Kaesong output up 10% between Sept and Oct

December 19th, 2010

According to Yonhap:

Output at an inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Kaesong rose by over 10 percent in October from the previous month, data released by the Unification Ministry said Sunday.

In October, companies in the Kaesong complex produced goods totaling US$29.41 million in value, up by $2.72 million, or 10.2 percent, from $26.69 million in September, according to the data.

The figure increased by 8.9 percent from the same month last year, they showed.

Total output for the Kaesong complex had been on the decline since the Cheonan incident in March, in which 46 sailors died in a torpedo attack blamed on North Korea. The figure hit $26.41 million in July.

The data also showed that the number of North Korean workers in the border town complex marked 44,958 in October, rising steadily from 42,397 in March.

Although the North shelled Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23, North Korean workers have been on the rise,” said a ministry official. “According to unofficial statistics, 45,300 North Koreans are working in Kaesong today.”

The Kaesong industrial park is considered the last remaining major symbol of reconciliation efforts between the two Koreas, whose relations have been tense over the past three years. The park began operating in 2004 as a product of the first inter-Korean summit held four years earlier.

Read the full story here:
Output for Kaesong industrial complex increases 10 pct in October
Yonhap
12/19/2010

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North Koreans reportedly enjoy US films

December 19th, 2010

According to the Choson Ilbo:

Young North Koreans apparently prefer American soaps and films to South Korean ones, and they can now watch both easily. A defector who gave his name as Kim (43) and used to sell TV sets in the North said, “Used color TVs imported from China have both PAL and NTSC options, so there’s no problem receiving South Korean TV signals,” even in remote South Hamgyong Province.

North Korea and China use the PAL format to receive TV signals, while South Korea and Japan use the NTSC format. Some European countries and the Middle East favor SECAM. Most models manufactured after the 1990s allow users to shift formats.

“In South Hamgyong Province, only a few households are able to capture TV signals, but reception is quite good in Hwanghae or South Pyongan provinces,” Kim said. “People there look forward to the evenings when dramas are broadcast.” He said North Koreans also enjoy watching news and current events programs as well and power their TVs with their car batteries during power outages.

Another defector surnamed Yoo (40), who used to sell DVDs in the North and came to South Korea late last year, said North Koreans have grown tired of South Korean TV soaps with their stereotypical plots. “Nowadays, ‘Rambo 4,’ ‘007 Casino Royale,’ and other American action films or TV dramas like ‘Prison Break’ are popular,” she added.

According to Yoo, South Korean TV soaps like “Winter Sonata,” “All In” or “Autumn in My Heart” were popular in the early 2000s, while “Jewel in the Palace” and other historical dramas grew popular in the late 2000s. Recently, action movies are gaining more attention.

North Koreans also prefer American movies to Korean ones. “Practically everyone knows ‘Titanic.'” The movie classic “Gone with the Wind” is popular among upper-class North Koreans in Pyongyang, while young people enjoy action films. “DVDs of American movies or TV dramas fetched the highest prices,” she said. “But now USBs with American TV programs are more popular than DVDs.”

Additional information:
1. Titanic is rumored to have been screened in Pyongyang cinemas.

2. Also, Tom and Jerry was shown on North Korean television in the 1980s. See here and here.

3. We have heard conflicting reports about just how tolerant the North Korean government is of foreign films.

Read the full story here:
N.Korean TV Viewers Favor American Shows
Choson Ilbo
12/18/2010

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Daily NK reports agricultural increase in DPRK

December 19th, 2010

According to the Daily NK:

Even though some of North Korea’s farmland including much around Shinuiju was flooded this year, in other provinces food production has been greater than in previous years, according to sources.

One source from South Pyongyang Province told The Daily NK yesterday, “There have been heavy rains and rivers overflowing in some places this year, but the rice crop is better than last year’s. It seems to be thanks to imported fertilizer from China.”

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Program (WFP) also reported last month that North Korea’s grains yields had increased by 3 percent over last year, to 4.48 million tons in total.

The source explained, “In April and May this year fertilizer came just in time, so it helped with the farming. Since the situation in that period decides the number of ears of grain, if you don’t provide fertilizer production can be halved.”

Another source from Yangkang Province agreed, saying, “This year in the jangmadang in Hyesan, 50 kilos of fertilizer was selling for 220 Yuan. The price was quite expensive, but people used it even on their private fields because it was so beneficial for production.”

However, the source said angrily, “Even though farming was better than last year, the year’s distribution for farmers was a mere 30kg of rice and 50kg of corn, 20kg of rice and 30kg of corn short of last year’s distribution. So farmers complained about it but the only answer was ‘more food should go to the military’. They were lost for words.”

The source said, “The authorities keep reiterating that thanks to the Youth Captain we will live better in the future, but then give us less distribution; who would believe this? Does this not mean that the Youth Captain will also try only to feed the military?”

He added, “In the end, the vicious circle where farmers on collective farms steal rice from the farm continues. Farm cadres have already siphoned off what they want, and then farmers also do that in groups.”

The source explained, “Due to the lack of electricity and frequent machinery failures, the threshing is still going on now. Military trucks are always waiting by the threshing location, and as soon as it is done, the rice goes to military bases.”

Furthermore, he added, “Rice provided for the military is also stolen by high officials, so normal soldiers are provided only with corn.”

Previous stories about the DPRK’s food and agricultural production can be found here and here.

Stories about the UN World Food Program and FAO can be found here and here.

Read the full story here:
Higher Yields and Lower Distribution
Daily NK
Shin Joo Hyun and Kang Mi Jin
12/17/2010

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DPRK still not happy about propaganda leaflets from ROK

December 19th, 2010

UPDATE 2: And also on Monday the South Korean government lifted the ban on South Koreans visiting the Kaesong Industrial Zone.

UPDATE 1: As of Monday, the DPRK has not retaliated against either the balloons or the ROK naval drill that took place on Yonpyong.  As a precaution, the ROK government has prevented South Korean workers from entering the Kaesong Zone.

ORIGINAL POST: For several years activists in the ROK have periodically floated balloons across the DMZ which contain cash, propaganda leaflets, and even radios. You can learn yet more about the leaflets here.

The DPRK has complained about these balloons on many occasions, and has at least twice threatened to cut off access to the Kaesong Industial Zone in retaliation.  The first time was in November 2008. The second time was in May 2010.

Well last weekend activists launched balloons from Yonpyong Island (recently shelled by the DPRK):

North Korea now claims it will fire at the South Korean islands used to launch these balloons.  According to Yonhap:

North Korea lashed out Friday at South Korea for allowing anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets to be sent across their border, as activists vowed to send more from a South Korean island devastated by North Korean shelling last month.

The leaflets, often mixed with U.S. dollar bills, DVDs and radios, are sent in giant balloons across the 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas.

The North’s official Web site, Uriminzokkiri, said the bills are “nothing more than waste paper” and that the leaflets do little to undermine the pride of its people in the communist regime.

“Such confrontational madness will only snap up the extraordinary alarm and ire of our army and people,” it said in a commentary.

North Korea’s military has warned it would shell South Korean sites used to send propaganda leaflets and broadcasts. On Nov. 23, the North shelled the western South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, killing two marines and two civilians in its first direct attack on an inhabited region in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea cited the South’s live-fire drills that day as a reason for its shelling, saying its territorial waters were infringed upon. The South denies shooting toward the North.

In a related development, a group of North Korean defectors have entered Yeonpyeong Island this week and are preparing to send about 200,000 leaflets denigrating the North Korean leadership.

Park Sang-hak, head of Fighters for Free North Korea, told Yonhap News Agency that should wind conditions turn favorable, his group will send the leaflets as early as Saturday.

The South Korean military plans to hold one day of live-fire exercises on Yeonpyeong between Saturday and Tuesday despite the North’s threat of retaliation. North Korea says any shells fired from Yeonpyeong are bound to violate its waters because it does not respect the Yellow Sea border drawn by a U.S. general at the end of the Korean War, which ended in a truce.

In an act of support for the propaganda activities, Shin Ji-ho, a ruling party member, told Yonhap that he and other legislators plan to send 100,000 leaflets in “truth balloons” on Jan. 8, the date North Korea’s 20-something heir apparent, Kim Jong-un, was born.

Read the full story here:
N. Korea slams S. Korea over propaganda leaflets as activists vow to send more
Yonhap
Sam Kim
12/17/2010

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Friday grab bag: Tourism and DMZ history

December 17th, 2010

New Tourism opportunities:
Koryo Tours is offering new and interesting travel destinations in Northeast Asia.  According to their email newsletter (slightly edited):

We are very excited to offer a brand new tour for 2011, a trip to somewhere that no other company can take you or would probably even think of taking you! To Magadan – the remotest part of Russia and known mostly for being the site of the most infamous of the soviet gulags, where countless thousands of prisoners mined gold in terrible conditions including -50 degree winters. Today’s Magadan city has a population of close to 100,000 and is the largest settlement in the infamous Kolyma area. A place of stunning natural beauty and stark desolation, the province remains one of the least-visited parts of Russia with no train connections to what the locals call ‘the mainland’ and a road that only exists for 4 months of the year and takes 4 days to travel to the nearest major habitation (Yakutsk). We will visit a local ethnic village (of the Evenk people), stay in the city of Magadan (the regional capital), and see what life is like in this distant and evocative place. We’ll visit the site of the gulag as well as seeing local sights and industry (gold mining was the reason for the prison being in this location).

But that’s not all! If being one of the very few westerners ever to get as far as Magadan is still not enough then we have a further extension on offer. An itinerary that offers an even more in-depth look at the lives of people in the area as well as travelling deep into the near-deserted inner reaches of Magadan province to the abandoned city of Kadykchan. A place no other tour company, even in Russia, takes people to.  For some photos of the city we will spend a day exploring, click here.

Koryo is also repeating its innovative “Tumen Triangle” tour:

Join our Tuman Triangle II Tour – This tour, utterly unique to Koryo Tours takes in 3 countries, time zones, and cultures in some of the least visited parts of Asia, we go to NE China’s Korean Autonomous region to start, then drive to Rason, the North Korean free trade zone. After this we travel to Russia by train, first to the resort of Andreyvka and finally by ferry to Vladivostok. After the program ends with a couple of days here some of the group return to Beijing, others begin the first ever group tour to Magadan!

And for the DMZ history angle, here are a couple more interesting videos filmed by Czechoslovakians stationd in the DPRK in 1989-1990.

Driving through Kaesong.

Repatriating remains from the ROK side of the DMZ to the DPRK side.

You can see all of the videos here.

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Recent papers on DPRK topics

December 17th, 2010

Forgotten People:  The Koreans of the Sakhalin Island in 1945-1991
Download here (PDF)
Andrei Lankov
December 2010

North Korea: Migration Patterns and Prospects
Download here (PDF)
Courtland Robinson, Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
August, 2010

North Korea’s 2009 Nuclear Test: Containment, Monitoring, Implications
Download here (PDF)
Jonathan Medalia, Congressional Research Service
November 24, 2010

North Korea: US Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation
Download here (PDF)
Emma Chanlett-Avery, Congressional Research Service
Mi Ae-Taylor, Congressional Research Service
November 10, 2010

‘Mostly Propaganda in Nature:’ Kim Il Sung, the Juche Ideology, and the Second Korean War
Download here (PDF)
Wilson Center NKIDP
Mitchell Lerner

Drug Trafficking from North Korea: Implications for Chinese Policy
Read here at the Brookings Institution web page
Yong-an Zhang, Visiting Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies
December 3, 2010

Additional DPRK-focused CRS reports can be found here.

The Wilson Center’s previous NKIDP Working Papers found here.

I also have many papers and publications on my DPRK Economic Statistics Page.

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Yangkang (Ryanggang) Province gets new 10th corps

December 17th, 2010

Pictured above: Chun-dong (춘동) in Hyesan (2005) via Google Earth

According to the Daily NK:

North Korea has created a new military body, the 10th Corps of the Chosun People’s Army, charged with security and order in Yangkang Province.

An inside source reported to The Daily NK on the 15th, “The foundation of the Yangkang Province 10th Corps was ratified in September in the name of the National Defense Commission Chairman,” and added, “Accordingly, the construction of the Corps Headquarters has been completed in the Chundong area of Hyesan.”

Hitherto, the 10th District Command of the Local Reserve Forces, a civilian reserve force, provided local protection in Yangkang Province. Its military strength was obviously inferior to that of North Hamkyung Province, which it neighbors. North Hamkyung Province has been guarded by the 9th Corps stationed in Chongjin on the east coast since it was created in 1995.

Even though the specific details of the makeup of the new 10th Corps have not emerged, it seems to consist of the 42nd Brigade (No. 1551 Base) stationed at Samsoo and the 43rd Sniper Brigade (No. 682 Base) at Gapsan, and brigades of the Local Reserve Forces in Pungsan and Wunheung. Additionally, and importantly, officers from the 9th Corps have been transferred to fill higher positions.

The source explained, “The number of enlisted soldiers increased during spring recruitment, but the number of officers was still inadequate, so the corps was formed with officers transferred from the 9th Corps. However, housing for military officers has not been completed yet, so there are still many living apart from their families.”

The Daily NK reported exclusively in September 2009 that the National Defense Commission was planning to reinforce the 10th District Command with 10,000 additional soldiers.

The source explained the possible background to the founding the 10th Corps, saying, “In fact, the value of military strength in Yangkang Province has dropped more than people think. Considering the fact that major strategic facilities such as Samjiyeon Airport, Samjiyeon Missile Base, Baekam Radar Base and Huchang Missile Base are all here, Local Reserve Forces are not sufficient to cover provincial defense.”

He added, “There is significance in the foundation of the 10th Corps, in that defense of a strategic position has been reinforced, and moreover may have the effect of coping with possible Chinese military moves which actually could occur,” and went on, “It might also have been a measure reflecting the concern which Pyongyang has had since its first nuclear test, whereby, ‘We don’t know when China will betray us.’”

Now, the North Korean military consists of nine official corps: the 1st Corps stationed in Hoiyang, Kangwon Province, 2nd in Pyongsan, North Hwanghae Province, 4th in Haeju, South Hwanghae Province and 5th in Pyeonggang, Kangwon Province, which cover the DMZ and the front line; and the 3rd Corps in Nampo, 7th in Hamheung, South Hamkyung Province, 8th Corps in Youngju, North Pyongan Province, 9th in Chongjin, North Hamkyung Province and the newly created 10th in Hyesan, Yangkang Province, which are in charge of rear defense.

As previously noted, the 6th Corps has not existed since shortly after an attempted coup in North Hamkyung Province in 1995.

Each corps consists generally of one or two combat brigades, three or four mechanized brigades and several battalions.

Besides these, there are special corps disguised as “training centers” in order to draw a veil over the reality, which is that in practice their military power is much greater than that of the general corps. While the first obligation of the general corps is local defense, these training centers are designed to push into the South.

Among the best known of these “training centers” are No. 425 Training Center stationed in Jungju, South Pyongan Province, No. 806 in Muncheon, Kangwon Province, No. 815 in Seoheung, North Hwanghae Province, No. 820 in Sariwon, North Hwanghae Province and No. 620 in Shinkye, North Hwanghae Province.

Additionally, there is the “Artillery Bureau” which conducts artillery attacks, “Education Bureau” designed to penetrate the rear of enemy lines, and “No. 91 Training Center”, Pyongyang Defense Command, which is charged with defending the capital.

Read the full story here:
Yangkang Province Gets New 10th Corps
Daily NK
Im Jeong-jin
12/16/2010

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DPRK defectors face 9% unemployment rate in ROK

December 16th, 2010

According to KBS:

A new survey shows that more than nine percent of North Korean escapees living in South Korea are unemployed and are suffering from serious financial difficulties.

According to a survey of 12-hundred North Korean escapees between the ages of 20 and 60, 42-point-six percent of respondents were economically active, while nine-point-two percent of those who are economically active were unemployed.

Some 37 percent of the respondents cited physical problems as a reason for their lack of a job. More than 24 percent said they chose to remain unemployed in order to raise their children.

The survey was conducted by an organization supporting North Korean escapees.

It would have been helpful if the results were broken down by gender as well as a few other control variables.

Read the full story here:
Survey: 9% of NK Escapees are Unemployed
KBS
12/16/2010

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Chinese trade undermining DPRK information blockade

December 16th, 2010

According to the Korea Herald:

Although not so explicitly, the communist North Korea appears to be becoming more aware of capitalist cultures and trends, a change the Kim Jong-il regime has feared the most and tried to prevent for decades.

Not only the social upper crust, but the majority of the general public has seen popular South Korean TV series through copies that flow in from China and is aware of the financial gap between the two divided states, North Korean defectors said during a recent forum in Seoul.

According to the defectors ― among hundreds of others who attempt to abandon their impoverished state and escape to the wealthier South each year ― such changes are causing a headache for the North Korean leader trying to secure internal unity before handing over the regime to his youngest son.

“It is difficult to fend off South Korean products and TV shows from entering the country so as long as China remains to be its main trade partner and financial donor,” said Ju Seong-ha, a North Korean defector who graduated from the North’s top Kim Il-sung University.

“The recent phenomena may result in North Koreans choosing South Korea over their own country when the time comes for them to decide.”

North Korea, which is one of the world’s last remaining totalitarian states and also one of the most secretive nations, keeps its people largely isolated from outside news and strictly forbids them from possessing goods that are not distributed by the ruling Workers’ Party.

But the impoverished state’s heavy dependence on Beijing for food and other commodities is inevitably opening up its people to goods and cultures from capitalist nations, particularly South Korea.

China has emerged as the world’s second largest economy after abandoning Stalinist policies and is one of the largest markets for South Korean pop culture, also widely known as “hallyu.”

Most copies of popular South Korean TV series and news that flow into North Korea are produced in China, which is notorious for illegally making cheap, low-quality copies of copyrighted materials.

A 20-something North Korean who escaped to Seoul last year said he had been “shocked” at the sight of South Korea the first time he saw a soap opera starring the country’s top celebrities.

“We had been told South Korea was an underdeveloped country full of beggars,” the defector said, requesting not to be named for safety reasons. “What I saw were beautiful, trendy people living in a glamorous city.”

“I say 90 percent of North Koreans have seen a South Korean TV series at least once,” he said.

Even security and judiciary officials watch popular South Korean soap operas in secret, another unnamed defector told the Dec. 10 forum in Seoul.

“Because the DVD players are sold at a relatively cheap price in North Korea, many households possess them and share CDs among themselves,” the defector said. “Seeing for themselves how well-off and happy people in the South seem, many people build up admiration for the country.”

The apparent popularity of South Korean culture in North Korea coincides with President Lee Myung-bak’s recently made remarks during his trip to Malaysia.

“No one can possibly stop the changes brewing among the general North Korean public,” the South Korean president had said.

Read the full story here:
Changes brewing in ‘not so isolated’ North
The Korea Herald
Shin Hae-in
12/15/2010

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Choson Exchange looking for DPRK student mentor

December 15th, 2010

According to the Choson Exchange web page:

At the request of North Korean counterparts, we are exploring opportunities for young North Koreans fluent in English to participate in an informal internship or research assistantship in the fields of business (esp. finance), economic development, or law to gain professional understanding and exposure to these fields. The organization should be located in London.

Ideally, we hope to attach them to a mentor from an established organization willing to take a strong interest in the educational and professional development of the intern. The mentor is likely to have a strong interest in North Korean issues. The period of internship can last up to a year. While compensation is not necessary (but much appreciated), the host should be able to cover transportation costs to and from work as well as lunch expenses at the minimum.

The program can be informal and non-contractual in nature. Please feel free to contact [email protected] if you have leads on possible hosts.

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