PHOTO NEWS

Ceremonies for the 65th Founding Anniversary of North Korea 2Massive Construction of Masikryong Ski Resort 3

COVER STORY

KOREAN PENINSULA TRUST PROCESS & INTER-KOREAN TIES 4In a bid to promote the initiative, S. Korea suggested a balanced approach, evolution of N. Korea policy and cooperation with the international community.

SOUTH KOREA'S POLICY REVIEW

RUSSIA’S SUPPORT FOR RESOLVING N. KOREAN NUCLEAR STANDOFF 10President Park said Russia’s support is key to South Korea’s policy on North Korea and to bringing permanent peace on the divided peninsula.

OPINION

SIX-PARTY TALKS AND DENUCLEARIZATION OF NORTH KOREA 14The question for the resumption of the nuclear dialogue is whether the North is going to do something that signals a substantive change of course.

TIP ON NORTH KOREA

MASSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH KOREA’S SKI RESORT 18North Korea insisted that ski resort on Masik Pass will appear imposingly as a symbol of the high civilization of (North) Korea and its heroic spirit.DIM PROSPECTS FOR EARLY RELEASE OF DETAINED AMERICAN 22North Korea has a track record of attempting to use detained Americans for domestic propaganda and as leverage in dialogue with Washington.

DATA ON N.K. HUMAN RIGHTS

Human Rights Violations Inside Political Concentration Camps 25North Korean political concentration camps are said to have an area of about 50 to 250 km2, holding between 5,000 and 50,000 inmates each.

INTERVIEW with Michael Kirby

COI’S TAKE ON NORTH KOREA’S HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE 28

NEWS FOCUS

Kim Jong-un Calls for Reinforcing Party’s Role in Leading the Military 31N. Korea Abruptly Calls off Family Reunions, Citing S. Korea’s Policy 34North Korea Holds Paramilitary Parade to Mark 65th Founding Anniversary 36

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS

Internal Affairs / External Affairs / Inter-Korean Relations 38

STUDIES By Sukhee Han, Ph.D.PROSPECTS FOR RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA AND NORTH KOREA UNDER THE XI JINPING LEADERSHIP 48

FOREIGN TIPS 58

PEOPLE & CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 60

CONTENTS

Vol.36 No.10

VANTAGE POINT DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH KOREA

OCTOBER 2013

COVER PHOTO : North Korean employees are at work at an apparel factory at the industrial complex in the North's border town ofKaesong on Sept. 17, 2013. The joint factory park reopened on Sept. 16, more than five months after it wasshut down amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap Photo)

PHOTO NEWS Vantage Point October 2013

2

Ceremonies for the 65th Founding Anniversary of North Korea

Kim Jong-un presides over a paramilitary parade in Pyongyang on Sept. 9.A parade of N. Korea's military is held with a large number of civilian onlookers attending.A national meeting of North Korea is held on Sept. 8.Young North Koreans applaud the performance of a youth art troupe at a square in downtown Pyongyang on Sept. 9.

❶

❷

❹

❸

PHOTO NEWSVantage Point October 2013

3

Massive Construction of Masikryong Ski Resort

A multimillion-dollar ski slope at Masikryong in N. Korea's Kangwon Province is under construction. A new hotel at the Masikryong ski resort is also being built.

A propaganda poster encourages N. Korean workers to work harder in the spirit of ‘Masikryong speed.’ Kim Jong-un gives a field instruction during his visit to the construction site of the Masikryong ski resort in August.

❼

❺

❻

❽

COVER STORY Vantage Point October 2013

4

Relations between the two Koreas have shown signs of improv-ing in recent months, with the North toning down its warrhetoric and agreeing to reopen a jointly run industrial complex

in the North’s border town of Kaesong as well as to hold reunions forfamilies separated across the border since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The two Koreas are technically in a state of war as the fratricidalconflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and their relations sufferedfrom high tensions earlier this year as Pyongyang churned out near-daily threats of war against the South and the United States in angerover American-involved military exercises in the South and internation-al sanctions taken in the wake of the North’s third nuclear test inFebruary.

Park’s Principled Approach to Pyongyang

Following the six rounds of futile working-level talks to save thejoint factory park, dubbed the last symbol of inter-Korean economiccooperation, the two sides agreed on Aug. 14 to normalize the opera-tions of the joint industrial park, which had been shuttered since earlyApril following the North’s unilateral withdrawal of its workers. Thetwo sides also agreed to hold reunions of dispersed families afterChuseok, the most important traditional holiday in Korea, which fallson Sept. 19 this year.

A meeting to discuss the resumption of a stalled joint tourism project

In a bid to promote the initiative, S. Korea suggested a balanced approach, evolution of N. Korea policy and cooperation with the international community.

KOREAN PENINSULA TRUST PROCESS & INTER-KOREAN TIES

By Kim Tae-shik

to the North’s scenic Mount Kumgangresort will be held possibly in earlyOctober as South Korea counter-proposedfor the meeting to be held on Oct. 2instead of Sept. 22, as proposed by NorthKorea.

According to observers, these break-throughs are seen as a victory for Park’sprincipled approach toward Pyongyangunder her initiative called the KoreanPeninsula trust-building process, althoughthe achievements seem to be impairedsomewhat by North Korea’s latest post-ponement of reunions of separated fami-lies across the border only four daysbefore the event.

North Korea on Sept. 21 suddenlyannounced that it will postpone theplanned reunions, accusing the South ofseeking confrontation with it. South andNorth Korea on Aug. 23 had agreed tohold the family reunions event for six days

starting Sept. 25. The reunions, if held asplanned, would have been the first of theirkind in three years.

Ever since Park was sworn in as thenation’s first female president in February,Park has consistently pursued a two-trackapproach of dialogue and pressure throughwhich the two Koreas will be able to buildand regain trust based on a strong deter-rence against the North’s provocations.

Presiding over a security advisory panelmeeting on Aug. 27, President Park saidshe will conform inter-Korean relations tocommon sense and international standardsas part of efforts to lay the groundwork forpeaceful reunification. “Resolving thenuclear standoff is an essential part of suchefforts,” she said, “I will do my best to getNorth Korea to make the right choice ofgiving up its nuclear program and becom-ing a responsible member of the interna-tional community.”

COVER STORYVantage Point October 2013

5

Unification Minister RyooKihl-jae explains the SouthKorean government'sNorth Korea policy calledthe "Korean PeninsulaTrust-building Process"during a press briefing inSeoul on Aug. 21, 2013.(Yonhap Photo)

President Park went on that “Relationsbetween the South and the North havebeen showing some progress these days. Ithink the mission the new governmentshould carry out is to help build trust ineach other so that it can lead to permanentpeace on the Korean Peninsula.” Sixmonths after its inauguration, the ParkGeun-hye government released details ofits North Korea policy, dubbed the KoreanPeninsula trust-building process, as well asconcrete tasks the government will pushahead with.

The concept of the Korean Peninsulatrust process initiative, the signature NorthKorea policy of President Park, is to devel-op relations between the two Koreas,establish sustainable peace on the peninsu-la and lay the foundation for nationalreunification by building trust between thetwo nations on the basis of security, theUnification Ministry said in a booklet dis-tributed to domestic and foreign reportersin a press briefing on Aug. 21.

Concrete Tasks for Trust Process

As for promoting the initiative, the min-istry suggested a balanced approach, evo-lution of North Korea policy and coopera-tion with the international community. Thegovernment will seek balance betweennational security and inter-Korean coopera-tion and between inter-Korean cooperationand international collaboration. The gov-ernment will make efforts to complementand develop North Korea policies in orderto induce North Korea to make the rightchoices and realize the common develop-ment of the two Koreas.

The ministry said the trust-buildingprocess will be pursued in three basicdirections. First, the government will pro-mote North Korea policies based on strongdefense preparedness. “On the bottom ofstrong deterrence, the government willmake North Korea not to attempt provoca-tion.” If the North makes provocations, thegovernment will sternly deal with it bymaking the North to pay for its indiscre-tions.

Secondly, the government will continueto develop inter-Korean relations, leavingthe door open for dialogue, exchange andcooperation. The ministry said it will buildtrust by respecting and fulfilling agree-ments not only between the two Koreasbut those with international society, likethe July 4 inter-Korean joint declaration of1972.

Thirdly, the government will create anenvironment for North Korea to make theright choices by forcing the North torenounce its nuclear weapons and abideby international norms.

As for the concrete tasks, the UnificationMinistry revealed one of the tasks as thenormalization of inter-Korean relationsthrough the building of trust. The ministrysaid Seoul will make continued efforts tosettle humanitarian issues, establish a per-manent dialogue channel and put intopractice the spirit of agreements.

To construct a dialogue channelbetween the two Koreas, the governmentwill continuously make efforts to holdinter-Korean talks and build a permanentdialogue channel.

Following an earlier agreement toreopen the shuttered joint industrial park,

COVER STORY Vantage Point October 2013

6

the two Koreas restored a military hotlinealong the west coast on Sept. 6, paving theway for the resumption of the joint factorypark.

The restoration of the communicationline was one of Seoul’s preconditions forthe resumption of the complex. The mili-tary hotline had been used to provide safepassage for South Korean businessmen vis-iting the joint complex in Kaesong beforePyongyang severed it in March amidheightened tensions on the KoreanPeninsula following the North’s thirdnuclear test the previous month and theensuing international sanctions against it.

The ministry said it will push forwardwith the resumption of a stalled tour pro-ject to Mount Kumgang, based on firmguarantees by the North to ensure the safe-ty of South Korean tourists. The MountKumgang tour project has been suspendedsince the shooting death of a South Koreantourist by a North Korean guard in theresort mountain in July 2008.

‘Small Reunification’

The government said it will respect theagreed spirit of “mutual respect and peace”but in consideration of national consensusand actual security conditions. It also willstrive to expand exchange and cooperationon a reciprocal basis and promote “VisionKorea” projects based on the foundation ofaccumulated trust.

The “Vision Korea” projects, which willbe pursued once there is progress in NorthKorea’s denuclearization and trust is builtbetween the two Koreas, will includeexpansion of infrastructure like electricity,

communication and traffic facilities to helpboost North Korea’s capability to sustainitself; support for North Korea to joininternational financial organizations and ofSouth Korean businesses to make inroadsinto North Korea’s special economic zones;and the opening of exchanges and cooper-ation offices in Seoul and Pyongyang.

Relatedly, President Park said SouthKorea is ready to provide its northernneighbor with economic assistance to buildinfrastructure if there is progress in NorthKorea’s denuclearziation and trust is builtwith Seoul.

In an interview with Russian news mediaon Sept. 2, Park said South Korea is pre-pared to help North Korea rebuild its tat-tered infrastructure and join internationalorganizations if the isolated socialist nationmakes progress in ending its nuclear pro-gram and trust is built with Seoul.

Park held out the prospect of offering amassive amount of economic aid to theimpoverished North during an interviewwith Itar-Tass News Agency and Russia 24TV news channel before leaving for SaintPetersburg, Russia, for the G20 Summittalks, according to the presidential office.The interview was broadcast on Sept. 4,officials said.

“If the South and the North build uptrust in each other and denuclearizationmakes progress, I intend to provide sup-port for North Korea to beef up infrastruc-ture, such as communication, transporta-tion and electricity (facilities), and to joininternational organizations,” Park said.

Park said this is in line with the KoreanPeninsula trust process that calls for dia-logue and exchange to build trust with

COVER STORYVantage Point October 2013

7

Pyongyang in a step-by-step manner whilemaintaining a strong military deterrenceagainst provocations.

South Korea will also push to ensure thesubstantiality of various social and culturalexchanges with North Korea in the fieldsof academy and religion. The governmentwill promote the joint development of nat-ural resources in the North and cooperatein the fields of agriculture and environ-ment.

The pursuit of sustainable peace on theKorean Peninsula is another task the gov-ernment will promote. For this, the govern-ment will make water-tight defense pre-paredness, multi-faceted effort for the set-tlement of North Korean nuclear issue anda world peace park in the demilitarizedzone (DMZ).

Support from Int’l Community

To expand the basis for reunification ofthe Koreas, the ministry said it will start byaccomplishing a “small reunification”through making common economic com-munity and expand later to a “bigger unifi-cation” in politics. The existing unificationformula based on building national com-munity will be maintained and developed.

The proposed DMZ peace park will bepursued with consultations with NorthKorea, the United Nations and relatedcountries including the U.S. and China.

To build consolidated deterrence againstNorth Korean provocations, the govern-ment will make efforts to strengthen itsintegrated defense capability such as theSouth Korea-U.S. combined deterrence, onwhich Park agreed with U.S. President

Barack Obama during a summit meeting inWashington in May.

While trying to maintain balancebetween inter-Korean cooperation andcooperation with the international commu-nity, the government will apply both per-suasion and pressure to force North Koreato give up its nuclear development pro-gram.

The ministry booklet also delineated thegovernment’s move to improve humanrights conditions in the North and alleviatethe pain of its people through reunificationof the Korean Peninsula.

Since she assumed the presidency inFebruary, Park has consistently urgedPyongyang to come to the negotiatingtable to discuss ways of building mutualtrust while sending a firm signal that anyprovocations will be sternly dealt with. Ina Memorial Day speech delivered at theSeoul National Cemetery on June 6, Parkurged North Korea to accept the trustbuilding policy initiative that could open anew era of peace and hope on the penin-sula.

Park said actively participating in layingthe foundation for inter-Korean trust is theroad the North must take. She pointed outthat peace and reunification on the KoreanPeninsula is the wish of all 70 millionKoreans and that as president she will doher utmost to make it a reality.

“The North must accept that its provoca-tions and threats are no longer effective (inbringing about concessions) and come tothe realization that it has to makechanges,” she said, adding that it is timethe North became a responsible memberof the international community.

COVER STORY Vantage Point October 2013

8

Park has also made strenuous efforts toexplain her initiative to foreign leaders,like Obama and Chinese President XiJinping, and get their support for herKorean Peninsula trust process since shetook office on Feb. 25.

During summit talks with Park on May 7,Obama expressed support for Park’s trustprocess and the two leaders reaffirmed thatthey will deal resolutely with North Koreanprovocations while leaving the door openfor dialogue, Park’s spokesman said.

Park said in a joint news conferenceafter the summit that Seoul and Washingtonwill work jointly to encourage North Koreato make the right decisions through multi-faceted efforts, including the implementa-tion of her Korean Peninsula trust processwhile Obama said South Korea and theUnited States are “as united as ever” overNorth Korea. Park also sought for Americansupport for her initiative in a joint sessionof the U.S. Congress on May 8.

During a June meeting with Xi inBeijing, Park asked China to be a goodpartner in the course of realizing denu-clearization of the Korean Peninsula andpeaceful reunification, and Xi expressedsympathy with Park in her view, said JuChul-ki, the senior presidential secretaryfor foreign affairs and security who accom-

panied Park’s Chinese trip.Xi reaffirmed China’s willingness to help

South Korea carry out Park’s KoreanPeninsula trust process policy as well asher Northeast Asian peace and cooperationinitiative to promote peace on the dividedpeninsula and in the region, according tothe South Korean official. During the sum-mit on June 27, Park and Xi pledged tocooperate closely to free the KoreanPeninsula of nuclear weapons, sayingNorth Korea’s nuclear program poses aserious threat to peace in the region andbeyond.

Park’s North Korea policy has so farbeen assessed as a success but it still has along way to go with substantial challengesand knotty tasks lying ahead. Yang Moo-jin, a political scientist at the University ofNorth Korean Studies, said the governmentmay have been successful in the last sixmonths in managing the North Korean cri-sis but the government’s policy was notsufficient enough to lead to the settlementof the North’s nuclear weapons and denu-clearization issues.

Yang pointed out that under the currentsituation the six-party talks cannot be held,the government needs to make efforts nowto force North Korea to abandon itsnuclear weapons program. (Yonhap News)

COVER STORYVantage Point October 2013

9

The concept of the Korean Peninsula trust process initiative, the signature North

Korea policy of President Park, is to develop relations between the two Koreas,

establish sustainable peace on the peninsula and lay the foundation for national

reunification by building trust between the two nations on the basis of security.

SOUTH KOREA'S POLICY REVIEW Vantage Point October 2013

10

President Park said Russia’s support is key to South Korea’s policy on North Korea and to bringing permanent peace on the divided peninsula.

RUSSIA’S SUPPORT FOR RESOLVING N. KOREAN NUCLEAR STANDOFF

At a time when the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula wasstill prevailing, South Korean President Park Geun-hye traveledto Russia in September to participate in the summit of Group

of 20 major economies at its second-largest city of Saint Petersburg.Securing political and diplomatic support from Moscow will help Seoulin resolving nuclear threats from Pyongyang. As a member of the six-party talks, Russia is also a key partner in South Korea’s efforts to bringpermanent peace on the Korean Peninsula and enhance cooperation inNortheast Asia.

The recent summit between Park and Russian President VladimirPutin, which was held on the sidelines of the G20 meeting on Sept. 6,serves as an occasion to consolidate the momentum toward boostingthe partnership between their countries. Park arrived in the Russianport city for the G20 summit bringing together leaders of the world’stop 20 economies and a series of bilateral meetings.

Park-Putin Summit Meeting

Park praised the progress made in relations between Seoul andMoscow since they opened diplomatic relations in 1990, saying thattheir bilateral trade volume jumped more than 110-fold. Still, she said,relations between the two countries could have developed furtherwithout the North Korean nuclear crisis. “I hope we can work togetherto resolve the issue and upgrade relations between the two countriesby a notch,” she said.

Park also said that one of her foreign policy priorities is to strength-

By Lee Kwang-ho

en relations with Eurasian nations. She asked Putin to work with her to resolve the NorthKorean nuclear standoff and push for such ambitious joint projects as linking railways of thetwo nations via the North. “I personally have dreamt of a railway going from South Korea’ssouthern city of Busan to Europe via Russia,” Park said. “That is why I mentioned it manytimes in my speeches. I have been interested in that for quite some time.”

A set of ambitious ideas between South Korea and Russia, including a scheme to build agas pipeline linking the two countries, has remained on the drawing board for years. Overthe period, South Korea has lagged behind its two neighbors in taking part in developmentprojects in Siberia and the Far East region of Russia, with China and Japan making large-scale investments. Putin said that South Korea is one of Russia’s key partners in Asia. He saidtrade between the two countries mounted to US$25 billion and jumped 3 percent in the firsthalf of this year alone.

Later in the day, Park held a meeting with South Korean residents in Russia. She saidRussia’s support is key to South Korea’s policy on North Korea and to bringing permanentpeace on the divided peninsula through her “Korean Peninsula trust process,” a step-by-stepapproach to building trust with its socialist neighbor. “I will work toward building peace onthe Korean Peninsula and trust between the South and North while remedying the wrongpractices in inter-Korean relations,” she said.

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said later that a key focus of the summitbetween Park and Putin was on boosting economic cooperation between the two countries,including opening up an Arctic shipping route. Yun also said that Seoul and Moscow are intalks to set up a visit by Putin to Seoul. “We are working on a plan to have Putin visit in thenear future,” he said. “Specific dates will be announced once they are determined.”

President Park said South Korea is prepared to help North Korea rebuild its tattered infra-structure and join international organizations if the isolated socialist nation makes progress

SOUTH KOREA'S POLICY REVIEWVantage Point October 2013

11

South Korean President Park Geun-hye(L) talks with her Russian counterpartVladimir Putin (C) and Russian ForeignMinister Sergei Lavrov as they meet forbilateral talks on the sidelines of theGroup of 20 summit outside St.Petersburg, Russia on Sept. 6, 2013.(EPA-Yonhap Photo)

SOUTH KOREA'S POLICY REVIEW Vantage Point October 2013

12

in ending its nuclear programs and enough trust is built with Seoul. Park held out theprospect of massive economic aid to the impoverished North during an interview withRussia’s Itar-Tass News Agency and Russia TV 24 news channel. The interview was held inSeoul on Sept. 2 and was broadcast on Sept. 4.

“If the South and North build up trust in each other and denuclearization makes progress,I intend to provide support for North Korea to beef up infrastructure, such as communica-tion, transportation and electricity facilities, and to join international organizations,” Parksaid. She added that this is in line with her signature trust process that calls for dialogue andexchange with Pyongyang in a step-by-step manner while maintaining strong military deter-rence against provocations.

Humanitarian aid to the North will continue regardless of the political situation, she said.“Apart from the political situation, Seoul will continue to provide humanitarian support andleave open a channel for dialogue with deterrence despite Pyongyang’s provocations,” Parksaid, highlighting her key policy.

The South Korean government said in early September that it was donating $6.3 million tohelp children in North Korea through the World Health Organization. It also sanctioned 2.35billion won ($2.1 million) in humanitarian assistance to North Korea by 12 private organiza-tions. Relations between the two Koreas suffered high tensions earlier this year asPyongyang churned out near-daily threats of war against the South and the United States inanger over American-involved military exercises in the South following the North’s thirdnuclear test in February.

But their ties have shown signs of improvements in recent months, with the North toningdown war rhetoric and agreeing to reopen a jointly run industrial complex and to holdreunions for families separated across the border since the 1950-53 Korean War. Thesebreakthroughs were seen as a victory for Park’s principled approach to Pyongyang.

Russia as Key Partner

On relations with Russia, Park said she believed the two countries had great potential forcooperation as their economies were mutually supplementary. Russia is also a key partner inSouth Korea’s efforts to bring permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula and enhance coop-eration in Northeast Asia, she said. Pyongyang’s nuclear program has raised tension on thepeninsula and caused the United Nations to slap fresh sanctions on the socialist country fol-lowing its third underground atomic test on Feb. 12.

Russian officials stressed the need to ease tension and to return to the six-party talksbased on adherence to the Sept. 19 Joint Declaration. The declaration reached in 2005 callson the North to carry out verifiable denuclearization in exchange for extensive economicassistance, while the six-party talks aim to end the North’s nuclear program in a mutuallyacceptable manner.

Moscow said that once the situation stabilizes on the Korean Peninsula, it will be able to

vitalize multinational economic projects. In the past, Russia had pushed for the building of anatural gas pipeline extending from Siberia to South Korea, and the linking of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Trans-Korean Railway. Both projects could benefit the two Koreasand Russia.

South Korea is moving to activate cooperation with Russia in a move prompted by its twopowerful neighbors’ bids to grab energy and infrastructure development projects in thecountry trying to accelerate economic growth under Putin’s leadership. In recent years, Seoulhas not paid due attention to boosting ties with Moscow, as it was preoccupied with consoli-dating its alliance with Washington, enlisting support from Beijing in resolving the nuclearstandoff with Pyongyang and confronting Tokyo over territorial and historical issues.

Since Seoul established formal diplomatic ties with Moscow in 1990 in a major achieve-ment of its Nordpolitik aimed at normalizing relations with the then communist bloc, bilater-al trade has increased by about 118 times from $190 million to $22.5 billion. If South Koreastarts to invest more in development projects, it may draw a more favorable response fromRussia, which is wary of the mounting influence and presence of China and Japan in its FarEast region.

Trilateral projects involving Russia and the two Koreas, including the schemes to build agas pipeline passing through the three nations and link the Trans-Siberian Railroad with theinter-Korean railway, could help ease regional tensions by providing the North with attrac-tive incentives. Experts estimate that the deal to bring Siberian natural gas to South Koreathrough North Korea would enable the impoverished regime to earn up to $100 million peryear in transportation fees.

Russia sees the lucrative multilateral projects, which could be implemented if Pyongyanggives up its nuclear weapons program, might help induce it to “make up its mind” to movetoward serious reform and openness. Putin has been active in realizing the gas pipelinescheme, seeing it as essential to heightening Moscow’s strategic presence in the region andsecuring money to help bolster the Russian economy.

If completed, the pipeline would provide Russia with a new market for its natural gas,which it needs all the more as European countries have been moving to reduce theirreliance on Russian energy. Reports have it that North Korea and Russia have started operat-ing a cross-border cargo train service recently in a move that could make a North Koreanport a regional hub for Europe-bound shipments.

The two countries launched a project to rebuild “a mixed track” between Russia’s FarEastern border town of Khasan and North Korea’s northeastern port city of Rajin. The Northdesignated Rason, which includes the Rajin port, as a special economic zone in 1991 andhas since strived to develop it into a regional logistics hub close to both China and Russia.In October last year, North Korea and Russia held a test run on the 54-kilometer-long railwayline. (Yonhap News)

SOUTH KOREA'S POLICY REVIEWVantage Point October 2013

13

OPINION Vantage Point October 2013

14

The question for the resumption of the nuclear dialogue is whether the North is going to do something that signals a substantive change of course.

SIX-PARTY TALKS AND DENUCLEARIZATION OF NORTH KOREA

Hopes are rising once again that the six-way talks will resumeafter a hiatus of nearly five years and produce a breakthroughin ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons drive.

Circumstances appear ripe as all six nations involved -- the two Koreas,the United States, China, Japan and Russia -- are stressing the need tobuild momentum before it is too late.

China that hosts the six-way conference is at the center of reneweddiplomatic campaigns. Late August, Beijing sent its chief nuclear envoyWu Dawei to North Korea for meetings with North Korean officials.Little was known about the trip, but Wu is believed to have had mean-ingful conversions because he spent as much as five days in the neigh-boring nation.

A Flurry of Diplomatic Efforts

Chinese President Xi Jinping used his private meeting with PresidentBarack Obama on Sept. 6 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Russiato call for the resumption of the six-party talks as early as possible.Russia has joined forces with China for the early resumption of thelong-stalled six-nation conference.

For its part, the United States dispatched its top nuclear envoy forNorth Korea to Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo for consultations on policytoward Pyongyang. The Sept. 8-13 trip by Glyn Davies came after

By Lee Jong-heon, Ph.D. Senior Researcher, Asia Future Institute, Seoul, Korea

OPINIONVantage Point October 2013

15

Daniel Russel, the assistant secretary ofstate for East Asian and Pacific affairs, whotraveled to the Northeast Asian region tofine-tune positions regarding the six-nationtalks. Washington and Seoul do not seementhusiastic about the dialogue proposal atthe moment, but they have expressed will-ingness to resume negotiations ifPyongyang takes sincere steps towardnuclear disarmament.

South Korean President Park Geun-hyealso wants to see momentum to end theNorth’s nuclear programs that have raisedgeopolitical risks on the Korean Peninsula,undercutting Seoul’s efforts to revive itseconomy which is largely dependent onforeign investors. Since taking office inFebruary, Park has pushed her “trustpoli-tik” vision, which calls for building trustwith the North as a foundation for seriousnegotiations on ending the North’s nuclearweapons programs in exchange for help-ing the country rebuild its economy.

During the G20 summit in earlySeptember, Park reaffirmed that Seoul isprepared to help the North rebuild its tat-tered infrastructure if “the North builds uptrust and denuclearization makesprogress.” Her government aims to takeadvantage of Chinese frustration withNorth Korea to bring greater pressure onPyongyang to denuclearize.

It is uncertain whether a fresh round ofdiplomatic efforts could lead to theresumption of the six-nation talks.Optimism seems in short supply, butChina’s changing stance toward NorthKorea is forging a positive atmosphere.China has distanced itself from Pyongyangfollowing the communist North’s long-

range missile test in December and detona-tion of its third nuclear device in Februarywhich annoyed most Chinese. Beijing hasjoined U.S.-led sanctions againstPyongyang and carried out its own punish-ments, slowing cross-border trade andcrude shipment to the North.

The measures are part of the Chineseleadership’s answer to the anger of localnetizens fed up with the North. Chineseanalysts have debated over whetherBeijing should let North Korea collapse.This question seems to have imposed psy-chological pressure on Pyongyang, whichbelieves China will protect the North see-ing as it acts like a buffer zone betweenChina and the U.S. troops stationed inSouth Korea.

China’s Role under the Spotlight

One of the most striking signs of changecame on July 25 when Chinese VicePresident Li Yuanchao called for theNorth’s nuclear disarmament to the face ofits leader Kim Jong-un. Li made clear toKim that Beijing does not want to see theNorth armed with nuclear weapons andinformed of China’s plan to push for thesix-nation dialogue from which the Northwithdrew in 2008, declaring the talks“dead.”

Li visited Pyongyang in July to mark the60th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53Korean War in which China fought along-side the North. He was the highest-levelChinese official to visit Pyongyang sinceKim assumed power in December 2011after the death of his father Kim Jong-il. Itis not usual for a visiting top Chinese offi-

OPINION Vantage Point October 2013

16

cial to attend such “festivities” and thenmake such a stubborn objection to whatthe North has consistently pursued for thepast decades.

As part of building momentum for thesix-way dialogue, China has come up withan idea of holding a semiformal meeting ofnuclear envoys and academics from the sixnations, which could set the stage for arare meeting with North Korea. Beijingenvisions the so-called Track 1.5 discus-sions being held on Sept. 18, timed tocoincide with the date when a landmarknuclear agreement was reached on Sept.19, 2005.

“The Sept. 19 Joint Statement” was thefirst formal document and the greatestprogress made since the six-way talksbegan in 2003, in which the North agreedto abandon its existing nuclear weaponsand all related programs as well as returnto the non-proliferation treaty. In return,the North would benefit from energy aidfrom South Korea, talks to normalize rela-tions with the United States and Japan,negotiations on the provision of light-waterreactors to the North as well as the estab-lishment of a peace regime on the Koreanpeninsula to replace the armistice whichended the Korean War.

If the semiformal meeting to mark the2005 breakthrough takes place, it couldlead to a formal meeting of the six-waytalks. The six nations do not want to seethe multilateral dialogue collapse once andfor all because it is still seen as an effectivetool to denuclearize the North. There isalso a consensus that the six-party dia-logue should resume on the occasion ofthe 10th anniversary of its birth.

On Aug. 27, 2003, the six nationsopened their first negotiations in Beijing toend the North’s nuclear weapons programwith suspicions that Pyongyang was run-ning a clandestine atomic program basedon enriched uranium in violation of the1994 Agreed Framework. The multilateraltalks produced the Sept. 19 accord in 2005,but it was violated by the North, whichconducted an underground nuclear devicedetonation in October 2006. Despite thenuclear test, the six nations reached the“Feb. 13” agreement in 2007 to activate theSept. 19 deal. The North has since con-ducted two more nuclear weapons tests aswell as three long-range missile launches.

Semiformal Meeting

The six-party dialogue has fallen short ofthe goal, given that Pyongyang has sub-stantially built up its nuclear capacities dur-ing the past 10 years since the talks’launch. The North is presumed to be ableto produce several nuclear bombs based onhighly enriched uranium at its Yongbyonnuclear facilities. Recent satellite imageryshowed that the North has doubled the sizeof its uranium enrichment facilities. Seoul’sdefense ministry believes the North’snuclear drive has made “considerableprogress and grown into a real threat in2013,” warning Pyongyang is able to makea nuclear device “at any time.”

In response, Seoul has been speedingup to establish a pre-emptive missiledestruction system, the so-called “KillChain,” to detect and strike North Korea’smissile and nuclear facilities. The Seoulgovernment estimates the North has

OPINIONVantage Point October 2013

17

received the equivalent of about 2.7 trillionwon ($2.5 billion) worth of aid from U.S.-led partners in return for false promises togive up its nuclear weapons drive since1994. Washington is urging Pyongyang tofirst prove its commitments to implement-ing disarmament accords it has madebefore resuming the six-way talks in orderto keep the destitute nation from playinganother game of diplomatic hardball towin much-needed economic aid.

The question for the resumption of thenuclear dialogue is whether the North isgoing to do something that signals a sub-stantive change of course. Pyongyang haspassed minor positive signs since it shiftedto a dialogue phase from months of mili-tary saber rattling early this year. As part ofefforts to improve the broken economy,the North is reaching out to the outsideworld. Kim Jong-un has recently replacedmilitary hawks behind military attacks onthe South and weapons connections withCuba and Syria, reflecting his hope ofmending ties with South Korea and theUnited States.

But a more fundamental question iswhether the North would give up itsnuclear weapons, the eventual goal of thesix-nation talks. Kim has made clear its

intension to arm his country with nuclearbombs by publicly amending theConstitution in April 2012 to add the coun-try’s status as a nuclear state, the first stephe took after taking office. When the Northrevised its key ruling ideology of the “10Principles for Monolithic Leadership” forthe first time in 39 years to legitimize therule of Kim in June, it inserted the term“nuclear force” into the principles as “thebackbone” of the country’s “military powerand economic solidarity,” a strong determi-nation that he would not abandon nuclearweapons.

Noteworthy is that Kim has adopted anational strategy of pursuing a nucleararsenal and economic growth “in parallel,”and he is currently placing more focus oneconomic expansion that is no less animportant variable for the survival of theKim’s nascent regime. Clearly, Kim wantsto see his country’s traditional strategy ofwild swings between confrontation anddetente pay off again by rejoining the six-nation talks. But U.S.-led partners haveruled out “buying the same horse twice.”No matter whether the six-way dialogueresumes or not, there is still a long way togo to ending the 20-year nuclear standoff.(Yonhap News)

South Korean President Park Geun-hye wants to see momentum to end the North's

nuclear programs that have raised geopolitical risks on the Korean Peninsula,

undercutting Seoul's efforts to revive its economy which is largely dependent on

foreign investors.

TIP ON NORTH KOREA Vantage Point October 2013

18

For the impoverished North Korea, skiing is regarded as a luxurysport for select few in the higher echelons, which the generalpublic is unable to access. But these days, the socialist country is

making all-out efforts to construct a ski resort in the North’s easternarea not far from the scenic Mount Kumgang.

The 768-meter-high Masik Pass, or Maskiryong, is a massive con-struction site to be developed into a “world famous” ski resort andtourist site. It is also close to a strategically important eastern port cityof Wonsan in Kangwon Province in the North. Reports said the countryis moving to build an airport near the city as part of efforts to promotethe area as a tourism-oriented region.

Masikryong Speed

In the militant country, even the slogan of “Masikryong speed” isrepeatedly propagated, while the North Korean officials have encour-aged workers and soldiers to speed up the process of building theresort. Leading the efforts is Kim Jong-un, the young North Koreanleader, who was educated in Switzerland. The leader, thought to haveskied in the Alps, ordered construction of the ski resort to be complet-ed by the end of this year. Already he visited the construction sitetwice, in May and August, to encourage workers.

Pyongyang’s news reports say the ski resort will be the first to beopened to the general public in the country. The construction of theski resort reportedly began at the instruction of leader Kim. In June, hesent a letter of appeal to all service personnel titled, “Let Us Create the

MASSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH KOREA’S SKI RESORT

By Lee Kwang-ho

North Korea insisted that the ski resort on Masik Pass will appear imposingly as a symbol of the high civilization of (North) Korea and its heroic spirit.

TIP ON NORTH KOREAVantage Point October 2013

19

‘Masikryong Speed’ and Usher in New Heyday on All Fronts for Socialist Construction.” Kimstressed that all people at all construction sites should respect the creative spirit of the“Masikryong speed.”

It marks Kim’s first appeal for economic construction efforts since he took power inDecember 2011. The North has repeatedly stressed its policy line of seeking both economicconstruction and nuclear arms development since the beginning of this year. “The Workers’Party of (North) Korea (WPK) remains unchanged in its resolution to build a world-class ski-ing ground within this year and provide the people and school youth and children withhighly civilized and happy living conditions to enable them enjoy all blessings,” said theappeal carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

According to a recent report by a North Korean magazine, foreign and South Korean com-panies as well as individual investors are entitled to invest in the development project. Themagazine quoted a key official as saying that Pyongyang will legally guarantee investors’rights, investment capital and income derived from investing in the project.

The North has repeatedly publicized its plan to develop international tour programs to theMount Kumgang area after the country’s joint tour program with the South was suspendedover a shooting death of a South Korean tourist in 2008. In 2011, the country enacted a lawon the special zone for international tours to Mount Kumgang, which nullified a 50-yearmonopoly on cross-border tours to the mountain area. Before the suspension, South Koreanfirm Hyundai Asan operated the joint program.

Kim Jong-un’s Visit to Ski Resort

But the North has shown little progress in its plan to lure in foreign investors and isbelieved to be making efforts again for the development of the mountain resort area thatwould also include the ski resort. The development plan is part of the country’s widertourism project in which the country also designated the port city of Wonsan to be devel-oped as an international tourist spot.

Masik Pass, which would serve as a winter vacation spot, is about 20 kilometers fromWonsan. A port city with a naval base, Wonsan was one of the favorite vacation destinationsof late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader.

Sources said Kim Jong-un might have decided to turn the city into a tourist resort follow-ing the example of the Mount Kumgang resort. “North Korea is hoping to lure investmentsof more than $10 million from a company in Singapore for the project,” the source said.“Completion of the project relies on whether they attract foreign investment.”

North Korea has been speeding up the construction at Masik, starting with a ski slope,three lifts, an office for ski rentals and a hotel. In the second phase, it will build a largerslope, a gas station and a golf course. North Korea built a small-scale ski resort near MountPaektu, or Baekdu, but few tourists have visited there, sources said.

On Aug. 17, Kim Jong-un visited the ski resort located near the highway linking

TIP ON NORTH KOREA Vantage Point October 2013

20

Pyongyang and Wonsan. Since taking office, he has highlighted the need to prop up thewelfare and the livelihoods of North Koreans. The ski resort construction in the Masikmountain pass is seen as part of such efforts by the young leader.

North Korea’s Cabinet recently held an enlarged session of its plenary meeting to reviewthe country’s economic achievements and encourage the economic plan for the latter half ofthe year. Premier Pak Pong-ju presided over the July meeting, during which importantnational tasks were discussed. One task that received special note was the Masik Pass, whichthose in attendance pledged to work toward completion with speed.

North Korea’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam, the president of the Presidium ofthe Supreme People’s Assembly, visited the construction site and called for an early comple-tion and echoed the leader’s instruction during the latest visit, according to the KCNA. Eventhe North’s top military official, Choe Ryong-hae, said that all the service personnel and peo-ple should intensify the drive for displaying the “speed on Masik Pass” and making a greatleap forward and innovations on all fronts for socialist construction.

Importing Ski Equipments

In July, special sports adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General visited North Korea.Wilfried Lemke, the special adviser on sport for development and peace to Ban Ki-moon,stayed in the North for four days and visited the construction site of the ski resort. The U.N.official also visited a newly built open-air ice rink, roller-skating rink and a sports park inPyongyang, according to a North Korean report.

North Korean officials claimed that the ski resort could raise up to $62.5 million annuallyby inviting more foreign tourists and holding international competitions, although foreignanalysts downplayed the numbers, saying they were exaggerated. But North Korea needs toinvest more money into the construction of the ski resort to reopen it.

Reports said the North is hungry for foreign investment for its economic rehabilitation, butWestern countries are unwilling to invest in the militarily adventurous state. Reclusive NorthKorea is under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and missile weapons programs. Almost one-third of North Korean children have stunted growth due to malnutrition, the World FoodProgram said. The U.N. Secretary-General has appealed for funding for food, health care andsanitation to millions of North Koreans.

More recently, North Korea faced a hurdle to import some ski equipment. News reportssaid that Switzerland, Italy and Austria have imposed export bans on the ski equipment tothe North, citing U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang’s missile launch in December and nucleartest in February. In mid-August, Switzerland halted the sale to the North of equipment for aski resort and luxury sporting goods, including golf, horseback riding and water sports,under the sanctions. North Korea reportedly asked several Swiss companies to provide chairlifts and cable cars worth 7 million Swiss francs ($7.24 million) for its grand Masik resort.

On Aug. 24, the North’s Skiers Association blamed “some countries” for banning the sales

TIP ON NORTH KOREAVantage Point October 2013

21

of ski equipment to Pyongyang. “Cableway equipment for the ski resort does not produceany rockets or nuclear weapons,” the North’s association said in a statement. “If the govern-ments of some countries consider that ordinary inhabitants of the DPRK (North Korea)should not be allowed to use the ski resort, it is an unpardonable insult to its social systemand people,” it said.

North Korea, however, appears unfazed by Switzerland’s imports ban. Simon Cockerell,co-founder of Beijing-based Koryo Tours specialized in tours to North Korea, said he visitedthe construction site on Aug. 25 and a director whom he met expressed “supreme confi-dence” in completing the project as scheduled. “The cancellation of the delivery of ski liftsfrom Switzerland didn’t seem to faze the project,” Cockerell said in a blog posting on thecompany’s website.

Joint Holding of Winter Olympic

Meanwhile, the KCNA said on Aug. 30 that Western European countries have opposed theexport of ski lift equipment, dancing to the tune of the U.S.’s move to stifle the North. “Thisis an intolerable mockery of the social system and the people of the DPRK and a serioushuman rights abuse that politicizes sports and discriminates against the Koreans.”

“No matter how desperately the U.S. and other hostile forces may resort to despicable actsin the international arena, pursuant to their high-handed and arbitrary practices, ski resort onMasik Pass will appear imposingly as a symbol of the high civilization of (North) Korea andits heroic spirit,” the KCNA said.

Despite the negative view from outside, a North Korean sports official hinted at the possi-bility of jointly holding with South Korea the skiing events at the 2018 Winter Olympics inSouth Korea’s Pyeongchang. Voice of America (VOA) on Sept. 3 quoted Jang Ung, anInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) member from North Korea as saying that the Masikski resort could “possibly hold Olympic events” once it’s completed.

Jang qualified his remarks by saying that it’s a complicated matter that requires discussionswith the IOC and the International Ski Federation (FIS). In an interview with the U.S. broad-caster, Jang reinforced his idea of jointly holding the ski events, saying that if the Masik skiresort is complete, it can be used for international events as well as the Winter Olympics.

As for the joint holding of the ski events, organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics inPyeongchang said that it would be “impossible” to split the Olympic skiing events withNorth Korea. Pyeongchang’s organizing committee said that holding skiing events on bothsides of the border would not be feasible for legal and logistical reasons.

Pyeongchang officials in the South noted that the Olympic Games are only to be held inthe host city under IOC regulations. This was not the first time such an idea was floated. InJuly 2011, soon after Pyeongchang won the right to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, theNorth Korean sports minister said he hope to see the two Koreas co-host the quadrennialevent. (Yonhap News)

Vantage Point October 2013

22

TIP ON NORTH KOREA

The prospect of the early release of an American being detainedin North Korea has become uncertain after North Korea abrupt-ly revoked its invitation on Aug. 30 for a U.S. special envoy to

visit Pyongyang to discuss the matter. The move has bewilderedAmerican officials who were apparently expecting the visit to helpsecure the release of the American man that has been detained in thesocialist nation since last November.

At the invitation of the North, Amb. Robert King, the U.S. specialenvoy on North Korean human rights issues, had planned to travel toPyongyang on Aug. 30 in an effort to free Kenneth Bae, a 45-year-oldKorean-American whose health is reportedly deteriorating.

Abrupt Cancel for Amb. King’s Invitation

Bae, a tour operator and missionary, was arrested after enteringNorth Korea through the Rajin port on the northeastern coast inNovember 2012 for unspecified activities that Pyongyang officials saidwere intended to undermine the North’s regime. He has been foundguilty of hostile acts against North Korea and sentenced to 15 years ofhard labor. He has since been moved to a hospital for foreigners in thesocialist country.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement on Aug. 27 that Amb.King would travel to Pyongyang on Aug. 30 at the invitation of theNorth Korean government, creating speculation that King would securethe release of Bae. However, the North later informed the U.S. that ithas withdrawn the invitation, according to the U.S. State Department,

DIM PROSPECTS FOR EARLY RELEASE OF DETAINED AMERICAN

By Kim Tae-shik

North Korea has a track record of attempting to use detained Americans for domestic propaganda and as a leverage in dialogue with Washington.

Vantage Point October 2013

23

leaving the prospects for Bae’s release and Pyongyang-Washington relations uncertain.The U.S. has repeatedly urged Pyongyang to release Bae. “We are surprised and disap-

pointed by North Korea’s decision,” Marie Harf, deputy spokeswoman for the department,said in a press release in Washington. “We have sought clarification from the DPRK (NorthKorea) about its decision and have made every effort so that Ambassador King’s trip couldcontinue as planned or take place at a later date,” she added.

A U.S. government source said that Washington is still waiting for Pyongyang to allowKing to enter the country. “Many people in Washington are scratching their heads. Such amove by North Korea will only lead to a further loss of trust and credibility,” the source said.“There is growing impatience here, with North Korea apparently playing a game with thelife of an American citizen.”

South Korean officials also expressed dismay. “We expected Ambassador King’s trip toNorth Korea (to take place) and a resolution to the detention issue, which could help createa positive mood in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula,” a South Korean Embassy offi-cial in Washington said. “We are surprised and disappointed.” Officials in Seoul said they arekeenly watching North Korea’s future steps.

Speculation is rampant over why North Korea retracted the invitation just before King leftfor the country. Some observers said North Korea might be upset about the statements bythe administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, that Washington was not linking his tripwith the possibility of resuming dialogue with Pyongyang.

Pyongyang’s Use for Domestic Propaganda

The Obama administration emphasized that King’s mandate will be limited to the issue offreeing Bae. King’s visit to North Korea will be “a humanitarian mission focused on securingthe release of U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae,” added the officials.

But the U.S. government source emphasized that the North knew the U.S. was separatingthe humanitarian matter with conditions for talks. Rather, North Korea may be trying to stagea “war of nerves” with the U.S. to gain concessions, said observers.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry held the U.S. responsible for the cancellation of itsinvitation, claiming it was due to fresh U.S. military provocations. “The infiltration of the U.S.strategic bombers over the Korean Peninsula was a grave provocation,” a North KoreanForeign Ministry spokesman told the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The KCNA quoted the spokesman on Aug. 31 as saying that the country “intended toallow the visit of the U.S. special envoy and have a sincere discussion with him on the issueof the U.S. citizen who is serving a prison term from a humanitarian viewpoint.”

But the U.S. “perpetrated such a grave military provocation as infiltrating B-52H strategicbombers into the sky above the Korean Peninsula in succession, an unprecedented act, for adrill for a nuclear bombing, far from positively responding to our tolerance and patience.The U.S. thus beclouded the hard-won atmosphere of humanitarian dialogue in a moment,”

TIP ON NORTH KOREA

Vantage Point October 2013

24

TIP ON NORTH KOREA

he was quoted as saying by the KCNA.South Korea and the U.S. ended a 12-day joint military drill, called Ulchi Freedom

Guardian, on Aug. 30. It was not immediately known whether the U.S. had flown the strate-gic bombers during the drills.

North Korea claimed in the statement that it had clearly explained to the U.S. why it hadcanceled King’s trip but that U.S. officials are spreading “misinformation” about its intentions.“It is surprising that the U.S. is making irrelevant remarks that it was surprised by ouraction,” the North’s statement said.

U.S. special envoy King’s trip had been expected to provide a rare opportunity for NorthKorea and the U.S. to open dialogue for improved relations. The two countries have no for-mal diplomatic relations.

In July, North Korea released a detailed description of the life of Bae through a pro-NorthKorean newspaper published in Tokyo. It was an unprecedented move which observershere said was designed to pressure Washington to comply with its urge to open dialogue.

Choson Sinbo, published by the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residentsin Japan (Chongryon), carried a detailed report on Bae in its July 3 issue with an interviewand some photos. The paper said its reporter interviewed Bae at his prison after receivingapproval from North Korean authorities.

North Korea has a track record of attempting to use detained Americans for domestic pro-paganda and as leverage in dialogue with Washington. The North’s stated goal is direct high-level talks with the Obama administration.

Several American citizens were detained in North Korea on similar charges in the past, butall were freed, largely unharmed. In 2009, former U.S. President Bill Clinton flew toPyongyang to bring home two female American journalists.

The following year, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter won plaudits when he negotiatedthe release of American national Aijalon Mahli Gomes.

Bae is the sixth American citizen to be detained by the North since 2009 and the first oneto receive a sentence of 15 years of hard labor.

Meanwhile, retired U.S. basketball star Dennis Rodman made his second visit toPyongyang on Sept. 3-7, following his earlier visit in February. His visit attracted keen atten-tion and speculation that it could lead to the release of Bae.

The ex-NBA star flew back to Beijing on Sept. 7 on his way home without bringing Baewith him. Rodman said earlier that he was visiting North Korea as a “friend” of young leaderKim Jong-un, but not as a diplomat, playing down speculation he may seek to help releasethe detained American.

Despite media speculation that Rodman, with his personal ties to the North Korean leader,may help win the freedom of Bae, he left the country apparently without any word abouthis future. Speaking to reporters at Beijing’s Capital Airport, Rodman said he spoke with Kimduring the trip but only exchanged views about “peace, sports ... and my team and theirteam in North Korea.” (Yonhap News)

DATA ON N.K. HUMAN RIGHTSVantage Point October 2013

25

<Status of Political Concentration Camps>It has been reported that North Korea operates six political concen-

tration camps in the northeastern region, which cover the provinces ofSouth Hamgyong, North Hamgyong, South Phyongan. These campscombined detain somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 inmates.On October 16, 2009, the South Korean government reported to theNational Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee that there were “an esti-mated 154,000 political prisoners detained in six Political ConcentrationCamps” throughout North Korea.

According to this “status report,” the prisoner distribution was as fol-lows: 15,000 inmates in No. 14 Kaechon Political Concentration Campin South Phyongan Province; 50,000 in No. 15 Yodok PoliticalConcentration Camp in South Hamgyong Province; 15,000 in No. 16Hwasong Political Concentration Camp in North Hamgyong Province;19,000 in No. 18 Pukchang Political Concentration Camp in SouthPhyongan Province; 50,000 in No. 22 Hoeryong Political ConcentrationCamp; and 5,000 in No. 25 Chongjin Political Concentration Camp. At ajoint seminar with the North Korea Human Rights Information Centerin November 2009, South Korea’s National Human Rights Commissionestimated that there were about 200,000 political prisoners in NorthKorea.

North Korean political concentration camps are said to have an areaof about 50 to 250 km2, holding between 5,000 and 50,000 inmateseach. Prisoners sent to the camps are selected and managed by theState Security Agency (SSA) under the supervision of the GuidanceDepartment of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee. Each ofthe camps under the control of Bureau No. 7 of the SSA is composedof political, security, management, security guards, and supply service

Human Rights Violations Inside Political Concentration CampsNorth Korean political concentration camps are said to have an area of about50 to 250 km2, holding between 5,000 and 50,000 inmates each.

DATA ON N.K. HUMAN RIGHTS Vantage Point October 2013

26

sections.The duty of the political section is to watch the ideological behavior of people in the

security guards section and punish those who commit any irregularities. The security sectionwatches the inmates and seeks out any malignant elements, such as attempted escapees,murderers, and malingerers, for execution or re-assignment to harsher labor. The manage-ment section is organized to maximize the workload and attain the production norms allot-ted to the camps. The responsibility of the security guards section is to guard the outerperimeter of the camp and suppress by force any revolt or other uprising inside the camp.

In addition, there is a supply service section responsible for supplying food for the securi-ty and guards’ section personnel, a materials section for supplying materials for various con-struction projects inside the camps, and a chemical section for supplying dynamite to themines. Other sections include finance, transportation, and communications. Most dreaded bythe prisoners are the security and guard sections, as both hold the power to determine aprisoner’s fate.

<Revolutionary Districts and Complete Control Districts>Political concentration camps are divided into “complete control districts” and “revolution-

ary districts.” The former are exclusively for those given life terms. Inmates slave away inmines and at logging yards under horrible working conditions. There is no need for them tobe ideologically educated because they will never return to society alive.

The latter, on the other hand, are divided into family and bachelor sections. Prisoners heldhere might be freed depending on the outcome of reviews made after a specified period(from one to ten years). Upon release, prisoners must sign an oath not to discuss anythingabout their experience, and violating the oath means returning to the camp.

As members of the hostile class, prisoners released from the revolutionary districts lead apoor existence. They are the primary targets of surveillance by the SSA, so they suffer vari-ous restrictions in employment, travel, and so forth. If an ex-political prisoner commits anordinary crime, 10-year imprisonment is added to the term he or she would normally serve.

According to North Korean defector An Myong-chol’s testimony, among all the politicaldetention camps in North Korea, only the No. 15 Political Concentration Camp at Yodok,South Hamgyong Province, has two separate sections: the “revolutionary district” and the“complete” or “full control zone.” All others have only full control zones. However, DavidHawk stated that the “revolutionary district” existed in the No. 18 Political ConcentrationCamp as well.

Also, Kim Hye-suk, who was detained in the No. 18 Bukchang Political ConcentrationCamp, wrote in her autobiography that she was discharged from the camp on Feb. 16, 2001,birthday of Kim Jong-il, by offering a livestock. She also testified that, at the time of her dis-charge, the whole 7th generation was discharged altogether. Considering all the information,the Political Concentration Camps No. 15 and No. 18 seem to have the “revolutionaryrooms” inside the centers.

DATA ON N.K. HUMAN RIGHTSVantage Point October 2013

27

In the case of returnees from Japan (and their families) who have had close personal con-nections with North Korean elites and senior officials of the pro-Pyongyang GeneralAssociation of Korean Residents in Japan (or Chongryon), they are detained in revolutionarydistricts within the political concentration camps.

The policy is to have them endure torture and thus make them more obedient to the KimJong-il system before they return to society. Most other political prisoners are held for life inthe complete control zones. Defectors have stated that in exceptional cases, prisoners serv-ing out life terms may be transferred from complete control zones to revolutionary districts,though only a very small number may do so.

Lee Yong-guk testified that the level of punishment, as well as the length of detention andthe possibility of release, would vary depending on the detainee’s personal background. Inextremely exceptional cases, inmates mentioned during Kim Jong-il’s “on-the-spot inspectionand guidance” tours may be immediately released from the camp and directly return to soci-ety. In most cases, however, no one ever returns to society.

(This is an excerpt from White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2012 published bythe Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, Korea.)

(Table) System of Special Control Districts

Vantage Point October 2013

28

INTERVIEW with Michael Kirby

Childhood memories often last a lifetime and can have a trans-formative effect, as was the case with Michael Kirby. The 74-year-old received what every Australian boy did when he was

9: a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 30-pointdocument states that all human beings have the right to life, food andequality. “We were taught about it. It was also on the board in theclassrooms of my school,” said the Sydney native. And the words havestayed with him ever since.

Kirby, a retired Australian High Court judge, now leads the UnitedNations inquiry into North Korea’s alleged human rights abuses. TheCommission of Inquiry (COI), as it is called, is the first systematicreview on the issue, and was established by the U.N. Human RightsCouncil (UNHRC) in March without a single vote.

The absence of votes was the “most unusual” move by the council,he said in an interview with Vantage Point at the end of August. Headded that it demonstrated a great degree of concern among theinternational community for the human rights situation in North Korea.

In late August, Kirby and his two colleagues traveled to South Koreato conduct a series of public hearings in order to collect evidence fromdozens of defectors, activists and North Korea experts. The results wereastounding. He noted the precision with which witnesses described theNorth’s political prison camps -- placing them on satellite maps andrecalling the function of each building. Though North Korea denies thecamps’ existence, Kirby stressed that there was a “high degree of uni-formity” in the witnesses’ accounts relating to these gulags and the pris-oners.

Kirby confirmed there were several measures to ensure the validity of testimonygiven by defectors, including the promise of each witness to tell the truth.

COI’S TAKE ON NORTH KOREA’S HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE

By Park So-jung

Vantage Point October 2013

29

“After today’s evidence, if (NorthKorea) seriously expects theinternational community to disbe-lieve the existence of such institu-tions, then it has to really open upits border to allow an independentbody to go and have a look atplaces,” Kirby asserted. But he cau-tioned that the inquiry was still inthe early stages and they have yetto draw any conclusions.

Attempts by the COI to inviteNorth Korean authorities to partic-ipate in the investigation havebeen unsuccessful. The commis-sion has sent letters to the North’sgovernment in Pyongyang and thepermanent mission in Geneva ear-lier this year, but the responses have been negative, Kirby said.

The lack of evidence from North Korea itself presents a huge challenge to the COI. Kirbyconfirmed that there were several measures to ensure the validity of the testimony given bydefectors, including the promise of each witness to tell the truth, the commissioners’ ownimpressions about the testimony and other objective indicators, such as satellite images.

He stressed that the commission would continue to seek the North’s cooperation, sayingthe reason was a “simple matter of fairness.”

“We have further duties to them of making sure that when we are reaching formulatedideas and conclusions, we give them a fair opportunity to respond before we place thoseconclusions before the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly,” he said.

On the fourth day of the hearings in Seoul, North Korea finally broke its silence about theinvestigation, calling it “slander.” But Kirby said he remained firm about asking for the coun-try’s cooperation. “Slander can be answered by the fact that what is said is true,” he insisted.“I’ve put to all of the witnesses that this is the (North’s) accusation, that what they have saidis false and a pack of lies, but all of them have affirmed that what they have said is true.”

Among the many allegations being investigated -- including torture and inhumane treat-ment, denial of food and violation of freedom of speech -- one of the most frequently raisedissues has been the political prison camps.

The first witness to give his testimony at the public hearings in Seoul was Shin Dong-hyuk, a 30-year-old prison camp escapee. He said the inmates subsisted on rats and undi-gested grain found in cow manure. At Camp 14, he said, he was forced to watch the publicexecution of his mother and brother, and had the tip of his right middle finger severed for

INTERVIEW with Michael Kirby

Michael Kirby, head of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) on NorthKorean human rights, speaks to the press at a news conference inSeoul on Aug. 27, 2013.

Vantage Point October 2013

30

INTERVIEW with Michael Kirby

punishment of dropping a sewing machine. “I was thankful that it was just the tip of my finger, rather than my entire wrist,” said Shin,

the only survivor of a no-exit camp known in the North as the “complete control district.”“The guard could have shot me dead, or could have ordered others to beat me to death, butI was grateful that he decided to just chop off my fingertip.”

On the second day, Kim Young-soon took the witness stand. The 74-year-old said she,along with six other members of her family, was sent to the Yodok camp in 1970 for herpersonal knowledge of the first wife of then leader Kim Jong-il. Her parents died in theprison camp, along with her husband and eldest son. Her younger son was later shot todeath trying to escape the country. Out of the seven members of her family, she said onlyshe and her now-disabled son survived.

There are an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 prisoners in the world’s last remaining politicalprisons, according to the Korea Institute of National Unification (KINU), a South Korean gov-ernment-funded research body. That’s down from 150,000 to 200,000 estimated a few yearsago, a decline mainly attributed to natural causes -- such as higher death rates -- and notreflective of any change in North Korean politics, KINU said in its 2013 White Paper onHuman Rights in North Korea.

Many witnesses from these camps said they were subjected to inhumane treatment, rang-ing from food deprivation, beatings and torture. But Kirby stopped short of discussingpotential legal consequences for the North. “It’s a long way down the track,” he said. “First,we have to reach our conclusions. Second, we have to publish them. Third, it’s then a mat-ter for the international community.”

He did note, however, that the only legal action that can be considered was to bring thematters to the International Criminal Court, of which North Korea holds no party member-ship. A special U.N. provision could allow the Security Council to refer the case to theinternational tribunal, he said, adding that whether there is sufficient reason or evidence todo so will have to be determined at the end of the investigation.

When asked about how his understanding of the issue had changed over the course ofthe hearings in Seoul, he said it was inevitable that the stories told by witnesses would bemoving.

“I have been a judge in my own country for 34 years, and that has made me somewhathardened to emotion,” he said. “But hearing some of the testimony, particularly from peoplewho were abused and claimed that they were debased, that they saw so many starving, thatthey took part in mass disposal of human bodies, that they saw dehumanizing conducts --and often for no offense at all or for irrational offenses and supposed offenses -- has reallymoved me.”

The commission is expected to give an oral report to the UNHRC on Sept. 16 and to theGeneral Assembly in October. The final report will be submitted to the UNHRC next March.(Yonhap News)

NEWS FOCUSVantage Point October 2013

31

North Korean leader Kim Jong-unstressed the need to strengthenthe role and function of the ruling

Workers’ Party in steering the army, mark-ing the start of the Songun, or military-first,politics set by late leader Kim Jong-il.

Kim Jong-un’s statement “Let Us AddEternal Brilliance to Comrade Kim Jong-il’sGreat Idea and Achievements of theSongun Revolution” was featured in thecountry’s two main newspapers in theirAug. 25 issues.

In his statement, Kim said that leader-ship of the Workers’ Party of (North) Korea(WPK) is the life of the (North) KoreanPeople’s Army (KPA), emphasizing thatwithout party leadership, the militarypower of the socialist country cannot exist,according to the North’s official KoreanCentral News Agency (KCNA).

The young North Korean leader madethe statement while speaking with RodongSinmun, an organ of the WPK, and JosonInmingun, an organ of the KPA, on Aug.25, marking the 53rd anniversary of “Dayof Songun.”

Songun is the North’s military-first poli-

tics that stresses the importance of itsarmed forces and its leading role in allmatters of the state.

The KCNA reported that late leader KimJong-il “raised the KPA as the buttress, themain force, of our revolution by trainingthe KPA to be the army of the leaderboundlessly faithful to the cause of theWPK, to be an invincible revolutionaryarmy.”

The young North Korean leader said, inorder to bring about a decisive turn in theconstruction of a thriving socialist country,the militant functions and role of partyorganizations should be further height-ened. “Party organizations are the van-guard organizations of the Songun revolu-tion, and the Party’s ideology and leader-ship are implemented through them,” theyoung leader said.

“They should regard it as the main lineof Party work to establish the monolithicleadership system of the Party, and ensurethat all officials, Party members and otherworking people support the leader’s ideasand leadership with loyalty and conduct alltypes of work in line with the Party’s ideas

Kim Jong-un Calls for Reinforcing Party’s Role in Leading the Military“Party organizations are the vanguard organizations of songun revolution andthe party's ideology and leadership are implemented through them,” Kim said.

NEWS FOCUS Vantage Point October 2013

32

and intentions.” Kim stressed the most important guaran-

tee for victory and the revolution is tostrengthen the party and the general staffof the revolution, and to solidify the dri-ving force of the revolution by uniting theservice personnel and people around it.

North Korea has said that Songun poli-tics “represents the proud tradition of theKorean revolution and the banner of victo-ry and glory.” It was pioneered by NorthKorea’s founder Kim Il-sung and led by hisson and late leader Kim Jong-il.

But the socialist country has also saidthe Songun revolution is now being cred-itably carried forward by its current leaderKim Jong-un.

North Korean media have claimed thatformer leader Kim Jong-il’s visit to SeoulRyu Kyong-su Guards 105th Tank Divisionof the KPA on Aug. 25, 1960 was a historicevent that proclaimed his succession of thecause of the Songun revolution and thestart of his Songun-based leadership.

Kim told the newspapers that “Songunpolitics is a mode of socialist politics thatraises military affairs as the most importantof all state affairs and defends the country,revolution and socialism, and acceleratesthe overall socialist construction with theKPA as the core, as the main force.”

“As an idea enriched and developed inthe course of the practical struggle toapply the Juche (self-reliance) idea, theSongun idea is a scientific, revolutionarytheory that makes it possible to satisfy therequirements of the Juche idea in a perfectand comprehensive way,” he said.

Kim said the line of giving importance toarms, or military affairs, should be imple-

mented to the letter of strengthening thedefense capabilities of the country.

“We should radically improve the peo-ple’s standard of living by giving a spur tothe building of an economic giant, holdingaloft our Party line of simultaneously pro-moting the two fronts (economic develop-ment and the upbuilding of nuclearforces),” Kim stressed.

Meanwhile, North Korea’s media report-ed on Aug. 26 that leader Kim Jong-unchaired a meeting of the party’s top mili-tary commission to decide on importantmatters on enhancing the country’s inde-pendence and defense.

At the enlarged meeting of the CentralMilitary Commission of the WPK, Kim andthe North’s top policymakers discussedand decided on key practical issues to bol-ster the combat capability of the revolu-tionary armed forces, according to theKCNA.

The central commission decides on allmatters related to the military in the North,where the ruling party controls all mattersof running the country.

The KCNA said that building up defensereflected the requirements of the “prevail-ing situation” and the present condition ofthe KPA.

It said the meeting discussed and decid-ed upon practical issues of bolstering thecombat capability of the revolutionaryarmed forces and increasing the defensecapability of the country in every way asrequired by prevailing situation and thepresent conditions of the People’s Army. Italso discussed organizational matters.

“Kim Jong-un made an important con-cluding speech which would serve as

NEWS FOCUSVantage Point October 2013

33

guideline for firmly protecting the sover-eignty and security of the country and pro-moting the cause of the Songun revolutionof the party,” the KCNA said.

The report did not elaborate on detailsof the speech or when and where thecommission’s meeting had been held.

Policymakers also touched on organiza-tional matters, the report said without elab-orating on what was discussed.

North Korean watchers in Seoul, mean-while, said the meeting probably tookplace to mark “Songun Day” that fell onAug. 25 and that issues related to the over-all structure and personnel management ofthe military may have been discussed.

Kim reportedly held another meeting ofthe central commission earlier in the year,with the KCNA reporting the event on Feb.3. The meeting probably took place justweeks before the country detonated itsthird nuclear device in mid-February.

On the eve of the Songun Day, NorthKorea held a national meeting inPyongyang with the attendance of keyparty and military officials including theNorth’s ceremonial head of state KimYong-nam, Premier Pak Pong-ju and keyparty and military officials.

At the national meeting held at the April25 House of Culture on Aug. 24, NorthKorea’s top military official Choe Ryong-hae said Pyongyang does not want warand values peace above all.

“Peace is dearer to us than anything elseas our general goal is to build an economicpower and improve the standard of peo-ple’s living,” Choe, vice marshal of theKPA, said at a political meeting inPyongyang on Aug. 24.

The comment was relayed by theNorth’s news wire KCNA, which said themeeting was an annual event to celebratethe Songun politics set by late leader KimJong-il.

“The Korean people do not want warbut hope for averting a fratricidal war andreunifying the country ... peacefully at anycost,” Choe said.

The socialist state would make “everypossible effort to prevent a new war” onthe Korean Peninsula and to boost “friend-ly and cooperative relations” with the restof the world, he added.

“Kim Jong-il’s Songun revolutionaryleadership and Songun politics reflectedthe iron faith, matchless grit and pluck,and ardent patriotism of the peerlesslySongun brilliant commander and peerlesspatriot, and they serve as an all-powerfultreasured sword for triumphantly usheringin a new era of the Juche revolution,” hesaid.

All the service personnel and peopleshould intensify the drive for displayingthe “speed on Masik Pass” and makinguninterrupted great leap forward and inno-vations on all fronts for socialist construc-tion, Choe said.

“We will make every possible effort toprevent a new war on the KoreanPeninsula and achieve the independentand peaceful reunification of the countryby concerted efforts of the nation, holdinghigh the June 15 joint declaration and theOct. 4 declaration, the great programs forreunification common to the nation in thenew century and the landmarks for peaceand prosperity,” Choe said. (Yonhap News)

NEWS FOCUS Vantage Point October 2013

34

Dealing a blow to warming cross-border relations, North Korea onSept. 21 unilaterally postponed

the planned reunions of separated familymembers, citing what it called Seoul’s“confrontational policy.” The abrupt NorthKorean move came only four days beforethe two Koreas were to hold a new roundof family reunions at the North’s mountainresort of Kumgang from Sept. 25-30. Bothsides have exchanged the final lists ofabout 200 candidates that were to bereunited.

South Korea denounced the North’sdecision as “inhumane,” warning that theNorth’s move amounts to driving inter-Korean relations back into a “state of con-frontation.” It urged Pyongyang to hold thereunions as agreed.

“It is very regrettable that the North uni-laterally postponed the reunions, with justfour days left,” Unification Ministryspokesman Kim Eyi-do said. “The North’spostponement shattered the hopes andexpectations of nearly 200 familiesovernight and deserves denunciation as aninhumane act.”

The planned family reunions, the first oftheir kind since 2010, have been consid-ered one of a series of signs of a thaw inrelations between the two sides, alongwith the reopening of a jointly run indus-trial complex in the North that had beensuspended amid heightened security ten-sions since April.

Millions of Koreans were separated fromtheir families following the 1950-53 KoreanWar, which ended in a cease-fire, not apeace treaty, leaving the two sides stilltechnically at war. Their border is tightlysealed, and there are no direct means ofcontact between ordinary civilians.

The divided Koreas have held 18 tempo-rary reunions since a landmark summitbetween their leaders in 2000, bringingtogether more than 20,000 family memberswho had not seen each other since thewar.

But the North’s Committee for thePeaceful Reunification of Korea said in astatement that it is putting off the familyreunions until “a normal atmosphere is cre-ated” for the two sides to hold dialogueand negotiations. It also postponed the

N. Korea Abruptly Calls off Family Reunions, Citing S. Korea’s PolicyThe sudden move by North Korea to postpone the planned family reunions is expected to set back cross-border relations that have improved.

planned negotiations with the South, slatedfor Oct. 2, on how to reopen the MountKumgang resort, another joint project thathas been suspended since the 2008 shoot-ing of a South Korean tourist by a NorthKorean guard at the resort.

The committee condemned South Koreafor trying to “avoid responsibility and cre-ate animosity and malicious sentimentagainst North Korea,” saying the future ofthe family reunions depends on the South’sattitude.

North Korea accused the South on Sept.22 of abusing inter-Korean dialogue andnegotiations as a means to seek confronta-tion with the socialist country, vowing totake “strong and decisive counteractions”against what it calls the South’s “ever-esca-lating war provocations to it.”

Pyongyang’s latest announcement under-scored the unpredictability of the regimeand the difficulty in dealing with it. TheNorth has a track record of backtrackingfrom or canceling agreements at the lastminute.

In July 2006, Pyongyang declared thesuspension of family reunions and the con-struction of the meeting venue at theMount Kumgang resort, and cited as rea-son South Korea’s rejection of sending pro-vision of rice and fertilizer to the socialistnation.

Two years earlier in 2004, the twoKoreas failed to hold the reunion programsfor one year due to deteriorating relationsbetween the two sides.

In 2001, the North unilaterally post-poned the scheduled family reunions citingthe South Korean government’s emergencyposture taken after the al-Qaida's devastat-

ing Sept. 11 terrorist attack in the UnitedStates.

Seoul officials said the list of candidatesto be reunited remains valid despite theindefinite postponement, demandingPyongyang return to the negotiating table.“North Korea’s unilateral postponement ofthe family reunions cannot be justified withany explanations or excuses,” a senior offi-cial at the unification ministry said. “NorthKorea should promptly resume prepara-tions to hold the reunion event to cure thepain and scars of separated families.”

The sudden move by North Korea topostpone the planned family reunions isexpected to set back cross-border relationsthat have improved following the reopen-ing of the Kaesong factory park after a fivemonth hiatus, analysts said. Noting that theNorth has also postponed another sched-uled border meeting on Oct. 2 on reopen-ing the suspended Mount Kumgang resort,they said Pyongyang appears to be tryingto tie it with the family reunion project.

Government officials and private ana-lysts are racking their brains trying touncover the North’s real intentions in tak-ing the drastic action.

Seoul has already made clear that thepostponement of the family reunions won’taffect its ongoing efforts to normalizeoperations at Kaesong, where SouthKorean factories started production onSept. 16.

Seoul officials said the North’sannouncement poses new challenges forthe Seoul government’s policy of graduallybuilding trust and may affect its future pol-icy initiative. (Yonhap News)

NEWS FOCUSVantage Point October 2013

35

NEWS FOCUS Vantage Point October 2013

36

North Korea held a parade of militiaforces on Sept. 9 in Pyongyang tomark the 65th founding anniver-

sary of the nation, with leader Kim Jong-unattending the ceremony but making nopublic comments.

Pyongyang celebrates Sept. 9, 1948 asthe founding day of the DPRK, or theDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea --the official name of the North.

It was the North’s second mass parade inlittle more than a month, with leader Kimpresiding over a display of goose-steppingparamilitary troops, marching bands andflower-waving civilians.

Leading the parade was the Worker-Peasant Red Guard -- a civilian militia withan estimated count of more than five mil-lion active members.

At the outset of the parade at Kim Il-sung Square in downtown Pyongyang,Premier Pak Pong-ju, clad in a Red Guardsuniform, called for loyalty to Kim whilestressing the need to retain a “tight warposture, safeguard the leadership andremain loyal to Kim Jong-un.”

In a speech, Pak stressed that “the army

and people of the DPRK holding the peer-lessly great men in high esteem generationafter generation will as ever dynamicallyadvance along the road of independence,Songun (military-first) and socialism, and itwill shine forever as the socialist state ofJuche (self-reliance) with the invinciblemight.”

“Our republic will flourish under thegreat and glorious leadership of comradeKim Jong-un,” Premier Pak added.

North Korea analysts had hoped theyoung leader might address the crowd toshed some light on the socialist nation’spolitics or diplomatic goals, but Kim him-self did not speak during the ceremony.

The leader did, however, salute thegoose-stepping militia. He waved his handand smiled from a balcony that overlookedthe square packed with ordinaryPyongyang citizens who marched behindthe militia carrying ornaments that resem-bled flowers.

The military parade did not include dis-plays of the kind of heavy artillery, tanksand missiles that the North rolled out inJuly to commemorate the armistice that

North Korea Holds Paramilitary Parade to Mark 65th Founding AnniversaryThe military parade did not include displays of the kind of heavy artillery,tanks and missiles that the North rolled out in July.

ended hostilities on the Korean Peninsulain 1953. Kim made no remarks at the Julyparade, either.

The last time the Red Guards went onparade was in September 2008 when thecountry celebrated the 60th anniversary ofits founding.

The anniversary came amid an easing oftensions between North and South Korea,who were on a war-footing just a fewmonths ago following the North’s thirdnuclear test in February.

North and South Korea have recentlyreached agreements to reopen a jointindustrial zone in the North Korean cityKaesong, which was shut down in April.They also agreed to hold a reunion forfamilies separated by the 1950-1953Korean War.

At a national meeting on Sept. 8, NorthKorea’s No. 2 leader Kim Yong-namexpressed the country’s willingness toimprove ties with its southern neighborand urged the United States to drop whatthe North calls its “hostile policy.”

Kim Yong-nam, president of thePresidium of the Supreme People’sAssembly (SPA), made a report that saidthe founding of the North marked a greathistoric event, as it paved a wide avenuefor the Korean people to enjoy a free andhappy life as “masters of a state sovereign-ty with their genuine country, the first ofits kind in the nation’s history spanningfive thousand years.”

“Under their guidance, the DPRK beatback the U.S. imperialist aggressors whoinvaded the less than two years old-peo-ple’s country to nip it in the bud, honor-ably protecting its freedom and indepen-

dence, and achieved victories one afteranother in the confrontation with theimperialists, firmly defending the sover-eignty of the country and gains of the rev-olution,” Kim said.

The report called on all service person-nel and people to bring about a freshsurge in the on-going general advancementfor building economic power and improv-ing the standard living by displaying strongspirits and building more structures of last-ing value.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and RussianPresident Vladimir Putin have sent congrat-ulatory messages to Kim Jong-un for theanniversary, with both leaders calling forthe promotion of bilateral relations toensure regional peace and stability, accord-ing to the North’s official Korean CentralNews Agency (KCNA).

Kim Jong-un stepped to the balcony ofthe platform and warmly acknowledgedthe enthusiastically cheering crowds.

Kim took time to visit the new Unhahousing facility for its scientists in the out-skirts of its capital city and lauded the sci-entists for their service in improving theeconomy and the lives of their countrymen.

Kim Jong-un also enjoyed a performancewith his wife Ri Sol-ju given by the songand dance ensemble of the KoreanPeople’s Internal Security Forces (KPISF) tocelebrate the founding anniversary.

According to the KCNA report, newhomes and facilities represented Kim’s giftto the scientists for their dedication to thecountry. The district is reportedly com-prised of 21 apartment buildings that canaccommodate around 1,000 families.(Yonhap News)

NEWS FOCUSVantage Point October 2013

37

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS Vantage Point October 2013

38

<Internal Affairs>

N. Korean Athletes Win 50 Gold Medals in Int’l Competitions

North Korean athletes won about 50 gold medals in international competitions so far thisyear, Rodong Sinmun, the organ of North’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK),

reported on Aug. 17.The paper said in a front page story that North Korean athletes reaped great achievements

this year with the number of gold medals obtained in international events rising 2.7 timescompared to the same period last year. As of July 27, the anniversary of the Korean WarArmistice Agreement, which the North calls the “Victory Day in the Fatherland LiberationWar,” North Korea has won gold medals in about 10 sports, including soccer, table tennis,marathon, judo, weightlifting, wrestling and boxing.

The total number of medals North Korean players won last year and in the first sevenmonths of this year amounted to 230, of which 110 were obtained this year, roughly doublethe number of the medals won in the same period last year.

Rodong Sinmun cited names of such victorious athletes as Kim Gum-ok, a femalemarathoner who won the gold medal in the 14th Asia Marathon Championships in HongKong in February; Ri Se-gwang, a gold medalist at the sixth FIG Art Gymnastics WorldChallenge Cup held in Doha, Qatar in March; and the female soccer team which won the2013 East Asian Cup, held in July in Seoul.

The newspaper said the good results in international sports competitions are a “grand gunsalute” that heralds the joyful opening of a new golden age of sports development in thehistory of the republic and attributed the good performances to the leadership of the NorthKorean leader Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap News)

North Korea to Open Country’s First Gym for People with Disabilities

North Korea is building the country’s first sports complex for athletes with disabilities inits capital city of Pyongyang, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper reported on Aug. 31.

The three-story gym will accommodate wheelchair-accessible training facilities, as well asa sauna, barbershop and restaurant, and is scheduled for completion by March next year inthe city’s eastern district of Tongdaewon, according to Choson Sinbo, a Tokyo-based dailypublished by pro-North Korea residents in Japan.

“It will be the first stair-free, threshold-free facility to be built in the country,” the newspa-per said, adding that plans to build more disability gyms are under way.

North Korea’s Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled and Korean DisabledAthletes Association, which are overseeing the ongoing project, plan to reinvest profits from

running the gym in promoting disability sports in the country, according to the newspaper.The move is the latest in a series of development in the North seen as efforts to improve

the rights and living conditions of people with physical and mental impairments there, fol-lowing international criticism of the country’s allegedly prevalent human rights abuses.

North Korea for the first time sent a national team to compete in the London ParalympicsGames in August last year. It also held its first provincial table tennis tournament for thosewith disabilities in November that year. (Yonhap News)

N.K.-Swiss Joint Venture to Open Drugstore in N.K. Provincial City

Ajoint venture between North Korea and Switzerland will open its first chain drugstore ina provincial city in the socialist country by the end of this year, according to the com-

pany’s website on Sept. 8.The new store will be situated in Phyongsong, South Phyongan Province, where many of

the North’s well-off people who can afford medicine live, the Pyongsu Pharma J-V Co. said.Launched in 2004 as a joint venture between Parazelsus, a Swiss investment and manage-

ment company with a focus on healthcare, and Pyongyang Pharmaceutical Factory under theNorth’s health ministry, Pyongsu Pharma has since opened nine chain stores in Pyongyangto provide North Koreans with essential medicine, such as aspirin and digestive aids.

Phyongsong, located just north of Pyongyang, is the capital of North Phyongan Province.It was developed into a science-research city, housing many research institutes in the 1960s,but now is a hub of logistics for distributing everyday goods all over the country.

In August, the North Korean authority opened the city to foreign tourists, according to aChinese tourism agency specializing in tours to the North.

“Since medicine is as precious as rice in North Korea, Phyongsong will be crowded withpeople coming to buy medicine from other parts of the country if a drug store opens in thecity, which has a relatively well-developed traffic network with other cities,” a source wellinformed on North Korea said. (Yonhap News)

Ri Yong-gil Named Chief of KPA General Staff: Russian Media

North Korean military general Ri Yong-gil has been named the chief of General Staff ofthe (North) Korean People’s Army (KPA), the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported

on Sept. 10.In a report from Pyongyang, the Russian news agency said that Ri replaced Kim Kyok-sik,

who was appointed to the top army post in May. It added that in North Korea, Kim is nolonger mentioned as the army chief.

The Itar-Tass quoted a report of the North’s official KCNA, which said Ri Yong-gil is

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTSVantage Point October 2013

39

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS Vantage Point October 2013

40

included on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s entourage list. Kim attended a performancegiven by the song and dance ensemble of the Korean People’s Internal Security Forces forcelebrating the 65th founding anniversary of North Korea on Sept. 9.

Itar-Tass said that the personnel changes in the high-level echelons of North Korea can befound on the KCNA list when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un makes field inspection toursto army units and attends various events of the state.

It said that the reason for the latest personnel replacement of the army chief was not con-firmed, and the North Korean media have not yet mentioned the personnel replacement.

Recently, the appointment of Ri as army chief was observed in South Korea. On Aug. 28,Kim Jong-un watched men’s premier soccer match finals for the Torch Cup at Kim Il-sungStadium in Pyongyang, where Ri Yong-gil appeared with the insignia of the four-star general,evidence that he had been promoted to a full general from a three-star general.

North Korean media, introducing key North Korean officials who watched the soccergame, mentioned Ri’s name right before Jang Jong-nam, the minister of the people’s armedforces. At the event, Kim Kyok-sik was not present.

Believed to be in his 60s, Ri had been the commander of the 5th Corps before he wasappointed as the operation bureau chief of the KPA’s general staff.

Ri has emerged as a core military elite as he accompanied Choe Ryong-hae, the director ofthe KPA’s general political bureau, when he visited China as special envoy of Kim Jong-un inMay. (Yonhap News)

<External Affairs>

N. Korean Media Stress Importance of Improving Inter-Korean Relations

North Korean media outlets stressed on Aug. 19 the importance of improving inter-Korean relations and the need to resolve all outstanding issues in the spirit of self-

determination.Articles carried by Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling WPK, and Uriminzokkiri, the

socialist country’s main Internet-based media and propaganda website, called for endingconfrontation and mistrust that has plagued South-North Korean relations in the past.

The reports come as the cross-border relations, which hit a low ebb earlier in the yearwith the testing of the North’s third nuclear device, have shown signs of improvement inrecent weeks. The two sides reached a landmark agreement to reopen a joint factory park inKaesong that had been closed since early April and are also scheduled to hold talks toarrange reunions for families separated by the Korean War (1950-53) later in the week.

“The important thing is to maintain the stance that all things must be resolved by the

Korean people themselves, and to use this to build trust and harmony,” the paper thatreflects the outlooks of the North’s policymakers said.

It stated that the seventh working-level meeting that helped to resolve the KaesongIndustrial Complex impasse is a good example of what can be accomplished by the so-called Uriminzokkiri spirit. This spirit can be translated into “by our nation itself” or self-determination.

The newspaper cautioned in the article monitored in Seoul that relying on foreign powerswhile at the same time striving for trust building will have a negative overall impact. “Suchactions will stifle trust and fuel confrontation,” the daily argued.

The remarks can be seen as Pyongyang expressing reservations over the Ulchi FreedomGuardian (UFG) joint military exercise that kicked off earlier in the day. This year’s drills,which run through Aug. 30, involve thousands of soldiers from South Korea and the UnitedStates. The North has consistently claimed that the drills are aimed at invading the North.(Yonhap News)

N.K. Extends Condolences over 1 Year Anniversary of Rev. Moon Death

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has extended a condolence letter to mark the one yearanniversary of the death of the Unification Church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the

North’s state media said on Aug. 20.According to the North’ official KCNA report monitored in Seoul, Kim “sent words cherish-

ing the memory of Moon Sun-myung.”“Kim Jong-un prayed for the repose of Moon, who worked hard for national concord,

prosperity and reunification and world peace,” the KCNA said in an English-dispatch, addingthat the bereaved family members would carry forward the intentions of Moon.

The Rev. Moon, a self-claimed “messiah,” died at the age of 92 on Sept. 3, 2012. He wasborn in 1920 in what is now North Korea before moving to the South to found theUnification Church in 1954, one year after the Korean War ended.

Following Moon’s death, Kim immediately sent a condolence message to Moon’s family inthe South over the KCNA.

Also, the North awarded Moon what it calls the National Reunification Prize in recognitionof his contribution to inter-Korean reconciliation and unity. (Yonhap News)

China’s Automaker Mulls Investment in North Korea

Amajor Chinese automaker has expressed its intention to invest in a project to build a carmanufacturing factory in North Korea, the North’s media said on Aug. 28.

FAW Group Corp., a Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturing firm, signed a letter

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTSVantage Point October 2013

41

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS Vantage Point October 2013

42

of intent last week with North Korea’s Rason regional government to invest in the construc-tion of the factory, the North’s official KCNA reported.

The agreement is a preliminary step to conclude an official deal for the investment. The deal was made during the third round of the exhibition for international goods held

in the North Korean city last week, according to the KCNA.The impoverished socialist country designated Rason, located on its northeastern tip, as a

special economic zone and has been actively seeking an overseas investment in the region.During the exhibition, China’s Heilongjiang regional committee on trade promotion and

Rason’s economic committee signed an agreement to boost cooperation. Heilongjiangprovince is located in the northeastern part of China.

Stressing Chinese firms’ investment in the Rason region, an unidentified official from theChinese body vowed “to transport goods from its region to Shanghai via Rason ports,”according to the report. (Yonhap News)

North Korea Urges South Korea, U.S. to Halt Hostile Acts

North Korea on Aug. 29 urged South Korea and the United States to desist from hostilepolicies and strive for dialogue and peace.

In a statement released by the spokesman for the Policy Department of the NationalDefense Commission (NDC), Pyongyang claimed the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Guardian(UFG) military exercise and actions taken by some South Korean groups to send anti-NorthKorean propaganda leaflets are “war commotion” and outdated tactics.

The commission said the time has come for policymakers in Seoul and Washington to pur-sue initiatives that are conducive for dialogue and peace, and take steps to end Cold War erathinking.

“The United States employed bombers that can deliver nuclear weapons in the UFG drillthat kicked off on Aug. 19 and runs through Aug. 30. All nuclear threats must be called off,”it said.

The North’s top military body said Seoul policymakers must realize they are applying dou-ble standards by calling on the North to give up its nuclear deterrence while turning a blindeye to its ally brandishing such weapons.

The statement carried by the KCNA and monitored in Seoul added Pyongyang is exercis-ing utmost restraint and seriously considering implementation of policies that aim to furtherpeace.

The NDC statement is seen as the North trying to show its willingness to maintain the spir-it of cooperation that was forged when the two Koreas agreed to reopen the joint inter-Korean factory park in Kaesong on Aug. 14.

In the past the North reacted violently to annual military exercises, claiming they were adress rehearsal for the invasion of the socialist country. The country usually placed its own

armed forces in a state of heightened readiness. In regard to the leaflets, the North on numerous occasions threatened to physically attack

civic groups that send propaganda materials criticizing its leadership and try to give ordinaryNorth Koreans an idea of what is happening in the outside world.

Such actions are seen by North Korea as an attempt to undermine the Kim Jong-unregime. (Yonhap News)

N. Korea Contemplating Large-scale Plan for Korean Peninsula Peace

North Korea is contemplating a bold and large-scale plan to establish permanent peaceon the Korean Peninsula, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan reported on Aug. 31.

In an article titled “the bold peace conception eyed by North Korea,” Choson Sinbo saidthat the socialist country might have formulated such a daring action plan for constructiveand peaceful measures that even the United States and South Korea, which have maintainedhostile and confrontational stances toward Pyongyang, would no longer have any quarrelswith North Korea.

The newspaper published by Chongryon, the Korean residents association in Japan, madethe report referring to the recent statement by North Korea’s top military commission for theconstructive and peaceful measures on the Korean Peninsula.

In a statement released by the spokesman for the Policy Department of the NationalDefense Commission (NDC) on Aug. 29, the North urged South Korea and the United Statesto desist from hostile policies and strive for dialogue and peace.

Choson Sinbo said the transformation phase the North is about to embark on does notstop merely at the resumption of multilateral negotiations, which have been stalled for thepast several years.

“Rather, the aim of dialogue initiative and peace offensive embodied by the will of oursupreme leader is pointed to the bold solution of the historically long pending issues on theKorean Peninsula and Northeast Asia,” the paper emphasized. (Yonhap News)

N. Korea Says Inter-Korean Talks Must Not Be Used as Bargaining Chip

North Korea on Aug. 31 stressed that ongoing inter-Korean talks should not be used as abargaining chip and countries with vested interest on the Korean Peninsula must not

play along with the hostile policies being pursued by the United States.In an article carried by Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling WPK, it said the time has

long past when the two sides vied for selfish goals while engaging in talks. The article alsosaid that it is important that political leaders pay attention to the wishes of the people asthey engage in negotiations on such matters as the Mount Kumgang tours and the reopening

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTSVantage Point October 2013

43

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS Vantage Point October 2013

44

of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.The two sides agreed on Aug. 14 to normalize the factory park in Kaesong that has been

shuttered since early April amid heightened tensions. Seoul has proposed talks on the resumption of tours to the scenic mountain resort on Oct.

2 after the Koreas hold family reunions for people separated by the 1950-53 Korean War onSept. 25-30.

The daily that reflects the views of the socialist country’s leadership then called on coun-tries to not blindly follow the hardline stance taken by the United States.

Washington has held firm to the stance that the North must show tangible signs that it willgive up its nuclear program if it wants to hold talks to ease tensions.

Pyongyang so far has balked at such moves, claiming its nuclear deterrence is critical forself-protection.

Rodong Sinmun, meanwhile, argued that the U.S.’s present position actually hurts itsnational interests, without elaborating, and asserted that Washington is responsible for thedivision of the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap News)

N. Korea Slams S. Korea for Linking Treason Scandal to North

North Korea denounced South Korea’s spy agency on Sept. 8 for what it said to be“unduly linking” the treason scandal surrounding a pro-North Korean lawmaker with

the socialist country, adding that it will not tolerate any attempts to hurt the on-going inter-Korean rapprochement mood.

In a direct rejection of the accusation, North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun said, “Their activitiescame out of their own will, not out of orders or directions from others.

“The National Intelligence Service and the conservative forces are trying to make everyscheme to falsely accuse UPP members of treason and to link it with us,” the newspapersaid in a news article. The mainstream daily is published by the North’s governing WPK anddeemed to represent the official stance of the North Korean regime.

The Sept. 8 article on the South Korean treason case marks the North’s criticism over thescandal for the third day in a row.

The news article also said that the spy agency’s attempt to embroil North Korea in theconspiracy case constitutes an “unpardonable insult” upon the North’s efforts and serious-ness toward improving relations with Seoul as well as a challenge to those who want thereunification of the two Koreas.

“It is a deliberately planned fabrication designed by those who don’t want improvement inthe inter-Korean relations and reduction of tensions,” Rodong Sinmun said, also adding thatthe country will not tolerate any attempt aiming to pose obstacles to improving inter-Koreanrelations. (Yonhap News)

<Inter-Korean Relations>

S. Korean Weightlifters Win Medals in Competition in N. Korea

All four junior weightlifters from South Korea have won medals in an international compe-tition underway in North Korea, leading to the South Korean flag and anthem being raisedand played in the socialist nation for the first time.

Kwon Ye-bin won bronze in the women’s junior 69 kilogram event at the Asian Cup andInterclub Weightlifting Championship on Sept. 13, becoming the first South Korean athlete toraise the country’s national flag in the North, according to the Korea Weightlifting Federationin the South.

Subsequently, Lee Jae-kwang won silver in the men's junior 94 kilogram event on Sept. 14.Later on Sept. 14, Kim Woo-sik and Lee Young-gun, the only competitors in the 85 kilo-

gram category, automatically won gold and silver. Kim's gold made it possible for the SouthKorean national anthem to be played in North Korea for the first time.

North Korea’s state TV broadcast some of the events, including those involving Kim andLee in the Sept. 14 events as well as their medal ceremony. The recorded broadcast identi-fied the two as South Korean athletes, with the South's national flag showing at the bottomof the screen.

The footage also briefly showed the South Korean flag rising during the medal ceremony.South Korean weightlifters on Sept. 10 departed for Pyongyang to compete in a continen-

tal competition, saying they'd like to fly their national flag north of the border for the firsttime.

A delegation of 22 lifters and 19 officials flew for Beijing from Gimpo InternationalAirport, western Seoul, and boarded a connecting flight bound for the North Korean capitallater Sept. 10.

They're set to compete at the 2013 Asian Cup and Interclub Weightlifting Championshipfrom Sept. 11-17.

Late August, North Korea invited South Korean weightlifters to enter the event. In earlySeptember, the unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs in Seoul, approvedthe cross-border trip by the delegation. Pyongyang also vowed to guarantee the safety ofSouth Korean representatives.

The North also approved the hoisting of the South Korean national flag and playing of itsnational anthem on the socialist country’s soil for the first time in history.

The South Korean athletes’ visit comes on the heels of reconciliatory moves from bothsides. The two Koreas recently reached a deal to reopen a shuttered joint industrial park inthe North’s border city of Kaesong, and later to arrange reunions for families separated bythe 1950-53 Korean War.

South Korean athletes last competed on North Korean soil in 2003, during an inter-Korean

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTSVantage Point October 2013

45

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS Vantage Point October 2013

46

basketball and football event.In July this year, the North Korean women’s national football team visited South Korea to

compete in the East Asian Cup tournament, its first trip here since 2005. North Korea endedup winning the four-nation event over South Korea, Japan and China. (Yonhap News)

North Korean Youths Attend U.N. Event in Gwangju

Agroup of three young North Koreans attended a United Nations’ educational event thatopened in the southern South Korean city of Gwangju on Aug. 22.

“We’re here to attend a U.N.-organized event,” a member of the group told reporters afterattending the opening ceremony of the Youth Leadership Program (YLP) at HonamUniversity in Gwangju. “We want to learn a lot,” the North Korean man who appears to bein his early 20s added.

The group, comprised of two males and one female, arrived in South Korea along with anadult guide, on Aug. 21 to attend the event co-hosted by the 2015 Gwangju UniversiadeOrganizing Committee and the U.N. Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP).

The YLP aims to educate adolescents from war-stricken countries or developing regions insuch fields as health, education, disability, gender equality and peace. It first took place inDoha in January last year, and the Gwangju city will host the gathering annually from thisyear to 2015.

This year’s event is expected to bring some 34 young people from 19 Asian countries,including the three from Pyongyang to Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, until Sept. 3.

For sports programs, participants will learn various genres of sports from professionalcoaches from the International Sports Federation.

The North Koreans’ visit comes amid signs of a thaw in relations between the two Koreasafter months of high tensions earlier this year. Last week, the two sides reached a break-through deal to reopen a joint industrial complex. They are also scheduled to hold talks thisweek on setting up family reunions. (Yonhap News)

Koreas Agree to Reopen Joint Industrial Complex on Sept. 16

South and North Korea agreed on Sept. 11 to resume the operation of a joint industrialcomplex in North Korea’s border town of Kaesong from Sept. 16, which will fully nor-

malize operations at the last remaining major inter-Korean venture after a five-month sus-pension.

Under the agreement reached after overnight negotiations of more than 20 hours, SouthKorean firms will be allowed to restart operations at the site just north of the inter-Koreanborder after a trial run on Sept. 16, the South’s Unification Ministry said. It added that with

the date for the resumption of operations set, the two sides can now strive for “progressivedevelopment” of the complex and lay the foundation for building trust and sustainablegrowth in cross-border relations.

The agreement, which followed a preliminary accord on Aug. 14 to reopen the complex,ends the standoff surrounding the Kaesong complex that began with the unilateral pullout ofNorth Korean workers from the factory zone on April 9. Pyongyang had pulled out itsroughly 53,000 workers hired by 123 South Korean companies from the park, citing politicaland military provocations from South Korea.

“The understanding reached is significant because it shows various efforts to revise opera-tions systems are making progress and can transform Kaesong into a globally competitiveindustrial park,” said Kim Ki-woong, co-chairman at the South-North committee for the nor-malization of the joint factory park and Seoul’s top negotiator at the talks.

He added the agreements reached will allow normal operations to resume and meet thewishes of local companies that want to return to work at Kaesong.

The two sides also agreed on measures to make some compensation for the South Koreancompanies that suffered losses from the suspension. Under the deal, South Korean firms willbe exempt from paying taxes for the rest of 2013, and the socialist country agreed it will notask for taxes that went unpaid in 2012 until the end of the year. Originally companies weredue to pay taxes for last year in May.

The Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee and the North’s General Bureaufor Central Guidance to the Development of the Special Zone will hold separate talks toresolve the issue of unpaid wages for North Korean laborers who worked several days inApril before all operations came to a halt.

Kim said the two sides also adopted an affiliated agreement calling for the realization of adispute arbitration panel that was never previously established despite existing provisionsfor such a mediation body. He said the Koreas concurred on easing access to the complexby introducing radio-frequency identification devices (RFIDs) within the year.

Even before the RFID system is set up, the two sides will work together to make it easierfor businessmen to move across the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two countries. Atpresent, the North insists on vehicles forming caravans and strictly regulates the time whencrossings can occur.

Previously, failure to arrive in time for the crossing can mean being barred from goinginto Kaesong for three days.

The agreement also calls for holding an international investors relations session in Octoberto highlight the merits of the Kaesong complex to potential foreign companies and of theestablishment of a permanent secretariat by the end of the month.

Seoul and Pyongyang said they will continue discussions on allowing South Korean busi-nessmen to use mobile phones and the Internet in the factory park as part of the broadereffort to transform the mainly Korean economic zone into a true global manufacturing hub.(Yonhap News)

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTSVantage Point October 2013

47

STUDIES Vantage Point October 2013

48

PROSPECTS FOR RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA ANDNORTH KOREA UNDER THE XI JINPING LEADERSHIP

I. A Change in China’s Attitude towards NorthKorea

In the first half of this year, a significant change emerged inrelations between North Korea and its traditional ally, China.The change was touched off by the North’s third nuclear test lastFebruary. The Kim Jong-un regime in the North managed toconduct the nuclear test on Feb. 12 despite China’s firm positionagainst it, followed by China’s attempts to change its attitudetoward the North. The change taken was so radical andunprecedented that it gave rise to widespread conjecture thatChina’s new attitude toward the North would lead to an extraor-dinary change in relations between the two countries.

First of all, a signal for change came in a provocative articlecontributed on Feb. 27 to the Financial Times, an influentialBritish English-language international daily that puts a specialemphasis on business and economic news. The article was con-tributed by Deng Yuwen, then deputy editor of Study Times, thejournal of The Party School of the Central Committee of theCommunist Party of China, also known as the Central PartySchool. “China should consider abandoning North Korea,” Dengsaid in the article. “The best way of giving up on Pyongyang isto take the initiative to facilitate North Korea’s unification withSouth Korea.”

He also projected that the Kim Jong-un regime will soon col-lapse because it can hardly free itself from the nature of its

By Sukhee Han, Ph.D.Associate Professor of the

Graduate School of International

Studies at Yonsei University

in Seoul, Korea

STUDIESVantage Point October 2013

49

hereditarily succeeded power base. Hisremarks have given rise to some NorthKorea analysts’ expectations that China willeventually change its policy regarding theNorth. The Chinese scholar was then serv-ing the Central Party School, the highereducation institution which specificallytrains officials for the Communist Party ofChina.

In a second similar signal, China agreedwithout delay with the United NationsSecurity Council’s plan on March 7 toadopt the Resolution 2094, which calls foradditional sanctions against North Korea.Two months later, the Bank of China, oneof the big four state-owned commercialbanks in China, closed the accounts of thestate-run Foreign Trade Bank in the Northwhile suspending all financial transactionswith it. The bank is the largest foreignexchange bank in the North. These devel-opments indicate that China is actively par-ticipating in the international sanctionsagainst the North for continuing to developits nuclear weapons programs. The num-ber of the North’s accounts closed and theamount of money frozen in them is not yetknown. But the fact that China’s bank tookmeasures against the North will most likelydeal a heavy blow to the communist coun-try’s economy at a time when the Chineseshare in the North’s foreign trade stands atas high as 70 percent. The negative effectof the measure taken by the Bank of Chinawill likely negatively affect other Chinesebanks’ behavior toward the North.

The third signal came on May 24 whenVice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, director ofthe (North) Korean People’s Army (KPA)General Political Bureau and member ofthe Workers’ Party of (North) Korea (WPK)

Political Bureau Presidium, met withChinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in hiscapacity as a special envoy of NorthKorean leader Kim Jong-un. The XinhuaNews Agency, the official press agency ofChina, quoted President Xi as having toldChoe: “China has a very clear position con-cerning the issue that all the partiesinvolved should stick to the objective ofdenuclearization....”

Choe’s three-day visit to China wasaimed most likely at calling for China’sactive role in helping North Korea escapeinternational isolation. Moreover, Xi hasreportedly shown a negative response tothe North’s request for China’s recognitionof the North as a nuclear state. China’sposition was reaffirmed in the Beijing-Washington summit held at the AnnenbergRetreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage,California from June 7-8.

“They agreed that North Korea has todenuclearize, that neither country willaccept North Korea as a nuclear-armedstate,” said Tom Donilon, U.S. PresidentBarack Obama’s departing national securityadviser. He added that the two nationswould work together to achieve that objec-tive by putting pressure on Pyongyang. Itwas not the first time the two superpowersshared a similar position on key globalissues, but China’s posture toward theNorth was certainly a sharp contrast to theattitude shown to the North under theleadership of former chinese president HuJintao, which had been lukewarm as far asthe North’s nuclear ambitions were con-cerned.

Responding to the change in China’s atti-tude toward North Korea, a growing num-ber of North Korea watchers in Seoul

STUDIES Vantage Point October 2013

50

began to raise questions in anticipation ofa change in the North’s key policies: “Isthere a fundamental change in China’s pos-ture toward the North?” Some of themeven predict China will seek a new policybased on its new status in the world,scrapping its traditional policy for a globalpower balance. Undoubtedly, however, thechange in China’s position on North Koreacan hardly reflect a change in its funda-mental perception of world affairs. For thisreason, the possibility is slim that thissuperficial change in attitude toward theNorth would lead to major changes inChina’s policy toward its neighboringcountry.

II. A Change in Relationsbetween China and NorthKorea and its Durability

There are some distinctive features inthe changing attitude toward the North byChina as shown in recent years. First of all,China has accepted the international viewshared by the U.S. and many other coun-tries that North Korea is an element threat-ening stability on the Korean Peninsulaand in Northeast Asia, and that the North isrequired to change. This point is notewor-thy because earlier China had viewed theU.S., or the Seoul-Washington alliance, as afactor threatening peace and stability onthe Korean peninsula. The change inChina’s posture toward the North is ascrib-able to the Chinese perception that NorthKorea’s provocations against South Koreaand its development of nuclear weaponshave reached nearly intolerable levels andhave brought about the current situation,

where there is no option for China but topress the North to halt to its provocationsagainst the South and its development ofnuclear weapons.

From China’s point of view, the North’sprovocations against the South have result-ed in cooling inter-Korean relations, rein-forcing the Seoul-Washington alliance andjustifying the U.S. military presence on theKorean peninsula. In other words, Chinasees that the North’s provocations againstthe South have served as a factor only tocause an array of problems hampering itsinterests. In addition, China is putting itspolicy priority on the denuclearization ofthe Korean peninsula because the NorthKorean nuclear weapons developmentprogram will most likely trigger a nucleardomino effect in Northeast Asia. For thisreason, China is pushing ahead with itsattempt to press the North to change itspolicy in a way to be compatible withChina’s intentions.

China is attempting to recover its influ-ence over North Korea through its pressureon the country. Already in the last days ofthe Kim Jong-il regime, distinctive factorscausing disputes between China and theNorth began to emerge, and China’s influ-ence over the North has since weakened.This development has continued even afterthe inauguration of the Kim Jong-unregime upon the death of former NorthKorean leader Kim Jong-il in December2011. North Korea conducted its thirdnuclear test in February of this year despiteChina’s calls not to go through with thetest. The North’s defiant behavior hasundoubtedly given rise to China’s beliefthat its influence over the country reacheda dangerously low level, which resulted in

STUDIESVantage Point October 2013

51

China’s attempt to recover its influenceover the North through intensive diplomat-ic pressure.

From China’s point of view, its influenceover the North is an important requirementfor maintaining peace and stability on theKorean peninsula. This view is valid uni-versally because North Korea is a danger-ous country furnished with various factorsthat can critically threaten peace and stabil-ity on the Korean peninsula and inNortheast Asia. Such factors include thecountry’s nuclear weapons developmentprogram, a record of armed provocationsagainst South Korea, the question of its fla-grant human rights violations, plus manyof its citizens fleeing to other countries,particularly to South Korea. Undoubtedly,China is playing an important role in man-aging these troublesome factors regardingNorth Korea and preventing the Northfrom threatening regional peace and stabil-ity. In other words, China is attempting torecover its influence over the North whilepromoting the smooth exchange of infor-mation and ideas with the North in anattempt to spark a change in its neighbor.

In particular, a close examination of thedevelopments regarding the relationshipbetween the North and China in the firsthalf of this year has given rise to the con-clusion that a core factor responsible forChina’s pressure over the North might bethe country’s policy for the denucleariza-tion of the Korean peninsula and NorthKorea’s policy for promoting itself as anuclear state. North Korea amended itsconstitution when it launched the KimJong-un regime in April 2012, in a way tointroduce itself as a state armed withnuclear weapons. This North Korean poli-

cy measure is aimed at notifying theinternational community of its intentionnot to give up its nuclear weapons whilenullifying the Joint Declaration on theDenuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.The statement was initialed by the pre-miers of the two Koreas on Dec. 31, 1991.It went into effect on Feb. 19 the next year.

On a long-term basis, the North’s behav-ior is probably aimed at winning theinternational recognition of its status as anuclear state outside of the Treaty on theNon-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons --commonly known as the Non-ProliferationTreaty (NPT) -- just like India, Pakistan andIsrael. But China can hardly accept thistype of North Korean behavior because ofits key policy to denuclearize the Koreanpeninsula. China has placed policy priorityon the denuclearization of the Koreanpeninsula in recent years, rather than themaintenance of peace and stability on thepeninsula, and the settlement of problemsthrough dialogue. For this reason, China islikely attempting to persuade the North togive up its nuclear weapons and nucleardevelopment program and return to thesix-way talks. The talks are the multilateralnegotiations involving the two Koreas, theU.S., Japan, Russia and China, and areaimed at dismantling the North’s nuclearcapabilities.

China is in the process of changing itsattitude toward North Korea, but it isunlikely to lead to any kind of fundamen-tal policy changes because the North isvaluable to China’s security in its role as abuffer zone. In fact, China has maintainedclose relations with the North and support-ed it economically and diplomatically formore than half a century due to its strate-

STUDIES Vantage Point October 2013

52

gic value. Traditionally, the Korean penin-sula has played a pivotal role in protectingChina from foreign forces, just like the lipsprotect the teeth. The range of the bufferzone for China has been limited to thenorthern half of the peninsula, namely,North Korea, since the end of the KoreanWar in 1953. In other words, China and theNorth have maintained a close relationshipwith each other over the years because oftheir strategic interests.

China will be faced with a nightmarescenario if and when it should confront theSouth Korean Army and the U.S. army overthe Yalu River and the Tumen River on thenorthern tip of the peninsula. For this rea-son, China undoubtedly has a strategicgoal not to allow access of this area toSouth Korea and the U.S. The area in thenorthern half of the Korean peninsulalocated between the Chinese border andthe truce line has played a pivotal role inthe survival of the socialist regime. Thetruce line was drawn at the end of theKorean War in 1953. Because of NorthKorea’s role as a buffer zone, China canhardly change its policy on North Koreaunless it sees an epochal development onthe peninsula, such as a radical change inthe Seoul-Washington alliance and thewithdrawal of U.S. forces from SouthKorea.

For this reason, the tough Chinese atti-tude toward North Korea in the first half ofthis year was aimed simply at pressing theNorth for a change in its policy, rather thanseeking a fundamental change in its policytoward the North. In other words, Chinadiffers much from North Korea in its viewson two issues: the question of the North’sstatus as a nuclear state and the question

of resuming the six-way talks. As far asthese issues are concerned, China canhardly side with the North. China thinksthe North’s position on these issues ham-pers the peace and stability on the Koreanpeninsula. For this reason, China has clari-fied its stance against North Korea’s posi-tion, and is pressing the North to be com-patible with its position. In an effort toease its confrontation and dispute withChina following its third nuclear test, theNorth dispatched Choe Ryong-hae toChina in May, who is a special envoy ofNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It alsodispatched Kim Kye-gwan, who hadserved as the chief of its delegation to thesix-way talks, from June 18-22. Of course,those senior North Korean officials’ visit toChina can be viewed as an amicable ges-ture toward China. But their visit to Chinacan hardly suggest that North Korea hasaccepted China’s position on the afore-mentioned two issues. Relations betweenChina and the North will change flexibly,but their disputes on the two issues, inaddition to the question of the North’sarmed provocations against South Korea,will likely last for a considerable period.

III. Relations between China andNorth Korea after the Seoul-Beijing Summit in June 2013

The recent Seoul-Beijing extensive sum-mit talks can serve as an indicator for rela-tions between North Korea and China.President Park Geun-hye arrived in Beijingon June 27 this year for a four-day statevisit to China at the invitation of ChinesePresident Xi Jinping. She was given a

STUDIESVantage Point October 2013

53

warm reception upon her arrival at the air-port and at other functions. While there,Park held summit talks with her Chinesecounterpart Xi, and the two leaders adopt-ed a joint communique on a future visionfor Seoul-Beijing bilateral ties.

The joint statement implies that Xi hasformed a consensus with Park on a macro-scopic basis as far as the question of NorthKorea’s nuclear weapons developmentprogram is concerned, but he has held tothe Chinese traditional position on its keyissues. Xi expressed his full support for the“trust-building process on the Koreanpeninsula,” which is Park’s North Koreapolicy and her initiative for peace andcooperation in Northeast Asia. It is aimedat promoting regional security, clarifyingthat China and Seoul are seeking the samepath in their policies regarding NorthKorea and the Northeast Asian region on amacroscopic scale. In other words, thejoint statement implies that the two coun-tries are pursuing similar policies as far asthe denuclearization of the Korean penin-sula, the resumption of the six-way talksand the unification of the two Koreas areconcerned.

But from Seoul’s point of view, the jointcommunique carries something somewhatregrettable as far as North Korea’s nuclearissue is concerned. It reflects China’s posi-tion that a change in its stance towardNorth Korea is a difficult topic to handle.According to the joint communique, Seoulhas clarified its position not to tolerate aNorth Korea armed with nuclear weaponsunder any circumstances while alsoexpressing its concern about the North’scontinued nuclear tests. At stake in theabove passage in the joint communique is

that its subject is the Republic of Korea,and neither China nor both the two coun-tries. North Korea analysts maintain thatChina should have remarkably changed itsposture toward the North if the passagestarts with “both countries, or both sides.”Regrettably, it starts with “the Republic ofKorea.” The joint statement carries a pas-sage expressing Seoul’s firm position notto tolerate a North Korea armed withnuclear weapons, but it is unclear whetherChina takes the same position.

Moreover, China’s position on theNorth’s denuclearization is not clarified inthe following passage of the joint commu-nique: “Both sides share the view that therelated nuclear weapons developmentposes a grave threat on peace and stabilityin Northeast Asia, including the Koreanpeninsula, and the world.” At stake is theexpression, “related nuclear weaponsdevelopment,” instead of ‘North Korea’sdevelopment of nuclear weapons.’ Ofcourse, it can be argued that the term,“related” undoubtedly refers to NorthKorea because there are no countries inNortheast Asia today that have a nuclearweapons development program. But Chinamade the exact meaning of the passageunclear, using the expression, “related.” Onthis point, Beijing and Seoul remain polar-ized.

For this reason, some scholars are criticalof the results of the Seoul-Beijing summittalks, saying that the formula dominatedthe content of the talks and that SouthKorea made no practical gains from thesummit talks as far as North Korea’s denu-clearization is concerned. But it is unrea-sonable to say that no progress was madeduring the discussion of the North’s denu-

STUDIES Vantage Point October 2013

54

clearization during President Park’s visit toChina. Likely, Seoul and Beijing haveexerted their best efforts in drafting thejoint communique in a way not to provokeNorth Korea and not to hamper a solutionto the North’s nuclear situation in thefuture, giving consideration to the North.Undoubtedly, however, the leaders of thetwo countries have exchanged their frankviews regarding the North’s nuclear pro-gram.

“The two of us shared a common under-standing that Pyongyang’s possession ofnuclear weapons is unacceptable underany circumstances,” said Park in a pressconference immediately following the sum-mit. China has also reportedly clarified itsposition against the North’s developmentof nuclear weapons, while reiterating theneed to dismantle the nuclear weapons ithas already developed.

The most significant result of the Seoul-Beijing summit talks is found in the factthat the two countries began to discuss theNorth’s nuclear program in earnest. In con-sideration of its relations with North Korea,China had been reluctant to discuss theissue, or it had simply behaved as aspokesman of the North in past discussionswith Seoul. The mention of the North’snuclear issue in the joint communiquealone indicates progress in China’s positiontoward the matter. Of course, China hasyet to make a fundamental change in itsposition toward the North. But it has freeditself from its past biased behavior tounconditionally side with the North. Thisimplies the high possibility that there willbe a remarkable change in China’s rela-tions not only with Seoul but withPyongyang.

Today it is undoubtedly impossible forChina to speak or behave recklessly indefense of North Korea as it did when theNorth bombed the South Korean warship,the Cheonan, on March 26, 2010. Thebombing killed 40 naval servicemen onboard and left six others as missing. NorthKorea also shelled the South Korean islandof Yeonpyeong on Nov. 23 the same year,killing two South Korean servicemen andtwo civilians and leaving 19 others injured.Today it is quite burdensome for China tohave behaved in an assertive manner dur-ing those times, which worsened its rela-tions with neighboring countries. For thisreason, China has likely reinforced its pres-sure upon the North since its third nucleartest. North Korea has not extended itsthanks to China, which had spoken for itin 2010, even with unreasonable rhetoric.The North did not take any measuresaimed at reinforcing communications withChina and did not behave in considerationof China, either.

Instead, the North has continued tobehave in a way only to embarrass China.From China’s viewpoint, the North’s thirdnuclear test is a move to return evil forgood, only to give rise to the judgment ofChinese leaders: “North Korea has goneaway too far and if no measures are takenagainst the North, developments detrimen-tal to China’s national interests will occur.”For this reason, China’s leadership proba-bly began to attempt to press the North tomend its wrong behavior, while moving toplace policy priority on the denucleariza-tion of the Korean peninsula.

STUDIESVantage Point October 2013

55

IV. China’s North Korea Policyunder the Leadership ofPresident Xi Jinping

Developments in the international com-munity since the inauguration of a newSouth Korean government led by PresidentPark Geun-hye in February this year haveheralded progress in Seoul-Beijing rela-tions. A change in international order,involving relationships between the U.S.and China; China and Japan; and betweenNorth Korea and China, among others, isworking in a way to boost Seoul’s strategicstatus in the global community. An interna-tional environment conducive to the devel-opment of closer ties between Seoul andBeijing is also forming. Moreover, the closepersonal relationship between President Xiand President Park is serving as a pivotalfactor for continued development offriendly relations between Seoul andBeijing for years to come. Based on theirmutual trust, the two countries are expect-ed to develop their amicable ties activelyin various fields, including the militaryarena, at least during the next five years.

On a long-term basis, a close relation-ship between the two countries will likelyserve as a driving force in promotingSeoul’s national security and its lasting eco-nomic development. Furthermore, it willplay a pivotal role in settling the North’snuclear future and achieving the unifica-tion of the two Koreas. But the possibilityis high of China’ relations with NorthKorea likely turning troublesome as itbuilds closer ties with Seoul. China, whichhas emerged as a superpower and worldleader, can hardly allow North Korea,which is branded as a renegade in the

international community, to behave unrea-sonably at will, while tolerating its isolationfrom the global community.

For this reason, China will continue toattempt to move its relations with theNorth in a new direction, away from itscurrent close ties. In the course of thesedevelopments, there is no doubt thatChina’s adjustment of its relationship withthe North will not be a fundamentalchange in its policy toward the socialistcountry. In other words, China is seeking anew relationship with North Korea not todesert it, but to stabilize it and help it sur-vive. The Chinese leadership sees that pos-sibilities are slim that the current NorthKorean regime can survive while keepingits nuclear weapons it has already devel-oped or its nuclear weapons developmentprogram. Most likely, the Chinese leader-ship is advising the North to make a com-promise with the international communityon its nuclear weapons program whileattempting to reform and open up.

It is noteworthy that upon the inaugura-tion of President Xi in March this year,China began to signal more visibly for achange in its attitude toward the North.The change in China’s leadership, ofcourse, has served as a factor responsiblefor a change in its attitude toward theNorth. But North Korea’s uncooperativeattitude toward China for the past severalyears is a pivotal factor in China’s seriousconsideration in changing its posturetoward the North. China has likely decidedthe direction of its policies regarding theNorth’s nuclear future and its economicdevelopment. Under these guidelines,China will most likely manage its relationswith the North.

STUDIES Vantage Point October 2013

56

In the Seoul-Beijing summit talks, Chinahas reportedly pointed to its stance thatNorth Korea can hardly be successful in itspolicy to push ahead with both the devel-opment of nuclear weapons and its eco-nomic development, while clearly callingfor the denuclearization of the Koreanpeninsula. Although the seriousness withwhich China will press the North for itsdenuclearization is yet to be known, it hasundoubtedly decided its position againstthe North’s nuclear ambitions. It will likelypursue the strategy of seeking compromisewith the North on the nuclear issue whilealso luring the country to reform and openup.

This process, however, is unlikely to besmooth. China is in the position to resumethe six-way talks as soon as possible andsettle the North Korean nuclear issue with-in the framework of the multilateral talks.But the success of the resumed six-partytalks requires the redrawing of its agendaand goals. If the six-way talks are to beresumed sooner or later, in other words, atstake are clear measures to be taken by theNorth for its substantial denuclearization asa prerequisite to the success of the talks,with a reaffirmed goal of the talks for dis-mantling the country’s nuclear capabilities.But China has undoubtedly decided itsguiding principle: to resume the six-waytalks with no preconditions. The result ofChina’s pressure on the North will drawthe attention of North Korea analysts inSeoul and elsewhere, at a time when theNorth’s position will remain unclear.

At present, the North’s measures for eco-nomic development will unlikely work intheir favor. North Korea has yet to show itswill to take substantial reform measures or

open up to business concerns despite thestrenuous efforts by the Chinese govern-ment. The North will unlikely go aheadwith reforms unless there is a change in itsleadership’s strategy for economic develop-ment. As illustrated by the failed venture ofthe Xiyang Group, one of China’s biggestmining conglomerates that took a signifi-cant risk in building a mine in the North,the country’s substantial economic devel-opment requires extensive internal reformsand sure measures aimed at freeing foreigninvestors in the North from their worriesover their investments. The KaesongIndustrial Complex in the North that hous-es hundreds of South Korean exporters’plants could serve as an example of suc-cessful economic ties between China andthe North. In recent years Chinese enter-prises have made investments in the Northin a careful manner despite its poor invest-ment environment. But the North’s unilat-eral shutdown of the Kaesong industrialpark put a negative light on investment inthe North.

The Chinese government led byPresident Xi is equipped with a new strate-gy toward the North. This Chinese posturewill likely last for at least the next fiveyears. North Korea perceives itself as anuclear state and will continue to approachits neighboring countries, including China,under this perception. The North Koreanregime led by Kim Jong-un views its sur-vival as guaranteed if it can succeed indeveloping nuclear weapons into war-heads small enough to be loaded onto mis-siles. But China does not accept this ideawhile asserting that the only way for theNorth to survive is to conduct reforms andopen up its doors to the international com-

STUDIESVantage Point October 2013

57

munity. For this reason, the possibility ishigh that disputes between China and theNorth will be intensified in years to come.Moreover, the North will likely push aheadwith its plan to develop nuclear weapons,along with its economic projects. TheChinese government led by Xi is facedwith a situation where it will hardly beable to tolerate North’s impractical, unrea-sonable behavior. This is likely because itsclose relations with the unreasonableNorth can be a burden not only to its new,friendly ties with Seoul but in its partner-ship with the U.S. as a world leader.

In summary, a change by the Chinesegovernment led by Xi in its attitude towardNorth Korea will unlikely lead to a changein its overall policy toward the North. ButChina will play an active role in changingthe North, while attempting to settle theNorth’s nuclear issues and promoting thecountry’s reform. In the course of thesedevelopments, it is likely that Seoul-Beijingties will develop to a higher level andChina will attempt to settle the North’snuclear issues in close cooperation withWashington and Seoul. A new securityorder in Northeast Asia is emerging, withthe inauguration of new leadership and theformation of new environments there. Tosurvive this new order in this part of theworld, there is no option for North Koreabut to scrap its nuclear weapons develop-ment program, conduct substantial reformsand open up its doors. It is the time forChina to press and persuade the North tomove in that direction.

(This is an excerpt from the essay car-ried in the summer 2013 edition of TheNorth Korean Economy, a quarterly pub-

lished by the Seoul-based Export-ImportBank of Korea, dubbed the KoreaEximbank.)

Notes:

1) Deng Yuwen, “China should abandon NorthKorea,” Financial Times, February 7, 2013.

2) “China Publicly Cuts Off North Korean Bank,”The Wall Street Journal, May 8, 2013.

3) Radio Free Asia, May 8, 2013.4) Takungbao, Hongkong, May 22, 2013.5) Jackie Calmes and Steven Lee Myers, “U.S. and

China Move Closer on North Korea, but Not onCyberespionage,” The New York Times, June 8,2013.

6) Han Suk-hee Han and Kim Yong-soon “China’sPost-Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Policy towardNorth Korea,” East-West Studies, Vol. 25, No. 2(2013), pp. 155-180.

7) Michael D. Swaine, “China’s North KoreaDilemma,” China Leadership Monitor, No. 39(2009).

8) Daniel Byman and Jennifer Lind, “Pyongyang’sSurvival Strategy: Tools of Authoritarian Controlin North Korea,” International Security, Vol. 35,No. 1 (Summer 2010), pp. 44-74.

9) The Dong-A Ilbo, May 31, 2012.10) Anthony H. Cordesman, “Red Lines,

Deadlines, and Thinking the Unthinkable:India, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, and China,”Burke Chair in Strategy (CSIS), April 16, 2013.

11) The Dong-A Ilbo, June 17, 2013. 12) Lee Chae-Jin, China and Korea: Dynamic

Relations (Stanford, C.A.: Hoover InstitutionPress, 1996).

13) Andrew Scobell, “China and North Korea:From Comrades-in-Arms to Allies at Arms’Length,” SSI (Strategic Studies Institute)Monograph Series, 2004.

14) The New York Times, May 22, 2013. 15) The Yonhap News Agency, June 27, 2013. 16) Ibid.17) The Korea JoongAng Daily, June 28, 2013.18) The Yonhap News Agency, July 6, 2013. 19) The Dong-A Ilbo, April 29, 2013. 20) Michael D. Swaine, “Perceptions of an Asse-

rtive China,” China Leadership Monitor, No. 32(Spring 2010)

21) The Yonyap News Agency, July 6, 2013.

FOREIGN TIPS Vantage Point October 2013

58

N. Korea Request More Aid for Flood Victims: Charity Group<Yonhap from SEOUL/ August 21, 2013>— North Korea requested more aid for its flood victims, a charity group member who

recently visited the communist country said on Aug. 21.— Eum Joo-hyun, a representative of the Medical Aid for Children, said North Korean offi-

cials from the Council for National Reconciliation (CNR) outlined the devastation caused byflooding last month and asked for more support.— The aid worker and others from the civic group were in the North four days earlier in

the month to monitor the delivery of 223 million won (US$208,200) worth of medical sup-plies for children in the impoverished country. — “CNR officials claimed that there was considerable flood damage in places like Sinuiju

Sariwon and Anju and expressed a desire to receive aid in the form of food,” said Eum.

U.N. Agency in Talks with N. Korea to Resume Aid Projects<Yonhap from BEIJING/ August 25, 2013>— North Korea wants to get fresh aid loans from the International Fund for Agricultural

Development (IFAD), but that won’t be possible unless it makes a “genuine” effort to repayits overdue debts, the U.N. agency’s president said on Aug. 25.— “If North Korea today decides to renegotiate its repayment, we will begin our activi-

ties,” IFAD President Kanayo Nwanze told Yonhap News Agency in an interview in Beijingahead of a three-day visit to South Korea.— Nwanze, in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials for aid programs for developing

countries, said his agency has been in contact with North Korea over the past years for talkson rescheduling debts owed by North Korea to his agency.— IFAD has funded major agricultural projects in North Korea to the tune of about US$98

million since 1996, with $69.1 million of the budget used to provide agricultural loans tofarmers in the country.

Cardiovascular Disease No. 1 Cause of Death in N. Korea: Research<Yonhap from SEOUL/ August 27, 2013>— Cardiovascular diseases were found to be the top cause of death in North Korea at 33

percent, a research showed on Aug. 27.— Infections and poor nutrition were the second largest cause of death at 29 percent, fol-

lowed by cancer at 13 percent, other noninfectious diseases at 9 percent and respiratory dis-eases at 7 percent, according to Lee Yo-han, a specialist in preventive medicine at Seoul’sKorea University.— More than 650 out of every 100,000 North Korean men die of noninfectious diseases,

compared to only 465 out of 100,000 South Korean men, Lee said at a medical forum. Theequivalent ratio among North Korean women was 467 out of every 100,000, compared to247 among their South Korean counterparts, he added.

FOREIGN TIPSVantage Point October 2013

59

— In 2009, more than 52 percent of North Korean men were found to be daily smokers,while North Korean defectors in South Korea started smoking and drinking at the averageage of 15.5 and 17.2, respectively, Lee said.

Panama: N. Korea Violates U.N. Sanctions with Shipment of Cuban Arms<Yonhap from WASHINGTON/ August 28, 2013>— North Korea’s sea transportation of Cuban weapons, caught by Panama, is a violation

of U.N. sanctions, the Central American nation reportedly said on Aug. 28 after a probe byU.N. experts.— The Panamanian ministry of public safety cited a draft U.N. report as saying the ship-

ment “undoubtedly violates the U.N. sanctions” on Pyongyang for its nuclear and long-rangerocket tests, according to local news reports. In July, a 14,000-ton North Korean ship, ChongChon Gang, was intercepted while trying to cross the Panama Canal after leaving Cuba.

— Panamanian authorities first suspected that it was carrying drugs. But 25 containers ofmilitary hardware covered by tons of sugar were found, including two Soviet-era MiG-21s,air defense systems, missiles and command and control vehicles.

N. Korean Leader’s Public Approval Exceeds 50 Percent: Poll<Yonhap from SEOUL/ August 29, 2013>

— North Korean leader Kim Jong-un probably has a public approval rating of over 50 per-cent, a poll conducted on escapees living in South Korea showed on Aug. 29.— The survey carried out by the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul

National University on 133 North Korean defectors showed that 61.7 percent believe theyoung leader has a majority support of his people.— A similar report conducted in 2011 showed that only 55.7 percent of defectors said the

former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had support of at least 50 percent of his people.

China Won’t Recognize North Korea as Nuclear State<Yonhap from BEIJING/ September 9, 2013>— China will never recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed nation, a retired Chinese

admiral said on Sept. 9, making it clear that the North’s nuclear weapons program runscounter to Chinese interests. — Yang Yi, the Chinese admiral who is considered one of the most influential strategic

thinkers in Beijing, also urged nations involved in the long-stalled six-party talks to discussthe “preconditions” set by South Korea and the U.S. to resume the multilateral process“within the platform of the six-party talks.” — Following its third nuclear test in February, North Korea demanded in April that it be

recognized as a nuclear-armed state, saying its nuclear program is not negotiable any more.Despite recent thaws in inter-Korean ties, Pyongyang has shown no signs of giving up itsnuclear program.

PEOPLE & CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW Vantage Point October 2013

60

PEOPLE

Kim Jong-un (김정은) : Supreme Commander of the (North) Korean People’s Army (KPA), FirstSecretary of the Workers’ Party of (North) Korea (WPK), First Chairman of the NationalDefense Commission (NDC)

Aug. 17 inspects the KPA Unit 3404 and visits the construction site of the Ski Resort on MasikPass located in Kangwon Province.

20 visits the Scientific and Technological Exhibition Hall of the KPA to look round vari-ous inventions on display in the hall.

24 guides maneuvers of a newly built warship.25 urges all to follow the road of Songun (military-first), independence and socialism,

which Kim Jong-il traversed throughout his life, to its completion.26 publishes the talk, “Let Us Add Eternal Brilliance to Comrade Kim Jong-il’s Great Ideas

and Achievements of the Songun Revolution” in major papers on the occasion of the53rd “Day of Songun.”

28 watches men’s premier soccer match finals for Torch Cup at Kim Il-sung Stadium inPyongyang.

Sept. 2 enjoys a performance of “My Motherland of Songun” together with his wife Ri Sol-ju,which was performed by the (North) Korean People’s Internal Security Forces Songand Dance Ensemble.

2 gives field guidance to the Aeguk Stone Factory and inspects islet detachments thathave been successfully improved.

3 sends modern fishing boats, a fish detector, fishing gear and materials to a Pak Yong-ung-led unit of the KPA.

3 provides field guidance to the Ryongyon Sea Fish Breeding Station and inspects theWolnae Islet Defense Detachment now being successfully renovated.

6 holds talks with ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman and his party on a visit to North Korea.8 goes round the newly built Unha Scientists Street in Pyongyang.

15 visits the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium remodeled to meet the requirements for buildinga sports powerhouse.

15 visits the 3D rhythmic cinema and video game rooms newly built in the amusementhouse of the Rungna People’s Pleasure Park in Pyongyang.

Kim Yong-nam (김 남) : President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA)Aug. 17 sends a message of greeting to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president of Indonesia,

on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of its independence.20 sends a message of greeting to Ader Janos, president of Hungary, on its national day.24 sends a congratulatory message to Viktor Yanukovich, president of Ukraine, on its

national day.31 sends a message of greeting to Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah, the king of

Malaysia, on the occasion of its national day.

PEOPLE & CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEWVantage Point October 2013

61

Sept. 1 sends a message of greeting to Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang on the occa-sion of the 68th anniversary of Vietnam.

1 sends a message of greeting to Ivan Gasparovic, the president of Slovakia, on itsConstitution Day.

7 sends a message of greetings to Dilma Vana Rousseff, president of the FederativeRepublic of Brazil, on the occasion of its independence anniversary.

Pak Pong-ju (박봉주) : PremierAug. 24 makes a field survey of the progress made at the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex

and the Chongchongang Thermal Power Plant.Sept. 2 makes a field survey of the work of the Hungnam Fertilizer Complex, February 8

Vinalon Complex, Hamhung Woolen Mill and Hamhung Knitwear Factory.

Pak Ui-chun (박의춘) : Minister of Foreign AffairsAug. 29 receives credentials from Stephan Paul Jost, a representative of the World Health

Organization (WHO) in Pyongyang, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall.

CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW

(Local Events)Aug. 18 North Korea dedicates a tree nursery covering more than 10,000 square meters in

Pakyon area of Kaesong City.21 An opening meeting of a national sporting contest of workers is held in Pyongyang on

the occasion of the 53rd anniversary of leader Kim Jong-il’s start of the Songun revolu-tionary leadership.

21 The State Stamp Bureau issues new stamps (a sheet and an individual stamp) featuringthe 7th Congress of the (North) Korean Children’s Union.

23 The State General Bureau of Tourism marks its 60th anniversary.23 A national youth scientific and technological achievements exhibition opens at the

Three-Revolution Exhibition House in Pyongyang to celebrate Youth Day.24 A national meeting takes place at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang to cele-

brate the 53rd anniversary of the start of the late leader Kim Jong-il’s Songun revolu-tionary leadership.

25 Senior party and state officials, armed forces and power organs, the Cabinet, workingpeople’s organizations, ministries and national institutions visit the Kumsusan Palace ofthe Sun in Pyongyang to pay tribute to late leader Kim Jong-il on the 53rd “Day ofSongun.”

28 Senior party and state officials, including Kim Yong-nam and Park Pong-ju, visit indus-trial establishments, farms and universities to congratulate young people on the occa-sion of Youth Day.

PEOPLE & CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW Vantage Point October 2013

62

Aug. 31 Sol Kyong, a woman judoka, bags a gold medal in the women’s 78kg category at the2013 World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Sept. 4 A national photo exhibition “65 Years of Victory and Glory” opens at the GrandPeople’s Study House in Pyongyang to celebrate the 65th founding anniversary of(North Korea).

5 Colorful events of people from all walks of life and youth and students take place tocelebrate the 65th founding anniversary of the DPRK.

8 A national meeting takes place at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang to markthe 65th anniversary of the DPRK.

8 The grand gymnastic and artistic performance “Arirang” is given at May Day Stadiumin Pyongyang in celebration of the 65th birth anniversary of the DPRK.

9 A military parade of the Worker-Peasant Red Guards and a mass demonstration areheld at Kim Il-sung Square to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the DPRK.

9 Senior party, state and army officials visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to pay trib-ute to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on the occasion of the 65th founding anniversaryof the DPRK.

11 North Korean sports authorities decide to deprive the Sonbong Team of the first placetaken in the finals of the Torch Cup soccer tournament held in Pyongyang in lateAugust for fielding a “wrong player.” The team was also disqualified for participationin all international and domestic matches to be organized by the Football Associationof the DPRK for six months.

11 North Korea completes construction of Unha Scientists Street in Pyongyang, which ismade up of apartment houses for more than 1,000 families, a school, hospital, nursery,kindergarten, children’s park and other public buildings.

12 The 2013 Asian Cup and Club Weightlifting Championships opens at Ryugyong JongJu-yong Gymnasium in Pyongyang.

12 Construction of the Orangchon Power Station No. 2 in North Hamgyong Province iscompleted.

13 The KCNA says a song “Ode to the Motherland” was recently created in the DPRK as anational treasure.

13 The 67th plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Union of AgriculturalWorkers of (North) Korea takes place.

13 The KCNA says the Huichon Power Stations have over-fulfilled their monthly plans ataround 105 percent since it went operational.

14 The KCNA says the 9th Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair is to be held atthe Three-Revolution Exhibition House in Pyongyang from Sept. 23-26.

(Foreign Events)Aug. 16 The KCNA blasts Japanese politicians’ visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15,

the anniversary of Japan’s defeat and Korea’s liberation.18 North Korea proposes reunion of separated families, relatives and resumption of tours

to Mount Kumgang.

PEOPLE & CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEWVantage Point October 2013

63

Aug. 18 Delegates and exhibitors of China, Russia, Japan and Taiwan arrive in Rason City totake part in the 3rd Rason International Trade Fair.

19 Nasri Gustaman, Indonesian ambassador to North Korea, holds a reception on theoccasion of the 68th anniversary of the independence of Indonesia.

22 Cuban Ambassador to the DPRK (North Korea) German Hermin Ferras Alvarez andembassy officials visit the Kim Jong-suk Pyongyang Textile Mill on the occasion of themonth of solidarity with the Cuban people.

24 South and North Korea hold Red Cross working-level talks in Panmunjom to discussthe arrangement of the reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

27 A delegation of the North’s Ministry of People’s Security led by Minister Choe Pu-illeaves Pyongyang to visit Mongolia.

27 Kim Kye-gwan, first-vice minister of Foreign Affairs, has a friendly talk with WuDawei, special envoy of the Chinese government for the issue of the KoreanPeninsula, and his party who paid a courtesy call on him.

28 The North and South adopt an agreement on organizing and operating the North-South joint committee for the Kaesong Industrial Zone (KIZ) as a practical measure forthe implementation of the agreement on normalizing operation in the KIZ.

29 Vietnamese Ambassador to the DPRK Le Quang Ba gives a reception at OkryuRestaurant in Pyongyang to mark the 68th anniversary of the Socialist Republic ofVietnam.

30 North Korea retracts its invitation for U.S. Amb. Robert King who had planned to visitthe socialist country in an effort to free Kenneth Bae, who has been detained thereunder a sentence of 15 years of hard labor.

31 A spokesman of the foreign ministry accuses the U.S. of spoiling the atmosphere forhumanitarian dialogue, claiming that the U.S. perpetrated a grave military provocation.

Sept. 2 The two Koreas hold the first meeting of the joint committee for the KIZ.5 Yang Hyong-sop, vice president of the SPA Presidium, meets with the delegation of

Chinese cameramen led by Xin Qi, vice chairman of the Association for Promotion ofDevelopment of Chinese Culture, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall.

6 Minister of Public Health Kang Ha-guk leaves Pyongyang to take part in the 31st meet-ing of health ministers of Southeast region and the 66th general meeting of the WHOto be held in New Delhi.

7 A delegation of Kyodo News of Japan led by its Senior Executive Director Yujiro Satoarrives in Pyongyang to participate in the celebrations of the 65th birth anniversary ofNorth Korea.

9 A delegation of State Archives Administration of China headed by Deputy Director-General Li Heping arrive in Pyongyang.

10 The South Korean national weightlifting team arrives in Pyongyang via Beijing to par-ticipate in the 2013 Asian Cup and Interclub Junior and Senior WeightliftingChampionship in the North Korean capital.

11 South and North Korea agree to resume the operation of the Kaesong IndustrialComplex next week in the second round meeting of their joint committee for the nor-

PEOPLE & CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW Vantage Point October 2013

64

Publisher : Song Hyun-seungManaging Editor : Yun Dong-youngDeputy Managing Editor : Lee Sang-inEditor : Kwak Seung-jiStaff Writers : Lee Kwang-ho, Kim Tae-shikCopyreaders : Adam Lipper, Darryl Coote, Jenna Davis, Ara ChoContributors : Park So-jung, Cho A-ra

Subscription inquiries and address changes should be mailed to : The Editor, , Center One Bldg. 67 Suha-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, 100-210, Korea

P.O. Box Kwanghwamoon 1039, Korea Tel : 82-2-398-3519 Fax : 82-2-398-3463Internet Address : http://www.yna.co.krE-mail Address : vpnk@yna.co.kr.

Subscription rates (mailing cost included) : US$70.00 for one year, US$7.00 per copy

VOL. 36 NO. 10 Copyrights 2013 byPublication Registration No : Culture RA-08259Printed by The Korea Herald Company, Seoul, Korea

VANTAGE POINT

malization of the joint factory park.Sept. 11 Choe Thae-bok meets with the delegation of the Lao Federation of Trade Unions led

by Vice President Yang Yong Xeng Tong Ye at the Mansudae Assembly Hall.12 Johannes Plug, member of Bundestag of Germany from the Social-Democratic Party,

visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.13 Rodong Sinmun slams Japan’s intention to acquire the right to collective self-defense.13 The KCNA says Cuban President Raul Castro Ruz sent a floral basket to the DPRK

embassy in Havana on Sept. 9, the 65th birthday of the DPRK.14 Rodong Sinmun says the Defense Ministry of Japan will increase its defense budget for

next year by 3 percent over this year’s, the largest increase in 22 years.14 Kim Hyon-il is appointed as DPRK ambassador to the Republic of Angola, according

to a decree of the SPA Presidium.14 The South Korean national flag is raised in North Korea for the first time as South

Korea’s Kim Woo-sik and Lee Young-gun won gold and silver medals at the AsianCup and Interclub Weightlifting Championship in Pyongyang.

15 Rodong Sinmun claims the U.S. is the chief culprit behind previous cyber attacks inmany countries.