NK Nuclear Envoy to Visit US for Diplomatic Normalization Talks

February 27th, 2007

Korea Times
2/27/2007

The U.S. State Department confirmed Monday that a North Korean nuclear negotiator would visit the United States soon to start working group talks on bilateral diplomatic normalization, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Kim Kye-gwan, Pyongyang’s top envoy to the six-party nuclear talks, will go to San Francisco then travel to New York, where he will meet his Washington counterpart, Christopher Hill, Yonhap quoted the department as saying.

Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Kim-Hill talks will be to both establish and hold the first round of the working group talks that address issues to be resolved for an eventual normalization of ties between the two countries.

A well-informed source told Yonhap, South Korea’s semi-official news service, last week that Kim will arrive in San Francisco on Thursday.

“I think that he (Kim) has meetings, potentially with some NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) out there in San Francisco,’’ McCormack was quoted as telling reporters.

“We are still working through the logistics of a meeting between him and Chris Hill. We expect the venue will be New York.’’

South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, members of the so-called six-party process, struck a deal in Beijing on Feb. 13 under which Pyongyang would shut down its primary nuclear facilities in phases. In return, the North would receive heavy fuel oil as energy assistance.

The agreement establishes five working groups, including those to deal with diplomatic normalization between North Korea and the United States and between North Korea and Japan. The groups would meet within 30 days of the agreement.

Most of the contacts between Pyongyang and Washington are made in New York, where North Korea has a mission to the United Nations.

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Golf Courses Due in Kaesong

February 26th, 2007

Korea Times
Kim Yon-se
2/26/2007

Hyundai Asan is considering building three golf courses in Kaesong, North Korea, by 2012 as its first round of development projects at the Kaesong Industrial Complex have almost been completed.

According to sources, the inter-Korean tourism operator of Hyundai Group is in talks with the North to build an 18-hole golf course in the North Korean city by 2010 and two more by 2012.

A Hyundai Group official said the proposed golf course would be the second of its kind. One golf course has already been developed near Mount Kumgang and is scheduled to open to South Korean tourists later this year.

In a statement, however, Hyundai Asan predicted that it will take some time before the plan is realized as the North’s stance has yet to decided.

The company said talks between the two countries for the second development project would be possible after the first project is completed.

North Korea has stirred controversy by negotiating with a small South Korean company, Unico, to build a golf course despite its initial contract with Hyundai Asan to develop golf courses around the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Since last July, the North has banned South Korean visitors to the industrial complex from visiting the city’s downtown area including historic sites.

Hundreds of South Koreans, mostly businesspeople and government officials, had been allowed to make an excursion to the city of Kaesong during their visit to the industrial complex.

Hyundai had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Emerson Pacific Group, which has been constructing golf courses at the scenic resort area at Mount Kumgang, for the project in Kaesong.

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Posted in Emerson Pacific Group, Golf, Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), Sports, Tourism | 1 Comment »

S. Korea to set aside US$20 million to send heavy fuel oil to N. Korea

February 26th, 2007

Yonhap
2/26/2007

South Korea has earmarked 20 billion won (US$21.3 million) to provide 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to North Korea as part of a recent nuclear agreement in which the North agreed to take the initial steps toward nuclear disarmament, the Unification Ministry said Monday.

“The government embarked on internal preparations to provide 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil for North Korea in accordance with the six-nation agreement,” said Yang Chang-seok, spokesperson for the ministry.

He said the oil shipment will cost an estimated 20 billion won, including delivery expenses, adding that the details will be worked out during the upcoming meeting of a working group on energy aid.

Earlier in the day, the ministry made the announcement to a panel of the National Assembly on unification and foreign affairs, after the decision was approved by the state-run committee of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation.

“The government will commission the Public Procurement Service to choose a local oil refinery for the project. It will cost about $350 per metric ton, and incidental charges of delivery will constitute about 20 percent,” Yang told reporters.

On Feb. 13, North Korea agreed to shut down its nuclear facilities and eventually dismantle them in exchange for energy aid and other benefits. The United States also agreed to discuss normalizing relations with the communist nation.

Under the deal, North Korea will receive initial aid equal to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil for shutting down and sealing its main nuclear reactor and related facilities at Yongbyon, 80 kilometers north of Pyongyang, within 60 days. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will determine whether the North carries out the steps properly.

The communist nation can eventually receive another 950,000 tons in heavy fuel oil or equivalent aid if it disables the reactor irreversibly and declares that it has ended all nuclear programs. The cost of aid will be equitably distributed among the five other countries in the six-party talks, which are South Korea, the U.S., Japan, China and Russia.

The agreement also calls for the establishment of five working groups, one of which is to address the normalization of Washington-Pyongyang diplomatic relations. The groups are to convene within 30 days of the Feb. 13 accord.

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Posted in Energy, Oil, South Korea | Comments Closed

Australia to send diplomatic team to N.K.

February 26th, 2007

Korea Herald
Yoav Cerralbo
2/26/2007

Last week, the Australian government announced that it would be sending a diplomatic team to North Korea to help strengthen bilateral ties.

In Seoul, Australian Ambassador Peter Rowe spoke about this news with The Korea Herald, explaining that the Australian team will be looking at ways they can help in energy, aid and safeguards expertise.

“These are things that Australia can contribute,” he said.

Rowe said that Australia, a strong proponent of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, would be “happy” to provide expertise and training in nuclear safeguards as part of North Korea’s dismantling process.

This bilateral exchange is not new to both countries. After the 1994 framework agreement, Australia helped to train and install safeguards in North Korea.

“That was when we started to develop the bilateral relationship,” he said. “It was only as the North Koreans were doing things like missile and nuclear tests that we had to run backwards.”

He added that Australia wants to see North Korea as a constructive, positive member of the international community.

“If North Korea wants to join the international community in this process, that is return enough for us because it contributes to regional security and stability,” the ambassador said.

The diplomatic mission would be coordinated with the other members of the six-party talks and as the secretive and unpredictable regime fulfills the benchmarks that were set up in the deal, Australia would be there in support and would reciprocally increase the relationship.

The idea of this mission, Rowe said, is to urge North Korea to fulfill the obligations they’ve undertaken in this most recent agreement. “That will be its main task.”

At the six-party talks recently, fueled-starved North Korea agreed to start the process of shutting down their Yongbyon nuclear reactor within 60 days in return for initial aid equal to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil after international inspectors have confirmed the shutdown.

“I’m reasonably confident that North Korea will go with the commitments they made for the first 60 days,” he said.

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Tourists will soon be able to visit inner Kumgang

February 26th, 2007

Joong Ang Daily
Seo Ji-eun
2/26/2007

Hyundai Asan Co., an exclusive operator of tour packages between South and North Korea, said yesterday tourists will be allowed to travel to the inner part of scenic Mount Kumgang in the North, an area that has been off-limits, as early as April.

Assisted by the recent agreement on the North’s nuclear issue, Hyundai and North Korea discussed the further opening of the mountain last week.

“The two sides have the same opinion about allowing tourists into inner Mount Kumgang,” said a Hyundai Asan spokesman. “The tour will be possible around early April.”

After visiting the area to look into the feasibility of travel last May, Hyundai Asan forecast it would begin the new service last autumn, but its plans were derailed by the North’s missile and nuclear tests.

According to the Hyundai Asan spokesman, technicians from both Koreas will be gathering as early as possible to talk about constructing roads, developing tour courses and mending facilities.

The leisure arm of Hyundai Group aims to attract 400,000 tourists to Mount Kumgang this year. Although the firm set the same target last year, it ended up achieving 260,000, partly as a consequence of reduced tourism following the nuclear test.

To meet the goal this year, the firm plans to shorten travel times by operating planes that link Seoul’s Gimpo airport to Yangyang in Gangwon province, near Mount Kumgang. Also, a duty-free shop run by the Korea National Tourism Organization will be launched in March and a golf course and spa facilities are slated to open in October.

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Posted in Foreign direct investment, Mt. Kumgang Tourist Special Zone, Special Economic Zones (Established before 2013), Tourism | Comments Closed

U.S. preacher plans to delay trip to North until summer

February 26th, 2007

Joong Ang Daily
2/26/2007

A well-known U.S. pastor will delay his plan to preach in North Korea until this summer, the Voice of America reported, quoting the pastor’s aides.

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, announced earlier that he would visit North Korea next month to preach in front of more than 15,000 people at a Pyongyang stadium. But Mr. Warren’s aides told the radio station he will visit the North Korean capital in the summer. They gave no reason for the change or other details.

Mr. Warren, known as a staunch supporter of President George W. Bush, is one of the most influential religious figures in the world. His announced plan to visit North Korea drew a lot of criticism from Christians and the general public, who argued that the visit would be for show because the country does not allow freedom of religion.

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Posted in Civil society, Religion | Comments Closed

Key facts on relations between North and South Korea

February 26th, 2007

Reuters (Hat tip DPRK studies)
2/26/2007

Senior officials from South and North Korea resume talks on Tuesday, seven months after dialogue broke down in acrimony over Pyongyang’s missile tests.

Following are key points in the ties between the two:

STILL AT WAR

– An armistice ending the 1950-53 Korean War dominates the relationship between the two Koreas. Nearly 1.2 million North Korean soldiers and South Korea’s 680,000 troops remain in a tense military standoff despite political and commercial ties that have warmed since 2000.

– The two have enough missiles and artillery pointed at each other to largely destroy major cities on both sides of the Korean peninsula.

POINTS OF EXCHANGE

– An industrial park in Kaesong just a few minutes’ drive from the heavily-fortified border is home to 21 companies employing about 12,000 North Korean workers.

– About 1.4 million South Koreans have visited the Mount Kumgang resort in the North just above the border on the east since the tours began in 1998. Roughly a quarter of a million made the visit in 2006 even as tension spiked following the North’s missile and nuclear tests.

– About 102,000 people crossed the border last year, not including Kumgang tourists and most of them South Koreans visiting the North for business. The total exchange of people was 269,336 as of the end of 2006.

TRADE

– Cross-border trade was $1.35 billion in 2006 up from $1.05 billion a year ago, largely from the strength of the Kaesong industrial park.

HUMANITARIAN AID

– South Korea has supplied between 200,000-350,000 tonnes of fertiliser a year to the North since 2000.

– It has also shipped up to 500,000 tonnes of rice a year to the North in the form of low-interest, long-term loans. Food aid has been suspended since the North’s missile tests in last July.

REFUGEES, PRISONERS OF WAR AND ABDUCTEES

– South Korea believes more than 1,000 of its people are still alive in the North either as civilian abductees or as prisoners captured during the Korean War.

– North Korea has said 10 South Korean POWs and 11 civilians were alive there.

– More than 1,000 North Koreans each year have fled hunger and persecution in the North and sought refuge in the South. In the first six months of last year, 854 arrived in the South for a total of 8,541. (Source: South Korean Unification Ministry, Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee, Reuters)

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Posted in Economic reform, Emigration, Emigration statistics, Foreign aid statistics, Foreign direct investment, International Aid, International trade, Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), Military, Mt. Kumgang Tourist Special Zone, South Korea, Special Economic Zones (Established before 2013), Statistics, Tourism, Trade Statistics | Comments Closed

North Korean animation

February 26th, 2007

(updated): Youtube is a great time killer…recently I found these North Korean cartoons that I recommend…

    squirrel.JPG                   ammunition pencil.JPG
   Squirrel & Hedgehog                    Ammunition Pencil   
     (Part 1), (Part 2)

    racoondogwolf.JPG                   frogguard.JPG
Racoon, Dog, and Wolf                   The Frog Guard
    buzzofparadise.JPG                  
The Buzz of Bee Paradise
     (part 1), (part 2)

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Posted in Animation, Art, Civil society | Comments Closed

Imperialists’ Moves for “Globalization” under Fire

February 25th, 2007

Well, this is too bad…

KCNA
2/25/2007

The “globalization” much touted by the imperialists is nothing but a yoke of exploitation and plunder, domination and subjugation as it is intended to put other countries under their tight control and bleed the world people white to the maximum under the spurious signboard of “co-prosperity” and a neo- colonial system whereby to completely obliterate the Juche character and national identity of other countries and nations and turn the relations between the Western multi-national monopolies and the developing countries into those between the slave owner and slaves.

Rodong Sinmun Sunday says this in a signed article.

It goes on:

The imperialists’ moves for “globalization” involve various aspects of social life but it is mainly targeted on finance and trade.

It is one of the main goals of “globalization” to make breaches in different systems of national economies in many countries of the world through “liberalization” in the fields of finance and trade and make them spill over into other fields in a bid to convert the world economy into a uniform market economy.

The reactionary nature of the “globalization” pushed forward by the imperialists is to completely stonewall the appearance of a new fair international economic order, bind the developing countries to a neo- colonial domination order and turn their politics into Western-style one through the “integration” of the world economy.

The imperialists’ moves for “globalization” aimed at neo-colonizing the whole world are entailing evermore dangerous consequences.

The above-said “globalization” is driving society into chaos and triggering off evermore acute conflict and contradictions among different ethnic groups, religious sects and political forces. To make matters worse, this is leading to armed conflicts, causing bloodshed and making a great many people displaced.

The “globalization” in the financial field is turning the world into a world in the grip of utter disorder where financial speculators ride roughshod.

The “globalization” pushed forward by the imperialists is only widening the gap between the rich and the poor worldwide.

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Posted in International trade, Political economy | Comments Closed

Wage payment to N. Korean workers in Kaesong complex surges 48% since missile tests

February 25th, 2007

Yonhap
2/25/2007

Wages paid for North Korean labor in an industrial complex in the North’s western border town of Kaesong surged nearly 50 percent in the second half of last year, despite the communist country’s missile and nuclear tests, government data showed Sunday.

According to a report submitted by the Unification Ministry to the National Assembly, North Korean employees’ wages in the Kaesong industrial complex amounted to US$4.23 million in the second half of last year, up 48 percent from the first half’s $2.87 million.

“Even after the North’s missile tests and nuclear test (in October), the hard currency, which the international community takes issue with, continues to end up in the hands of the communist regime while the payment for the Kaesong workers also is expanding,” said Chin Young, a lawmaker of the main opposition Grand National Party, who released the report.

The Kaesong industrial complex is one of two major cross-border projects along with a joint tourism project at the North’s scenic Mount Geumgang.

In the joint industrial complex, South Korean businesses use cheap North Korean labor to produce goods. More than 20 South Korean factories employ a total of 11,189 North Korean workers in Kaesong.

The North, meanwhile, conducted missile tests in July and its first nuclear test in October in defiance of opposition from the international community.

Those incidents prompted a setback in inter-Korean relations and raised concerns that the money paid to the North in the industrial park could be funneled to the communist regime, an allegation that Pyongyang denied.

The report showed wages paid to the North Korean workers have been on the increase in the past few years. In 2004, they stood at $390,000 but rose to $2.76 million in 2005 and $7.10 million in 2006.

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Posted in Economic reform, Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), Labor conditions/wages, Special Economic Zones (Established before 2013) | Comments Closed

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