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Quotes of the Day:
"People in power are trying to convince us that the villain in our American story is each other. But that is not our story. That is not who we are. That's not our America. Our United States of America is not about us versus them. It's about we the people!"
- Camila Alves
"I am an American, free born and free bred, where I acknowledge no man as my superior, except for his own worth, or as my inferior, except for his own demerit."
- Theodore Roosevelt
"Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on."
- Thurgood Marshall
"Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy."-
Margaret Thatcher
1. Mongolia Forum: Peace and security in Northeast Asia through Korean unification
2. Koreas growing apart - Unification will never come suddenly
3. Frequent military parades signify NK leader finding it tougher to stay in control
4. Will Japan and South Korea Issue a New Joint Declaration?
5. What Is the Proper Role of the Unification Ministry?
6. Soft propaganda? YouTube deletes channels promoting North Korean lifestyle
7. Map apps add locations where South Koreans can shelter from North Korean attack
8. N. Korea has apparently lifted mask mandate
9. Moon targets Yoon, mentioning ‘Cold War mentality’
10. The Ministry of Unification faces an identity crisis
11. IAEA says Japan's Fukushima water discharge plan meets international safety standards
12. Yoon says second half of 2023 will be inflection point for economy
13. Chongjin residents unhappy with paying for nonexistent electricity, water services
14. Gloomy expectations about restart of trade leads to plummeting KPW-RMB rate
1. Mongolia Forum: Peace and security in Northeast Asia through Korean unification
I had a very productive trip to Mongolia last month. It is fascinating country that I fell in love with. Mongolia is an excellent venue to work on Korean unification issues.
On this American Independence Day I wish my Korean brothers and sisters their own independence in the form of a free and unified Korea in accordance with their own 1919 Declaration of Independence.
“We hereby declare that Korea is an independent state and that Koreans are a self-governing
people. We proclaim this fact to all nations to reaffirm the great truth that all humans are
equal, so that our descendants may forever enjoy their rights to live as an autonomous
people.” —Korean Declaration of Independence (1919)
Mongolia Forum: Peace and security in Northeast Asia through Korean unification
The Korea Times · July 4, 2023
By David Maxwell
Since Mongolia transitioned from communism to democracy it has been quietly working behind the scenes as a peace builder serving as a convening location for numerous talks, dialogues, processes, workshops and forums. June was a busy month with several events including the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue (UB) and the Mongolia Forum. The UB Process for Peace in Northeast Asia is ongoing. In addition, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Mongolia held talks on North Korean denuclearization and established a joint consultative body on mineral resources. All have a common theme: working for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia. However, the "Mongolia Forum for Peace and Development in Northeast Asia and Korean Unification," held on June 23, is unique in that it advocates for a free and unified Korea as a path to peace and prosperity.
The Mongolia Forum is a Track II event for scholars, practitioners, journalists and prominent members of civil society from many countries including Mongolia, Korea, China, Russia, India, the U.S., Japan and Malaysia. It was organized by the NGO Blue Banner, led by the tireless Ambassador Jargalsaikhan Enkhsaikhan of Mongolia, with conveners the Global Peace Foundation (GPF), the One Korea Foundation (OKF), Action for Korea United, the Mongolian Forum for Korean Unification, and the National Strategy Institute of the Chungnam National University.
Dialogues were informed by a common understanding of "hongik ingan" defined as "living for the greater benefit of humanity" which is the founding philosophy of Korea. It is a central feature of Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon's "Korean Dream" which is a vision of a unified Korea "led by Korean civil society as the only way to solve the security, economic and social problems created through the more than 70 years of division."
The speakers were inspirational and the forum personally reaffirmed my belief that the achievement of a free and unified Korea is the only acceptable durable political arrangement that will end the human rights abuses being committed in the north and the nuclear and missile threats. In fact, it is the nuclear threat and the human rights abuses that have paralyzed governments from focusing on unification. In my opinion, the only way to overcome this paralysis is by reversing the conventional wisdom of denuclearization first and then focusing on unification as the path to denuclearization, peace and security in the region.
Seventy years ago the military leaders who signed the Armistice Agreement understood that there was no military solution to end the 1950-1953 war. Paragraph 60 called on all parties to come together to create a political solution to the "Korea question," which is the unnatural division of the peninsula. For seven decades governments have failed. The time is now for civil society to engage with like-minded organizations to challenge governments to drive a solution to the "Korea question."
There are two areas that civil society can immediately affect: human rights and the demand for information for the Korean people in the north. The Korean people in the north are suffering terribly and every effort must be made to help them obtain relief. Civil society must support the recommendations in the 2014 United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) and set an example for governments to focus on human rights. Human rights are not only a moral imperative but a national security issue because Kim Jong-un denies the human rights of the Korean people in the North in order to remain in power.
One of the human rights abuses identified in the COI is the isolation of the Korean people and the denial of the free flow of information into the North and to all Korean people. Escapees tell us there is a high demand for all types of information from the outside world. Civil society can make a tremendous contribution to this effort.
The most important message to transmit to the Korean people living in the North is there are people around the world concerned with their welfare and who are working to help Koreans in the North and South to achieve unification as a path to peace and prosperity. It is natural that Korea should follow in the footsteps of Mongolia and make a major political transition. Korean unification can serve as a modern global beacon and inspire political change around the world as civil society collectively works for peace and prosperity.
Civil society and governments should have a vision of the future of Korea. On April 26, 2023, South Korean Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden established the vision that both countries seek: "The two presidents are committed to build a better future for all Korean people and support a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace." The two presidents have provided strategic clarity for their policymakers, strategists and planners.
Civil society should seek a similar vision. It must begin with the realization that the only way we are going to see an end to the nuclear program and military threats as well as the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity being committed against the Korean people living in the north is through the achievement of unification and the establishment of a free and unified Korea. This new Korea must be secure and stable, non-nuclear, economically vibrant and unified under a liberal constitutional form of government based on individual liberty, free market economic principles, rule of law and human rights as determined by the Korean people. This is the vision a United Republic of Korea (UROK).
Members of civil society in the South combined with escapees from the North should resurrect the 1919 Korean Declaration of Independence to serve as a foundational document for a United Republic of Korea. These words still resonate for the Korean peninsula: "We claim independence in the interest of the eternal and free development of our people and in accordance with the great movement for world reform based upon the awakening conscience of mankind." They should begin work now on a new Constitution for a UROK. By drafting a new Constitution these young Koreans will become the founding mothers and fathers of a UROK.
The participants in the Mongolian Forum seek the peaceful unification of Korea. I challenge all who support unification; private citizens, businesspeople, public servants and government officials to examine their work and continually ask a single question: How does this action support achieving Korean unification? It is time to overcome unification planning paralysis caused by nuclear weapons and threats of war and develop the necessary synergy among like-minded members of civil society to bring peace and security to the region. Working together, civil society can support Korea in achieving a United Republic of Korea (UROK) that will be a model for political change in the 21st century.
David Maxwell is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel and has spent more than 30 years in Asia as a practitioner and specializes in Northeast Asian security affairs and irregular, unconventional and political warfare. He is the vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy and a senior fellow at the Global Peace Foundation (where he focuses on a free and unified Korea) and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
The Korea Times · July 4, 2023
2. Koreas growing apart - Unification will never come suddenly
Actually the adage that things happen very slowly and then all at once may be more applicable as President Yoon notes below.
This is a critique ROK "conservative" leading of the Ministry of unification.
It is the north that has severed contact. The ROK (and the US and Japan and the international community) is willing to talk.
Excerpt:
But the situation stresses the need to continue dialogue and keep an open channel rather than sever all contact. Pyongyang is not free from blame, of course. The isolationist regime can never justify detonating the inter-Korean liaison office just north of the border years ago. Instead of venting its frustration with the South's mediating role and subsequent arms buildup, the North should have patiently stayed the course ― for its people.
Still, Yoon ― and his U.S. counterpart, for that matter ― must know that authoritarian regimes do not yield to economic sanctions. External pressure only cements internal unity, serving the interests of those in power. What crumbled former East Germany was West Germany's ceaseless aid, which won over the hearts of East Germans. The West German government did not mention "unification" and ran the "Ministry of Intra-German Relations."
Former President Lee said, "Reunification comes like a thief." Yoon also said recently, "Reunification will probably come suddenly." They're wrong.
Koreas growing apart
The Korea Times · July 4, 2023
Unification will never come suddenly
Government ministries often undergo changes in their organizations and even missions when political power shifts.
A case in point is the Ministry of Unification.
Progressive governments beefed up their workforces to expand inter-Korean exchanges. In contrast, conservative ones trimmed it to a bare-bones level.
In an extreme case, the 2008-13 Lee Myung-bak administration tried to abolish the ministry by merging it with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Faced with an intense backlash, he later settled for personnel trimming. However, even Lee did not attempt to change the ministry's mission from the ground up ― as his conservative successor is trying to do now.
"So far, the unification ministry has operated as if it were a supporting agency for North Korea. That shouldn't be the case anymore," President Yoon Suk Yeol told his staff on Sunday. "It's time for the ministry to change."
Yoon said so days after he appointed Kim Yung-ho, a far-right ideologue and former aide to Lee, as unification minister. Kim calls for reunifying this divided peninsula by absorbing North Korea, overthrowing the Kim Jong-un regime and having a nuclear arsenal in South Korea. Inter-Korean detente ended a few years before Yoon took office. Still, the incumbent president is trying to put the last nail in the coffin.
Pyongyang is not sitting idly by.
On Saturday, North Korea said it would refuse to review a bid by the chief of Hyundai Group to visit the North's Mount Geumgang next month. The refusal had been expected, but two things stood out. Pyongyang took preemptive action even before Seoul made a formal offer. Moreover, the North's foreign ministry announced it instead of its inter-Korean channel, the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.
Technically, the two Koreas are different countries, as shown by their separate membership in the United Nations.
However, the two Koreas have never regarded each other as a "foreign nation" ― at least so far. The South's Constitution also stipulates the North is part of the Republic of Korea, subject to eventual reunification. Pyongyang's latest move is a cold reminder of the changed reality. The reclusive regime might have concluded that if the South shifts to exposing the North's internal problems, including its human rights issues, it would be better to break up.
Admittedly, the North's denuclearization seems increasingly out of sight, and its human rights abuses are dire, indeed.
But the situation stresses the need to continue dialogue and keep an open channel rather than sever all contact. Pyongyang is not free from blame, of course. The isolationist regime can never justify detonating the inter-Korean liaison office just north of the border years ago. Instead of venting its frustration with the South's mediating role and subsequent arms buildup, the North should have patiently stayed the course ― for its people.
Still, Yoon ― and his U.S. counterpart, for that matter ― must know that authoritarian regimes do not yield to economic sanctions. External pressure only cements internal unity, serving the interests of those in power. What crumbled former East Germany was West Germany's ceaseless aid, which won over the hearts of East Germans. The West German government did not mention "unification" and ran the "Ministry of Intra-German Relations."
Former President Lee said, "Reunification comes like a thief." Yoon also said recently, "Reunification will probably come suddenly." They're wrong.
Despite growing instability, no political collapse has occurred due to economic difficulties worldwide. If the North crumbles and leads to unification by absorption, that would be a disaster for the South due to trillions of dollars of unification costs. The former East Germans' income was about one-third of West Germans'. The North Korean per capita GDP is now less than one-thirtieth of South Koreans. Reunification should come as the fruit of farmers' long toils.
Even now, Japan and the U.S. might be seeking roundabout channels with North Korea as they did with China behind the back of South Korea. Pyongyang-Washington ties may accelerate if Donald Trump regains the U.S. presidency.
Yoon must keep his fingers crossed that all of this will occur only after he leaves office.
The Korea Times · July 4, 2023
3. Frequent military parades signify NK leader finding it tougher to stay in control
Recall onf of Murphy's Laws: No parade ready unit is ready for combat and no combat ready unit is ready for a parade.
An interesting perspective here:
Hyun, a North Korean defector who graduated from Kim Il Sung University, said the Kim family has taken advantage of the military parades to achieve two aims: They want to make sure their residents are united and they also seek to send a signal to the outside world that the North Korean army is strong and formidable.
"It's a political event," she said.
Watching the military's show of force on TV, she explained that ordinary North Koreans feel proud of their strong army and state-of-the-art arsenals, and are determined to further "tighten their waist belts"― a euphemism for a willingness to endure necessary pain and hardship to achieve a set goal ― to help their military become stronger.
"The military parade has drawn keen attention from the Western media. Kim Jong-un might have felt that he was at the center of global attention," she said.
North Korea displayed its new arsenals and weapons of mass destruction during the events. In its latest edition on Feb. 8, North Korea unveiled a dozen intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), including solid-fuel ICBMs, tactical missiles and long-range cruise missiles.
[ANALYSIS] Frequent military parades signify NK leader finding it tougher to stay in control
The Korea Times · July 4, 2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, salutes during a military parade at Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, Feb. 8, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean military. Yonhap
Military parades held almost every year under Kim Jong-un
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Kim Jong-un is set to surpass his father and grandfather by becoming the North Korean leader to have overseen the largest number of military parades.
His father Kim Jong-il (1941-2011) and grandfather Kim Il-sung (1912-1994) are tied with 13 military parades held during their respective reigns. Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, ruled the country for 46 years, and his son, Jong-il, was in power for 18 years until 2011 when he died of a heart attack. This means that, on average, a military parade was held every 3.5 years during the Kim Il-sung era, and every 1.4 years when his son was in power.
Since Kim Jong-un rose to power in 2011 following his father's death, he has overseen a total of 13 military parades so far. In other words, North Korea's show of force has been held almost every year.
Following the massive nighttime military parade in February, the totalitarian state is expected to hold another event on July 27 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.
"I believe Kim Jong-un likes the military parade," Hyun In-ae, a guest professor of Ewha Womans University's Department of North Korean Studies, told The Korea Times. "His father liked choirs and orchestral music and when he was alive, he once said he became energetic when listening to the music. Just like music was a source of inspiration for his father, for his son, Jong-un, military parades are something that seems to boost his morale."
Hyun, a North Korean defector who graduated from Kim Il Sung University, said the Kim family has taken advantage of the military parades to achieve two aims: They want to make sure their residents are united and they also seek to send a signal to the outside world that the North Korean army is strong and formidable.
"It's a political event," she said.
Watching the military's show of force on TV, she explained that ordinary North Koreans feel proud of their strong army and state-of-the-art arsenals, and are determined to further "tighten their waist belts"― a euphemism for a willingness to endure necessary pain and hardship to achieve a set goal ― to help their military become stronger.
"The military parade has drawn keen attention from the Western media. Kim Jong-un might have felt that he was at the center of global attention," she said.
North Korea displayed its new arsenals and weapons of mass destruction during the events. In its latest edition on Feb. 8, North Korea unveiled a dozen intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), including solid-fuel ICBMs, tactical missiles and long-range cruise missiles.
The military parade, meanwhile, has helped those outside of the North to find clues about the military capabilities of the country.
North Koreans wave flags enthusiastically as the Hwasong-17 missile mockups are rolled through the streets during the nighttime military parade, Feb. 8. Yonhap
Despite the regime's intention to unite citizens through these events, Cho Chung-hui, the director of a research institute at the Suwon City-based development NGO, Good Farmers, said military parades are no longer an effective political means to control North Koreans because they have been held too often.
"Since Kim Jong-un took power, it has been an annual event," Cho told The Korea Times over the phone.
As to why Kim Jong-un has been holding military parades more often than his father or grandfather, Cho said that it is partly because the event organizers are not creative enough.
Inside the Workers' Party, he said there is a team of people responsible for organizing and preparing various events.
"They are powerful enough to make their voice heard. When they work on a plan for a certain event, they consider various internal and external factors and set the size and direction of the military parade, accordingly," he said. "I think they keep proposing a military parade again and again, partly because they don't have any other ideas or partly because they wanted to curry favor with Kim Jong-un because he likes it."
Cho said that military parades becoming an annual event under Kim Jong-un's leadership could signify that it has become more challenging for him to gain control of the people.
"Last year, there was a rare photo time after the military parade," he said.
According to Cho, Kim ordered all soldiers and university students, who had returned home or military units after wrapping up the military parade held in April, to come back to Pyongyang. Then the North Korean leader posed with them for photos and each of them returned with that souvenir, he said.
"I think Kim followed advice from party officials who heard of grudges from the participants about their returning home empty-handed after the event. Calling back the participants who went back home or their military units for a photo opportunity with a North Korean leader is unprecedented," he said.
Cho claimed the North Korean leader was infected with COVID-19 while he was mingling with North Korea's Millennials and Generation Z for photos.
Last year, Kim's sister, Yo-jong, said her brother had a fever.
In a speech in August to declare "victory" in North Korea's battle against the pandemic, the North Korean leader's sister said her brother was seriously ill with a high fever but the illness did not stop him from dedicating himself to state affairs and the livelihoods of North Korean citizens.
She did not provide further details of when he was infected with the virus.
The Korea Times · July 4, 2023
4. Will Japan and South Korea Issue a New Joint Declaration?
I think it would be useful to do so to really solidify the gains that are being made between the two countries. But I think the Prime Minister is being cautious in his comments. It would be premature for him to say there will be one until there is an agreement to do so.
Excerpts:
However, Kishida is forced to give political consideration to his ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s conservative wing because they may voice their dissatisfaction with a repetition of words of “deep remorse and heartfelt apology” in the new declaration.
On the other hand, it is also politically sensitive for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to pursue a new joint declaration, as the nation will have a parliamentary general election in April next year. As South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party (DP) continues to attack the Yoon administration, which is promoting the improvement of Japan-South Korea relations, attention needs to be paid to the proper timing should a new declaration be issued in the coming months and years.
Japan-South Korea relations, which had been chilly for years, have recently been thawing. The solution to the forced labor issue announced by the Yoon administration in March was a breakthrough. In particular, the two nations have strengthened security cooperation to cope with North Korea’s nuclear and missile development activities, which pose the greatest threat to both countries.
Asked by this author “How do you evaluate the security cooperation between Japan and South Korea so far?” Kishida replied in written comments, highlighting the fact that “Since March, Japan-South Korea summit meetings have been held three times in … two months, and this clearly shows the progress in Japan-South Korea relations.”
Will Japan and South Korea Issue a New Joint Declaration?
In comments to The Diplomat, Prime Minister Kishida refrained from predictions about a second joint declaration to update one issued a quarter of a century ago.
thediplomat.com · by Takahashi Kosuke · July 3, 2023
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With Japan-South Korea relations improving rapidly for the past several months, there are growing calls for an early adoption of a new Japan–South Korea Joint Declaration to update one issued a quarter of a century ago. However, Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio still takes a cautious stance on it.
Representing Kishida, the prime minister’s press office told The Diplomat on June 30 that he refrains from making any predictions about the outlook of any bilateral statement, including the formulation of the new declaration.
In October 1998, years after the end of the Cold War, then-Japanese Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo and South President Kim Dae-jung signed the epoch-making “Japan-Republic of Korea Joint Declaration: A New Japan-Republic of Korea Partnership towards the Twenty-first Century.” It is also known as the “Japan-Korea Partnership Declaration” or the “Obuchi-Kim Dae-jung Declaration.”
The declaration, which consists of 11 items, states that Tokyo expressed its “deep remorse and heartfelt apology” about its past colonial rule of Korea, while stressing the two nations would work to “build a future-oriented relationship.” It also emphasized the importance of universal principles such as freedom, democracy, and the market economy, as well as the close coordination of North Korea policy, all of which are also required by the two nations now.
After the 1998 declaration, cultural exchanges between the peoples of the two countries flourished like never before, marking a historic departure from their mutual cultural break and social isolation. For example, on the Japanese side, Korean soap operas such as “Winter” Sonata and movies became very popular, as symbolized by the immense popularity of South Korean actor Bae Yong-joon at that time. On the Korean side, young Koreans started earnestly listening to Japanese pop songs called J-pops, reading Japanese manga and novels, and watching Japan’s movies and anime.
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In such a warm atmosphere, Japan and South Korea co-hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2002. Prior to the World Cup in December 2001, then-Emperor Akihito even said at a press conference that the mother of Japan’s 50th Emperor Kanmu (737-806) was a descendant of King Muryong of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, while talking about the significance of the long history of Japan’s exchanges with the Korean Peninsula.
Calls for a new joint declaration are growing recently. At a forum held in Tokyo in late May 2023, Sasae Kenichiro, president of the Japan Institute of International Affairs, who was involved in the drafting process of the 1998 declaration as the director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “I strongly support the creation of the ‘second declaration’ following the Japan-South Korea Joint Declaration. I want the governments to review what kind of cooperation they can do now and then put it into practice.”
In response, Park Joon-woo, former senior secretary to the president for political affairs in South Korea, who also worked on the original declaration, said, “The joint declaration should be renewed as soon as possible. It should be implemented based on a relationship of trust between leaders.”
However, Kishida is forced to give political consideration to his ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s conservative wing because they may voice their dissatisfaction with a repetition of words of “deep remorse and heartfelt apology” in the new declaration.
On the other hand, it is also politically sensitive for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to pursue a new joint declaration, as the nation will have a parliamentary general election in April next year. As South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party (DP) continues to attack the Yoon administration, which is promoting the improvement of Japan-South Korea relations, attention needs to be paid to the proper timing should a new declaration be issued in the coming months and years.
Japan-South Korea relations, which had been chilly for years, have recently been thawing. The solution to the forced labor issue announced by the Yoon administration in March was a breakthrough. In particular, the two nations have strengthened security cooperation to cope with North Korea’s nuclear and missile development activities, which pose the greatest threat to both countries.
Asked by this author “How do you evaluate the security cooperation between Japan and South Korea so far?” Kishida replied in written comments, highlighting the fact that “Since March, Japan-South Korea summit meetings have been held three times in … two months, and this clearly shows the progress in Japan-South Korea relations.”
He also stressed the achievement that the Japan-ROK Security Dialogue was held in April for the first time in about five years, allowing Tokyo and Seoul to exchange views on the strategic environment surrounding the two countries.
“South Korea is a highly important neighboring country to Japan both in a geopolitical context and regarding Japan’s security,” Kishida added.
“In view of the current strategic environment, there has never been a time more important than now to further develop Japan-Korea and Japan-U.S.-Korea cooperation,” he said. “We will continue to maintain close communication with the ROK with a view to strengthening Japan-ROK security and defense cooperation.”
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At the defense ministerial meeting of Japan, the United States, and South Korea held in Singapore in June, the three countries agreed to launch a system for real-time sharing of information on ballistic missiles by the end of the year to strengthen their deterrence against North Korea. They also agreed to regularize trilateral joint exercises related to anti-submarine and missile defense.
thediplomat.com · by Takahashi Kosuke · July 3, 2023
5. What Is the Proper Role of the Unification Ministry?
Simple: Planning for Unification.
A threefold focus:
1. Human rights Up Front
2. Information to the Korean People in the north
3. Pursuit of a Free and unified Korea and the strategy, policies, and plans to achieve that.
Yes, I know it has responsibility for north-South relations and engagement but I think it is time to focus on unification as its central core mission.
I am optimistic that there will be a new vision for unification soon released. From what I have seen so far from the unification advisory committee headed by Professor Kim (who will now become the new Minister of Unification) there is going to be a new focus.
Wehave seen all these recommendations before. They are correct.
Excerpts:
The ministry must profoundly reconsider its role and aims. It must come up with a vision for reunification where the people of the two Koreas can coexist in a democracy, while maintaining the basis of gradual integration that dates back 30 years. It must use the network of North Korean defectors to accurately assess political, economic and social changes in the North and apply that information to practical policies. It must inform the world about the human rights abuses in the North and take active steps to improve the situation. That means developing channels of information easily accessible to ordinary North Koreans, rather than doing the bidding of the North Korean dictatorship and bending over backwards to accommodate its demands. The time when the Unification Ministry acted as a de facto mouthpiece of the North Korean regime is over.
What Is the Proper Role of the Unification Ministry?
english.chosun.com
July 04, 2023 13:06
President Yoon Suk-yeol has asked profound questions about the role of the Unification Ministry, which found itself more or less out of a job when North Korea shut down all channels of dialogue in 2020. Over the last three years, the ministry's 600 employees have been twiddling their thumbs, and some critics have suggested shutting it down altogether.
The ministry is among other things responsible for trying to improve the lot of ordinary North Koreans, who are considered citizens of South Korea under the Constitution. But ever since the Sunshine Policy of rapprochement, the ministry's role shifted to being a channel that sends money and rice to the North in exchange for staging photo ops of leaders to show what terrific champions of peace they are. Few South Koreans believe all that aid and all those photo ops genuinely got the two countries any closer to achieving reunification, and North Korea used the money and aid to finance its development of weapons of mass destruction.
The ministry tried to make excuses when the North blew up a liaison office in the North Korean border city of Kaesong and brutally murdered a South Korean official at sea. When Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean leader's ill-tempered sister, told South Korea to stop civic groups from sending anti-communist propaganda leaflets across the border, the Unification Ministry proposed a bill banning them -- the threat, it argued, was somehow a signal that the North was willing to talk. The ministry even tied itself into knots trying to subvert international sanctions against the North when there were signs of a thaw. For seven years, it also neglected its duty mandated by the National Assembly to establish a North Korea human rights foundation.
The ministry must profoundly reconsider its role and aims. It must come up with a vision for reunification where the people of the two Koreas can coexist in a democracy, while maintaining the basis of gradual integration that dates back 30 years. It must use the network of North Korean defectors to accurately assess political, economic and social changes in the North and apply that information to practical policies. It must inform the world about the human rights abuses in the North and take active steps to improve the situation. That means developing channels of information easily accessible to ordinary North Koreans, rather than doing the bidding of the North Korean dictatorship and bending over backwards to accommodate its demands. The time when the Unification Ministry acted as a de facto mouthpiece of the North Korean regime is over.
Read this article in Korean
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com
english.chosun.com
6. Soft propaganda? YouTube deletes channels promoting North Korean lifestyle
I think this is a mistake. We should be using this and turning it around for the people inside north Korea. It can illustrate the contradiction that is the regime. I also think the fear that this is going to influence people to see north Korea in a favorable light is misplaced. Sure, some will be duped but educators, officials, and Korean watchers can use this propaganda to also illustrate the contradiction that is north Korea.
Lastly we need to maintain the moral high ground for our own information efforts within north Korea. Nothing should be banned.
Soft propaganda? YouTube deletes channels promoting North Korean lifestyle
Video logs showing idyllic life in North Korea banned from platform
By Han Do Hyun and Lee Jeong Eun and Cho Jinwoo for RFA Korean
2023.07.03
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rfa.org
In a posh British accent, the 11-year-old Korean girl in school uniform smiled for the camera and complained about the summer heat, saying she wanted to eat some flavored shaved ice, a delicious treat sold right in front of her school.
“My favorite is the red bean and melon flavored ice,” Song A says in the video, which clearly seems staged, as if she had memorized a script.
“I like tomato and watermelon,” says her friend sitting next to her in the sunshine.
The two friends get brain freezes, discuss Korea’s delightful four seasons and tell viewers to tune in to the next edition of Song A’s vlog, or video log, where she takes the viewers along for a cool dip at the waterpark.
The innocent-looking vlogs, and others like them, are meant to promote North Korea and soften its image, experts and South Korean officials say.
Deemed a soft form of propaganda, the videos were blocked in South Korea starting June 5, at the request of the National Intelligence Service, which said they “are part of North Korea’s psychological warfare against South Korea."
Song A’s channel and the two others, “Olivia Natasha-YuMi Space DPRK daily,” and “NEW DPRK,” were censored in South Korea because “it is obvious that they [were] unilaterally overly glorifying North Korea and using [the videos] as propaganda,” a Ministry of Unification official told reporters last week.
YouTube changes position
Shortly after, YouTube followed suit and deleted the three channels, which can still be found elsewhere on the internet.
The channels apparently did not come across as propaganda to YouTube’s parent company Google, which stated they did not violate its policies as late as December 2022.
But the change in Google’s stance seems to have coincided with the South Korean government’s decision to censor them there.
“After review and finding the channels were not consistent with our policies, we terminated the three channels shared with us,” a YouTube spokesperson told RFA’s Korean Service.
“Google is committed to compliance with applicable U.S. sanctions and trade compliance laws, including those related to North Korea, and enforces related policies under our Terms of Service.”
Song A’s “Sally Parks” YouTube channel was blocked in South Korea at the request of the country’s National Intelligence Service. Credit: “Sally Parks” YouTube channel
Like Song A’s channel, the other two channels had young women or children introducing North Korea’s major tourist facilities and sharing what appears to be a normal day in their lives, doing seemingly mundane things like visiting a well-known tourist site, introducing food, or giving a tour of the home.
In another video by Song A, she expresses her love for the Harry Potter series of books, while YuMi, speaking in almost American accented English, introduces a Pyongyang amusement park, and shows off her yoga class.
But the channels are a far cry from the hardship facing most ordinary North Koreans, most of whom will never set foot in Pyongyang and are struggling to survive and get food on their tables amid poor harvests and a nascent market economy still recovering from COVID-19 shutdowns.
Shift in strategy?
The vlog style of propaganda exhibited in the three channels indicate a shift in strategy for Pyongyang, Ko Yonghwan, a senior researcher at Korea Institute for Military Affairs, told RFA.
The first North Korean state sponsored channel, called Uriminzokkiri, or “Among our race of people,” emerged in 2010, but it was deleted in 2017.
Several more accounts under the same name were opened and again deleted in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
Other channels including DPRK Today, Red Star TV, and Echo of Truth were also created and deleted one after another.
Channels like Uriminzokkiri were not receiving much attention from viewers in other countries, and those who did see them criticized them for being overwhelmingly and obviously propaganda, said Ko.
“This is why they changed the propaganda method [for Song A and Yu Mi’s channels] by introducing women and children to [try to] show that North Korea can be a happy place to live,” she/he said.
“They [attempt to] show that North Koreans have the internet, can upload YouTube videos, visit good restaurants like people in South Korea, and go to amusement parks.”
The average person in North Korea, however, does not have access to the internet, and those fortunate enough to have devices capable of connecting can only access North Korea’s closed intranet.
Because of this, it is important that South Korea conduct media literacy education rather than simply blocking the channels, Ha Seung-hee, a research professor of North Korea studies at South Korea’s Dongguk University told RFA in a phone interview.
“There is a need for [it] because that will allow the people to have a discerning perspective on North Korean content and to critically view the information … on their own,” she said.
Following the deletion of Song A’s Sally Parks channel, a channel with the same name has reappeared on YouTube with nearly identical content.
A YouTube short video lamenting the deletion of Sally Parks and New DPRK is the latest uploaded content.
Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
rfa.org
7. Map apps add locations where South Koreans can shelter from North Korean attack
Good.
Map apps add locations where South Koreans can shelter from North Korean attack
Interior ministry says emergency facilities now easier to find, after false evacuation alert triggered panic in May
https://www.nknews.org/2023/07/map-apps-add-locations-where-south-koreans-can-shelter-from-north-korean-attack/
Ifang Bremer July 4, 2023
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A North Korean artillery drill in March 2020 | Image: Rodong Sinmun
The locations of emergency shelters meant to provide protection from North Korean missiles and artillery fire are now searchable on South Korean navigation apps, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
The announcement last week aligns with the recent resumption of nationwide air raid defense drills, and follows a false evacuation alert in Seoul in late May that sparked panic among some locals unsure of where to seek shelter.
Until recently, civilians could only locate emergency shelters through government-issued websites. But since last week, popular navigation apps KakaoMap and Naver Map have listed the names and locations of civilian shelters around the country
The South Korean government plans to provide more detailed information to the navigation apps on the number of people each facility can accommodate in the future, the interior ministry stated in a press release on Thursday, emphasizing efforts to make the shelters easier to locate.
The government has designated around 17,000 civil defense shelters (민방위대피소) nationwide in places like basement levels of apartment buildings, subway stations and underground shopping centers, according to the press release.
Screenshots of two South Korean navigation apps showing the locations of shelters | Image: Ministry of the Interior and Safety (edited by NK News)
The ministry’s announcement comes a little over a month after air raid sirens and a wartime evacuation alert, issued in response to a North Korean space launch, woke up residents of Seoul. An emergency message sent by the city government urged citizens to “prepare to evacuate” and to give priority to children and the elderly, but did not provide any instructions on where to take shelter.
“There was no clarity on what to do and where to go from the message,” Seoul resident Park Somi told NK News at the time. “It felt like I became a fool for a moment.”
Authorities retracted the emergency alert less than 30 minutes after it was issued, indicating that it had been a false alarm.
But while Korean-speaking residents could at least understand the contents of the message, some foreign visitors in Seoul said they were completely in the dark about the early-morning sirens and messages, not understanding a word of the evacuation order.
KakaoMap is available in English, and the app shows shelter locations when users search for “civil defense shelter.” But the new features will not be rolled out on the more internationally popular Google Maps, which has limited functionality in South Korea due to what the government says are national security laws related to data storage.
South Korean apps like Kakao have proven to be unreliable in the past, however. Last year, server outages at major conglomerate Kakao Corp. — KakaoMaps’ parent company — paralyzed access to a range of the app’s navigation functions.
According to some estimates, North Korea has thousands of conventional artillery assets within range of Seoul and other major cities, enabling Pyongyang to conduct a strike that could cause a large number of casualties.
Edited by Bryan Betts
8. N. Korea has apparently lifted mask mandate
We should keep in mind the "COVID Paradox" and how Kim Jong Un has used OCVID to further oppress the Korean people in the north by implementing draconian populations and resources control measures.
•No reported cases for 2 years – Outbreak (May 2022) and then Over (July 2022!)
–Assessment: highly unlikely
–Myriad reports from inside about quarantine camps and outbreaks among military
•Kim exploiting COVID to oppress, repress, and suppress
–Close borders, hinder markets, seize foreign currency, stop movement, information crackdown
•“Arduous March” – Great Famine of 1994-1996
–Estimated possibly 3 million perished
–“Saved” by ROK Sunshine policy (and $billions in aid from 1997-2007)
–Development of 400+ markets resilient women taking care of families
•Comparison –a COVID outbreak could be far worse
–Made worse by Kim’s policy decisions to exploit the situation to keep a stranglehold on the people and sustain power
No relief for the regime (no Sunshine policy possible)
The safety valve and relief mechanism of markets are being hindered by regime policies
•Regime Collapse: loss of central governing effectiveness by the party combined with loss of coherency and support of the military
(LEAD) N. Korea has apparently lifted mask mandate | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · July 4, 2023
(ATTN: ADDS ministry official's remarks in paras 6-8, byline)
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, July 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korea, which had maintained its rigid COVID-19 restrictions long after most countries eased pandemic measures, appears to have lifted its mask mandate this month, state media footage and photos showed Tuesday.
News footage that aired on the North's Korean Central TV on Monday showed hundreds of young people seated close to one another without face masks at a theater in North Hamgyong Province.
Photos released by the Rodong Sinmum, the North's main newspaper, on Tuesday, showed officials at a publishing bureau in the same North Korean province without face masks.
Similar photos taken at various venues also showed people not wearing face masks, with the exception of farmers spraying pesticides and medical workers at a hospital.
This composite photo, taken from the North's Korean Central TV footage, shows people wearing face masks at an indoor event on June 30, 2023, and people without face masks in an auditorium on July 4, 2023. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
This has led to the view that North Korea, which had maintained its border lockdown and strict antivirus measures despite deepening economic hardships, may have finally lifted its mask mandate.
An official at Seoul's unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said that while additional monitoring is necessary, North Korea could have taken the measure out of a "realistic need."
"Photos carried by the Rodong Sinmun show that the wearing of face masks has notably declined since July 3. They are only worn in extremely rare cases," the ministry official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"After carrying out intensive COVID-19 measures for nearly 3 1/2 years, it can be presumed there is a realistic need to ease this," the official said, also referring to the secretive regime's plan to take part in the Asian Games in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou and reports that it may soon reopen its border.
U.S. broadcaster Radio Free Asia quoted sources in the North Korean province of North Pyongan as saying that authorities ordered residents to take off their masks this month.
But it remains uncertain whether the change is here to stay. The U.S. media outlet reported that authorities said it is a temporary measure aimed at preventing skin and eye diseases that could occur while wearing face masks in the summer.
This composite photo published in the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, shows factory workers wearing face masks (top) on June 30, 2023, and officials at a publishing bureau without face masks (bottom) on July 4, 2023. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · July 4, 2023
9. Moon targets Yoon, mentioning ‘Cold War mentality’
Moon targets Yoon, mentioning ‘Cold War mentality’
donga.com
Posted July. 04, 2023 07:57,
Updated July. 04, 2023 07:57
Moon targets Yoon, mentioning ‘Cold War mentality’. July. 04, 2023 07:57. kyu0@donga.com,9dragon@donga.com.
Former President Moon Jae-in targeted President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday and directly mentioned that “there are still many people who have not escaped from the Cold War mentality.” This was a head-on refutation when President Yoon targeted his predecessor, including himself, on Wednesday, saying that they were ’anti-state forces.’ In response, the ruling People Power Party criticized former President Moon, saying, “He still failed to break free from his submissive view of North Korea.”
Former President Moon introduced on his Facebook page the memoir, “The Power of Peace,” written by former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong-gun, regarding the Moon Jae-in administration’s North Korea policies. “I think about how much the inter-Korean relations, security situation, and even the economy would have changed if successive governments had been consistent in their policies for peace,” Choi said.
Lee Min-chan, a spokesman for the People’s Power Party, addressed former President Moon in a commentary, saying, “Why is the view that North Korea should follow the universal values of mankind, a Cold War mentality? The view that only the Kim Jong Un regime should be treated specially is the outdated ‘586 movement rights thinking,’ he refuted. Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, a former lawmaker of the People’s Power Party, criticized it on Facebook, saying, “If you have ruined national security and made the people enslaved to North Korean nuclear weapons, it is better to remain silent, instead of commenting gibberish.”
한국어
donga.com
10. The Ministry of Unification faces an identity crisis
I think the new Minister will have a clear identity for the ministry.
The Ministry of Unification faces an identity crisis
donga.com
Posted July. 04, 2023 07:55,
Updated July. 04, 2023 07:55
The Ministry of Unification faces an identity crisis. July. 04, 2023 07:55. .
The Ministry of Unification is facing increasing turmoil. Officials within the ministry claim that the current state of unrest surpasses the unsettled atmosphere before the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration last year when there were discussions about shutting down the ministry. One official remarked, "Back then, it appeared to have a solution if we could avoid closure, but now it seems there is no way to overcome the current predicament."
The mission of the Ministry of Unification, as stated on its website, includes the following objectives: establishing policies on unification, inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, and humanitarian assistance; analyzing the situation in North Korea; promoting education and awareness about unification; and taking responsibility for all matters related to inter-Korean relations and unification. This mission is also outlined for the Minister of Unification in Article 31 of the Government Organization Act.
The ministry is experiencing unrest due to a significant upheaval in its identity. Following Kim Young-ho's nomination as Minister of Unification, he said he would "endeavor to solve the North Korean nuclear problem with principle." This statement contrasts with the first Unification Minister, Kwon Young-se, who mentioned in his inauguration speech that he "plans to cooperate with North Korea unconditionally." On his first day, the nominee's mention of "principle" implies a firm stance on pressing human rights issues in North Korea. Moreover, the ministry appointed a Vice Minister who is a seasoned diplomat with expertise in U.S. affairs and a human rights advocate. The decision to change the Office of the President Unification Secretary to a non-unification ministry official has caused anxiety within the ministry, with some expressing concerns about "actions that distrust the role of the existing ministry."
President Yoon's message on Sunday exacerbated the existing anxiety. He criticized the Ministry of Unification, stating, "The ministry has been providing unwarranted support to North Korea, which is unacceptable." As a result, he ordered a comprehensive overhaul of the ministry. An official from the Presidential office explained, "The ministry has persistently displayed passivity in response to North Korean provocations, which has caused discomfort for the President." Furthermore, the official remarked, "The President's message was relatively restrained." Another source indicated that the ministry is expected to undergo extensive changes, essentially equivalent to its dissolution.
The notion that the ministry is useless is not new. Particularly when relations between South and North Korea are strained, criticism against the ministry, which focuses on inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, emerges within and outside the government. Therefore, the ministry must redefine its identity to overcome this useless perception. Moreover, it would be misguided to remain passive at a time when North Korea is clearly escalating its provocative nuclear actions.
Even within the ministry, officials agree on the need for change. However, it is true that there are also complaints and anxieties. Some cast doubt on the actions of the presidential office, suggesting that it is expressing its dissatisfaction with North Korea through the ministry. Others feel a sense of shame as the very existence of the ministry, which has been contributing to inter-Korean relations, is being questioned.
So the key point here is planning and speed. An individual who desires change also needs well-defined plans and the flexibility to adjust the pace of change. This also holds true for the Ministry of Unification, a large organization established in 1969. Without transparently sharing comprehensive plans and a clear direction, stigmatizing it as a problematic organization will only create unnecessary resistance from within.
To enhance the fundamentals of the ministry, it is crucial for the nominee to formulate a thorough roadmap. Active communication with the ministry's employees is also vital in this process.
한국어
donga.com
11. IAEA says Japan's Fukushima water discharge plan meets international safety standards
But this does not satisfy many Korean people.
(3rd LD) IAEA says Japan's Fukushima water discharge plan meets international safety standards | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 4, 2023
(ATTN: ADDS Grossi's remarks in paras 10-11)
TOKYO/GENEVA, July 4 (Yonhap) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Tuesday Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water stored at the Fukushima nuclear power station into the sea is consistent with its safety standards.
After a two-year review, the U.N. nuclear watchdog also said that the discharges of the water treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), the plant's custom purification system, would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.
The results of the review are likely to add new momentum to Japan's push to start discharging the water from the plant -- damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 – some time around this summer despite lingering opposition from neighboring countries, including South Korea and China.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks about the results of the IAEA's review of Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water stored at the Fukushima nuclear power station into the sea during a press conference in Tokyo on July 4, 2023. (Yonhap)
"Based on its comprehensive assessment, the IAEA has concluded that the approach and activities to the discharge of ALPS treated water taken by Japan are consistent with relevant international safety standards," IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in the report.
"Furthermore, the IAEA notes the controlled, gradual discharges of the treated water to the sea, as currently planned and assessed by TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power), would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment," he added.
Grossi formally presented the report to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo earlier in the day. Kishida reportedly said Tokyo will "sincerely" respond to the IAEA's safety review of the discharge plan.
The IAEA chief said the report by the task force team of IAEA and independent experts from 11 different countries "represent a significant milestone in the IAEA's review" but that "our task is only just beginning."
"The IAEA will continue to provide transparency to the international community making it possible for all stakeholders to rely on verified fact and science to inform their understanding of this matter throughout the process," he said.
The IAEA said its safety review will continue to ensure Japan and TEPCO apply relevant international safety standards throughout the decadeslong discharge process.
In a press conference, Grossi portrayed the report as the "dedicated" work of more than two years, while stressing his agency will continue to review the discharge process.
"(If) the (Japanese) government decides to proceed with it, the IAEA will be permanently here reviewing, monitoring and assessing this activity for decades to come," he said.
Japan is expected to leverage the findings to address lingering domestic and outside opposition to the discharge plan.
"The IAEA report is very important in our efforts to secure the understanding of the international community regarding the safety of ALPS treated water," Japan's chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno was quoted as saying.
Grossi is set to visit Seoul on Friday for a three-day trip to explain the review of Japan's water discharge plan, according to a Seoul official.
The Seoul government has been striving to allay public safety concerns over the water release plan through a daily press briefing and other measures.
South Korea's 21-member team completed its six-day trip to Japan in late May, which included an on-site inspection. Also, a South Korean expert participated in the IAEA's monitoring team, which had previously released five interim evaluations.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 4, 2023
12. Yoon says second half of 2023 will be inflection point for economy
This will drive his approval ratings obviously,
Yoon says second half of 2023 will be inflection point for economy | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · July 4, 2023
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, July 4 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that the second half of 2023 will be an important inflection point for the economy as it takes a step further in its growth after overcoming various crises.
Yoon made the remark while presiding over a government meeting on economic policy directions for the second half of the year, citing recent positive indicators, such as inflation falling from over 6 percent to the 2 percent range, and last month's turnaround from a trade deficit to a surplus.
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during an economic policy meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on July 4, 2023. (Yonhap)
"I believe the second half of this year will be an important inflection point showing the potential of the South Korean economy, which has grown a step further while overcoming crises," he said during the meeting at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae.
"Uncertainties remain in the external realm, and there are still forces that refuse change, but we will have to demonstrate the innovation capabilities built so far so the people can feel the results," he said.
Yoon stressed the need to increase exports, including by correcting rules and systems that go against the global trend, and revisited the subject of "cartels with benefits," a reference to corrupt forces in and outside the government.
"Structures that share the benefits by building cartels, instead of gaining benefits and rights through a fair and just compensation system, must be strictly destroyed," he said. "Cartels with benefits may look nice on the outside, but they are easily, conveniently and continuously plundering the people, and all public officials must not be afraid to confront them or turn a blind eye to them."
Yoon especially pointed to monopolistic and oligopolistic industrial structures, and "cartels with benefits" sharing government subsidies, saying such behavior should be reviewed thoroughly in the budget allocation process and removed completely.
He also lamented that various economic bills have been held up in the National Assembly, including a bill aimed at establishing fiscal rules.
"I ask all ministers to look only to the people and do everything possible to ensure these essential economic and public livelihood bills quickly take effect," he said.
The meeting brought together ministers and vice ministers from 18 ministries and officials from the National Economic Advisory Council, as well as the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · July 4, 2023
13. Chongjin residents unhappy with paying for nonexistent electricity, water services
The Socialist Workers Paradise.
From each according to his ability to each according to his need.
Chongjin residents unhappy with paying for nonexistent electricity, water services
Even though people suffer great inconveniences from poor infrastructure and chronic supply shortages, the government is absorbed in collecting fees rather than solving actual problems, a source told Daily NK
By Lee Chae Un - 2023.07.04 10:00am
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: A scene from Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province. (Daily NK)
Chongjin residents are expressing displeasure with the government’s compulsory collection of fees for electricity and water, despite their failure to properly provide either service, Daily NK has learned.
“Chongjinites have recently been experiencing daily inconveniences due to frequent power and water outages,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK last Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Nonetheless, neighborhood watch unit leaders or the heads of sanitation teams regularly go around to collect electricity and water fees from households.”
According to the source, the government has never done a good job of supplying electricity or water in the past, but the situation grew even worse in June. He said power is either out the entire day or comes for just 20 or 30 minutes, while water is supplied just once every 10 days.
Nevertheless, the authorities are squeezing people for electricity and water fees.
In fact, in one neighborhood watch unit in Chongjin’s Chongam District, the head of the unit went around to each household to collect fees for electricity on June 24 even thought electricity had barely been supplied to the area.
Faced with having to pay for electricity he had not received, one person complained: “How the heck can you collect fees for just a few minutes of electricity? I’ll accept it if you provide electric lighting for more than half the month, at least. Since I don’t have money to pay, go and report me.”
In the case of water fees, the authorities pass down the expenses of drawing water, which has also led to public discontent, the source said.
North Korea uses gravity fed water systems that draw water into water tanks at higher elevations and let gravity supply the water to households. However, the country’s poor electricity supplies mean that the authorities are charging locals for the oil needed to run the water pumps used to draw the water.
Even though people suffer great inconveniences from poor infrastructure and chronic supply shortages, the government is absorbed in collecting fees rather than solving actual problems, the source claimed.
“People have to do everything on their own, including acquiring rice, electricity, and water,” he said. “Public discontent will only grow if the government goes on collecting fees for services it doesn’t provide.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
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14. Gloomy expectations about restart of trade leads to plummeting KPW-RMB rate
Gloomy expectations about restart of trade leads to plummeting KPW-RMB rate
Meanwhile, KPW-USD market exchange rates continue to climb thanks to state-led trade in Nampo and Sinuiju
dailynk.com
FILE PHOTO: North Korean trucks can be seen heading to the Chinese side of the border on the Sino-North Korean Friendship Bridge. (Daily NK)
After rising for three months, North Korea’s KPW-RMB market exchange rate has recently plummeted due to falling expectations about the full-scale restart of trade with China.
According to Daily NK’s regular survey of North Korean market prices, the yuan was trading at KPW 1,230 in the border city of Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province, on June 25. That is 8.9% less than in the last survey two weeks ago on June 11, when it was trading at KPW 1,350.
The KPW-RMB plummeted in Yanggang Province’s city of Hyesan, too. The yuan was trading at KPW 1,250 in Hyesan as of June 25, 6% less than it was on June 11, when it was trading at KPW 1,330.
The KPW-RMB rate experienced a similar drop in the capital Pyongyang.
It is the first time this year that the KPW-RMB rate fell by 6-8% across all regions in North Korea.
The yuan was trading at KPW 1,200-1,250 in mid-January 2020, just prior to North Korea’s closure of the border to block COVID-19. The yuan fell below KPW 1,000 in November of the same year and even hit KPW 500 in June 2021.
The collapse of the KPW-RMB rate during the border closure was linked to falling domestic expectations regarding the reopening of the border and the restart of trade.
However, the KPW-RMB market rate began slowly climbing from the second half of last year, recovering to over KPW 1,100 last December, when trade with China greatly increased. This March, it rose to its pre-COVID level of KPW 1,200, with the yuan strengthening as of late.
The recent collapse of the KPW-RMB rate, which had been climbing on the back of expanded trade with China, appears to be mostly the result of falling demand for the yuan as expectations for a full-scale restart of trade diminish in border regions such as Yanggang and North Hamgyong provinces.
“Many people bought yuan in the spring because they expected trade to reopen, but trade didn’t restart after they said it would, so now nobody is buying yuan,” a source in Yanggang Province said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “In short, the rate is falling because nobody wants any yuan.”
Another source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK that the authorities “gathered trading companies together to hold training sessions and lectures on trading rules as if trade would soon restart, so people are just frustrated because trade never restarted. Not even trading companies expect trade to restart now.”
KPW-USD market exchange rates continue to climb
Meanwhle, KPW-USD market exchange rates are still rising. The greenback was trading at KPW 8,330 in Pyongyang as of June 25, 0.4% higher than it was on June 11, when it was trading at KPW 8,300. The KPW-USD rate remained unchanged in Sinuiju from two weeks ago.
However, in Hyesan, the dollar was trading at KPW 8,470, 2.7% higher than it was in the previous survey, when it was trading at KPW 8,250.
Prior to COVID-19, major trading companies in Hyesan typically used yuan for payments, but with the recent absence of direct trade through the city, local trading companies are instead participating in state-led trade through Nampo or Sinuiju.
One of Daily NK’s sources said that demand for the greenback has been climbing in Hyesan as of late, particularly among major trading companies, due to the fact that state-led trade is conducted mostly in dollars.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
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dailynk.com
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
| 
