign ministry spokesman :

环球时报记者段聪聪报道 2月25日，中国外交部发言人秦刚在例行记者会上就中国企业有可能获准开发两个朝鲜岛屿的事情表态：“不要混淆联合国制裁和两国正常的经贸往来。” Global Times reporter Duan Congcong reports on Feb. 25: Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang, at a press conference, stated [the Ministry’s] position on the situation of the possibility of Chinese enterprises obtaining permission to start business on two Korean islands : “Don’t confuse U.N. Sanctions with normal bilateral trade dealings.”

据报道，朝鲜为了吸引外国投资，决定将位于中朝边境临近辽宁丹东市的威化岛和黄金屏岛定为自由贸易区域，交由中国企业进行开发。两岛的投资规模分别为5亿和3亿美元。秦刚表示，不要混淆联合国制裁和两国之间正常的经贸往来与合作。对朝鲜实施制裁，联合国的有关决议有明确的规定，规定了制裁的项目。而报道中提到的 项目属于中朝之间正常的经贸往来，并不违反联合国规定. According to the report, North Korea is attracting foreign investment, and has decided to establish a free trade zone on the islands of  Weihua [威化岛] and Huangjinbing [黄金屏岛] in the Sino-Korean border area of Liaoning’s Dandong city.  The dimensions of the two islands’ total investment will total 500 and 300 million U.S. dollars, respectively.  Qin Gang stated that it wasn’t necessary to confuse UN sanctions with normal bilateral economic dealings and cooperation.  Regarding the implementation of sanctions on North Korea, the related United Nations resolutions are very clear in their stipulations of the project.  But, the report noted, projects referring to inclusion of normal bilateral trade between China and North Korea are not forbidden by the UN stipulations.

据报道，朝鲜政府高层就比邻中国丹东的边境地区建立特别经济区方案正在进一步细化过程当中。参与此次朝鲜岛屿开发的中国丹东华商海外投资公司将组团赴朝就具体合作意向进行最后敲定。 According to the report, high officials in North Korea’s government nieghboring China’s Dandong border area are currently moving in a detailed way with establishing this special economic zone.  Participating in the development of this North Korean islands are Dandong Huashang Overseas Investment Corp. which will organize and send a delegation to North Korea in order to cooperate and move forward with final resolution.

I will call this “Sinuiju SAR: Version 5.” Wihwa Island is back, but Bidan Island has been replaced by “Huangjinbing Island.”

Additional Information

1. The Dandong Huashang Overseas Investment Corp. web page is here. (again, h/t Adam)

2. China has also reportedly approved the creation of a trade zone on its side of the North Korean border.

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Posted in China, Economic reform, Foreign direct investment, Hwanggumphyong and Wihwado Economic Zones (Sinuiju), International Governments, International trade, Sinuiju Special Administrative Region, Special Economic Zones (Established before 2013) | 8 Comments »

China capturing ROK’s old business in DPRK

June 8th, 2011

According to the JoongAng Daily:

South Koreans doing business with North Korea, or across its border with China, are seeing opportunities dry up as Pyongyang gives all the good breaks to Chinese companies.

Yesterday, workers were seen getting ready for a ground-breaking ceremony at Hwanggumpyong, a joint industrial complex run by North Korea and China on an island in the Yalu River.

North Korea’s official news agency said the complex would further deepen economic ties between the two countries. The exact reverse is happening to South Korean businesspeople.

“South Korean firms and investors have pretty much let their businesses at the China-North Korea border go since last May,” said Choi, the owner of a restaurant in Dandong. Choi, 54, has been running his restaurant for a decade and, to him, the good times are over.

“When business was active between South and North Korea, there were about 1,000 South Korean businessmen working in Dandong, all doing work related to North Korea,” said Choi. “But now most of them have left.”

“Most of the manufacturing jobs done inside North Korea have been taken by Chinese investors and the South Koreans left here in Dandong are mostly contractors for Chinese firms,” Choi said.

After the attack on the warship Cheonan in March 2010, business ties between South and North Korea have run dry due to sanctions ordered by Seoul the following May.

“I invested millions of dollars into developing the underground natural resources in North Korea before last May,” said Park, 56, who was working from Hunchun in northeast China. “Now that the South Korean government has banned all North Korean goods from entering the South, I’m about to lose all my money.”

Chinese investors – including ethnic Koreans living in China – are grabbing the business opportunities forfeited by the Southerners.

“I run short of stock even if I charge 10 renminbi [$1.54] for an abalone I used to sell at 5 renminbi,” said Han, 70, an ethnic Korean in China who sells abalones caught in North Korea. The trade was formerly done by South Koreans.

“Doing business with Chinese customers is much better because I can earn more and in cash, too,” he said.

The South’s sanctions on North Korea have resulted in some other problems as well. Pollack caught in Russian waters have been denied being imported into South Korea because they were mistaken for North Korean pollack. In fact, the fish cannot be found in North Korea anymore due to global warming.

“It was a loss for me when the fish didn’t make it through customs after being mistaken for North Korean pollack,” said Lee, 51. “I export Russian pollack to South Korea after they are caught and processed in China.” Lee is involved in aquatic product processing in Hunchun.

Jo Dong-ho, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said, “North Korea is looking for an alternative by doing business with China after trade with the South halted. There is a need for some breathing space when it comes to inter-Korean trade.”

Read the full story here:
China capturing North’s business
JoongAng Daily
Chang Se-jeong
2011-6-8

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Posted in China, Economic reform, Food, Foreign direct investment, Mining/Minerals, South Korea | Comments Closed

2011-Q1 DPRK-PRC trade double 2010 level

June 8th, 2011

According to Arirang News:

Trade between North Korea and China nearly doubled in the first quarter of this year compared to 2010.

China’s imports of North Korean goods, which were valued at around 401-million US dollars, increased 214-percent, while its exports to the North, worth about 570-million dollars, rose by only 59-percent year-on-year.

As China’s imports significantly increased overall during this period, its trade surplus with its communist neighbor shrank about 27 percent compared to last year.

The top items China imported from the North included anthracite, iron, and zinc alloys, mostly mining resources.

China’s import of anthracite in the first quarter surged about 1300-percent compared to the same time last year.

Meanwhile, North Korea imported items like crude oil, gasoline, wireless phones, and coal from its last remaining ally.

Korea’s YTN News Agency reports that North Korea’s import of mobile phones, which appear to be all old models, increased about 330-percent from a year earlier.

And North Korea’s import of gasoline during the first quarter of this year increased 120-percent compared to 2010.

Experts say that the increase in gasoline imports likely has to do with its intensified military training since its attack on the South Korean warship Cheonan and the shelling of the South’s Yeonpyeong Island last year.

Read the full story here:
China-N.Korea Trade Volume Doubles in First Quarter of 2011
Arirang News
2011-6-6

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Posted in China, International trade, Statistics, Trade Statistics | Comments Closed

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