News and Insights on North Korea

The site NKZone posted an interview today with a South Korean teacher who has spent a great deal of time teaching English to recent North Korean defectors (mostly younger folks). While I highly recommend taking the time to read the interview in its entirety, here are a couple of choice bits:

My student age range is between 20 and 30. I have about 25 students in total. Although I have the trust of most of them, a handful seem wary of anyone asking too many questions about NK and thus didn't answer. There is some justification with this thinking as teachers in NK are generally used to fish out any signs of disloyalty to the regime (remember kids often just tell the truth).

Do the North Korean People See Any Hope of Reform?

Certainly the question with the most divisive answer was whether North Korea could be reformed. Most thought not but a couple believe that Kim Jong-il was pragmatic enough to enact enough changes to ensure his survival. Others believed he would never change and more outside pressure was needed. None had personally seen any anti-government graffiti but one guy from a small place in North Hamgyong had heard about some one writing "why are the people so hungry?" at a train station that was thoroughly investigated.

Would the People Support a Popular Uprising?

Almost unanimously they thought that if an anti-government uprising had “momentum” it would be supported by the general population. Even one student from Pyongyang said that.

How Have North Korea’s Difficulties Affected Military Morale?

Military service is compulsory for about ten years with exceptions given for lesser service. Until the early 1990's it was considered honorable and a good opportunity to improve oneself (better rations and everyday supplies). However that's not the case so much anymore and they have shortages as well. SI said that the DMZ based troops are treated better than those stationed in the provinces and they are constantly reminded of this with the threat of (and actual) banishment to another place as a method of punishment. LY and SI both explained that it is military policy to station one in another province than one's hometown. This serves the dual purpose of deterring desertion and taking advantage of regional rivalries by making the stationed soldiers less sympathetic to the local people. What I mean by this is somewhat analogous to having a New Yorker stationed in rural Texas and vise-versa with each having a patronizing view of the other.

Some salient points:

For many defectors coming out of North Korea, the idea of reform is tied to placing greater pressure on the regime. This stands in stark contrast to the approach taken by the South Korean government. Take note, of course, that these ARE fairly young, politically unsophisticated folks being interviewed, though. And they may not have a good feel for how much pressure would force reforms and how much would force a violent reaction against South Korea, Japan, or anyone else the NK military could manage to hit.

Military service is compulsory for about ten years! And, of course, troops are scattered in the typical manner of a police state – dispersed to areas where they will be less likely to resist orders to repress civil disobedience.

On top of all this, we have the reports of odd behavior coming out of North Korea that I discussed last week.

A report from the Korea Herald today seems to show the North Korean regime mounting a concerted (dis)information campaign regarding recent events:

North Korea is seriously reconsidering its role in talks on its nuclear plans because of what it sees as a concerted campaign to topple the North's ruling system, the North Korean Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

The United States had launched a psychological campaign to persuade people that there was a crisis in the communist North, including mass defections by generals to China, the ministry said in a lengthy English-language statement.

"Under this situation the DPRK is compelled to seriously reconsider its participation in the talks with the U.S., a party extremely disgusting and hateful," said the statement, published by the official KCNA news agency. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

On Sunday, Pyongyang said North Korea will not dismantle its nuclear programs or improve ties with South Korea until questions about the South's nuclear experiments are clearly answered.

"If the South Korean authorities are truly interested in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a peaceful reunification of the country, they should explain the truth about the criminal nuclear activities and immediately stop nuclear weapons development activities," said Rodong Shinmun, the North's official newspaper.

The Herald wraps up with a brief summary regarding the mixed signals coming from the North of late:

In recent weeks there have been persistent rumors in financial markets and diplomatic circles about possible political changes in the North, one of the world's most secretive states.

Stories have ranged from the disappearance of portraits and lapel badges of leader Kim Jong-il to the defection of more than 130 generals to China. The North Korean Foreign Ministry said Washington had let "reptile media and riff-raff" spread reports about the portraits and had then floated the story about the generals.

As if all that weren't enough, the New York Times reports Japan is now threatening to impose sanctions over North Korea's failure to account for kidnapped Japanese – with the latest episode involving falsely labeled bones given to Japan. Such sanctions would be devastating to North Korea's already tottering economy.

Oddly, there has been little major press coverage regarding these recent quirks within North Korea. Perhaps this is because North Korean behavior is always so goofy that it can be hard to tell when radical changes are underway?