CINA

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Yesterday's int'l media offered "comforting" headlines like that: "North Korea says two Koreas on path toward war" by IsraelNews/Reuters or "Kim Jong-il is threatening South Korea with war" by Welt am Sonntag (Germany)!

The S.K. semi-official Yonhap News Agency reported following:

N. Korea warns Seoul of military conflict amid tension

North Korea on Sunday further stepped up its rhetoric against the South, suggesting that downplaying Pyongyang's recent warnings could lead to military conflict between the two sides, according to the North's state news agency.

The Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper published by the North's Workers' Party, said in a commentary that "an escalation of tension in the midst of a cease-fire can lead to military conflict and war that is unpreventable and inevitable," according to a report by the Korea Central News Agency, monitored in Seoul.

The remarks come amid a recent announcement by a North Korean committee on unification and inter-Korean affairs, which stated that the communist nation will no longer honor any political or military agreements reached between the two Koreas...

Well, that's why we love the regime in P.Y. (i.e. the "Dear Leader" and his gang) so much: They don't care simply about nothing! Not even about our f****** "sacrosanct" Sunday!! ^^

Related stuff:
☞ Statement by the "Committee for the Peaceful Reunification.." (KCNA, 1.30)

☞ Pyongyang oversteps the mark (Asia Times, 1.30) 

☞ 'Now is no time to downplay N. Korea' (Korea Herald, 2.01)

☞ Will N.K. go for armed clash with Seoul? (K.H., 2.01)

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Well, it seems that (the "Dear Leader"/"H.H.") Kim Jong-il - most likely - ordered the foundation of a "think tank", where dozens of "experts" are very busy to figure out the "best ways" how to provoke the incoming U.S. (Obama) administration!

"Proof"(^^) needed? Just read following, reported y'day by the S.K. (semi-official) news agency Yonhap:

N. Korea says it may retain nuclear weapons

after normalized ties with US

In an apparent message to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama who will take office next week, North Korea said Saturday it may not give up its nuclear weapons even if Washington normalizes relations with it.

"Normalization of diplomatic relations and the nuclear issue are entirely different issues," a spokesman for the North's foreign ministry said in a statement, declaring that Pyongyang will keep its nuclear capability until it feels safe from what it called the ever-present U.S. nuclear threat.

"We can live without normalized relations with the United States but can't live without nuclear deterrence. That is the reality of Korea today," he said.

The statement confirmed North Korea's current policy but comes ahead of Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration. In a departure from the policy of current U.S. President George W. Bush, Obama has voiced the usefulness of direct dialogue with Pyongyang to resolve the nuclear issue.

"Even if the DPRK-U.S. normalization of relations is achieved, our status as a nuclear weapons state will never founder as long as the U.S. nuclear threat remains even a bit," said the statement, carried by the country's Korean News Agency monitored in Seoul...

 
South Korean analysts agree that the North's statement is meant for the incoming U.S. government...

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2009/01/17/8/0301000000AEN20090117001600315F.HTML

Related articles/news:
☞ Smart power play in Pyongyang (Asia Times, 1.17)

☞ N. Korea Threatens Clash With South (NYT, 1.17)

☞ Tensions Rise on Korean Peninsula (IHT, 1.18)

☞ S. Korea takes N. Korea's military threats seriously (Yonhap, 1.18)

☞ N.K. seeks Obama's attention, experts say (K. Herald, 1.18)

☞ 조선"인민"군 총참모부... 경고 (TiN/조선중앙TV, 1.17)

☞ 정부, NLL 등 접경지역에 군사력 대거 보강 (VoP, 1.18)

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It seems that, only few days before B. Obama's inauguration, the rulers in Pyeongyang - i.e. "His Royal Highness", resp. "His Holiness"(H.H.) Kim Jong-il himself - want to challenge, or at least test, the incoming U.S. administration (and its resilience).. (*)

 
KCNA before y'day (1.13) published following statement:

DPRK Foreign Ministry's Spokesman

Dismisses U.S. Wrong Assertion

 
Wrong views and assertions were floated in the United States recently to create the impression that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the issue to be settled only when the DPRK shows nuclear weapons.

A spokesman for the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday issued a statement turning down this assertion intended to mislead the public opinion.

The statement recalled that at the six party talks held on September 19, 2005, the six parties agreed to denuclearize not only the northern half of the Korean Peninsula but the whole of it and, to this end, the United States committed itself to terminate its hostile relations with the DPRK, assure it of non-use of nuclear weapons and clear south Korea of nukes, etc.

It continued:

We consented to the September 19 Joint Statement, not prompted by the desire to improve the relations through denuclearization, but proceeding from the principled stand to realize the denuclearization through the normalization of the relations. Our aim to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula is, above all, to remove the U.S. nuclear threat to the DPRK that has lasted for the past half century.

The nuclear issue surfaced on the Korean Peninsula because of the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK and its nuclear threat resulting from it, and the hostile relations are not attributable to the nuclear issue.

It is a twisted logic to assert that the bilateral relations can be improved only when we show nukes before anything else, and this is a distortion of the spirit of the September 19 Joint Statement.

As clarified in the joint statement, the denuclearization of the whole Korean Peninsula should be strictly realized in a verifiable manner.

Free field access should be ensured to verify the introduction and deployment of U.S. nukes in south Korea and details about their withdrawal and there should be verification procedures to inspect on a regular basis the possible reintroduction or passage of nukes.

As proven in practice, the basic way of implementing the September 19 Joint Statement under the situation where there is no mutual confidence is to observe the principle of "action for action".

This principle can never be an exception as far as the issue of verification is concerned.

It is necessary to simultaneously verify the whole Korean Peninsula at the phase where the denuclearization is ultimately realized according to the said principle.

When the U.S. nuclear threat is removed and south Korea is cleared of its nuclear umbrella, we will also feel no need to keep its nuclear weapons.

This precisely means the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and it is our invariable stand.

We will never do such a thing as showing our nuclear weapons first even in 100 years unless the U.S. hostile policy and nuclear threat to the DPRK are fundamentally terminated.

If the nuclear issue is to be settled, leaving the hostile relations as they are, all nuclear weapons states should meet and realize the simultaneous nuclear disarmament. This is the only option.

http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200901/news13/20090113-13ee.html

* But - possibly - "H.H." misinterprets something.. (?!!!)

Related articles:
☞ North Korea maintains its tough stance (IHT, 1.15)
☞ N.Korea Misreads Obama (Chosun Ilbo, 1.15)
☞ Clinton 'aggressive' on N Korea (al-Jazeera, 1.14)
☞ Obama will be ‘aggressive’ in denuclearizing the North (JoongAng Ilbo, 1.15)
☞ U.S. to apply ‘smart power’ tactics to N.K. policy (Hankyoreh, 1.15)

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Asia Times (HK) published yesterday following remarkable article, written by A. Lankov:

Pyongyang puts politics above dollars

It appears the dreams of Washington conservatives are likely to be carried through by the force they dislike most - North Korea.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday announced that from December 1 it would restrict movement across the border with South Korea, suspend an historic railway and "selectively expel" South Koreans based at two joint projects in the North, the Kaesong Industrial Estate and the Mount Kumgang tourist resort. This followed South Korea's "policy of confrontation", KCNA said.

The Kaesong Industrial Park, long a flagship of North-South economic interaction, is a thorn in the side of the more extreme factions of the American right. The decision to place restrictions on it, however, did not come in a way the conservatives hoped for: from a righteous Seoul administration which finally saw the light and decided to cut down the lifeline of the "evil" North Korean dictatorship. The controversial park project is to be closed by North Korea, that is, by the people who benefit most from its activities to the tune of tens of millions of dollars a year.

In letters to business groups, quoted by the South's Unification Ministry, Pyongyang said half the "unnecessary" South Korean staff at the estate must leave. The move will severely disrupt operations at Kaesong, where more than 32,000 North Koreans earning about US$60 a month each work for 83 South Korean-owned factories, along with about 1,500 South Korean managers and technicians.

Trouble has been brewing since mid-October, when North Korea said the South Korean government should stop the activities of South Korean non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which were sending air balloons with leaflets and hard currency to North Korea.

They made it clear that they would retaliate by closing down Kaesong. Pyongyang says the activities of the NGOs are in a breach of a 2002 agreement which explicitly prohibits both Korean governments from waging propaganda battles against one another. When this agreement was signed, the militaries of both sides switched off their loudspeakers at the demilitarized zone between the countries. For decades the sides had bombarded each other with subversive messages (admittedly, without any noticeable effects). The sending of leaflets by balloons, a standard practice before 2002, was stopped as well.

However, NGOs took over where the government stopped. Three major civic groups based in the South conduct leaflet operations. Their messages differ, but they all use the same tactics: using favorable winds, a balloon with a leaflet-packed container is released, with calculations made to ensure it reaches a major population center. Then, when the balloon is supposed to be over its target area, the leaflets are automatically released. The technology was not provided by the South Korean military, so the NGOs had to develop it themselves.

The groups that send leaflets to the North include the North Korean Christian Association (chairman Yi Myong-bok), Fighter for Free North Korea (chairman Pak Sang-hak) and the Union of the Abductees' Families (chairman Choe Song-yong). The groups often cooperate, but their approach and messages are different.

Yi Myong-bok, a defector and a Christian activist, puts special emphasis on the spread of Christianity. Pak Sang-hak, also a defector, believes that democracy should come first, so his group's leaflets reflect this belief.

Finally, Choe Song-yong and his supporters represent families of nearly 500 South Korean citizens, largely fishermen, who have been abducted by the North Koreans since 1953. Among other things, they send leaflets with the lists of the abductees - on the assumption that some of them will learn that they are not forgotten and then find some way to contact their relatives in the South.

No doubt, the leaflets annoy the North Korean rulers a lot, but until recently they tacitly tolerated them. Now things have changed and Pyongyang has acted on its word that it would take action if the balloons did not stop.

The NGOs are independent from the Seoul government and in some cases their relations with the authorities are tense. They are very hostile to the North Korean regime and not particularly fond of the Kaesong project, so they refused to bow to any pressure and continued in a most visible way.

The loss or restriction of Kaesong would be a big blow. It began operations in late 2004 and was designed to make use of cheap North Korean labor. Even though Pyongyang pockets most of the money paid to the North Korean workers, they are still relatively well off in a country in which the average official monthly salary is US$2 a month.

There are no figures indicating the extent to which the South Korean side profits from the undertaking in purely economic terms. The companies in Kaesong are heavily subsidized by Seoul through direct and indirect channels, and the system of these subsidies is not particularly transparent, perhaps deliberately so since the government does not want to tell taxpayers how much money is being spent on aiding the North. One can only assume it is an unprofitable operation for the South Koreans.

Kaesong has been frequently criticized by hawks in Washington, who see it as yet another way to indirectly subsidize the North Korean regime. Indeed, the regime is no doubt making good money out of Kaesong. So why is it prepared to close or restrict it so abruptly?

First, it is difficult to take the official explanation of the balloons at face value. The leaflets they drop are disturbing and annoying, but they hardly constitute a direct threat. After all, Pyongyang was not influenced by the much larger efforts of South Korean propagandists before 2002.

From frequent talks with North Korean defectors, the author has the impression the leaflets have not had much impact on North Koreans. Even if they come across a leaflet and read it (they are supposed to surrender leaflets without reading them), they do not necessarily believe the statements. How can they know that the statements are not wild exaggerations or fabrications, not that much different from the lies they read in their own official newspapers every day?

So, if leaflets are a pretext, the real reason could be the Kaesong project itself, in that it provides opportunities for unauthorized exchanges, given the large numbers of North and South Koreans working together for the first time in 60 years since war divided the peninsula.

The North Koreans not only learn modern technical skills, they also have ample scope to look at their southern compatriots and see that they do not behave like South Koreans are supposed to, according to North Korean propaganda. Cautious political discussions can't be ruled out, which in the long run could have a great impact on the internal situation of North Korea.

This must have been a crucial consideration for Pyongyang, as the survival of the North greatly depends on maintaining the myths about the South, such as it being a starving US colony, a "living hell, land of destitution and despair".

In recent years, the spread of smuggled South Korean videos has made this propaganda line unsustainable. Now, North Koreans are told that the South, while probably affluent, has lost its true national identity, so its inhabitants are full of admiration towards the spiritual purity of their Northern brethren. The southerners, the propaganda claims, also badly want to purify themselves under the wise guidance of the Dear Leader Kim Jong-il (allegedly a cult figure in both the South and the North).

The leaders in Pyongyang do not want this myth exposed, and for North Koreans to see how badly the North fares in comparison to the prosperous and free South - something about which the leaders themselves have no doubts.

In this context, Kaesong was a gamble from the outset, and for a while Pyongyang seemingly decided that since the monetary rewards were good, the political risks could be accepted and managed.

Perhaps they also wanted to check whether they could contain the spread of dangerous information; the decision was made in 2002-2004, when North Korean politics were going through a period of very limited but still unprecedented relaxation.

However, the relaxation soon ended. Since late 2004, North Korean leaders have worked hard to turn back the clock to the situation that existed in the 1970s and 1980s. They reintroduced rationing of food, limited market activities (and now, if very recent rumors are to be believed, are contemplating a near complete closure of markets from January). All recent measures have been about greater control and tougher restrictions.

Unlike optimists overseas, they believe North Korea cannot afford to emulate the success of China in transforming the economy as this would entail a considerable relaxation of domestic police control. China survived such a relaxation, but there is a great difference between North Korea and China. The Chinese leaders do not have to deal with the existence of a "South", "another Korea", a large country in which people speak the same language but enjoy nearly unbelievable prosperity. The North Korean leaders believe their populace will become uncontrollable if the common people learn how prosperous the South really is.

Over the past few years this has made Kaesong something of an anachronism, the only project in the country working towards greater openness and liberalism. Now it seems this anachronism is not going to last, it has become too dangerous; the era of openness is well and truly over. The measure is likely to prolong the agony of North Korea, but it gives the North's leaders additional time to enjoy their moderately luxurious lifestyle.

Hawks in Washington might hope that the decision will deprive the North Korean regime of revenue, thus bringing its end closer. But they are wrong. The regime can survive in isolation - actually, it can survive only in isolation. Starving people do not rebel; they just die, especially when they have no idea that a different way of life is possible.

Kaesong offered a glimmer of light, but now this is being snuffed out, to the peril of the long-suffering people of North Korea.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/JK26Dg01.html

Also yesterday the S.K. "left-liberal" daily Hankyoreh had its emphasis on the same issue. But its "analyses" are (surprise, surprise!!) in a sharp contrast to Lankov's opinion:
☞ The five factors have brought inter-Korean relations to the brink

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DailyNK (11.16) claims to have interviewed an “official” from Pyeongyang who discussed recent developments in the Kaesong Industrial Zone:

There Is an Internal Reason for the Bluff(*) on Kaesong

 
“If North Korea had not experienced the great famine and economic crisis in late 1990s, North Korea would have already started dismantling the Kaesong Industrial Complex,” a North Korean high official stated in an interview with the Daily NK.

The Daily NK met the official from Pyongyang when he visited China on the 13th and talked about the current North Korean hard-line attitude. According to him, regardless of the leaflet issue the Kaesong Complex issue was just dealt with by the internal order...

Daily NK tries to see through to the intent of North Korean authorities on the current pressure over the South via this interview with a North Korean high official.

Q. What is the reason that North Korea is trying to suspend the business in the Kaesong Industrial Complex?

A. In fact, the story about the suspension of the Kaesong Complex has emanated from Pyongyang since this fall, but it had been decided as an instruction of the Party in Pyongyang late last year.

It is hard to say conclusively what is happening in Kaesong, because there are so many complicated things at work. People from the Party in Pyongyang say that the Kaesong Complex and tourism should fall into disuse and the Mt. Geumgang tourism site should be left alone. Whether or not the Kaesong Complex is thrown away is only up to our economy condition and also the General (Kim Jong Il)’s decision.

 
Q. What do you mean by “complicated things” regarding Kaesong?

A. When Mt. Geumgang tourism was first suggested, there was an idea to unfold Mt. Baikdu and Mt. Koowal and let Geumgang alone.

From late 1996 to early 1997, officials in economic fields suggested a plan to develop the tourist industry in order to earn foreign currency for the Party, but they were strongly criticized for anti-revolutionary actions in encouraging capitalist culture.

At the time, even at general lectures aimed at ordinary residents, the authorities released and stated publicly that the idea to make money through the tourist business came from ignoble motives to attract the corrupted capitalist culture into our society.

Sohn Sung Pil, who was an ambassador to Russia, and many other officials affiliated with the Foreign Trade General Bureau and the Chosun (North Korea) Tourist General Bureau were demoted and disappeared due to this suggestion. However, ironically, a year later, the Mt. Geumgang Tour started in an intensely surprising way. The Kaesong Industrial Complex started in the same manner.

There was much to be said at the beginning of the Kaesong businesses. Some officials insisted that we should have never opened the doors, although we had no choice other than eating only grassroots. The point that the target of the business was the South Chosun was more serious than the opinion that it could have attract the capitalist enterprises.

Therefore, there are many officials in Pyongyang who are skeptical about the Mt. Geumgang tour site and the Kaesong Complex. However, there are also surely some optimistic factions.

Q. Do you mean that instructions on the Kaesong Complex have already been decided internally by the Party?

Yes, you can say that. This was because at the beginning, they started it on in the precondition of switching workers once a year, but now they know that switching workers every year is impossible.

Additionally, rumors on South Chosun have been constantly circulating among workers and their families, so illusion of the South have now become uncontrollable among the people. The authorities cannot overlook this situation.

From the Party’s view, each worker in Mt. Geumgang and Kaesong is like a poster advertising capitalism. Due to them, our socialist system could be cracked.

As I know, at least 20 affiliates with Kaesong Complex came into questioning for advertising South Chosun and capitalism.

There was a thorough reshuffling in the Party last year. There is nobody who talks about Kaesong or Mt. Geumgang.

Q. So, why are they now talking about the suspension of the Kaesong Complex? Is it only to press the Lee Myung Bak administration?

A. Don’t consider it just as threatening words. We are coping with the situation. When the Party wrote the New Year’s Statement of this year, they took an optimistic view regarding the international situation. They thought that everything including the Six Party Talks was under the thumb of Chosun (North Korea), so the U.S. would have followed our actions.

They anticipated that we could have breathed a sigh of relief when the U.S. would have removed Chosun from its terrorism list and lifted the trade sanctions over Chosun in around May or June. Regarding the South’s position, they also believed that as long as relations with the U.S. would have been solved smoothly, South Chosun did not have any choice but to follow the U.S.’ move because Lee Myung Bak was known as a businessman who was able to make practical benefits.

However, in the spring the food situation took a turn for the worse, the U.S. delayed removing Chosun from the list and the Lee administration did not show its good faith to us. Therefore, the story of the suspension of the Kaesong Complex subsequently unfolded.

Q. Can North Korea ignore the abundant dollars from Kaesong in practice?

A. Frankly speaking, we have relied on it due to money. Even right now, if South Korea treats things like the Mt. Geumgang shooting accident flexibly and starts the tours again, everything is okay. The money we want does not need to come only from South Korea. There are Yuan, Rubles and dollars as well. They are all the same.

Although our economy is so terrible, we will not establish the national vision only targeted on making money. You should bear this point in mind.

Q. Is there any other alternatives if the Kaesong closes?

A. On the assumption that the state is optimistic, we have discussed two items regarding the closure of the Kaesong Complex.

First, developing Nampo as a special economic zone and Ra-Sun also as a special city like Hong Kong could be done through linking trains between Kaesong and Nampo and Kaesong and Ra-Sun (Rajin-Sunbong special zone). If transportation, electricity and trains are guaranteed, we don’t need to adamantly defend Kaesong.

In this case, we could lead the South’s enterprises to move into Nampo. There may be some conflicts with the South Chosun administration, but it will go ultimately according to our intention. If the railroad is open, Southern enterprises may flock to Nampo rather than to Rasun.

Second, if the Lee administration tries to degrade relations with us, we plan to concentrate on Rasun. We could operate it with the assistance of Russia and China. If Rasun is thriving, the Southern enterprises will have interests in it and gather there.

Q. This way is unconvincing...

A. There is a rumor that the Vice President of China, Xi Jinping, promised to assist us with “one billion dollars” when he visited Pyongyang in June. We are now trying to receive assistance from Russia. We are not in a proper state yet to talk about Nampo. I don’t think it will be easy to open Nampo.

Q. So then, why does the North Korean Army make something out of the leaflets?

A. That is not a problem I can talk about. However, you surely have also something to gain through the leaflets. If our military does not anything about this issue, they could be hurt by the Party in Pyongyang through some inspections.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex matter is a decisive issue to choose between “money” and “socialism.” If relations with the U.S. had developed well and the economic crisis did not happen this year, we would have already rushed into dismantling the Kaesong Complex.

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk02500&num=4284

* "Bluff"?? Not really!! ..as N.K. proved with its yesterday's announcement:
☞ KPA Notifies S. Korean Puppet Authorities of Crucial Measures..

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The asia sentinel (HK) published last month (10.31) following interesting (while the subject is really bizarre, ludicrous...^^) article:

North Korea in the Slow Lane  
 

Cult leader Sun Myung Moon helps Kim Jong-Il build Fiat knockoffs for which there are no drivers

Since 2004, Pyongyang has started to boast billboards — not pictures of the smiling Dear Leader or Great Leader exhorting increases in production, but actual advertisements for actual products — an actual single product, rather.

Pyeonghwa Motors' billboard near Pyeongyang (railway) Stn.

 
Scattered around the city of almost 3 million people, the billboards all promote the same company: Pyeonghwa (Peace) Motors, North Korea's only passenger car manufacturer. A joint venture started in 2002 between the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church and North Korea's Ryongbong Corporation, the factory produces a tiny amount of cars for a tiny domestic market.

Does it make economic sense to build or invest in a car factory for a country with 23 million people but fewer than 30,000 vehicles, a city where cars are so scarce that in the warmer months, traffic ladies swinging their stop signs act in place of electric lights, where hardly anybody knows how to drive? And why is Sun Myung Moon, church leader, owner of an international business empire and a virulent anti-communist, investing in North Korea?

Pyeonghwa Motors invested around US$55 million to build the factory on a onetime rice paddy near the port city of Nampo, about 50 kilometers southwest of Pyongyang. In 2003, the JoongAng Daily quoted an executive from the Seoul-based Pyeonghwa, saying he expected the factory, with capacity to build 20,000 cars a year, to eventually turn a profit. However, a spokesman based in Seoul says Pyeonghwa has produced only 2,000 cars and pickup trucks in their first five years of operation.

How many cars have they actually sold? For North Korea, any statistics, much less accurate ones, are "very difficult to come by," said Erik van Ingen Schenau, an Asian car analyst and author of the book "Automobiles Made in North Korea." He quotes a French newspaper article that claims the factory sold around 400 vehicles, including SUVs, pickups, and sedans, in 2006.  He estimates the factory sold anyone from 400 to 1000 cars in 2007 and 2008, including the cars they exported to Mekong Auto, a Vietnam-based Moon company, and including the vehicles that they produced with the Shenyang-based China Brilliance. 

The Pyeonghwa factory produces cars with names such as Whistle, Cuckoo, and Three Thousand Li, which refers to the national territory of Korea, both North and South peppering the empty streets of Pyongyang, "You see these cars a lot, especially the Cuckoo," said Simon Cockerell, general manager of Koryo Tours, one of the few western tour companies licensed to operate in North Korea. 

"It took drivers some getting used to because they were used to driving Japanese cars, with steering wheels on the right," Cockerell said.  Japanese cars used to be the most common until the beginning of 2007, when Kim Jong Il banned them from the road. Reasons vary.  One report has it that a wrecked Japanese car blocked the way of his convoy as he was leaving his father's mausoleum. Others believe it was in reaction to Japan's increasing pressure over such issues as the North's refusal to tell the Japanese what happened to their kidnapped citizens, or over the North's nuclear bellicosity. While this order only applies to non-government and non-company cars built before 2003, it certainly has not made getting around Pyongang any easier for the tiny majority of residents who travel by car.

Like most items produced in North Korea, the Pyeonghwa vehicles are not known for their quality. "They are probably nearly all hand-assembled, and based on a model from a factory in China that does not have a good reputation," van Ingen Schenau said. "They make cars that no one is interested in and that they cannot export to Japan or South Korea. Maybe it is a prestige item to have a car factory in the country, but it does not seem to have worked out at the moment."

The Whistle, based on the Fiat Siena, is one of the Pyeonghwa vehicles featured on billboards. It sits on a field next to a superimposed image of the Pyongyang Arch of Triumph. Built to commemorate Kim Il Sung and the Korean nation's resistance to the Japanese occupation, the arch stands 60 meters tall, more than 10 meters taller than its model, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. A boy stands next to the car one hand holding a trophy, while waving a hand, a smile on his face and a medal around his neck.  The billboard reads: "Whistle. A Strong and Beautiful Automobile."

It is important to remember the target audience of the billboard. It is not only for the few thousand European tourists who visit the country for six days at a time, or the few hundred businessmen and embassy staff who live in one of the few foreigner hotels isolated from the city. The billboards also exist for the residents of Pyongyang, to show them that their country, despite the harm ostensibly done to it by the entire capitalist world, is still able to go its own way and produce a strong and handsome car.

And while there are many ways the money could be better spent in a starving county, at least capital is flowing into the country and producing a product that might be economically viable in the future.

One has to cobble together what one can to make conclusions about a country so inscrutable that analysts seize upon any little symbol can find they find in the hopes of discovering something new. Residents, the main source of information for news elsewhere in the world, can barely speak to the media at all without getting into trouble, and when they do they have to stick with the party orthodoxy. Foreign businessmen in Pyongyang are quite reticent, understandable for people living in what may be the most paranoid place in the world.

Still, it helps to remember that in general, whether ardent communist or virulent anti-communist, people like to make money. In 1980, Reverend Moon founded CAUSA International, which called for a "worldwide ideological offensive to counter the global threat of communism," and preached for years on the evil of the Marxist systems. In 1991 the North Korea-born Moon met with Kim Il Sung, head of the regime that tortured him in 1948, and gifted him with millions of dollars. Now Moon's company owns the Potonggang Hotel, considered the best in Pyongyang, and the only place in the country where visitors can watch CNN.

North Korea will not remain a backwards communist state that produces handmade cars forever. While its annual per capita income is US$1,700, the same as the Ivory Coast, it is in a key geographical location with billions of dollars of investment waiting to be poured in from China, South Korea, and Japan. And as it keeps opening up, there will be profits to make, profits enough, one hopes, to trump ideology. 

 
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1513&Itemid=179

Related stuff from Wikipedia:
☞ Unification Church/Sun Myung Moon

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Once again the 'DPR'K got worldwide attention with a new "message of love" for their brothers and sisters in the South:
  "The south Korean puppet regime had better bear in mind that the advanced pre-emptive strike of our own style will reduce everything opposed to the nation and reunification to debris, not just setting them on fire," a spokesman for the KPA was quoted by today's KCNA. Such a "pre-emptive strike", he said, would be "beyond imagination relying on striking means more powerful than a nuclear weapon."

Lovely, really!! And a f.. great idea!! ^^(*)

Related articles:
☞ North Korea ratchets up threats (al-Jazeera, 10.28)

N.K. tense over 'paper bombs'  (Korea Herald, 10.28)
 

A blimp filled to the brim with propaganda leaflets lifts off from a boat on the waters near Ganghwa Island, headed for North Korean soil.

South Korean propaganda pamphlets have been distributed like this at frequent intervals, most often by civic groups and organizations formed by North Korean refugees.

Such leaflets are nothing new for the two divided nations, who have distributed some 2 billion such documents during the 1950-53 Korean War.

The two Koreas agreed to completely stop the practice in 2004, but local civic groups remain committed to their distribution.

Possibly reflecting the delicate situation of the shaky Kim Jong-il regime, the North has become increasingly tense about the propaganda pamphlets, experts noted.

"For the North, the pamphlets are literally a 'paper bomb,' because the regime is suffering, and the leadership is desperate to keep away anything that is criticizing the government, not to mention the people who are all affected by the fallout of Kim Jong-il's illness and ensuing political troubles, and of course financial hardship," said Prof. Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

Pyongyang has requested two working-level military talks just this month after a nine-month hiatus, only to use both meetings as opportunities to grill Seoul about the propaganda pamphlets.

The North has even threatened to deny or limit access to the military demarcation line, and warned of negative impacts on the South Korean tours to Gaeseong City and the operation of the inter-Korean industrial complex there.

The North may decide to deliver on its threats, as it perceives blows to inter-Korean projects as the most effective way of lashing out at the South, Yang said.

Ties with Pyongyang remain strained amid a series of tit-for-tat moves from both Koreas after Seoul took a more hard-line stance toward its Northern neighbor.

Defense Ministry officials said the North Korean delegation brought boxes full of the pamphlets to the latest working level talks, demanding a correction.

The Seoul government has no legal means to stop the distribution by civic groups, but it hopes to establish related regulations on observation that the leaflets may damage what is left of the frayed inter-Korean relations.

Anti-North organizations, for their part, are on a mission to topple the Kim Jong-il regime, or at least educate their fellow people.

"We have no notion of stopping. We have been sending these leaflets up for years, and North Korea's recent responses only prove that they are indeed amid a crisis," said Park Sang-hak, head of the Fighters for Free North Korea.

The two Koreas have been sending leaflets and posters blasting each other for about half a century during and after the Armistice Agreement that tentatively ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

The North, however, has not sent them over the past few years, apparently concluding that Seoul and its people are no longer swayed by them.

As recent as the 1990s, Seoul was nervous about anti-South Korean pamphlets filtering in from the North, rewarding citizens who picked them up to hand them in to authorities.

But as capitalism and democracy began to take root, North Korean propaganda programs lost their charm.

The coming of Seoul's progressive governments, led by former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun further discouraged Pyongyang from resorting to such leaflets.

But that could all change, not only because the South is governed by a conservative administration, but also because the North is grappling with political and economic difficulties while the world watches to see how the regime might cope after Kim Jong-il's death, experts say.

PS:
Of course(!!) is N.K. not a state supporting or sponsoring terror, according to the US administration!! It only - from time to time - promises to turn S.K. (**) into a "bowl full with ash" or alternatively a "sea of blood".. But of course that has nothing to do with any kind of terror!!

* Sorry!

** Incl. the S.K. working class!!!

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Well, the current S.K. (LMB) gov't is still searching for a way(^^) how to convince(^^) Pyeongyang about its best(^^) intentions to create a "peaceful, ceconciled and unified Korean Peninsula"...

But - surprise, surprise!! - somehow all the efforts are failing! No wonder when you read following stuff, published by the media of the S.K. ruling class:

Yesterday Korea Times reported that.. "The (S.K.) Army is revising its contingency plan against North Korea, with a focus on improving the commands' precision strike capabilities against key targets in the North... The plan is aimed at infiltrating the North and neutralizing key targets in North Korea..."

And just one week ago the same newspaper wrote that.. "North Korea and other terrorist groups could have the capability by 2015 to build electromagnetic pulse (EMP/"E-bomb'') weapons.."
Oops.. the emphasis lies on: "North Korea and other terrorist groups.."!!

Meanwhile the N.K. propaganda is permanently repeating its fantasy/irrational "doctrine" about a "Federal Formula for Reunification" (Rodong Shinmun/KCNA)..

But - very likely(^^) - the reality is complete different, as A. Lenkov wrote in his interesting article:

☞ The facts and fables of a unified Korea (A. Times, 10.7)

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PULGASARI ('DPR'K 1985): 

For more about the movie:

☞ A Kim Jong Il Productio (The New Yorker, 2005)

☞ Pulgasari (StompTokyo, 2001)

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The following article, published in today's (reactionary, anti-"DPR"K) DailyNK, is based on an interview (the complete version you can read below in Korean) with Joo Dae-hwan (former DLP representative, now active in the so-called "Social Democratic Solidarity").
Well, of course I've an (likely very controversial^^) opinion about the topic, but you've to wait (possibly until Sunday or so..) for my comment!

Leftists Should Support North Korean Human Rights

 
Since the late '90s.. North Korean human rights.. were considered as belonging to the conservative right wing. To the pro-North Korea left wing, which see North Korea's Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il regimes as more legitimate, 'North Korean human rights' was a taboo subject.

Even now, after North Korea's gruesome human rights record has been thoroughly exposed, the pro-North Korea leftists have kept silent on the human rights issue. However, a courageous person from the left recently rose up to announce, "We must now take an interest in the North Korean human rights issue." Some people even questioned whether or not he is truly of the left.

As a result, the left wingers have called him a "traitor." But regardless, he has spoken his mind at North Korea human rights-related talks without shrinking from the limelight.

Such a hero is joint representative of Social Democratic Solidarity Joo Dae Hwan, previously the party policy committee chair of the former Democratic Labor Party. Representative Joo met with Daily NK on the 1st.

For pro-North Korea leftist figures, an interview with the "Daily NK" is usually avoided at all costs. However, for Joo, the interview with a reporter from Daily NK did not differ much from interviews he has given to other media organizations.

Representative Joo said at a North Korean international conference called "2008 North Korean Human Rights Citizens' Campaign,” held on September 26 that "The left wing of Korean politics has to abandon its double standard regarding the North Korean human rights issue. Meanwhile, the conservatives have come under scrutiny for the possibility that their true purpose may be opposing the North rather than improving human rights."

He criticized further, saying, "The progressive camp has ignored the North Korea human rights issue using all kinds of excuses, while looking on North Koreans’ difficulties unconcernedly. Now, the North Korean human rights issue must go beyond the left and right to the issue of the universality of mankind by becoming less ideological and more depoliticized."

Joo, who acted as the brains of the People’s Democracy (PD) camp within the Democratic Labor Party, is a reproach to his fellow leftists with whom he has lived under the same roof like a family.

Representative Joo cited the reason for the disinterest of the leftists regarding North Korean human rights, "The leftist power was not free in its relationship with Kim Dae Jung. That administration could wait for a reaction from the North, but so did the progressive powers, even though they didn’t have to."

He evaluated this situation, saying, "This was because progressive powers ultimately played the role of assistant to the Kim Dae Jung administration. There was not so much a change in their ideology, but rather, an excess of politics was the issue."

Representative Joo said regarding the Sunshine Policy, "When considering the situation at the time, I do not think that the Sunshine Policy was appropriate. Actually, I'm not even saying that the Sunshine Policy was progressive. A progressive policy has to be one for the North Korean citizens, but Sunshine did not achieve this."

He added, "From a North Korean citizen's perspective, Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo Hyun, people who could smile with the dictator without concern, are fundamentally unhelpful."

Also, he said, "Goods have been going into North Korea, which accounts for some of the recent changes. Commodities marked with the symbol of South Korea have circulated and businesses such as the Kaesong Complex show the potential of shaking the foundations of the North Korean regime's isolationism."

Regarding the New Left movement Social Democratic Solidarity, which is led by Joo, he said, "We are aiming for a welfare state. Activities will be centered on the perspective of universal human rights which do not get caught up in a nation, unification, and pro and anti-North Korea issues of the New Left movement."

Moreover, he said with regards to differentiating between leftist and rightist camps in the future, "The notion of 'pro-North' and 'anti-North' has to be separated. Only then can society and citizens become developed." He emphasized that "If many people in the progressive camp propose the North Korean human rights issue, it will pose a huge threat to the North Korean regime."

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk02500&num=4130

[인터뷰] “진보진영도 술자리에선 김정일 비난”

주대환 “左는 北인권, 右는 南인권 관심가져야”

한국 사회에서 ‘북한인권’을 우려하는 목소리가 나오기 시작한 1990년대 후반부터 지금껏 이 문제는 오직 보수진영의 전유물로 여겨져 왔다.

더구나 북한 김일성·김정일 정권이 남한 정권보다 더 정통성이 있다고 보는 친북좌파 진영에게 ‘북한인권’에 대한 문제제기는 금기(禁忌)사항과도 같았다.

그러나 최근에 ‘좌파라면 북한인권 문제에 관심을 기울여야 한다’고 말하는 진짜 좌파가 등장했다. 전(前) 민주노동당 정책위원장을 역임했던 ‘사회민주주의연대’의 주대환 공동대표가 바로 그 주인공이다.

친북인사, 좌파인사들이라면 누구나 손사래를 치는 ‘데일리엔케이’와 주 대표가 마주 앉았다. 민주노동당 내 평등파(민중민주 진영)의 사상 이론적 브레인 역할인 해온 주 대표가 북한주민들의 ‘인권’에 대해 말문을 열었다.

좌파가 ‘인권’을 논하면 등 뒤에서 ‘변절자’라는 화살이 날아오는 기막힌 시대, 주 대표의 첫 마디는 의외로 담담했다.

“인권문제에 좌·우가 어디 있습니까?”

주 대표는 “진보진영은 북한인권문제에 대한 이중 잣대를 버려야 하고, 보수진영은 반북(反北)을 목적으로 북한 인권을 다루면 안된다”며 한국사회의 좌·우 모두를 향해 “이제 북한인권 문제는 좌우를 넘어선 인류 보편적 문제로 돌려놓아야 한다”고 주문했다.

현재 주 대표는 ‘북유럽형 복지국가’를 지향하는 사회민주주의연대를 이끌고 있다. 민족문제, 통일문제, 친북·반북문제에 얽매이지 않는 선진국형의 좌파 활동을 펼치는 것이 그의 계획이다.

그는 “앞으로 ‘좌파’와 ‘우파’를 구분하는 데 있어 ‘친북’이냐 ‘반북’이냐는 문제는 분리돼야 한다”며 “그래야 정치도, 사회도, 국가도 발전하고 선진국이 될 수 있다”고 말했다.

[다음은 주대환 사회민주주의연대 공동대표와의 인터뷰 전문]

-진보진영이 북한인권 문제에 침묵하는 이유는 무엇인가?

진보진영은 근본적으로 남한보다는 북한이 민족의 자주성 면에서 우월하다고 생각하는 경향이 있다. 그래서 북한의 웬만한 흠에 대해서는 눈감아 줘야 한다고 생각해왔다.

또, 지금까지 정치․사상적 구도의 문제도 있었다. 보수진영에서 ‘북한인권’이라는 이슈를 선점하면서 진보진영을 ‘친북 또는 반인권주의자’라고 몰아세우고, 진보·중도 연합진영은 ‘평화’라는 이슈를 선점하여 보수진영을 ‘냉전세력․전쟁세력․대결주의자’로 치부해왔다. 이러한 양 진영 간 대결이 북한인권 문제를 과잉 이념화, 과잉 정치화 했다고 본다.

그리고 지난 오랜 동안 진보세력이 김대중과의 관계에서 자유로울 수 없었던 것도 문제다. 진보세력이 김대중·노무현 세력의 2중대 역할을 했다고 해도 지나친 말이 아닐 것이다. 김대중·노무현 세력은 사회경제정책에서는 ‘우파’인데도 공조(共助)했다는 말이다.

정부 여당이야 북한을 직접 상대하는 입장에서 북한의 비위를 맞출 수 있다고 쳐도, 진보세력은 정권을 가진 것도 아니면서 북한에 대한 입장을 정부 여당과 같이 했다.

앞으로 좌파인가 우파인가를 구분하는 데 있어 친북이냐 반북이냐는 문제는 분리하고 떼어 내야 한다. 그래야 정치도, 사회도, 국가도 발전하고 선진국이 될 수 있다고 본다.

-좌파진영 내에서 북한인권 문제에 대한 인식 수준은 어느 정도인가?

진보진영에는 북한인권 개선활동의 필요성에 동의하는 사람이 많다고 본다. ‘사실(fact)’만큼 고집스러운 것이 세상에 어디 있겠나? 인권 상황이 참혹한 북한 현실을 우리 눈앞에서 거듭 확인할 수 있데 누가 뭐라고 할 것인가?

진보진영에서도 북한 현실에 괴로워하는 사람이 많다. 입 다물고 모른 체하는 것이 양심의 가책으로 남아 있다. 진보진영 친구들이 술자리에서는 ‘김정일이 빨리 죽어야 인민들이 사는데’라고 말을 하지만, 공개적인 자리에서는 딴소리를 한다.

현재 북한을 두고 진보와 보수진영의 국론 분열 상태에서 통일이 온다면 위험하다. 서로의 책임을 따질 것이고, ‘너는 그때 뭐했냐’며 서로의 흠을 들춰내는 일도 발생할 것이다.

앞으로 북한인권 문제를 탈이념화, 탈정치화해서 진보진영에서도 많은 사람들이 북한인권 문제를 제기한다면 지금의 북한 정권에게는 상당히 큰 압박이 될 것이다. 결국 보수는 남한인권에, 진보는 북한인권에 더 많은 관심을 가져야 한다.

-햇볕정책에 대한 우파진영의 평가가 야박하다고 생각하나?

햇볕정책도 일면으로는 타당성이 있었던 것은 아닌가 생각한다. 그렇다고 햇볕정책이 진보적인 정책이라는 것은 아니다. 진정한 진보라면 북한 인민을 위한 정책이어야 하지만, 햇볕정책은 그저 평화를 유지하자는 수준이었다. 북한 인민의 입장에서 바라보면 독재자와 손을 잡고 활짝 웃는 김대중, 노무현은 근본적으로 자기들 편이 아니었다.

그렇다고 해서 햇볕정책이 모든 면에서 잘못 됐다고 평가하는 것은 인색하다고 생각한다. 남북한의 체제경쟁이 끝난 이후부터 남한 정부는 북한을 관리하는 차원에서 접근해 왔는데, 지금까지 남한은 ‘주먹은 센데 주머니는 비어 있는 친구가 용돈 좀 나눠쓰자’는 식의 북한을 달래가면서 관리해 온 것이다.

햇볕으로 북한의 두꺼운 옷을 벗기지 못했다는 비판은 옳다. 북한 체제의 변화와 개방이라는 측면에서 보자면 DJ가 햇볕정책을 꺼낼 때 장담했던 것만큼 성과가 없는 것도 사실이다. 신뢰가 쌓이면 설득도 되고, 설득이 되면 요구도 해야 하는 것인데, 지금 그런 상황이거나 그런 방향으로 나가고 있다고 보진 않는다.

하지만, 북한에 꾸준히 물자가 들어갔으니 조금이라도 변하지 않았겠나? 대한민국 마크가 찍힌 물자가 돌아다니는데 변화가 일어나지 않을 수 없다. 또, 개성공단은 지금까지 문 닫고 살아 온 북한 체제의 근간을 흔드는 효과를 만들었을 것이다.

우리가 잊지 말아야 할 것은 북한의 현재 상황은 햇볕이든 햇볕이 아닌 다른 것이든 남한 정부, 정당의 탓이 아니라 근본적으로 김정일 정권의 책임이라는 사실이다.

북한에 대한 지원이 김정일 독재 체제 유지에 도움을 주고 인민에게는 아무런 도움을 주지 않았다는 비판에 대해서는 구체적으로 따져볼 필요가 충분히 있다고 본다. 사실 지금까지 통일부나 남한의 민간교류 단체들은 평양만 다녀오지 않았나? 북한은 철저한 계급 사회이고, 평양과 그 이외 지역은 천양지차(天壤之差), 전혀 딴판인데 그들은 평양의 모습에만 관심을 갖는다. 묘하게도 진보진영은 북한의 특권층과만 대화하고 보수진영이 인민들을 걱정하고 있는 상황이다.

-국보법 폐지를 우파가 주도해야 한다고 주장했는데?

남한에 위협을 가하는 (북한의) 공작, 침투 등에 대해서 국보법이 효과적인 방어수단이 되고 있는가를 따져 봤을 때 별로 그렇지 않다는 것이 첫 번째 이유다. 최근 몇 년 동안 국가보안법 위반으로 유죄판결 받은 사람 몇 사람이나 있는가? 거의 사문화되었다고 본다.

그리고 국보법이 폐지된다고 해도 형법의 ‘간첩죄’ 조항 등이 있어서 반국가적 범죄에 대해서는 얼마든지 대처가 가능하다. 그럼에도 국가보안법은 남한 인권 발전에 어두운 그림자를 지우고 있는 상징적인 존재다. 그러니까 실효는 없으면서 그 부정적 영향은 매우 크다는 것이다. 다른 모든 면에서 우리 사회가 발전한 만큼 이 방면에서도 변화가 있어야 한다.

진보진영 내에서는 국보법에 대한 반감이 상당하다. 뉴레프트(New-Left) 운동을 하는 우리가 진보진영 내에서 ‘우리도 이제 생각을 바꿔야 할 때’라고 말하면, 돌아오는 답은 ‘아직도 국보법이 시퍼렇게 살아 있다’는 말이다. 그들은 근본적으로 바뀐 것이 없다고 생각하고 있다.

그리고 사상의 자유는 원래 자유주의자들이 외쳐야 하는 것 아닌가? 특히 진정한 자유주의자라면 다른 사람의 사상의 자유를 위해 투쟁할 용기가 있어야 한다고 생각한다. 그래서 이미 그 의미를 상실한 국보법에 대해 폐지 목소리를 높여 줄 것을 기대하는 것이다.

국보법 폐지와 조봉암 선생의 복권을 보수진영이 동의한다면 정말 진보진영도 다시 생각할 마음의 여유를 가질 수 있다고 본다. 또, 뉴레프트 운동 세력의 입지가 넓어질 수도 있을 것이다. 진정성 있는 자유주의자가 등장해야 비로소 선진국형 사회민주주의자도 나타날 수 있다.

지금처럼 내가 북한인권과 관련한 토론회나 세미나에 간다고 하면 내 주위에서는 비아냥거리는 사람이 많다. 우파진영과는 대화가 안 된다고 생각하는 것이다. 이용만 당할 것이라고도 말하기도 한다. 나는 뉴레프트 진영에서 진행하는 행사에도 보수진영 인사도 참여해주기를 희망하고 있다.

-뉴레프트 운동을 전개하고 있는데, 어떤 방향성으로 활동을 진행하고 있나?

뉴레프트 운동은 우리나라가 나가야 할 방향으로 북유럽형 ‘복지국가’를 상정하고 있다. 이런 관점에서 의료민영화, 전기․가스․상하수도의 민영화 등 복지의 근본을 훼손하는 정책에 대해 반대하고 있다. 그리고 종부세와 상속세를 줄이려는 위험한 감세 정책도 비판한다. 오히려 공공 서비스를 더 발전시키고 복지 제도를 확충해야 하고, 부동산 보유세와 상속세, 소득세의 증세가 필요하다고 본다.

특히, 뉴레프트 운동은 민족문제나 통일문제, 또는 친북․반북이라는 대립구도에 스스로 얽매이지 않으려고 한다. 이런 문제에 얽매여서는 진보도 발전할 수 없을 뿐만 아니라 나라 전체가 발전할 수 없다고 생각한다.

선진국의 좌우파가 정책 대결을 벌이듯이 우리나라에서도 좌우파가 일관된 철학으로 경제·사회정책에 대한 논의를 전개하고 정책적 대안을 제시해야 한다고 본다. 사회민주주의연대는 그런 준비를 시작하고 있는 것이다.

 
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