Police agency abolishes rewards for turning in N. Korean propaganda leaflets

October 30th, 2007

Yonhap
10/30/2007

Police said Tuesday they have abolished rewards for those who turn in North Korean propaganda leaflets discovered in South Korean territory, as almost none have been found over the past few years amid thawing inter-Korean relations.

“In recent years, the number of North Korean leaflets that have been reported to us is close to zero,” said a spokesman for the National Police Agency, adding that the reward policy is already useless.

Leaflet dissemination was a key element of propaganda warfare between the archrival countries during the Cold War. The two Koreas, which are technically in a state of war, attempted to secretly distribute the leaflets in each other’s territory ever since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice.

However, the number plummeted in recent years amid a thaw in two-way ties, especially after the first summit between the leaders of the two Koreas in Pyongyang in 2000. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il held the second inter-Korean summit in the North Korean capital early this month.

The North attempted to disseminate millions of propaganda leaflets in the South every year until the 2000 summit.

The North Korean leaflets, often found in the countryside or on university campuses, were allegedly distributed by South Korean sympathizers or sent by balloon from the communist state.

The leaflets contained messages or pictures aimed at enticing South Koreans to defect to the North or criticizing the Seoul government.

Police had previously urged citizens to be aware of the leaflets in April and August, as strong northwestern winds enabled more balloons carrying the propaganda to reach the South.

Police used to grant medals to adults who collected a large number of the leaflets, while children were rewarded with new pencils and notebooks.

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Cut the Telephone Cables

October 29th, 2007

Daily NK
Kwon Jeong Hyun
10/29/2007

It has become known that the North Korean authorities’ search for a household that paid 5,000 won for telephone usages per month has come to a close. Upon finding the residence, the authorities cut the telephone lines to prohibit the outflow of inside information.

Kim Choen Mo (pseudonym), a North Korean trader traveling through Dandong, China on business, said on the 28th that “The Social Security Agency, the Postal Service Office and the People’s Unit are cooperatively managing this case.”

Mr. Kim quoted an affiliate of the Postal Service Office saying, “If someone pays a large amount in phone bills, it means that they are making a living in trade. Therefore, the order was made to block the leakage of inside information and to block trade as well.”

In 1997, North Korea started introducing a telephone system using fiber-optic cables in big cities such as Pyongyang, Shinuiju, Chongjin, Hamheung, Sariwon and Pyongsung. Under the orders of Kim Jong Il to modernize the telecommunication system, the cables from China were set up in Pyongyang and other big counties and provinces. People were permitted for the first time to install telephones in their houses, and residents in big cities became increasingly reliant on phone usage.

After 10 years, however, the order was handed down to cut the cables off houses where phone usage exceeded 5,000won a month.

In 2002 North Korean authorities introduced a mobile communication system, but since the Yongchoen explosion incident in 2004, mobile phone usage has been banned.

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The Price of Cabbage in North Korea Is Prohibitive

October 29th, 2007

Daily NK
Lee Sung Jin
10/29/2007

South Korean housewives are afraid to open their wallets due to the threefold increase in the price of cabbage and radish compared to last year with the kimchi preparation season ahead. The skyrocketed price of cabbage in North Korea has also caused concerns about disturbance to the kimjang (kimchi preparation) season.

Lee Ok Ran (45), who trades in Hoiryeong, relayed in a phone conversation with DailyNK on the 25th, “Due to the flood damage and the delayed seedtime, the amount of the cabbage harvest has decreased significantly. In the middle of October, we have to enter the kimjang season, but are worried because the price of cabbage has risen exorbitantly. The saying that the price of cabbage is like the price of gold seems fitting now.”

Ms. Lee said, “Large cabbage has not been reaped yet, so cabbage from China has mostly been sold in the jangmadang (markets). Unripe cabbage made in North Korea is being sold at 450~500 won per bundle and Chinese-produced cabbage costs around 1,800~2,000 won.” Last year, North Korean-produced cabbage was sold for 200~250 won per bundle.

He explained, “Chosun (North Korea) cabbage has a lot of insect marks and the leaves are tough, but on the other hand, Chinese-produced cabbages have better quality, so generally reflect over a twofold difference in price. Mostly, the party leaders buy and eat these cabbages rather than average civilians.”

However, with the soaring price of North Korean cabbage, the cost of imported cabbage has increased significantly.

Ms. Lee added, “In the winter, there is only one type of a sidedish—kimchi–so they are called ‘a half-year’s gourmet food.’ At this time, if we cannot prepare kimchi, we will not see kimchi for the entire year next year.”

North Korean civilians have prepared for kimchi by harvesting cabbage or radish seeds, planted starting late July immediately after reaping wheat and corn, from the end of October.

The reality of the cabbage scarcity is due to the loss of the majority of cabbage, which had just started sprouting in early August, in the flood.

The North Korean Central News Agency and the Chosun Shimbo issued by Chongryon (General Association of North Korean Residents in Japan) reported on the 10th, “In some areas of South Pyongan and Kangwon, collective farm laborers plowed the fields submerged in the flood and have started re-sowing.”

The North Korean farmers started sowing cabbage and radish seeds again, but the amount of the harvest is expected to be half of the annual average amount. Due to this, North Korea’s “kimjang combat,” which is supposed to start the middle of October, is supposed to be hit with a huge setback.

In North Korea, using military language such as “combat” for important events is customary. Just as there is the spring rice-planting combat, the summer weeding combat, and the fall harvesting combat, the words, “kimjang combat,” are used during kimjang season.

In northernmost Yangkang, North Hamkyung, kimjang season begins in the middle of October. Come November, all regions of North Korea, such as South Hamkyung, Jagang, North Pyongan, South Pyongan, and Hwanghae are swarming from the combats.

However, the price of cabbage has exorbitantly this year and by kimjang season, the price of hot pepper and seasoning skyrockets, so the concern of North Korean ordinary people for surviving the winter will be raised a notch.

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N. Korea Eager for Economic Modernization

October 29th, 2007

Korea Times
Jung Sung-ki
10/29/2007

North Korea has a keen interest in economic modernization program aimed at luring foreign investment through business cooperation projects with other countries, a member of the European Parliament said Monday.

In a press conference in Seoul, Hubert Pirker, an Austrian member of the European Parliament, said the North clearly understands the fact that without economic modernization, it will not be able to attract foreign investment into the country.

Pirker and two other EU representatives _ Jas Gawronsky of Italy and Glyn Ford of Britain _ visited North Korea from Oct. 20-27 and met the North’s Prime Minister Kim Yong-il. They also held an economic forum with North Korean officials.

During the forum, North Koreans’ attitudes “were not closed or hostile,” said Pirker.

“We visited the railway station, for example, and also parks and restaurants. I could say we could see more modern-style restaurants and more cars than ever before,” the European lawmaker was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying.

The European lawmakers discussed ways of modernizing North Korea’s agriculture, light industry, information technology and finance sectors with officials there, Pirker said.

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun expressed his wish to visit Europe next year, as Pyongyang seeks to send its young officials and industrial trainees there to learn information technology and other advanced knowledge from European nations, he said.

Pirker said the delegates had advised the North Koreans that upgrading the level of communications and finance systems in the North to global standards was essential to securing foreign investments in a stable manner.

Progress at the six-party talks aimed at scrapping Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and expanding inter-Korea economic cooperation would help the North achieve its goal of inviting foreign capital, the legislator added.

The European Union has so far sent about 50 million euros worth of aid to North Korea, he said.

The impoverished North has recently shown strong interest in the economic reform programs of other countries.

Reports said North Korean leader Kim Jong-il expressed intentions last week copying Vietanam’s economic reform and openness policy, called “Doi Moi,” during a meeting with Nong Duc Manh, the secretary-general of the Vietnamese Communist Party, in Pyongyang.

The ongoing visit to Hanoi by the North Korean premier appears to have something to do with Kim’s remarks, they said. The reclusive leader is reportedly planning to visit Vietnam in the near future.

North Korean officials expressed firm commitment to denuclearization under the Feb. 13 nuclear deal, according to Pirker.

Under the pact signed by the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, Pyongyang pledged to disable its nuclear facilities and declare all of its nuclear programs by the end of this year in return for economic assistance and political concessions.

North Korea has received 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil from South Korea and an equal amount from China for closing five of its nuclear facilities in July. The regime is to receive an additional 900,000 tons of oil or equivalent energy aid if it goes through the second stage of denuclearization.

The EU delegates are scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and hold meetings with South Korean business leaders including Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo before leaving South Korea on Nov. 2.

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GS Caltex to supply heavy oil to N. Korea

October 28th, 2007

Yonhap
10/28/2007

GS Caltex Co., South Korea’s second-biggest oil refiner, said Sunday it is set to supply 21,000 tons of heavy oil to North Korea as part of a nuclear disarmament agreement.

The oil shipment will be sent later Sunday via the port of Yeosu, a port city about 455 kilometers south of Seoul, to arrive at the North Korean ports of Songlim and Sunbong.

GS Caltex and European oil trading company Vitol have recently won a tender issued by the U.S. Agency for International Development to supply a combined 50,000 tons of heavy oil to the North as part of the disarmament-for-aid deal.

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Oil price ‘grounds’ N Korea fleet

October 28th, 2007

BBC
10/28/2007

North Korea has been forced to ground a fleet of Soviet-era military planes because of the high oil price, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

Fuel is being diverted for other training flights, Yonhap quoted a military source as saying.

The Antonov An-2 biplanes – of which North Korea’s air force is thought to have about 300 – are able to drop special forces behind enemy lines.

The planes, which can cruise below radar, carry some 12 soldiers.

North Korea’s impoverished economy has suffered from energy shortages for years, and rising oil prices have made the situation worse.

Low speed

The Antonov, designed and built in the Soviet Union, first flew in 1947, and is still used by a number of military and civilian operators around the world.

The plane is useful in special forces operations because of its extremely low minimum speed – it can fly as slowly as 48km/h (30mph) without stalling, according to aviation experts.

North Korea’s air force fields hundreds of aircraft, but the vast majority are ageing Soviet models – such as the MiG 21 fighter – or Chinese copies outclassed by more modern aircraft fielded by the US, South Korea or Japan.

North and South Korea are still technically at war as a peace accord to bring an end to the 1950-53 conflict has never been signed.

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Kim Jong-il Interested in Vietnam-Style Reform Policy

October 28th, 2007

Korea Times
Jung Sung-ki
10/28/2007

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has expressed intention to model after the Vietnam-style economic reform and openness policy, dubbed “Doi Moi,” a report said Sunday.

Vietnam adopted the reform policy in 1986 to establish a market economy such as liberalization of trade and finance with foreign countries, decentralization of state economic management and reliance on the private sector as an engine of economic growth.

Kim made the remarks during a meeting with Nong Duc Manh, secretary-general of Vietnam’s Communist Party, in Pyongyang last week, Yonhap News reported, citing the Sunday edition of the weekly Yazhou Zhoukan, a Hong Kong-based international Chinese business daily. The newspaper carried an interview with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem who accompanied the secretary general on his Pyongyang visit.

“Chairman Kim highly evaluated the achievements Vietnam’s Doi Moi has made in the past 20 years while meeting with Secretary General Manh,” Khiem was quoted as saying, adding the North Korean leader accepted Manh’s proposal for Kim’s visit to Hanoi.

The ongoing visit to Hanoi by North Korean Prime Minister Kim Yong-il aims to prepare for Kim’s visit to Vietnam, the report said.

The North Korean premier, who arrived in Hanoi Friday, visited several industrial and tourist sites in Vietnam, including Halong Bay, one of the biggest tourist attractions for foreigners, reports said.

Diplomatic sources in Hong Kong, however, were quoted as saying it is remarkable that Kim Jong-il expressed an interest in Doi Moi, but it is not likely for the communist North to closely follow the reform program.

The reason why the North is eyeing Vietnam’s economic program could have something to do with China’s lukewarm attitude to Pyongyang’s efforts to build special economic zones near the North’s border with China, they said.

Hanoi’s reform has often been referred to as a model for North Korea’s underdeveloped economy to emulate.

Chief U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said during a visit there in May that North Korea should “move on in the way that Vietnam has done so well.”

North Korea, Vietnam agree to boost bilateral ties
Yonhap

10/27/2007

North Korea and Vietnam said Saturday they have agreed to forge closer cooperation in the sectors of agriculture, culture and tourism, in their first high-level meeting in five years.

The agreement was reached after a meeting of visiting North Korean Premier Kim Yong-il and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Kim, who is in charge of economic policy, arrived in Hanoi on Friday for a five-day stay, as part of the first leg of a tour to Southeast Asian nations that include Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos.

Vietnam has shifted to a market economy since the mid-1980s and Hanoi’s reform is seen by many as a model for North Korea’s underdeveloped economy to emulate.

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Economic doldrums, restrictions on hawking cost jobs in N. Korea: aid group

October 26th, 2007

Yonhap
10/26/2007

North Koreans have been suffering from chronic job shortages due to worsening economic conditions and a recent move by North Korean authorities to limit the number of hawkers for fear of capitalism spreading in the isolated, communist state, an aid group said Friday.

The North has recently forbidden women under the age of 40 from selling merchandise on their own, Good Friends said in its latest newsletter. The previous age limit was 30.

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The Story of a Honorary Soldier Selling Noodles in Pyongyang

October 26th, 2007

Daily NK
Lee Kwang Baek
10/26/2007

Mr. “Kim,” who lives in Pyongyang, lost a foot in an accident in the army. After his discharge, he became a 1st-class Honorary Soldier of merit living on provisions and bonuses supplied by the nation. The wounded soldiers are named as “Honorary Soldiers” in North Korea. Even before the great famine, Mr. Kim and his family could survive on provisions and bonuses alone. However, after the worsening of the economic situation, they fell into serious hardship.

Nowadays, Mr. Kim steps outside every morning, dragging his one foot, because he has to buy noodles at the “Sunkyokak (a noodles restaurant)” that sells honorary soldiers at a state-assigned price of 230 won. Mr. Kim, who is a first-class honorary soldier, can buy two bowls of noodles at one time.

There is no limit on the number of times one can buy a bowl of noodles. However, with the increase in honorary soldiers living on the profit from noodles bought and resold, the number of bowls Mr. Kim can buy from standing in line all day is only four. Even then, he can sell a bowl which he bought for 230 won for 1,000 and can go home with a slightly upward amount of 3,000 won after selling four bowls.

The subsidies Mr. Kim receives as an honorary soldier every month is 3,000 won. That only comes out to 100 won per day, not even sufficient for a bowl of noodles from Sunkyokak. The cost of living for a family of four is usually 100,000 won (approx. USD30.0), so it is not enough to get by for a month. If one can earn one month’s worth of bonus in a day by selling noodles, there is nothing he can do, besides sell them, but to stand in line all day on crutches.

Until now, North Korea has poured a lot of energy to support for honorary soldiers. After the Korean War, it has guaranteed jobs for soldiers by erecting the Distinguished Soldier Fountain Pen Factory, the Sariwon Honorary Soldier Dressmaker Factory, the Hamheung Honorary Soldier Plastic Products Factory, etc. and to soldiers who have lost their ability to work, it has given provisions and bonuses. Further, it has advertised support for honorary soldiers as the “citizen’s responsibility” and has sought out civilian support.

However, recently, according to North Korean sources, among the guests who come to the Sunkyokak, approximately half are honorary soldiers who resell the noodles. The honorary soldiers demonstrate the fact that survival based on provisions and bonuses alone are impossible.

After the food shortage, an important transformation has taken place in North Korea. The number of people relying on national provisions decreased by around 30% and the rest were placed in situations where they could not survive on provisions, salaries, and bonuses provided by the state alone. At least 100,000 won is needed for monthly living costs, but the salary and bonus that the state can provide is only several thousand won. North Korea has become a society where honorary soldiers who had received the state’s special consideration and support now have to sell whatever they can to survive.

In order to buy four bowls of noodles, Mr. Kim, who has to stand on crutches all day, is the testament of North Korea’s economic system which has crumbled since the food shortage and the rapid deteriorate of whatever grip it does have.

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Jangmadang Will Prevent “Second Food Crisis” from Developing

October 26th, 2007

Daily NK
Kim Min Se
10/26/2007

There is a prospect of the rise of “second food crisis” next year because of the flood disaster and the resulting food shortage.

A senior researcher at Korea Rural Economic Institute, Kwon Tae Jin said warningly, “Unless North Korea comes up with a special plan to secure food supply, there will come another food crisis next year, which is as severe as the one in the mid and late 1990s.”

Kwon anticipated that North Korea would need 5.2 million tons of grain for domestic consumption. Unfortunately, it is expected that North Korea would produce around 3.8 million tons of grain. This means there will be a shortage of 1.4 million tons of grain.

The statistics indicates there is a real possibility of a food crisis. North Korean authorities announced that the flood inundated about 2.2 billion ㎡ of farmland, which accounts for 14 percent of the country’s farmland. It is estimated that 2.2 billion ㎡ of farmland produces at least 500,000 tons of grain.

However, another prospect says that although food shortage is inevitable, it will not lead to mass starvation in North Korea as it did in the mid-1990s. Most of defectors from North Korea said, “Since the mid-2000s, things have changed. There won’t be any serious starvation.” They said that the current situation is different from that of those days under the central food distribution system. They added that the Jangmadang (markets) economy has changed a way for life among North Korea people.

◆ The amount of demand for food is overestimated

It should be double-checked whether North Korea really needs a minimum of 5.2 million tons of grain. There is criticism that the estimate of food demand which was calculated by some South Korean experts on North Korea and relief organizations is unrealistic. It is also pointed out that the estimate is calculated based on the nutrition standard of South Korea.

Defectors said that mass starvation would not have occurred if North Korea had at least a half of 5.2 million tons of grain in the mid 1990s.

Although the international standard for daily nutritional intake is between 2,000 and 2,500 kcal/day, North Korea sets the standard at 1,600 kcal/day, which amounts to 450 grams of grain.

It is easy to estimate the minimum amount of food demand needed in North Korea. Let us say every individual including children and the elderly needs 550 grams of grain per day, which is equal to the daily amount of food distributed to every adult by the state. With the population of 22 million in North Korea, the country then needs 12,100 tons of grain each day and 4.4 million tons of grain per year.

It is known that the North Korean government provides 550 grams of grain for adults and 300 grams for both children and the elderly. According to CIA’s World Fact Book 2004, the population aged between 15 and 64 in North Korea is around 15 million, which accounts for 67.8 percent of total population. This means the population of children and the elderly together reaches about 7 million. If we do the math, we come into conclusion that the amount of food needed in North Korea every year is 3,777,750 tons of grain.

Recall that North Korean people had received the aforementioned amount of food through the state food distribution until early 1990s. Of course, the country did not suffer from mass starvation back then.

The mass starvation during the mid-1990s resulted from huge decrease in food production between 1994 and 1998. In those years, North Korea produced about 2 million tons of grain, which fell far below the needed levels of food production. Hwang Jang Yop, former secretary of the Worker’s Party also testified that in the fall of 2006, while he was still in North Korea, he once heard the secretary of agriculture Seo Kwan Hee worrying about extremely low food production.

Therefore, it is correct to estimate the minimum amount of food needed in North Korea at 3,777,750 tons of grain. If the food production decreases below 3 million tons, then the food prices will skyrocket, and the possibility of mass starvation will be increased.

◆ A New way of life among North Korean people helps prevent them from falling victim to starvation.

North Koran people do not believe in the state authorities any more. The people know that they suffered from horrible starvation because they relied on the state and its food distribution system. During the crisis, many people had desperately waited for food to be distributed until they collapsed and died. Nowadays, North Korean people find a means of living by themselves at Jangmadang.

“There is no free ride” is the words on everybody’s lips in North Korea, which means that everyone must work hard in order to make a living. The lowest class became a day laborer.

The mass starvation of the mid-1990s has brought a significant change into North Korean society. Except a few, most of North Korean people do not rely on the state’s food distribution system. Instead, they have come up with a variety of survival techniques such as engaging in business, illegal trade with China or real estate transactions, receiving support from defected family members, and house sitting.

In that manner, North Korean people make money and use it to buy rice. An affiliate at the Bank of Korea who studies price trends of North Korea said, “Since the adoption of the July 1 Economic Improvement Measure, the price of rice and corn has increased the least.” If the prices go up, people would tighten their belts and decrease their spending on every item except rice. This means they are not that vulnerable to starvation as they used to.

◆ Businessmen are good at securing food.

Recently, a number of rich businessmen have emerged. Some have tens of thousands dollars, and others as many as several million dollars. Groups of Jangmadang businessmen have been organized with these rich businessmen as the leaders.

These businessmen come and go to China as they please and supply food and goods to Jangmadang in North Korea. If the rice price in North Korea is expensive than in China, they buy Chinese rice and sell it at Janmadang. In this way, they help balance supply and demand at the market.

Furthermore, Chinese residents in North Korea and Chinese businessmen also joined the North Korean businessmen as providers at the market. They too sell food produced in China at Jangmadang when food prices go up in North Korea. If possible, they even sell rice reserved for the People’s Army. There was an accusation that the state authorities supplied food aid from overseas for the People’s Army while collecting food produced in North Korea at the same time.

Of course, some businessmen could deliberately keep a hold on food supply anticipating an increase in food prices. However, that kind of unfair activity is temporary. Although it is too early to tell, the “invisible hand” of the market, however small it is, is operating in North Korea and acting as a preventive measure against starvation.

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