• KJU has reportedly ordered a halt to the collection of funds and resources from the citizenry for monuments idolizing KJI. Contributions already collected are to be returned.
• Construction of the “Eternal Tower” to commemorate KJI will reportedly necessitate the destruction of more than 200 homes.
• Research released by the National Endowment for Democracy has reported the existence of large markets able to serve nearly 100,000 customers per day.
• KCNA has reported new amendments to NK laws on foreign investment.
• NK energy shortages have reportedly led to decreased rail activity, prompting some individuals to ride on the tops of trains.
• Extreme cold and frozen waters are expected to hinder NK fishing and shipping industries this winter.
• KJI’s birthday was marked this week with various celebrations (video), including a military parade, the unveiling of a large bronze statue (the first such depicting KJI), an ice sculpture festival, the 16th Kimjongilia festival, and the production of commemorative stamps and coins. The occasion was also marked by gifts to Party cadres and distributions to the citizenry, varying in type and amount by region.
• KJI has been elevated to the rank of “Grand Marshal,” to share NK’s highest military rank with KIS.
• NK has revealed a mountainside rock carving commemorating KJI. Criticized by Daily NK.
• A new badge of KJI has been released.
• The annual Arirang Festival will reportedly be held in the month of April for the first time in five years, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of KIS. The event usually opens in August.
• KJU has promoted 23 military officials to higher ranks. Chosun Ilbo on the promotions of Kim Yong-chol and Kim Jong-gak.
• The first of recently revealed KJI medals, dubbed along with the KIS medal to be the “highest honor in the country,” have been awarded to 132 NK citizens, including many core Party, state, and military figures.
• NK authorities have reportedly added “KJI remembrance meetings,” to annual “loyalty gatherings” meant to support the regime.
• NK officials gathered Feb. 15 for a national meeting to commemorate KJI, and reportedly held a rally earlier in the week to pledge allegiance to KJU.
• Orascom denied reports of cell phones being banned and users being branded as “war criminals.”
• A helicopter crash reportedly killed NK’s commerce minister, the commercial director of North Pyongan Province, and three other cabinet officials.

FOOD AID & FOOD SECURITY

• U.S. Commerce Dept figures show that U.S. relief to NK increased from 1.9m USD in 2010 to 9.4m USD in 2011.
• GIEWS brief: There was an estimated increase in NK cereal harvests in 2011 which are expected to lead to a decrease in imports in 2012. 3 million NKoreans are currently estimated to be vulnerable to food shortages.

REFUGEES

• The Chinese authorities’ detainment of NK defectors at various locations and movement towards their likely repatriation has garnered international attention, including statements by Amnesty International and advocate Robert Park. Protests have been held in SK and SK lawmakers including Park Geun-hye have taken action including by sending letters to the UN, USG and China to prompt intervention. The detention was reportedly the result of coordination between the NK NSA and the Chinese MPS, which has allegedly stepped up efforts to capture NK defectors since January. SK diplomats are reportedly to meet with their Chinese counterparts to discuss this and other issues later this month.
• Piece on NK refugee Lee Hyeonseo, who recently participated in the CSIS’ Pacific Forum.
• A NK defector has been charged with entering SK with intent to work on behalf of the NK Govt.
• Daily NK on ways to reform refugee job-aid programs.

HUMAN RIGHTS

• The NK NSA is reportedly leading installations of additional surveillance cameras on the NK/China border meant to further clamp down on smuggling and defection.
• The Propaganda Department and NK NSA have reportedly established a new unit within NK meant to crackdown on “illegal” media.
• President of the NED, Carl Gershman, has received the Order of Diplomatic Service Medal from the SK govt for his NKHR work. Daily NK on Gershman.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

• A team led by Glyn Davies is to meet with a NK delegation in China on Feb. 23 to discuss nuclear weapons issues. A U.S. source reportedly called NK “steps toward denuclearization” a “prerequisite for the resumption of the six-party talks,” ahead of the talks.
• U.S. company Korea Pyongyang Trading USA, previously an importer of NK alcohol, is working with NK on plans to attract visitors to Mount Geumgang resort.
• Unification Ministry: SK is to “ease sanctions on North Korea imposed May 24 last year to support the operations of plants operating (in Kaesong), including allowing the entry of necessary facilities and construction of warehouses.” The move comes after a bipartisan group of SK lawmakers who visited Kaesong last week called for changes including new building permissions, provisions of machinery, a solution to worker shortfalls, more leisure facilities for workers, and products from the complex to be recognized as SKorean under FTAs.
• A former SK chief of staff reportedly met with NK diplomats in China earlier this month and spoke about possibility of future discussions with NK in exchange for flexibility on Kaesong and Mount Geumgang.
• U.S. ambassador to SK in his first public statements in office: “If [NK] hope[s] to improve relations with [the U.S.], if they want to make progress in the six-party talks, they have to be more sincere with the South Koreans.”
• The SK defense ministry is to restructure its nuclear non-proliferation and information protection departments to bolster defense policy for NK WMD and cyber attacks.
• SKorean and Russian SPT officials have agreed on the “need for an early resumption” of the talks.
• SK’s floundering NK human rights bill is set for automatic termination at the end of the National Assembly term.
• Ahn Chan Il, the first NK defector to earn a PhD, has joined the supreme council of the SK K-Party, making him the first defector to enter into SK politics. His stated goal is to “make the [SK] North Korea Human Rights Act a real issue in the National Assembly.” “As a member of the supreme council of the K-Party, my work is to establish unification policy and strategy towards North Korea. I want to join hands with various defector organizations to turn defectors into ‘unification talent’.”
• A SK civic group which met with NK counterparts last week against SK govt wishes has reportedly proposed holding a meeting later this year at NK’s Geumgang resort.
• NK reportedly rejected a SK offer to discuss joint pest control efforts at ancient NK tombs.
• The SK Red Cross has proposed the resumption of SK/NK family reunion talks.
• China has reportedly secured rights to develop and use docks, a railway, and an airfield at Rason SEZ, in a contract valued at 3b USD.
• The number of NKoreans legally visiting China reportedly increased 30% from 2010-2011, setting a new annual high. A vast majority of the 152,300 visits were for work/business related reasons. Discussed by NK Econ Watch.
• Former senior advisor to the State Department, Philip W. Yun on USG approach to NK: “This failure to be more proactive is likely to end in a different kind of bad news — another nuclear test.”

ANALYSIS & OPINION

• Korea Realtime on the rumor of KJU’s death and the “unknowable-ness” of NK.
• 38North on developing NK through agriculture.
• DailyNK on the likely posthumous glorification of KJI through landmark renaming.
• NK Leadership Watch on KJU military unit visits and newly released media glorifying KJI.
• Noland on economic reform in NK.
• Korea JoongAng Daily on NK consumerism.
• Haggard on skepticism about recent reports of Chinese aid to NK.
• Haggard on SK political party platforms regarding NK.
• WP on NK markets and foreign currency usage and defectors sending money back to NK.
• Sino-NK on NK women in China and development plans for Hwanggumpyong and Wihwa Island SEZs.
• Chosun Exchange on NK’s CNC.
• America Abroad: Interviews with NK defectors, and reports on the history and future of US/NK relations.
• The Korea Herald on NK/Iran relations.
• Sino-NK on NK elites’ commercial activities with China.
• Global Post on SKorean NK activists.
• Daily NK on Koryolink cell phone contracts.
• Aljazeera report on the DMZ as home to “ecological treasury.”

MISC.

• An arrest warrant has been issued for a SKorean pro-NK organization leader who attempted to set up a memorial for KJI in Seoul.
• A recent survey suggests that SK company perceptions of investment in NK are mixed.
• Photos of NK by Damir Sagolj.
• Rocket News on NK subway system, fast food restaurant, and Air Koryo in-flight meal.
• Progressive civic groups have formed a committee calling for the release of SKorean NK propaganda retweeter.
• Previously suspended self-driven tours from China to NK are reportedly to be restarted this May.
• A Russian magazine has speculated that Kim Jong Nam is having financial problems, recently being kicked out of a Macau hotel for not being able to pay his bill.
• The largest NK overseas restaurant to date has opened in Dandong, China and is reportedly staffed by more than 200 NK workers.

NK INTERNAL

• A diplomat based in Pyongyang says the capital is facing its worst electricity shortage in years.
• NK state media described KJU’s youth as an asset to the nation.
• Daily NK: Members of the National Security Agency and People’s Safety Ministry in Musan County, North Hamkyong Province, are engaged in a power struggle, each accusing members of the opposing agency of transgressions, marking a contrast from previous times when agents largely overlooked illegal activities among their ranks.
• Daily NK: Authorities are reportedly cracking down on the enforcement of state-designated prices, confiscating illegally priced goods, transferring them to state stores, and banning offenders from trading for a month.
• NK authorities have reportedly called on the citizenry to provide plastic sheeting to improve greenhouses cultivating Kimjongilia.
• Dong-a Ilbo has reported on organized fruit exports from Dandong, China to NK; an estimated 16m USD worth, for consumption by the nation’s elite.
• An addition of 449 NK workers to the Kaesong Industrial Complex has brought the total to 50,315. 20,000+ workers needed to cover an existing shortfall are likely to be bussed in from increasingly further afield as the available labour in surrounding areas have largely been tapped. 72% of the workers are female.
• Orascom Telecom revealed that NK now has more than 1 million cell phone subscribers.
• A NK economic quarterly advocated the use of commercials to promote exports.
• Arirang performances are reportedly being held in locations outside of Pyongyang, following a policy attributed to KJI in 2010.

REFUGEES

• The Love North Korean Children charity, an organization funding bakeries to feed starving NK children, is aiming to open a home for stateless children in China.
• The Canadian Embassy in Seoul is to launch a program teaching Canadian English, values, and concepts such as multiculturalism and parliamentary democracy to North Korean defectors.

HUMAN RIGHTS

• Human rights activist Robert Park reportedly plans to press charges against NK for his treatment while imprisoned there, an effort meant to raise awareness. Haggard Analysis.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

• The NK govt issued conditions that SK must meet before there can be improved ties between the nations. WSJ answers on Seoul’s behalf.]
• SK Minister of Unification: “To continue alleviating the difficulties of the North Korean people, we will continue with exchanges and cooperation for humanitarian support.”; “If North Korea tries to recover its people’s economy and takes the road of mutual coexistence, then we are more than willing to prepare to help.” SK senior nuclear negotiator: “The prospects of the normalization of the relationship between Pyongyang and the international community, and eventually a lifting of sanctions, all those benefits will be a strong incentive for the new leadership.”
• The SK govt has banned political activists, South Side Committee, from meeting their NK counterparts in China, but the group has said it plans to push ahead regardless.
• A SK military source has stated that NK is developing unmanned attack drones based on U.S. technology, purchased from a Middle Eastern nation.
• The Russian Ambassador to NK claimed that KJU supports the building of a natural-gas pipeline stretching from Russia to SK through NK.
• A bipartisan group of SK lawmakers are to visit Kaesong Industrial Complex on February 10 with the “hope that the representatives of the SK people and both governments will cooperate to develop relations.”
• A SK lawmaker has claimed that much of the methamphetamine coming into SK originates from state and private sources within NK, and encouraged better SK/China coordination to stop the flow.
• Representatives of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization are reportedly planning to call for NK to repay 1.89b USD for the termination of collaborated on light-water reactor project.

ANALYSIS & OPINION

• Prof. Coppola’s analysis of a recent NK propaganda film about KJU.
• KJU’s January analyzed by Daily NK and NK Economy Watch.
• NYT on KJU’s succession and similarities to KIS.
• Daily NK on bottom-up change in NK and the prospect of marketization benefiting the govt.
• Sinonk.com: Introduction to NK’s Rason Economic Trade Zone.
• Noland on NK attempts to limit foreign exchange usage.
• World Policy Blog on “genocide” in NK.
• AP on KJU’s inner circle of advisers.
• Haggard on Chinese aid and contingency plans regarding NK.
• The Daily Beast on Bush administration “track two” NK intermediary, Dong-Moon Joo.

MISC.

• KCNA: China denied reports touting the likelihood of China dispatching troops into NK in case of a contingency.
• SK has indicted a social media and freedom-of-speech activist for retweeting messages from the NK official twitter account. SK blocking of NK websites discussed by Hankyoreh.
• Nature: Radioisotope data suggests NK may have conducted two nuclear tests in 2010.
• A defector claimed that details concerning the bombing of KAL 858 were common knowledge within NK despite Govt denials to the international community.
• NK youth footballers were ordered not to participate in a match against SK when NK officials reportedly said the match was against Govt policy.
• Results of a recent SK survey show that a majority of SKoreans believe China, not the U.S., is the most important country to partner with over NK issues.
• Japan reportedly indicted two people for allegedly exporting 108K USD worth of computers to NK, violating sanctions.
• The SK govt revealed that three Korean-Americans visited Pyongyang to pay their respects to KJI in December.
• A video of NKoreans playing 80’s pop tune “Take On Me” on accordions has gone viral.
• A NK themed and NKorean staffed Pyongyang Restaurant has opened in Amsterdam, the first such restaurant in the western world.
• NK gasoline-baked clams “could reinvent BBQ as we know it.”

• Dong-a Ilbo reported that thousands of fliers denouncing KJU, seemingly made within NK, have been found in Chongjin (North Hamgyeong Province), NK’s third largest city.
• KCNA reported on revised and supplemented laws on foreign investment, a move seemingly designed to attract foreign resources into the country. In November 2011 the NK Academy of Social Sciences released an article outlining improvements to be made to SEZ tax investigation systems emphasizing the establishment of a tax system acceptable to foreign companies.
• 400 NK workers are expected to be added to the Kaesong Industrial Complex workforce, bringing the total to over 49,000.
• NK media has reportedly referred to KJU as “Dear Father”, a title in line with similar designations used for KJI and KIS.
• Daily NK reports on indications that purges and propaganda will be used to solidify KJU’s rule. The NK Central Party is reportedly taking steps to “destroy the forces” who are doubtful or critical of KJU, including increased propaganda and criticism sessions.
• The status and authority of National Security Agency (NSA) agents have reportedly been elevated by KJU, seen as a victory among NK security forces.
• NK is reportedly preparing for what may be the largest military parade ever held in the country. Parade logistics analyzed by NK Economy Watch.
• NK citizens are reportedly being required to provide funds and resources for the erection of statues of KJI and the eternal tower.
• DailyNK on the NK homicide rate.

FOOD AID & FOOD SECURITY

• IFES: NK is expected to attempt to resume nationwide food distribution. This would mark the first such distribution in seven years, although the amount of rations to be provided is unclear.

• Daily NK: Rations and coupons for government-run stores were reportedly distributed for the Lunar New Year by order of KJU. Recipients included “ordinary people,” but the rations varied in type between rice and corn and in amount by neighborhood, with some people reportedly getting 5 days worth, some 3 days, and some nothing.
• According to a WFP source in Pyongyang food distributions to NK citizens have steadily increased since October 2011, possibly a result of improved harvests in 2011.
• Daily NK: Authorities have stepped up efforts to secure fertilizers and agricultural tools in order to increase agricultural production.
• DongA Ilbo reports that the Russian Govt is mulling the lease of farmland in its far east that NK is interested in.
• China reportedly made a decision to send 500K tons of food and 250K tons of crude oil to NK the day after KJI’s death was announced. The move is thought to be aimed at ensuring NK’s internal stability, and photos taken at the border suggest that rice aid may have already started flowing. The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that China “want[s] the international communities to offer aid to North Korea, just like China.”

• NK is to receive 11m USD in humanitarian aid from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund. UN CERF funds are often allocated to NK because of a lack of donations to the country-specific fund.

REFUGEES

• The SK National Election Commission is reportedly reviewing plans to collaborate with Chinese police to prevent NK refugees from entering SK diplomatic missions in China during the upcoming overseas voting period. Officials are concerned that during this period NK refugees will pose as SK voters to gain access to the missions. An NEC official reportedly described such measures as “unavoidable” due to the wish to avoid diplomatic friction with China, but the plans have drawn criticism that they would be an abuse of power.
• The SK Red Cross will expand its assistance to NK refugees in expectation of increased numbers of refugees in the future.

• Canada reportedly accepted 83 NK refugees in 2011, double the number of 2010. It is unknown how many of these are ‘double-defectors’ that had previously resettled in SK.

HUMAN RIGHTS

• Ha Tae-keung, longtime NKHR activist and president of ORNK, has declared his candidacy for the upcoming National Assembly elections, seeking to raise the profile of NKHR.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

• SK’s ruling Grand National Party has released a new policy platform which seems to soften its stance towards NK ahead of upcoming elections (Hankyoreh analysis).
• NK accepted 180 tons of food aid from the SK Korea Peace Foundation, but also warned that SK military exercises could lead to “full-scale war.” SK staged the live-fire artillery drills from Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands, the first such drills since the death of KJI.
• SK and U.S. troops will reportedly go ahead with scheduled fortnight-long Key Resolve joint-military exercises starting Feb. 27, citing a continued threats from NK. Last year’s exercises included 12,300 troops from the U.S. and 200,000 from SK and passed without incident.
• SK humanitarian assistance to NK decreased 51.5% from 2010-2011. Govt aid was down 68.1% and private aid was down 35.4%.
• The USG’s Kurt Campbell stated that NK must improve relations with SK before it can have better relations with the international community, also saying that “hope of diplomacy rests on the reality of a very strong deterrence and military commitment.” The DOD’s Michele Flournoy similarly said that “the ball is in their court” to take the steps necessary to restart the SPT, adding that “our top concern” is nuclear weapons moving in and out of the country. State Dept’s Jack Sullivan also said that “Our message to the leadership of NK… is to say we have a roadmap, a set of steps that you could take that over time would be as much in your interests as everybody else’s, and that in response to those steps, the international community would be prepared to take steps of its own.”
• U.S. military personnel will travel to NK on March 1 to recover MIA remains from the Korean War, a move perceived as an easing of tensions.

ANALYSIS & OPINION

• DailyNK on societal shifts in NK, changes to to the perceived importance of songbun and an unlikely triumvirate of the ‘well-off’’: Party cadres, fishermen, and ‘attractive widows’.
• Bosworth said that he thinks it will be a “fairly quiet year” diplomatically, adding “I don’t think that the senior generals and that the senior party people are going to give Kim Jong-Un anything approaching the level of authority that Kim Jong-Il had… I think they need Kim Jong-Un as a figurehead.”
• Asahi Shimbun analysis of the Chinese military response to the death of KJI. Beijing was reportedly unofficially informed of KJI’s death a day before it was announced.
• Daily NK on the Korea Employer’s Federation report on labor market changes in case of reunification.
• Haggard on Cathcart’s analysis of the Chinese reaction to the death of KJI, suggesting strong support for the new regime.
• Geoffrey K. See on commercial life in NK, including comment on the rising income inequality and young NKoreans interest in business.
• Siegfried Hecker is concerned for the safety of NK’s Yongbyon nuclear facility.

• Nak-chung Paik on the importance of leadership change in NK and SK.
• Lankov on the KJI era.

MISC.

• NK has been ranked second-worst country in the world for press freedom by Reporters Without Borders, consistent with rankings of previous years.
• SK and NK teams will likely participate in the 2012 Incheon Peace Cup International Youth Football Match in China, the first sports exchange between the nations since the death of KJI.
• KCNA: New propaganda posters focusing on economic construction.

• SK is planning to launch “The Open Source Center,” a service designed to collect public foreign information on NK issues.

• The Onion: Disco jump-rope gala in Pyongyang suggests a return to normalcy after the death of KJI.

• NK striker Jong-tae Se has signed for Bundesliga side Cologne.

• The average NKorean male is shorter than his Chosun Dynasty ancestors.
• Video of a NK technology trade fair, featuring an android app that reads barcodes and NKorean voice-to-text software.

• NK state media is claiming KJU led NK’s nuclear testing effort, in an attempt to give him legitimacy.
• RFA on cellphones in NK.
• The AP has set up an office in Pyongyang, the first western media outlet allowed to do so. Cooperation with the AP had been increasing in the last year of KJI’s reign.
• Yang Hyong-sop, vice-chairman of the SPA reportedly told the AP that KJU “is focusing on creating a knowledge-based economy, and is studying cases of economic reform in other countries, including China.” This would be the first time such a statement has been made by a high ranking official to a foreign media organization. However Yang also said that despite the loss of KJI they are not worried because KJU “is fully prepared to carry on the heritage created by the great Gen. Kim Jong Il.” The reference to learning from China may be a sop to them aimed at securing their continued support. The message may also be designed to stimulate Sunshine Policy/engagement proponents in Seoul ahead of the 2012 presidential elections in SK.
• NK will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the birth of KJI on Feb. 16th.
• NK trade expanded 22.3% in 2010, according to Statistics Korea. Trade with China accounted for 57%, up from 53% in 2009. Production at the Kaesong Industrial Complex rose 14.4% in 2011, reaching 370m USD for January-November 2011.
• KJU visited his fifth military unit since his father’s death as the regime tries to boost his credibility as a military leader.
• Four govt officials were reportedly murdered in North Hamgyeong Province shortly after the death of KJI. An investigation is said to have been launched to find the perpetrators.

FOOD AID & FOOD SECURITY

• The prices of Yuan and riceare increasing around the lunar new year holiday. Daily NK reports that people are cynical about official threats on the use of foreign currency, with one Musan source saying “People are saying that ‘If his dad couldn’t stop it, what is the young one going to do about it?’ and ‘As long as the Tumen River keeps flowing, they can’t stop the Yuan, the smuggling, or the defection.’”
• The SK Govt signed off on a visit and a donation of 180 tons of flour to NK by the Korea Peace Foundation, the first such aid since the death of KJI.
• The SK Govt was accused of not releasing NK food security data in case it built public support for food aid to NK.
• China recently provided 6,000 boxes of instant noodles to NK.
• The UNDP reportedly plans to take steps to reduce crop loss and promote food security in NK. Around 15% of crops harvested in NK are said to be damaged every year, while only 13% of the 150-thousand tons of seed produced meet international standards.

REFUGEES

• The Hankyoreh on difficulties faced by NK refugees who resettle in the U.S. including job insecurity, debt, language barriers, and discrimination.

HUMAN RIGHTS

• Following a fact finding mission to Japan, UN SR Darusman has encouraged NK to use  the succession of KJU as an opportunity to “engage the international community” and “improve the human rights situation,” suggesting the Myanmar model as a means of engagement.
• Daily NK: NK authorities are stepping up security along the border with China by erecting barbed wire fences, continuing trends of clampdowns on cross-border movement.
• NK has announced a special amnesty to prisoners to take place on Feb. 1st. The amnesty may be designed to show the regime’s confidence and benevolence to the people, and it also opens up opportunities for corruption.
• The number of elderly SKoreans seeking to meet relatives in NK fell to less than 80,000 last year, a government database showed, highlighting the urgency of resuming reunions of family members separated by the Korean War.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

• Campbell says the USG has “made clear [to NK] both through public channels and privately that we are prepared to start a new chapter to deal clearly with outstanding issues, nuclear matters and the like.” He also warned NK against any provocations as they could provoke a response from Seoul, and said that the USG has also asked Beijing to convey that message to Pyongyang.
• The USG is pressuring SK to reduce oil imports from Iran. Robert Einhorn linked the efforts to increase pressure on Iran to efforts on the NK nuclear issue during a visit to Seoul.
• U.S., SK, and Japanese diplomats said they are open to resuming the SPT with NK, likely in an effort to dissuade KJU from taking aggressive action to solidify his position in coming months.
• NK released two recently detained Japanese men, a move taken by the Japanese Government as a positive sign.
• The U.S. and SK are considering the cancellation of planned joint military training exercises out of concern that the new NK leadership may react aggressively.
• The SK Govt has scrapped plans to press NK to make the first repayment on food loans after the Unification Ministry pushed for a softer line.

REPORTS & ANALYSIS

• Businessweek on current NK business and economy.
• CFR report on the future of NK nuclear talks.
• CRS report on the death of KJI.
• Haggard on NK’s joint new year’s editorial, broken down into political, economic, and foreign policy issues, and speculating on NK developments to come this year.

MISC.

• Biography on Spanish NK supporter Cao de Benos.
• Historical photographs of NK from the USC Digital Library.
• Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of KJI, reportedly predicted the collapse of the regime in emails published in a newly released book.

It is impossible to go inside North Korea to interview the people regarding their true feelings on the situation. However LiNK has spoken with refugees who have recently left the country. It should be noted that North Korean refugees cannot be considered to be necessarily representative of the general population, as the majority have come from border regions and therefore their views may be different from those living in Pyongyang or elsewhere.

LiNK works on the ground helping North Korean refugees who have escaped into China, bringing them out through a ‘modern-day underground railroad’ to its shelter in Southeast Asia where refugees can then seek safe resettlement in third nations. Prior to Kim Jong-il’s death, we had interviewed refugees who came through our shelter on their attitudes towards the succession. Some of the refugees had left North Korea as recently as November 2011. Over the past few hours we have contacted further refugees for their comments and thoughts upon hearing about Kim Jong-il’s death.

North Korean Refugees on the Succession:

“Some North Korean people believe that if Kim Jong-un takes over North Korean politics, he will be even worse than his father.”

“Kim Jong-un has been presented to us by the state media as a military figure.”

“Of course, people think badly of the succession. How could you think it is a good thing? The Government is not providing the people with any kind of standard of living.”

“The North Korean people just hope to live in freedom and to live well.”

North Korean refugees’ reaction to the death of Kim Jong-il:

“The North Korean people will currently be putting on feigned shows of sadness. This is very different to the death of Kim Il-sung. Kim Il-sung founded the country and the people think that he did a lot for them. Times have been hard during Kim Jong-il’s reign. People have woken up and are much more aware of the reality of the country and the leadership now. People will outwardly be showing sadness but inwardly they will feel very differently. The people fear that anything but the required show of sadness could get them killed… The most likely outcome of the succession is that Kim Jong-un will continue in the same mold as his father.”
- Shin Jong-wook, M, 20.*

“This is not a happy or a sad event for me. But it is a big moment. This will be a shocking moment for the North Korean people. But there will not be as much grief as when Kim Il-sung died. Of course, people will have to pretend to be sad, and people may get caught up in the atmosphere, but it is not true sadness.”
- Kim Moon-soo, M, 21.

“I worry about what this will mean for my relatives back inside and for the North Korean people. I fear that the relatives of defectors will be persecuted more. They are closing the markets and there are bound to be a lot of staged political events, so for the people that are already struggling things are going to get even harder.”
- Park Yun-joo, F, 31.

“I didn’t feel anything in particular when I heard the news. But I am worried that my family in North Korea will suffer because of the change in leadership.”
- Lee Sunghee, F, 39.

“It was a big surprise. I don’t know what the next leadership will be like, so its a big worry. Some people will be sad because the leader of the country has died. That is normal. But some people will probably be glad that he has died.”
- Park Il-hyung, M, 37.

“I don’t care that Kim Jong-il is dead. In North Korea now, the norm dictates that everyone has to cry. But people don’t have any positive feelings towards Kim Jong-il. The majority of people will be faking their tears.”
- Nam Gum-sook, F, 19.

“If you don’t cry in North Korea after the leader dies, then you could come under suspicion as being against the Government. Then you have to live with that label and suspicion for the rest of your life.”
- Kang Bohee, F, 21.

*The names of refugees have been changed to protect their identities and ensure the security of relatives still inside North Korea.

• The NK Govt reportedly has banned 200 of its citizens in Libya from returning home. They’ll hear about Gadhafi’s death anyway.
• Rumourmill: KJU married?
• Recommended: Daily NK’s ‘NK People Speak, 2011” available in pdf here. And Haggard blogs about it.
• Daily NK: Its the Jangmadang, Stupid. “With the introduction of the market system to North Korea, as long as you have Yuan, Dollars etc, you can buy absolutely anything… while the market has been replacing the government’s role, the power of the government has been shrinking.”
• ORNK: SK dramas entertain bored Pyongyang housewives. Boring propaganda on state television is driving demand for foreign media, and people are gathering to watch the dramas in groups.
• Daily NK on the dark humour of NKoreans. As the male-dominated state socialist system flounders and women are active in the markets, women are referring to their ‘nam-pyeon’ (husband) as ‘bul-pyeon’ (inconvenience) and people who manage to get repaid money they are owed are called ‘war heroes’.
• DongA Ilbo with two pieces on smuggling networks working inside NK.
• NYT on NK’s economic strategy of seeking foreign cash while avoiding real reform.
• 38 North – NK: An up and coming IT outsourcing destination.

FOOD AID & FOOD SECURITY

• The price of rice keeps on climbing.
• UN’s Valerie Amos: “6 million NKoreans urgently need food aid but the world is not giving enough.”

REFUGEES

• Daily NK: NK NSA agents were involved in the sting operation that caught 20-35 refugees in Shenyang, China.
• CS Monitor piece on Tim Peters, underground railroad activist.
• LA Times on a defector sending warm socks into NK by balloon. He himself was motivated to defect after reading a SK leaflet he had found.
• Hanawon opened a new prep school for NK refugees.

HUMAN RIGHTS

• Online petition for the ‘Daughter of Tongyeong’ and her two daughters, thought to be in a political prison camp in NK, calling for them to be repatriated to SK.
• UNGA 66 (2011) SR report on NKHR.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

• Nothing major happened in the US-NK talks for talks, but the Chinese, who are trying to do their bit, lauded it anyway.
• The Obama administration is deliberately avoiding going to the Hill with its new NK point-men in order to reduce public debate and political costs, because engagement, while deemed necessary, is unlikely to bring any big political wins. The USG has also quietly dropped the policy language of ‘strategic patience’ and may now be going for something like ‘management strategy’.
• The US will resume searching for MIA remains in NK.
• The defense chiefs of the US and SK joined rhetorical forces in Seoul to deter NK from provocations.
• LMB will meet with Medvedev in Russia next week.
• SK and NK historians will meet to discuss jointly excavating an ancient palace in NK.
• Russian NK expert Vorontsov: Russia, wanting to be more integrated into regional cooperation processes in East Asia, has moved decisively closer to NK.
• Lewis, Hayes and Bruce on the slow motion SPT engagement.
• Lankov suggests Sunshine Policy mk.2 aimed at the junior cadres.

MISC.

• Lafforgue: Old Kaesong, Kaesong housing, Kaesong Industrial complex from afar, the Choco Pie effect in action (red box stuck in tree). Red star human fresco. “Sex toy in a Buddhist temple – North Korea”. Selling in the street (and again). Mobile phone user, mobile phone mast.
• North Korean state media headline of the week: KCNA Slams U.S. Diplomatic Chief’s Rigmaroles about DPRK′s Human Rights Record
• KJI’s grandson, fed up of being hounded by the press in Bosnia, reached new heights of irony by lamenting his ‘guilt by association’ to the NK leader.
• PRI: SK youth not interested in reunification. Also, Ryu on SK’s unification education policy.
• FP: Pyongyang Rock City.
• PBS on getting news out of NK.

• Lankov on the NK leadership’s “technological fetishism”, a belief shared by Stalin and Mao that economic stagnation could and should be overcome by pursuing technological wonders rather than reform. This explains why the NK Govt promotes CNC technology, allows a rapidly growing mobile phone network, and even promotes ownership of personal computers, all despite the long term threat that such technologies may pose to the regime. Related: KCNA video showing off a DVD factory in NK, and a KCNA report on KJI visiting the “technologically updated Tudan Duck Farm”.
• Orascom/koryolink is reportedly set to introduce an internet service to its 3G network, initially only for resident foreigners. Handsets reportedly currently sell at 50 EUR (69 USD).
• Daily NK: NSA officials are extorting bribes worth hundreds of dollars from families receiving remittances from relatives who have defected to SK.
• FT on the marketisation of NK’s economy. Also reports strong resistance by citizens against officials who wanted to demolish their balconies that were being used to grow vegetables. As the FT covers the revival of a capitalist market economy in NK, NK state media is reporting that capitalism is fading from history in the rest of the world.
• Daily NK: NK authorities are demanding 150,000 won from market traders in Hamheung to support construction projects in Pyongyang (photo). Daily taxes on market traders range from 300-500 won, so the 150,000 won ask is reportedly being met with incredulity. In Hyesan, Yangkang Province, traders are being asked for 100,000 won. However apart from these demands, official market controls are only being lightly implemented.
• Daily NK: 300 families in Yangkang Province and 150 families in N. Hamgyeong Province (both border provinces) will reportedly be sent into rural exile following a crackdown on the use of Chinese cell phones, drug production, watching SK media, smuggling and defections.
• Daily NK: The regime provided a ‘special distribution’ to Pyongyang citizens on the occasion of the 66th anniversary of the founding of the KWP, advertising it as coming from the benevolence of KJU.
• Daily NK interview with a farm worker. Covers the struggle to get enough food, knowledge of SK, perceptions of KJU, and religious freedom.
• Plaques commemorating on-site inspection visits from KJU are emerging alongside plaques for KIS and KJI.
• LA Times on recent reports of porn, prostitution and infidelity in NK.
• NYT on NK’s Rason SEZ. The NK Govt is trying to attract FDI into these zones, but they represent attempts raise funds under tight central control rather than real attempts to reform. Related: The SK Govt has asked China and Japan to refrain from investing in NK’s Mount Gumgang resort.

FOOD AID & FOOD SECURITY

• Daily NK: Rice prices have risen to above 3,000 won/kilo in at least two provinces, the highest price since the Nov 2009 currency reform. The high price is blamed on a poor harvest due to bad weather and a depreciation of the won against the Chinese Yuan.
• The UN’s Valerie Amos is in NK to assess to food shortages.
• Eberstadt: The international community should provide humanitarian aid to NK conditional on a programme of intrusive monitoring and control over distribution.
• US NGOs have accused the USG of playing politics with food aid.
• Guardian: NK’s food crisis in pictures.

REFUGEES

• The SK Govt is still talking with the Chinese Govt to try to stop it repatriating a group of NK refugees. One detainee with SK citizenship has reportedly been released. The issue has caused public protests in SK and the US.
• Chinese NK expert Zhu Feng on China’s policy towards NK refugees: “The problem is that if China refuses to repatriate that would signal that Beijing wants to bring down the North Korean regime… such repatriation is cold blooded, and it’s a big embarrassment… China’s policy implementation in this regard always keeps one eye open the other eye closed. Officially, we will repatriate, but in practice we keep the net quite loose.”
• A NK artist based in Egypt who had been making money for the NK Govt defected to SK via its embassy in Cairo after witnessing the fall of Mubarak, although he reportedly was already avoiding the surveillance of the NK embassy before that.
• It is reported that a Korean Workers’ Party secretary who defected in 2009 is now working for the SK National Intelligence Service.
• A SK lawmaker quoted NIS chief Won as saying that NK refugees frequently suffer from tooth decay, hepatitis, and TB (all associated with malnutrition) as well as sexually transmitted infections because women in border regions are engaged in prostitution or get trafficked.

• Daily NK on the story of Dr. Oh Gil-nam, whose wife and daughters ended up in Yodok political prison camp in NK. The story is finally gaining traction in SK, and is to be made into a film.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

• LMB completed a state visit to the US. The nomination of Sung Kim as ambo to SK finally passed through the Senate. Congress also approved an FTA with SK, but it is yet to pass through SK’s National Assembly. The US-ROK relationship is at a historic high and LMB and Obama presented a united front on NK policy.
• Obama also said, in response to a question at the joint press conference, that he would not predict when NK would collapse “on itself”, but that “what we’ve seen also is that human spirit eventually will defeat repressive governments.” KCNA seized on the comments to say that the US is dreaming of NK collapse, validating NK’s Songun policy and nuclear deterrent.  
• PBS video: Cha and Carlin on the nuclear negotiations and the Obama administration’s approach to NK. More from Cha here. Snyder on US-ROK relations and NK policy.
• The USG and NK Govt will reportedly hold talks in Geneva next week aimed at restarting the SPT. Career diplomat Glyn Davies will reportedly replace Bosworth as pointman on NK, and will take on the role full time (whereas Bosworth maintained a career in academia during his term).
• US and NK officials also began talks in Bangkok on resuming efforts to recover war remains, after a 6 year break. Joint recovery of war remains is seen as a confidence building measure.
• Chinese vice premier Li Keqiang will visit NK and SK in quick succession to try to add to the momentum towards restarting the SPT.
• The SK Govt will allow companies in the Kaesong Industrial Complex to resume construction projects that had been on hold since the 2010 attacks. NK workers at Kaesong are now reportedly asking to be given cash or instant noodles instead of Choco Pies. This could be because of pressure from the regime, or it could be because they are sick of eating Choco Pies.
• NK has agreed to send players to compete in a table tennis tournament alongside SK players.
• KCNA denounced SK Unification Ministry’s “anti-DPRK broadcasting”.
• SK spy chief Won Sei-hoon reportedly told lawmakers that SK has arrested several NK agents for plotting to assassinate anti-Pyongyang activists. Won is also concerned about the shoddy and rushed construction of high-rise buildings in Pyongyang.
• Lankov on Russia-NK trade, Russia’s use of cheap NK labour within its borders and the gas pipeline.
• Japanese PM Noda cited China’s military expansion and NK’s repeated military provocations in his calls for Japan’s Self Defense Forces to stand ready for future national emergencies.
• NK’s uranium enrichment program may bigger than previously thought. Jeffrey Lewis on NK nuclear tests. NK was observed moving missiles and fighter jets closer to the border with SK in the tense West Coast area, however the NK air force has reportedly been shown to be in a state of disarray. SK’s Defence Minister said that SK fighter jets could cross the border in the event of a NK provocation.
• The USG is engaging the Burmese Govt amidst their reforms and discussing with them the need for transparency in their relationships with other countries, particularly NK. If Burma’s rapprochement with the US and others continues, the Burmese may be ready to jettison their relationship with NK.  

MISC.

• Korea Times on the SK Govt’s unification awareness campaign.
• Lafforgue: Construction in Pyongyang. Girl in KIS square. Mercedes and luxury apartments. Sexy dancers during Arirang.
• Blog post by a teacher at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST).
• Text of a lecture given at PUST by Lord Alton on ‘educating for good science and ethics, educating for virtue’. Touches on the danger of absolute power in corrupting people and the benefits of the internet.
• The Independent on NKorean workers based in Mongolia producing clothes for UK clothing brands. BBC Newsnight video here. By western standards the workers are exploited, but the conditions and pay still represent an attractive option for many NKorean workers.
• SK is to become the number 1 destination for Chinese tourists.

• Defector Kim Kwang-jin on the KJI-created royal court economy (carved off from the people’s economy), and the role he himself played in scamming western reinsurance companies. As the dysfunctional NK economy cannot be reformed, Kim advocates a concerted international effort to bring down the royal court economy.
• Reporters Without Borders report on censorship and information freedom in NK. Foreign radio stations continue to be the main source of independent information for the North Korean population, but the report also notes the growing availability of illegal DVDs, USB flash drives etc. KCNA has stepped up its criticism of external radio and television broadcasts. Foreign media is increasingly cited as a pull-factor for NK refugees.
• Sunny Lee: NK’s power transition is near complete, with KJU having taken on significant responsibilities. He has been particularly active in accompanying his father on visits to military installations.  
• Daily NK: The regime is stepping up KJU-related propaganda efforts aimed at the ‘Democratic League of Women’, a state organisation whose membership consists of women not tied to a work unit. This is taken to represent the leadership’s recognition of the importance of cultivating loyalty among women, who are the driving force behind the country’s marketisation.
• Recommended: Daily NK interview with former NK market trader. Details the effects of the currency reform, foreign media consumption, perceptions of the leadership.
• Daily NK on a succession-related purge of WPK cadres in North Pyongan Province (NW border region).
• DongA Ilbo: NK women are increasingly turning to prostitution to earn living expenses or spending money, and one military officer was even reportedly caught producing pornographic videos.
• Daily NK reports on the doomed attempts to crackdown on grasshopper (informal) market traders. In some areas they outnumber legitimate traders, and the ajoomas reportedly even defend each other from PSA agents’ interference.
• Daily NK on attempts to crackdown on the use of illegal Chinese cell phones in border regions using new Russian listening devices. ORNK also reports a crackdown.
• Haggard on the increase in luxury imports into NK. Underscores the growth of the nouveau-riche in Pyongyang and their demand for consumer products.
• Haggard on the Coke in Pyongyang non-story.
• Lankov: NK is no Stalinist country.

FOOD AID & FOOD SECURITY

• Video of malnourished NK children.
• Valerie Amos, UN chief for humanitarian affairs will visit NK to discuss food aid. The UN’s 73m USD appeal has only been 34% funded this year.
• KINU’s Young-yoon Kim argues SK should provide aid to NK, for the sake of good neighborliness, brotherhood, international obligations and prestige. Meanwhile the SK Govt has withdrawn its offer of flood aid after NK “failed to express the will to accept it”.  
• At a USC event Amb. King said NK is not suffering from a famine, but that there are pockets of malnutrition. Aid would be resumed if the need was deemed severe enough and if they were able to design a delivery program that could effectively target those who need it most. He also said that any aid delivery would take into account of the marketisation of NK economy and would be designed not to disrupt the markets. Experts judge that the US is unlikely to provide food aid without the support of SK. SK’s Unification Minister said that NK’s food situation is ‘not serious’.

REFUGEES

•  A group of refugees, initially said to number around 35 but may be closer to 20, was arrested in the Shenyang area of NE China. The group included 2 guides who were originally from NK but now have SK citizenship. An additional SKorean national and NK refugee may have been arrested since then. One of the SKoreans has reportedly been released and sent back to SK. A SK lawmaker reported that 15 of the refguees may have already been repatriated. The SK Govt is pressuring the Chinese Govt to cooperate, and the Chinese Govt has asked for ‘patience’.
• NK has demanded the repatriation of the latest boat defectors, two NKoreans who reached SK via the East Sea.
• Chosun Ilbo on NK refugee Seung Sol-hyang, who decided the best way to adjust to life in the south was to make money, and now runs an online shopping mall whilst attending univers.
• Seoul’s Mongolian Grill restaurant trains and employs NK refugees. The long term goal is that post-reunification they will return to the North and help rebuild the economy.
• Only 20 NK refugees work as public servants in SK (rate of 1/1000 compared to 1/60 for SKoreans).

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

•  NK once again threatened to fire on SK sites used for launching propaganda leaflets.
• US and NK diplomats may hold another bilateral this month aimed at restarting the SPT.
• Korea Herald on Japans’ decreasing role vis-a-vis NK. A tream of Japanese doctors are currently visiting NK to examine victims of the 1945 a-bomb attacks on Japan, in a trip that may help thaw the frozen ties between the countries.
• Ahead of LMB’s state visit to the US, the nomination of Sung Kim as US ambo to SK is still embarrassingly being held up by Sen. John Kyl.
• SK is seeking to raise public awareness on reunification with NK, revealing that the Govt is uneasy with SK public opinion becoming increasingly ambivalent about the prospect.
• Three SK NIS officials have reportedly been arrested in Yanbian, China on charges of spying (on NK).
• France is to open a cultural office in Pyongyang (France is one of only 2 EU countries not to have normalised relations with NK).
• NK Econ Watch on the Russia-Korea gas pipeline.

MISC.

• LA Times on NK involvement in poison-needle attacks on activists helping NK refugees and engaging in anti-Pyongyang activities. Joongang Ilbo on the ‘double agent’ ordered to kill an activist in Seoul.
• One of many recent pieces on KJI’s grandson.
• NK state media is enjoying reporting on the “Occupy Wall Street” protests. They are also seizing on the news of US GI’s sexual assaults on SKorean women.
• On Hangul day, NK’s propaganda website carried a piece criticising SK’s use of borrow words, saying it would do huge damage in the process of unification. Comment: One of the challenges NK refugees face in resettling in SK actually is the widespread use and importance attached to English.  
• SK prosecutors have vowed to crackdown on pro-NK internet postings. Absurdity all round.
• NYT photos of NK.
• Photos of a middle-elite NKorean family’s apartment in Pyongyang.
• Lafforgue Photos: Kid dancing in the street, Pyongyang. Woman with cell phone. Mickey mouse stickers on phone. PRC-DPRK friendship at Arirang.
• Chinese photos of the NK countryside.

• Daily NK and AsiaPress on the growth of private transit companies and free movement of labour between privately run coal mines.
• KJI on the market: ideological aversion mixed with pragmatic acceptance if the markets can be kept under control (2008). KJI’s sister Kim Kyung-hui on the same topic.  
• NK opened an international trade show in N. Hamgyeong Province.
• IFRC: The floods have killed at least 57 and left over 24,720 homeless. One DPRK Red Cross volunteer gave up his life attempting to rescue two children. Breakdown of the flood damage and IFRC’s emergency appeal. The NK Red Cross has launched an international appeal for flood relief.
• RFA: SKorean music videos are so popular among young people in Pyongyang that a dance instructor has reportedly started offering clandestine dance classes teaching them k-pop dance moves.
• Daily NK: With a lack of popular support, the succession to KJU is marked by increased repression. For instance: The current border-region crackdown by a ‘storm trooper unit’ to root out smuggling, use of Chinese cell phones and defections has reportedly resulted in the exile of 50 families.  

FOOD AID & FOOD SECURITY

• Daily NK: The price of rice is rising rapidly in the NK markets. This could be linked to a rise in the value of RMB, the floods affecting production, crackdowns on smugglers, and an expectation of shortages in the near future.
• The USG is to provide 900,000 USD worth of flood relief aid to to Kangwon and North and South Hwanghae provinces through US NGOs. The US still has no plans to provide food.
• Russia began delivering 50,000 tons of wheat to NK.
• JoongAng Ilbo: During his May trip to China, KJI secured free fertiliser and discounted food.
• NK has allowed video monitoring of food aid distribution by SKorean civic groups.
• WFP: July’s daily rations were 200g per person, an increase on 150g given in June. However a healthy adult requires 700g per day.
• 45m USD in food aid was sent to NK in the first 6 months of this year.

REFUGEES

• Piece on Mr. Seok, a popular oriental medicine doctor who learnt his trade in the north.
• NK refugee and pianist Kim Cheol-woong performed together with other top Korean pianists at a peace concert.

HUMAN RIGHTS

• US State Dept 2010 Human Rights Report – DPRK.
• KINU: Over 60 public executions took place in 2010, partly to maintain control following the unpopular currency reform in late 2009.  
• SK’s GNP has drafted a new NKHR bill which includes calls for humanitarian aid to NK.
• Several hundred citizens demonstrated against NK’s prison camps in Seoul. A larger  demonstration supporting progressive causes such as free school lunches attempted to use the same space, creating a tense atmosphere.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS & SECURITY

• KJI began a trip to Russia and is set to meet Medvedev on Tuesday. Russia is pushing for a gas pipeline and railway to be built from Russia to SK, via NK. The visit was confirmed by NK state media earlier than usual. The NK leadership is reaching out to Russia partly because they are wary of being too dependent on China. Russia and NK may also make steps to resume military collaboration.
• NKorean labourers in Russia – estimated 3,000 in Vladivostok mostly working on construction sites. Seven NKoreans were reportedly recently sent back to NK after watching SKorean DVDs.
• NK said it would begin auctioning off SKorean assets at the Mount Kumgang resort.
• SK’s FM indicated that LMB’s administration has softened its stance on resuming dialogue with NK.
• SK presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye wrote a piece in Foreign Affairs saying that SK should rebuild trust with NK while maintaining an unyielding stance on national security.
• NK threatened to bolster their nuclear deterrent in response to US-ROK joint military exercises.
• Biden: NK and Iran’s nuclear and missile development programmes are a threat to stability in the US and China.
• NK and the US agreed to resume searching for the remains of US soldiers in NK.
• Snyder’s six step formula for resuming the SPT.

MISC.

• Daily NK is looking for volunteers to translate the words of NKoreans in China.
• NYT review of The Journals of Musan.
• Six NKorean professors are studying economics and other subjects at the University of British Columbia in Canada.
• SK police charged four people with smuggling over 1,000 pieces of NKorean art into China and SK. Some of the profit was thought to be going back to the NK Govt.
• Lankov on KIS’s life story: “KIS managed to out-Stalin Stalin”.