May 10

Popular US evangelist Franklin Graham visiting North Korea.

Categories:

Economy, Food, North Korea, USA

May 10, 2011

Franklin Graham, the son of famous American evangelist Billy Graham, is in Pyongyang and meeting with foreign minister Pak Ui-Chun. AFP reports:

The preacher heads Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian aid organisation that was one of five US groups to send representatives on a visit to the isolated communist state in February.

Samaritan’s Purse said in April that parts of North Korea were expected to run out of food in less than two months due to a poor harvest even if foreign donors agreed to provide assistance.

It said that a harsh winter had reduced crop yield by up to half and that some people were already eating grass, leaves and tree bark.

The United States and South Korea have been cautious over reports of dire food shortages in the North, with some officials suspecting that the communist state is exaggerating the problem to win assistance.

North Korea must be loving all the humanitarian aid attention they’ve been receiving lately. Former president Carter last week, Graham this week… The UN’s World Food Programme has kicked off an emergency campaign to send aid, and probably many other NGOs are rushing to help as well. If only the aid could actually reach the starving masses it is intended for…

Source: AFP

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Note: My break from updating is over and I’ve come back with a few ideas for running this blog a little more efficiently… which means more posts, better posts, more consistent formatting, as well as streamlining posts concurrently with Twitter (and I may just venture into Facebook territory as well). I also plan to spend some more time updating the Movies/Books pages as well as a Downloads page that I’ll be putting up soon (mmm… DPRK mp3s and Red Star Linux isos!)

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/816

Apr 26

The Elders arrive in Pyongyang for discussions

Categories:

Diplomacy, Food, North Korea, Nuclear, USA

April 26, 2011

image

Former US President Jimmy Carter, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland and former Irish President Mary Robinson arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday representing the humanitarian NGO of former world leaders known as The Elders.

The entourage was greeted by Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and children bearing flowers. The 3 day trip is planned for the Elders to sit with top North Korean brass to discuss the ongoing food crisis and nuclear issues that North Korea faces. Carter stated that he hoped they would meet with Kim Jong-Il and even son and leader-to-be Kim Jong-Un, but no official meetings have been formalized as of yet. Carter also remarked that they were not there to secure the release of imprisoned Korean-American Jun Young-Su, a Christian businessman from Orange Country who was arrested last November and allegedly confessed to an unknown crime (probably illegal missionary work). Carter’s previous visit to the DPRK in August 2010 secured the release of another missionary-turned-prisoner, Aijalon Gomes.

The group depart North Korea on Thursday, taking the rare route of flying directly from Pyongyang to Seoul (instead of stopping over in Beijing). It’s likely we won’t hear much more from these talks until their return.

Source: Yonhap News / Associated Press / CanKor

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/815

Apr 11

News in brief + a brief hiatus

Categories:

Economy, Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong-Un, Military, North Korea, Nuclear, Propaganda, South Korea, Succession, War

April 11, 2011

Kim Jong-Un doesn’t get a promotion at Supreme People’s Assembly

The Supreme People’s Assembly, constitutionally the most powerful entity in North Korea but in reality a rubber steam parliament for the Korean Worker’s Party under Kim Jong-Il, has convened its first meeting of 2011. Many Pyongyang watchers suspected the SPA would be used as on opportunity to bolster the rank of leader-to-be Kim Jong-Un. Neither Jong-Un or his father Kim Jong-Il were in attendance.

Source: North Korea Leadership Watch

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North Koreans in Libya ordered to stay put

As countries around the world scramble to evacuate their citizens from the chaotic anti-regime uprisings in Libya, North Korea has sent a different message to its own people in the country: Stay there. Pyongyang via their Libyan embassy has ordered the 200+ North Koreans abroad in Libya, likely living there to earn foreign currency to send home, to “follow the measures of the Libyan [Gadhafi] government”. The North Koreans being denied permission to return home has led to speculation that the Kim regime is attempting to quell the spread of information back home regarding the revolutions and uprisings occurring in the Middle East.

Source: Yonhap News

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North Korea pulls out of Hyundai resort tourism

The Mt. Kumgang resort, a joint tourism project between Seoul-based Hyundai Asan and the North Korean government, saw over a million South Korean tourists pass through since 1998. However, 2008 the shooting death  of a South Korean tourist by a DPRK soldier has had the tours suspended since. Hyundai has paid for much of the facilities and infrastructure at the resort, but now the North has backed out of the agreement between the government and Hyundai Asan. Hyundai had an agreement forged in 2002 giving them land use rights in the majestic mountain region until 2052, but this appears to be a renege on the agreement. The move is seen as a possible ploy by the North to force Hyundai to resume tours (without the condition of allowing a murder investigation for the SK tourism), or encourage Chinese tourism to the resort.

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

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On a side note, I’ll be on vacation for awhile, thus incommunicado and not updating this space. Will get right back to it in a couple of weeks, meanwhile I’ll be catching up on some reading on a sunny beach in Cayo Guillermo.

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/812

Mar 30

News in Brief – last week of March round-up

Categories:

Defection, Kim Jong-Il, Military, North Korea, Offbeat, Propaganda, South Korea, War

March 30, 2011

SK military plan for removing monuments to Kim dynasty

In 2008, the South Korean military drafted a plan for dealing with the thousands of monuments and idols to Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il in the event of a regime collapse.  I relish the day I can watch the giant statue of Kim Il-Sung get toppled to the ground on TV, but can’t help but cringe at the amount of mountain explosions that will be involved in removing the thousands of slogans engraved into North Korea’s mountainsides.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

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Kim Jong-Il admits to nightmares where citizens stone him

Chung Mong-joon, former (and future?) SK presidential candidate and billionaire controlling stakeholder of Hyundai Group, detailed an anecdote of a meeting between his father and Kim Jong-Il:

"My father met Kim Jong-il many times and had lengthy conversations with him over meals… Many people come to greet me wherever I go, but I know that they don’t like me. I have dreams of being stoned, and the first stones are thrown by Americans, followed by South Koreans, and the third by North Koreans.”

Interesting rare bit of insight from the despotic Dear Leader. Personally, I think the North Koreans should get first toss.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

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27 astray North Koreans finally sent home

North Koreans board a South Korean naval vessel ...

South Korea finally repatriated 27 of the 31 North Koreans who accidentally drifted to the South’s Yeonpyeong Island. Numerous delays were introduced first by a belligerent North Korea demanding all 31 be returned (4 requested asylum in the South) via Panmunjom border village. Later it was decided that the exchange would happen at sea, but weather and the seaworthiness of the North Korean vessel being returned caused further delays.

The exchange happened at the Northern Limit Line and was rather uneventful, however some observers are noting that North Korea’s behaviour during the exchange indicate the first instance since the Korean War that the DPRK has recognized the NLL.

Source: Reuters / Korea JoongAng Daily

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Nine defectors aided by South Korean pastor over a 2 year period

Recently the South Korean Coast Guard picked up 9 North Korean defectors at sea, and we hadn’t gotten much detail until recently. Kim Sung-Eun, a Christian pastor in the South to a parish of mostly NK defectors came forward to state that he helped the defectors come to South Korea via China, and that the process took over 2 years to complete. Some of the defectors had family in the South who had previously defected, and a few waited in China for as long as 4 years before they could be reunited. On Monday, the defectors departed from China on a fishing boat, and transferred to a South Korean fishing vessel in international waters.

Source: AFP

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/799

Mar 24

North Korea donates $600k in aid to Japan

Categories:

Economy, Food, Japan, North Korea

March 24, 2011

The government of North Korea chipped in $500,000 USD, while the Red Cross in North Korea tacked on another $100,000 donation to relief efforts in Japan (specifically ethnic North Koreans living in the country) after an 9.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the north east with tsunami waves. The government’s cash was to assist pro-Pyongyang Koreans, while the Red Cross money was delivered to it’s Japanese counterpart. North Korea and Japan have no formal diplomatic ties.

That is a lot of money these days for cash-strapped North Korea, so one wonders if there is a suggestive gesture in this donation to their Chongryon contemporaries in Japan that they are still a unified people (p.s., send money). Especially given the most recent United Nations report that 6 million of North Korea’s 24.1 million population are currently in urgent need for food assistance. Ethnic North Koreans living in Japan and sending money back to their mother country is a significant portion of North Korea’s income.

Source: Yonhap / North Korean Economy Watch

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/798

Mar 24

Nine NK refugees arrive in South Korea; Jimmy Carter returning to Pyongyang

Categories:

China, Defection, Diplomacy, Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, South Korea, Succession, USA

March 24, 2011

Two unrelated stories, but light enough on details to keep to one post.

Jimmy Carter returning to Pyongyang for talks with other former world leaders

A delegation formed by “The Elders”, a group of former world leaders whose mission statement is to promote peace and address human suffering will apparently be visiting Pyongyang next month. Details are sparse and are only sourced to “diplomatic sources in Seoul”. The delegation is alleged to consist of (nabbed from Wikipedia):

Quite a team! No word on their exact objectives or itinerary. More details will follow as they become available. Jimmy Carter, of course, is known for his diplomatic efforts diffusing the North Korean nuclear crisis in the early 90s. More recently, he travelled to Pyongyang to secure the release of Aijalon Gomes, and expected to meet Kim Jong-Il who instead took an impromptu trip to China (possibly to secure Chinese backing of DPRK leadership succession to his son, announced a few weeks later).

Source: Yonhap News

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Nine North Korean refugees arrive by boat in South Korea

This is a developing story with very few details. May be several days before we hear anything new about these would-be defectors. An unnamed official is quoted as saying the following:

"The Coast Guard is investigating nine North Koreans who claimed to be refugees. They arrived late Thursday at the port of Gunsan after crossing the Yellow Sea (from China)"

All North Korean defectors are interrogated and investigated when entering South Korea. This serves as a wise precaution, as the strategy of deploying North Korean spies in the South by having them pretend to be defectors has occurred in the past. Given the heroic entry from China’s Yellow Sea, hopefully they are Koreans fleeing a bad situation for a better life in the South.

Source: Yonhap News

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/794

Mar 22

DPRK accuses US soldiers of provocation and lewdness at border

Categories:

Military, North Korea, Offbeat, South Korea, USA

March 22, 2011

North Korea, by way of state-run KCNA TV, denounced US troops stationed in South Korea for allegedly partying at the demilitarized zone that divides the two Koreas. The US military is accused of over 50 instances of trespassing between March 1st to March 8th 2011, as well as partying, taking pictures with girls, and throwing bottles of alcohol at North Korean troops. The North has threatened “human damage” if similar behavior were to reoccur. The United States Forces in Korea have officially denied the allegations. DPRK seems to be going to lengths to extend communication with Seoul while still condemning the US and their military presence on the peninsula.

Source: The Korea Times

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/793

Mar 22

North & South Korea may cooperate on volcano research

Categories:

China, Diplomacy, North Korea, South Korea

March 22, 2011

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Mt. Baekdu (aka Mt. Paektu), Korea’s tallest mountain and the setting for much of North Korea’s mythology (such as Kim Il-Sung’s guerrilla warfare staging grounds and the alleged birthplace of Kim Jong-Il) is peaking the interest of scientists on both sides of the Korea peninsula. In the midst of the Japan’s devastating earthquake, and after seismic activity in recent years, North Korea has asked the South for assistance in assessing the volcano’s status. South Korea has sent back a message agreeing in principle that cooperation is necessary. A meeting on March 29th between volcano experts has been proposed, but North Korea has yet to comment.

Mt. Baekdu is split down the middle on the Chinese/North Korean border and is known as Changbai in China. The move is seen by North Korea experts to be a push on both sides to open communication channels between the rival states.

Source: Associated Press

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/791

Mar 16

The past week in review

Categories:

Defection, Diplomacy, Economy, Military, North Korea, Propaganda, South Korea, USA

March 16, 2011

Work had me travelling this past week and I’ve been unable to pull myself away for updates. Here’s a synopsis of what’s been going on on the peninsula:

North demands all 31 of the North Koreans that drifted accidentally into the South be repatriated; South maintains 4 wish to stay

As discussed previously, North Korea demanded all 31 citizens to be repatriated. The North then demanded that the 4 who wish to defect meet their families at the Panmunjom border. When that didn’t happen, the North finally conceded that the 27 be returned by sea. Bad weather will likely prevent this from happening today, but may be rescheduled for tomorrow.

Below: Video of a North Korean wife and daughter denouncing the South for “coercing” their husband/father to defect.

Source: The Chosun Ilbo / Open Radio for North Korea

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Associated Press CEO makes visit to Pyongyang

Thomas Curley, the CEO of Associated Press, one of  the largest news agencies in the US, made a personal trip to North Korea to petition for a bureau to be opened in Pyongyang. Seems unlikely, but who knows?

Source: Yonhap via North Korean Economy Watch

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North threatens “sea of fire” in Seoul if joint SK-US military exercises proceed, jams GPS signals

Last week, North Korea strongly protested South Korea – US military exercises and once again threatened all out war should the provocations continue. DPRK has taken the opportunity to once again demonstrate it’s ability to jam GPS signals; intermittent GPS failures occurred several times in northwestern South Korea military bases. The South issues a formal protest requesting the North stop the jamming in the form of a letter, however the North declined to accept the letter. No reasons were cited.

Source: Chosun Ilbo / AFP / GPS Daily

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Kim Jong-Un gets invitation to visit China in July

‘Nuff said, see link below for more words with the same amount of detail.

Source: Mainichi Daily News

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/787

Mar 03

27 of 31 stranded North Koreans to return home from South

Categories:

China, Defection, Diplomacy, Military, North Korea, South Korea, USA, War

March 3, 2011

image

You might recall in early February the story of 31 North Koreans that accidentally drifted on their boat into South Korea (at contested border island Yeonpyeong), recently shelled by North Korea), at what was then presumed to be a defection attempt. The group was adamant that defection was not their intention, and that they had washed up by mistake. Now apparently, 4 of the group do wish to defect to South Korea, and their wishes are being honoured. South Korea will repatriate only 27 of the North Koreans, despite demands from the North that all 31 be delivered back immediately. 

The four defectors consist of two men, and two women. The remaining 9 men and 18 women will be returned to the DPRK by way of the Panmunjom DMZ border village. The wooden boat they arrived in, which departed from the North Korean port city of Nampo, will also be returned to North Korea. The transaction is supposed to occur this Friday.

Speculation is abound (when isn’t it?) that the North will react harshly to only some of the stranded North Koreans being returned. This comes during a time of escalated tensions, as the North threatens “all out war” in retaliation for annual war games and simulations run by the South Korean and American militaries. As of November 2010, 20,000 defectors reside in South Korea, most going through China to get there.

Source: Yonhap News / Korea JoongAng Daily

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/786

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