Is North Korea Changing ?

by fulltimestudent 44 Replies latest social current

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  fulltimestudent

  That's true, Nancy! And, worse, A Communist Party magzine in China, took the Onion's send-up at face value and dug themselves into hole with over-praise - or, at least that's what it appears to be, on the surface.

  Of course, (if you could stand the rigidity of the system) catching young Kim Jong-un would be like catching that cute young circuit overseer whose just been appointed to your local circuit. I guess we've all seen that happen, and seen such C O's surrounded by gushing mothers and their eligible daughters.

  And there are videos of K J-u riding a horse on Youtube and he does manage to cut a dashing figure. Needs a good gym trainer, though, doesn't he?. And, he does appear to have an infectious smile..

  But then I got to thinking - the CPC (Communist Party of China - though, its more capitalist than communist, these days) has some really smart people working for it. Would they really fall for the Onion story as genuine? Somehow I doubt it.

  So if they DID know it was a send-up, what the hell is going on?

  Well, the biggest problem Kim Jong-un faces is not the USA, not South Korea, not revolt in NK, but his biggest problem is himself - his own ego.

  Now, there is so much that happens in the world that we can't see. So what if (just say) the comrades in Beijing hear from their friends in Pyongyang, that young Kim is thinking of forming a detente with the US. Likely, the Onion is not on young Kim's usual reading list, or that of his Foreign office lackeys. So how to draw his attention to the article and make him see that the US is prepared to ridicule him? Well, a flattering article in a CPC magazine, based on the Onion piece, is one way. Why? Because likely, that magazine and what it says, IS on the reading list of the higher functionaries inthe KWP (Korean Workers Party).

  Far-fetched? Maybe? But, when you start following this stuff, you kind of get a sense for it.
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  fulltimestudent

  Blindnomore, your chosen nick for this site says a lot. In today's world, everyone is heavily indoctrinated. Look at the barrage of information that Americans had to try and make sense of during the recent Presidential election. And, unless you have the time and inclination to continually sort it out, it just becomes confusing. Truly we can be blinded by it all.

  As, to the struggle facing NK defectors in a South Korea that has moved far from the 1950's, we only have to read the experiences of exJW's on this site to catch a glimpse of people with the same struggle.

  And, then look at the people who went the other way and sense what's happening in their minds. Like this American Military defector, who still lives in NK, named James Dresnok. Sorry I can't give you the precise address (I've exceeded my web downloads for the month, and my provider has slowed me down, down, down) - but go to Youtube and search for Dresnok, crossing the line. There are six parts.
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  fulltimestudent

  further to my post responding to Nancy Drew's post.

  Something quite sensational has happened in NK. (or, its sensational to NK watchers). A long time fixture on the waterfront in Pyongyang, has been the USS Pueblo. This ship, alleged to have been spying on the DPRK, (it was a USS Naval Intellgence gathering vessel) was captured by NK in 1968, and is the only commissioned USS Naval vessel in foreign (enemy?) hands. It's mooring place on the Taedong River is a Propaganda Museum to propogate the superiority of the DPRK and Kim Il-sung's philosophy of Juche.

  The North Koreans are quite happy to give Americans a tour of the ship, and a US Naval Officer has posted photo's on the internet.

  Now Nk.News.Org ( Not a NK News outlet, but a NK watcher) reports that the ship has disappeared from its usual mooring place.

  www.nknews.org/2012/11/uss-pueblo-dissapears-from-pyongyang/

  There is, naturally, speculation about the meaning of this disappearance. My guess is that its been moved to a dockyard for maintenance. All ships require dockyard maintenance periodically.

  However, as NK.News.com reminds readers, in the year 2000 during talks in Pyongyang between NK and US Secretary of State (Madeleine Albright), NK offered to return the ship as part of a process to normalise diplomatic relations.

  So now some are speculating that the ship's disappearance is linked to secret negotiations between Obama's US Administration and Kim Jong-un's NK administration. Is that view strengthened by the news of big changes in the NK power structure?

  Little people like us can only stand and watch in awe at the antics of the powerful
• 

  fulltimestudent

  If I do not post for a few days, do not worry I will return to respond and reveal.

  I have been with the one telco for maybe 40+ years. I recently became (very) dissatisfied with what I get from them. Checking around I found much better deals, so this week commenced what I thought would be a 2-3 day process of changing fixed line, broadband and mobile service to other providers.

  Hahahahhahahahaha!

  It now appears that I will go off the air today, and maybe won't be back on for up to a week .....

  If I was in the elite class in NK, I think I could do better.

  But, I'm only a poverty stricken Australian student, in the grip of Australia's wonderfully efficient infrastructure.

  So see you when I see you.
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  fulltimestudent

  The UK Independent newspaper draws attention today to this 'clever' video (below) - the question asked is - is it a hoax, is it satire, or is it clever propaganda? And if it is clever propaganda, is it really peddled by the North Koreans, or by western dissidents?

  www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6NMr2VrhmF1#!
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  fulltimestudent

  And, also appearing on some of the "NK watch" sites is this book of photographs of north koreans by a Japanese photographer.

  Is his selection of images without prejudice? I do not know. Remember this, Japan has a very large Communist Party, even though they don't garner a very high percentage of votes.

  A few of his images canbe seen in the December 16 (2012) edition of the Japan Times.

  www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20121216x1.html

  Through the lens of Ari Hatsuzawa's camera, life in NK looks normal.

  On the JWS site (now disappeared), I had a NK thread with many similar images by a person named Joseph Ferrier, who claimed to be an American Naval Officer. Can't find his blog anymore, so if there are any ex-JWS followers here, who have a record of Ferrier's blog, I'd sure appreciate locating it again.
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  fulltimestudent

  Next year (in July) the world will remember the 60th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement which brought an end to the actual fighting in the Korean war, even though there is still no peace treaty.

  A conference at the Academy of Korean Studies (in Korea) on the theme, "The Memory of War, the War of Memory, examined the lessons that different nations took away from that war. Dr Leonid Petrov, delivered an informative review of the war and its lessons

  One (to me) striking piece of information.

  The nuclear age had started with the dropping of two bombs on Japan in 1945. These bombs altered the balance of power in the world greatly. But there was a weakness, that although the early 1950's saw the USA with quite a few bombs, they could only be delivered by the Superfortress bombers. In the event of the 'Cold war' becoming hot, was it possible for these bombers to reach the Soviet Union and deliver the bombs.

  The Korean war experience showed that it was unlikely - that the Soviet Air-force was superior to the ASAF (at that time). How do we know this? Although officially, the Soviet Union did not enter the Korean war, unofficially Stalin decided to support the NK and Chinese forces in the war by sending the 64th FAC (Fighter Aviation Corps) to China. It was stationed in N.E.China and consisted of 2 or 3 fighter divisions, a radio unit, and 2 anti-aircraft units and support units. Approximately 26,000 servicemen were stationed in China with this force at any one time.

  What results did this force achieve? They "killed" 1252 American side aircraft ( mostly Sabre jet fighters and B-29 Superfortresses) against a Soviet side loss of 335 MIG fighters and Lz-11 aircrafts.

  This suggests a clear Soviet supremacy. Additionally, the Soviet side were able to capture some newly developed, technologically advanced gear. A clear message must have been sent to the West - the USA could not deliver sufficient nuclear bombs to the vast territories of Russia and China to be decisive in a war.

  This must have become a major factor in American military thinking. They had observed the ability of the former USSR to amass huge armies with technically good weapons and with effective military skills (in the Soviet-Japanese war of 1945). They now saw that the Soviet airforce had the skills to prevent A-bombs reaching Russian territories in large numbers. The had also observed the determination of Chinese troops, when China entered the conflict. I suggest that US military realists would have realised from all this, that a 'hot-war' with the Soviet- PRC side was unlikely to succeed.
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  fulltimestudent

  After watching more of this video,I think I need to post this warning to anyone deciding to watch the above "Propaganda" video.

  For some people some of the scenes may be disturbing. Those who may feel sensitivity toward human hurt, pls be careful at 1:01:04 where a dead infant is shown with its brains spilling out. I have no doubt that such things happen, but .....
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  fulltimestudent

  Some recent news from NK.

  1. The Yonhap News Agency (South Korean) reports that North Korea has signed an air service deal with the United Arab Emirates, reportedly to obtsain cheaper fares for its overseas workers. So NK is not quite as isolated as President Obama may imagine.

  2. North-South exchange. 103 years ago a Korean independence fighter named An Jong-gun assassinated Japan's first appointed Governor-General of Korea, Hirobumi Ito. This was during the time when Japan was copying Western powers and trying to take over other countries (the colonial era). Japan had annexed Korea and had forced treaties with China giving them large powers in Manchuria. An Jong-gun was able to kill the GG in Harbin (North China) and was subsequently imprisoned in a Japanese prison in Manchuria where he was executed. Memorial Societies for An, exist in both north and south Korea. In November members of South Korea's An Jung-gun Memorial Society travelled to Pyongyang, to commemorate the 103rd anniversary of An's execution by the Japanese invaders. An Jung-gun is regarded as one of the greatest patriots in Korean history.

  3. The Choson Sinbo, a Korean newspaper in Japan(where there are many Koreans-descendents of enslaved workers from the colonial period. Japan refuses full citizenship rights to these people, who often suffer discrimination from Japan). The Choson Sinbo is pro-North Korea, and often reports on developments in NK. The November 9 issue explains that the role and authority of the cabinet is being strengthened in order to better improve the economy.

  I find this interesting, as I suggest that the economic problems in NK worsened after the death of Kim Il-sung, who had kept a close eye on production. Kim Jong-il did not seem to have the same interest, and the government likely lost control of the economy. Production sagged (particularly fertiliser production) causing the resulting economic and food problems of the 1990s.

  The Choson Sinbo report stated that NK internal news outlets now often report on the activity of the Premier Choe Yong Rim, who (I see) as perhaps being handed responsibility for reforming and improving NK's economy.

  4. Final point. North Korea's mobile phone service (Koryolink) is operated by Egyptian company, Orascom. Orascom reports that there are now one and half million mobile subscribers in NK and that their service is available in 100 cities. Orascom's founder/owner Naguib Sawiris told Forbes magazine that the company expects to earn US$ 145 million from NK this year.

  Reference for the above: www.asiabriefing.com/store/book/dprk-business-monthly-december-2012-388
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  fulltimestudent

  In a previous post, I spoke of a web-site on NK that I could no longer find. That was because I remembered the name of the site's owner as Joseph Ferrier, when his name really is Joseph Ferris.

  The web-site is named AMERICAN IN NORTH KOREA, AND THE WEB ADDRESS IS: americaninnorthkorea.com

  If you have an interest in understanding what life may be like in NK, his site is worth exploring. There are lots of photographs of his experiences with ordinary North Koreans.

  Ferrier claims that he is Chief Mate on a U.S. flagged oceanographic research vessel. He also offers to act as a guide to private tourist groups. How he reconciles those two activities i don't know, but be sure his site is worth looking at.