RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR NORTH KOREAN SOCIETY
[Weekely Newsletter] No.263 January 2009
[Hot Topics]
The Whole Nation Suffers Under the Compost (Toebee) Making Plan
Residents Frowned Upon at the March to Deliver the Compost
[Food]
The Law Enforcement Authorities in Pyongan and Hwanghae Provinces Secured One Year Worth of Food
Jilin-Sheng, China, Gives Permission for 20,000 MT of Food
[Economy]
The Economic Slump (Recession) Brings a Cold Wave over the Markets
[Politics]
Studies on Conversation Contents of the Peoples Army Spokesperson for the Department of the General Staff
“New Year’s Combined Editorial Not Inspirational At All”
March 8, Official Announcement of Election of the Delegate at the Supreme People’s Assembly
21 Young Gamblers Were Sentenced To Be Re-Educated in Haeju City
Chungjin City Discharged 9 Division Party Secretaries Related Military Food Incident
[Society]
Sinuiju Residents Who Received Punishment for Bribery to File Petition to Pyongyang
[A Letter from Sinuiju] What Can I Rely on after Selling My House?
[Women/Children/Education]
Chungjin Kkotjebi (Homeless) Transferred to Gilju Elementary School
[Accidents]
The family of a Chungjin Police Officer found dead
An Elderly Woman Dies in Public Bathhouse Used AS Temporary Shelter
[Commentary]
Fertilizer Aid Should Resume for North Korean People
[Investigative Report]
How Are We to View the January 17 Statement by the General Staff of the People’s Army?
Full Text of the Statement by the Spokesman of The General Staff of The People’s Army of North Korea
__________________________________________________________
[Hot Topics]
The Whole Nation Suffers Under the Compost (Toebee) Making Plan
The Compost (Toebee) Making Plan has kicked off in honest and the whole nation is busy with the production of Toebee. People make Toebee by mixing ashes collected from the dumps with feces. As some people produce fake Toebee that only looks like Toebee, the officials often demand people to supply “just plain feces.” The cost of producing Toebee, mixture of coal-ashes with feces, is about 5,000 – 6,000 NK Won* per ton, including delivery costs when the distance is not too great. The major cities such as Chungjin, Hamheung, Sinuiju, Pyongsung, have been collecting two tons of Toebee from each factory, public enterprise, and neighborhood units. As almost all residents from factories, public enterprises, and neighborhood units have to make Toebee in a couple of days, feces from the public toilets are running out.
Those who could not make the allotted amount of Toebee are chastened for not carrying out the Party policies and people’s loyalty is judged by how fast one pays for the cost of Toebee production. This has been a great burden to the residents. In Sinuiju, twenty people in one unit paid 5,000 NK Won each for 1 ton of Toebee and gave the money to the chief of the unit. If 2,000 households pay 10,000 NK Won each for 2 tons of Toebee, the total sum would be 20,000,000 NK Won. This amount of money should be more than enough to meet the goal of Toebee production. However, it is very common that the farms receive only a portion of this money while the officials keep the rest. Since not all the households would be able to pay money, the total sum collected would be lower, but usurping money by the officials became almost public practice. That is the reason why, upon inspecting the farms that reported achievement of their Toebee production plan, there is a big difference between the amount of Toebee planned and collected.
* US$1.00 is approximately 3,400 NK Won.
Residents Frowned Upon at the March to Deliver the Compost
On January 15, a march took place in Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province to deliver the compost collected by the members of the DWU (Democratic Women's Union). The whole process was even videotaped. The march went through the city, beating the gongs noisily and some residents frowned upon it. Lee Geum-hee (36), who had hard time swallowing corn porridge after paying 5,000 NK Won for the cost of compost, said, "No one can beat the members of DWU when it comes to putting a show,” a comment that could be either complement or complain. Jung-hee (33), a sister of Lee Geum-hee, said, “They just got so used to brownnosing. The high-ranking officials do not know the reality and would be happy to hear that compost making plans have been achieved. Everybody knows the march is just a showoff. Only those (in Pyongyang) have no idea."
[Food]
The Law Enforcement Authorities in Pyongan and Hwanghae Provinces Secured One Year Worth of Food
The law enforcement authorities in the North and South Provinces of Pyongan and Hwanghae have secured the amount of one year worth of food in the form of unhusked rice. The amount of the secured food is sufficient for the staff in prosecution, the police, the National Security Agency, high-ranking military officers as well as their families. This is in sharp contrast with the general food situations in which there is almost no food rationing for commoners and only 6-7 months worth of rationing for the farmers that actually farm. As the members in the education and health care units receive mixture of corn, beans, and others etc (though not a year’s supply), rice ration is a great privilege for those who get it. The residents rebuke the authorities, saying, “Although the authorities always talk about the importance of resolving this food crisis, they only care about how they can eat well, regardless of whether the residents die of starvation or not.”
Jilin-Sheng, China, Gives Permission for 20,000 MT of Food
DPRK has agreed upon importation of food at 20,000 MT. Official permit will come out on February 18.
[Economy]
The Economic Slump (Recession) Brings a Cold Wave over the Markets
Those markets that have avoided conversion to Farmers’ Market had only short sigh of relief because they have to face tough times due to the deep economic recession. There are more stores than the number of customers, who purchase only a few limited agricultural products. Song Jae-geum (44 years), who runs a general store in Pyongsung, says, “Although they ban the sale of industrial products this year, everyone here sells anything. The bigger problem than the enforcement of the regulation is the reduced number of customers.” Lee Jung-hee (47 years), who sells shoes, says, “My uncle, who works at the policy station, told me that the economic recession is a world wide problem and that all other markets in this country also face the same problem. I could not understand exactly what he meant, but it seems that I am not the only person who has difficulties these days.” She also adds, “Many people these days have a hard time in living from hand to mouth.” Kim, Man-deuk (43), who is a wholesale travel vendor in Sinuiju, Nampo, Wonsan and other cities, tells, “The terrible market situation is everywhere. Because of poor sales, I can barely provide the gas price for my service-car. I am thinking I should purchase fewer products than before and not travel to distant cities unless I have to.” He also mentioned that he marked up the prices of his products by 50-100 NK Won more to compensate his gas price, but that he could not sell the products because no one wanted to purchase them. He also said that without making any profits, he had to bite the bullet by selling the product at much lower prices but almost no products were sold. He finally said that this suffocating situation will be eased only after this recession is over.
[Politics]
Studies on Conversation Contents of the Peoples Army Spokesperson for the Department of the General Staff
On January 17, each national security agency held an emergency meeting and an educational forum regarding the announcement of conversation content (담화내용) of the Chosun People’s Army spokesperson for the Department of the General Staff (총참모부). At this meeting, they passed along the announcement made by the spokesperson from the Department of the General Staff on Chosun Central TV along with the North-South state of affairs and a measure to “Destruct the Enemy’s Anti- Communist Maneuver”. The National Security Agency Official who attended the meeting shortly commented, “I think there might be something going on near the Chosun’s Yellow Sea. The situation seems to be tense.”
“New Year’s Combined Editorial Not Inspirational At All”
The New Year’s Combined Editorial does not inspire the residents in Pyongsung City because it is not very explicit. A DWU member, Kim Mi-wha (44) said, “It used to be very easy to understand when our Great Leader was alive because it clearly showed us the numbers, such as the GDP level. However, since his death, I can’t figure out what they are saying any more.” One staff member from Pyongsung City said, “Even though it lists the overarching goals for the New Year and people are made to memorize them, people are getting bored of the same old story every year.”
Han Keum-Rye from Soonchun City said, “I cannot see any hope even after reading the editorial multiple times. I just memorize what’s in it because they tell me to do so, but once the book is closed I am in the dark once again.” He went on to say, “Sometimes even the teachers are not reading it thoroughly. Because it is full of political jargon and seriously lacks in explicit goals regarding economic development, they do not feel like teaching it at all. I am just learning it because I don’t want to fall behind in political issues.”
One staff member in Soonchun City sympathized with the residents. He said, “It is very hard to find one staff that really cares about the political agendas. People obey on the surface but they are busy taking care of their own living in the back.
A trading working official in Siniju, North Pyongan Province, who was visiting Soonchun, said, “People in Siniju say that the economy will likely worsen this year. People sometimes even say that they want to see a war. I thought it was only in Sinuiju, but looks like residents in Soonchun feel the same way.” He further explained, “Combined Editorial should not be just full of difficult political jargon. It should be able to give hope to the people. In order to do that, they should include economic figures and present some realistic goals.”
March 8, Official Announcement of Election of the Delegate at the Supreme People’s Assembly
Although the Supreme People’s Assembly made an official announcement regarding the election of the delegates for March 8, the residents have been unresponsive. An official near the Central District of Pyongyang commented, “All the officials say that the Supreme People’s Assembly is meaningless because the Party is holding the power.” Park Jeong-hak (39), who lives in the Seongyo District, said, “They are only creating a tense atmosphere to try to intimidate us. We vote with no purpose. We do not know whom we are voting for because we do not even know the names of the delegates.” Pyongyang residents think that the election is just a formality and has no meaning.
21 Young Gamblers Were Sentenced To Be Re-Educated in Haeju City
Last December 21, Haeju City, South Hwanghae Province held a Public Trial for 21 young men involved in gambling activities. The trial was held under supervision of the Province Courthouse and these 21 young men were sentenced to be re-educated. The Public Trial processed as a Self-Struggle Form.
Chungjin City Discharged 9 Division Party Secretaries Related Military Food Incident
North Hamgyong Province Party Commission discharged 9 farming division (Ri) secretaries due to their insufficient collection of military food. While reviewing military food collections by the National Defense Committee, the Directive Officers from the Central Party, the North Hamgyong Province Officials and Chungjin City Agriculture Department decided to release these secretaries from their office. These 9 discharged secretaries were sent to the Organization and Guidance Department of the City Party for their Ideology-Investigation (사상검토)
[Society]
Sinuiju Residents Who Received Punishment for Bribery to File Petition to Pyongyang
More people among those who were caught last year in the Sinuiju anti-socialism inspection are filing petitions to Pyongyang. They are filing petitions directly to Pyongyang because they received nothing in return even after giving large sums of money to anti-socialism inspection patrols, police, and national security agents. The money they paid ranges from $1,000 to $3,000. Regarding filing petition to Pyongyang Mr. Kim Pan-gun (age 41) said, “I don’t expect to get the bribe money back. However, those who didn’t do any work even after receiving the money should be punished. I will never give up.” Mr. Kim continued, “The total amount of money I have paid here and there is more than $5,000. The petition process is going slow because the other party is a national security agent. I am so angry that nothing was done even though I paid that much money. So, I am taking the petition all the way no matter what it takes.” He said it is obvious that he can tell how difficult it could have been for those with no money because a wealthy person like himself had such difficulties getting the sentence reduced.
[A Letter from Sinuiju] What Can I Rely on after Selling My House?
I am Jang, Keum-oak (a pseudonym), 65 years old, and live in Poongsuh-dong, Sinuiju. After my husband passed away in 1997, I raised a son and a daughter by myself. Now they are married. Currently I live together with my son, daughter-in-law, and a grandson. Although my son goes to work, he has not received any ration or payment, so my daughter-in-law has sold cosmetics by traveling between Nampo and Manpo in Jagang Province. When the business was good, everything was fine, but the number of her customers has decreased because the economic condition has worsened since last fall. In this economic depression, if she is caught by inspection, she has to lay out more money than she can bring in. With declining income from her business, she and I frequently argued and the number of troubles increased. Since she made money by herself to feed all the family, she seemed to feel a big burden and stress and got mad a lot, becoming easily angry with me. We argued almost everyday, so my son who could not endure the situation anymore moved out with his wife and son last fall.
Since I had a house with two bedrooms, I could maintain my living by threading beads. If I worked hard day and night, I usually earned about 1,000 NK Won. Every resident, young and old, of Sinuiju, feeds his or her family and themselves by doing this job. Because we have not had power for two months, most people put on a lantern on their head to work in the night like miners. But we had only a general meeting at the end of last year, I was told that the work would come in March from China. Most women in South Sinuiju used to work for this job and feed their family, so all of a sudden they became jobless and complained a lot about this situation. Many households are worrying and discouraged, saying, “Until March, where can we get two months’ worth of food to live on?”
Because there is no way to make money, women go to markets to earn some money by helping out with carrying baggage or stuff, but it is not easy to find customers in this depression and severe cold weather. In the market, there seem to be more sellers than buyers and more job seekers than sellers, so getting even a simple job is not easy.
Because I was old and I did not have any way to solve this situation, I ate only thin gruel for my meals. To make matters worse, the son who moved out visited me to ask for help because the trade was not good, he had no food, and he cannot pay back the 1,500,000 NK Won that he borrowed for their moving expenses. He asked me to forgive him and to live together with him after selling my apartment. Although this was the son who moved out for his own comfort and did not visit me at all, I nevertheless felt really sorry for several days and cried for him. In the end, I decided to sell my house. It is easily worth 6,000 to 7,000 US dollars for the same size apartment as mine in downtown Sinuiju, but I barely got only 1,000 dollars in South Sinuiju.
When I moved in his house, I found that three more families lived on the same floor with us. In any case, our situation was better than they were because we had money by selling the house. However, I was shocked and felt bad when I saw old people of every house get beaten and bleeding from the fight; they were kicked out with only their underwear in the severe cold. I realize that saying bad things about my son is only hurting myself, but I worry about my future if we use up the money from the house and he might kick me out, too. Whenever I think of it, I become discouraged. The number of the homeless in this cold is increasing in Sinuiju. Like us, many people sold their houses to buy food and most of them do not have any hope when they use up the money. I feel bad because the government has clearly known the number of the homeless, but does not do anything to address this issue. What can these people who sold their houses and used up the money rely on? I feel so sorry and desperate that I am writing this letter.
[Women/Children/Education]
Chungjin Kkotjebi (Homeless) Transferred to Gilju Elementary School
In the Welfare Institutions, Ranam District, Chungjin City of North Hamgyong Province, 42 Kkotjebis caught last December were placed in different facilities as appropriate to each circumstance. 3 one among the Kkotjebi who are 40 years or more were diagnosed with a mental disease and sent to the No. 49 mental hospital, and 6 old people were sent to a home for the aged. In addition, the rest of the Kkotjebi children were transferred to Gilju Elementary School. The principal of Gilju Elementary School, after receiving notice of this situation, declared that all those students would need to be tested for any contagious diseases and those with such illnesses will not be accepted into the school. This decision comes from a previous experience of accepting homeless children into his school when even some of the original students ended up contracting fatal illnesses due to diseases spread by the homeless children. The principal showed unwillingness to accept Kkotjebis without any set guidelines because even though the Welfare institutions say they will take care of any problems brought on by the kkotjebis, when the school turns to them for help, no one is there.
[Accidents]
The family of a Chungjin Police Officer found dead
On December 26, the entire family of a police officer was found dead in Chungjin City of North Hamgyong Province. The wife of the police officer had been bedridden, and his 12 year old daughter was taking care of her when they suffered this horrible fate. Investigators noticed that the property and valuables were left untouched so are investigating further, keeping the possibility of a revenge murder in mind.
An Elderly Woman Dies in Public Bathhouse Used AS Temporary Shelter
Kim Jeom-soon (78), who was forcibly removed from her home and assigned to live in a public bathhouse, passed away finally after trembling in the cold in Poongsan town, Hoeryong City of North Hamgyong Province. The City of Hoeryong has been working on a housing community of 1210 houses and for that purpose has been working to clear the houses around the railroad station and the railroad tracks. If people refuse to leave their homes, they removed the houses by force by calling out police officers from the police substation. Following the ‘birthday of Kim Jong-sook’ event on December 24, Kim was forced to leave her house and was assigned to a public bathhouse as her temporary home. Kim passed away after she became ill because the bathhouse did not have proper heating during the winter and she could not get medical treatment at the right time.
[Commentary]
Fertilizer Aid Should Resume for North Korean People
People in all areas of North Korea are being mobilized for making Compost (Toebee) for this year’s farming. North Korea's chronic food shortage is primarily caused by lack of fertilizer. North Korean government is also aware of it, and declared that ‘resolving the food problem is desperate needs of the current reality. As such, they addressed in this year’s combined editorial that the whole population should take part in the production of organic fertilizer to send it to the farming villages. Following the order of the authorities people are busy collecting feces and ashes to implement what was asked in the joint editorial as soon as they are being mobilized in mass rallies.
North Korea has already emphasized for several years the importance of agricultural production and self-sufficiency of food in the combined editorial. However, the lack of fertilizer has always been a barrier for increase in food production. North Korea's fertilizer plants such as Heungnam fertilizer factory have either stopped production because of damage to equipment, or factory utilization rate has dropped significantly due to the lack of electricity and raw materials. According to the government statistics the required amount of fertilizer is 1,550,000 MT, but the current production amount is only about 20% of that, always lacking at least 1,000,000-1,200,000 MT.
The officials who get blamed or reprimanded every year for poor performance in compost production press residents for more compost. Innocent children, students, housewives, workers, and farmers all suffer from the pressure. The authorities want to guarantee the quality and quantity of compost. So, they test it thoroughly and issue certificates for those who passed test. However, the assigned quota is too much for people. So, they mix feces with soil to increase the amount of compost.
The residents dig up frozen human manure in the public toilet in the winter, and in the spring people dry compost in every household and every corner of the village despite serious sanitary concerns with flying powder of feces. In the summer, people become mobilized to grass cutting work to collect grass to be used with compost. The suffering of people is heart breaking, as they have to take the burden of paying extra money beyond taxes and deal with compost production when their livelihood is difficult enough with cold, hunger, and disease.
The South Korean government has been giving 300,000 MT of fertilizer for free every year as humanitarian aid. The fertilizer was used to produce more than 600,000 MT of grain and made contribution alleviate food shortages. Since last year, the inter-Korean relations deteriorated rapidly, and they only exchanged political disputes and slandering, while ignoring the issues of humanitarian crisis and the livelihood of North Korean residents’ suffering. For South Korean government, the idea of providing aid in case of humanitarian crisis, has disappeared, and their attitude has shifted into that of we will provide aid if you ‘apologize.’ Now, the terms of humanitarian aid depends not on the suffering of North Korean people, but on the change in the attitude of the North Korean government.
We once again have to go back to the root of the problems. The only criterion for humanitarian aid should be whether a humanitarian situation is a real crisis. We need to remember that the humanitarian aid is the shortcut for the unification. Unification is not a business transaction between individuals or commercial trade. It will be difficult to achieve unification if South Korean government and people are concerned only about the immediate economic crisis they face and become indifferent to the pain of 20 million North Korean people.
[Investigative Report]
How Are We to View the January 17 Statement by the General Staff of the People’s Army?
On January 17, the spokesman for The General Staff of People’s Army, North Korea issued a statement on Chosun Central TV about its ‘Willingness to Wage a Total War against South Korea.’ At 10 PM on the same evening, North Korea’s national security agencies in all of the major cities held emergency meetings and received counter-measures ‘on how to thoroughly smash anti-republic conspiracy by the enemy.’ This implies that the issued statement was not only for international but also domestic consumption.
Why Did North Korea Issue Such a Statement Early in the New Year?
It seems to be an attempt to cause changes in its relationship with South Korea by means of high-pressure policy, a relationship that is currently at a stalemate. Starting with an editorial in the Rodong Shinmun last April 1, North Korea has regularly issued strong statements against the new government of South Korea. Since then, the North-South relationship has been hardening with each passing week. South Korea has not shown any particular reaction, following its current policy of ‘calm measures,’ which North Korea equates with ‘intentional disregard.’ This lack of reaction by South Korea has resulted in even greater hardening of North Korea’s policy toward South Korea. The statement of ‘Willingness to Wage a Total War against South Korea’ is the high-water mark of the current aggressive policies. On one hand, these tactics stimulate the security crisis within South Korea, raising level of real fear. On the other hand, the also precipitate changes in the hardened relationship with South Korea.
The belligerent statements of The People’s Army can also be interpreted as an attempt to resolve domestic confusion and restore control. North Korean leadership considers ‘openness to reformation’ to be a very sensitive issue, to an extent that it is equivalent to ‘overthrowing the governing system’. Within North Korea, more and more people believe in secret that the current system with ‘business as usual’ is unlikely to survive. Even if they keep quiet in public, they believe that some sort of change should occur, although it will not necessarily be an ‘openness to reformation.’ North Korean leadership is keenly aware of this sort of idea. North Korean leadership tries to remind its people of the seriousness of the ‘enemy’s conspiracy to overthrow the governing system’ through a heightened tension in national security, believing this to be effective in tightening discordant ideology.
Thirdly, the military’s statements can be interpreted as an attempt to attract the attention of the United States prior to the inauguration of President Obama. North Korea insists that South Korea has remained an antagonist while the North desires to proceed toward a unification of the Koreas peacefully ‘among ourselves.’ Consequently, nuclearization cannot be abandoned. The statement by the spokesman of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, North Korea, that possession of nuclear deterrence capability and normalization of the U.S.-North Korea relationship are two different things, follows a similar line of argument. Nuclearization by North Korea is necessary as a tool for self-defense against South Korea as well as a protection of the state’s national security against The United States. This is the way North Korea shifts the responsibility to South Korea.
What is the Background behind the Recent Statement?
The most visible reason for the statement by The People’s Army is the recent inauguration of President Obama, a leader who is seen as unwilling to initiate a preemptive strike on North Korea. The primary interests of the Obama government are thought to be the economic crises, both domestic and international, and disputes in the Middle East. It is therefore necessary for North Korea to attract the attention of The United States early on.
North Korea is also taking the chance to display confidence now that they possess nuclear weaponry, a stronger asymmetrical weapon. It has been a consistent war strategy of North Korea against South Korea that speedy warfare will be waged by deploying 70% of their total armed forces to the strategically important areas on the frontline. Judgments of North Korea indicate that if North Korea wins a local battle along the Northern Limit Line (NLL) during a spontaneous conflict, The United States would hesitate to engage immediately. If war crisis becomes visible, anti-war public opinions in South Korea would escalate, which would limit the options available to the South Korean government. North Korea would then take the initiative in negotiations with South Korea, and North Korea would be able to extract profits, political and economical.
Thirdly, this aggressive expression of confidence is useful in straightening and enhancing the morale of The North Korean military, which has reached new depths. The longer South Korea keeps silent, the more North Korea will try to use this silence domestically as an example of ‘scared South Koreans.’
Following the issued statement, North Korea emphasized that it was not ‘a usual, routine talk.’
What is Likely to be North Korea’s Next Course of Action?
More than anything else, the likelihood of an incident between patrol boats has increased on the waters near the Northern Limit Line. Baeknyong Island cannot be ruled out as an area of dispute. How would the direct military action by North Korea affect the attitude of the United States in its negotiations on nuclear issues? This is the key question.
[Full Text of the Statement by the Spokesman of The General Staff of The People’s Army of North Korea]
National traitor Lee Myung-bak at the dawn of New Year declared publically without hesitation that the North-South relationship cannot be improved through cooperation. This is plainly a refusal of national reconciliation and unity and a public confrontational statement against the 6.15 unification era. This confrontation at a time of a state of cease-fire heightens tension and makes a war inevitable.
Puppet militant warmongers believe that only open flames make the paths forward visible. As if awaiting the confrontational statement, they emphasize that military power will back up their confrontational policy in the North-South relationship in support of their so-called ‘ideology of supreme command.’
Who is making noise about non-existent military provocations? Who encourages hostilities against our republic and strengthening readiness for war? It is the traitor Lee Myung-bak and his cronies as well as those puppet militant warmongers who do not know what they are doing, that’s who. The puppet Minister of Defense shouts for readiness in the third exchange of fire in the West Sea and the puppet Chairman of Joint Chiefs mumbles about retribution for someone instead of learning a lesson from the nonsense of ‘preemptive attack.’ Daily territorial invasions by puppet naval vessels in the West Sea of Korea, various military provocations and anti-republic confrontations have already exceeded the danger level. In addition, military exercises with North Korea as the potential enemy are approaching a point of no tolerance. Recently, traitor Lee Myung-bak and his cronies desired to deploy an Aegis fleet of the imperial U.S navy in the Pacific Ocean. The carrier fleet is equipped with 90% full Aegis capability and loaded with a nuclear arsenal, and it is aimed at us. Stealth tactical aviation squads on the island of Okinawa have been reinforced. Strategic bombers and other attack units already deployed are ready for attacks on areas on or near Korean peninsula.
It has been a long time since our revolutionary forces branded as trickery the so-called ‘reopening dialogue’ and the advertisement of a ‘position of respect’ by the traitor Lee Myung-bak and his cronies. Accordingly, we have been watching with keen eyes every movement by the traitors. Reality shows that we have been right all along in our assessments, meaning that the behaviors of the traitor Lee Myung-bak and his cronies are a plain refusal to national reconciliation and unity, a public confrontation to peace and prosperity and a counter-march to unification. As the supreme commander’s behaviors are evil and ignorant, so are his policies. Consequently, soldiers under him end up being indiscreet. Even in South Korea, the traitor Lee Myung-bak is being blamed as a person who would bring disaster to the nation. He is blamed as a man who took power and is solidifying dictatorship in the fashion of the infamous Hitler. Facing this serious confrontation, The General Staff of The People’s Army of North Korea will maintain national independence and dignity and do our utmost to defend our socialist fatherland as our supreme mission. Therefore,
We Clarify To the World Our Principled Positions
(1) Now that the traitor Lee Myung-bak and his cronies have chosen to deny national reconciliation and cooperation and have taken a path of confrontation with the support of a foreign power, our revolutionary military power will hesitantly have to face them with our willingness to wage a total war. Our military will defeat the enemy in a total war. The world will clearly see how pitifully the reckless conspiracy by the traitors against our republic will be crushed. Our willingness to wage a total war is based on the support of our military and millions of people desiring national justice.
(2) Puppet militant warmongers are busy with their preparations for ‘preemptive attack’ and ‘retribution’ following the so-called ‘ideology of supreme command.’ Our strong counter-measures of revolutionary military power will be ready to meet them and crush them. Our military counter-measures will have the strong, limitless and merciless attacking power of revolutionary Baekdoo military and they will be executed fiercely without allowing any guess even by the most advanced tools. The traitor Lee Myung-bak and puppet militant warmongers should clearly understand it. The more efforts traitors and their cronies put into anti-republic hostilities and fever toward war against North Korea, the stronger and more merciless the retribution our military counter-measures will become.
(3) South Korea is neglecting our earnest measures and sincere tolerance by invading our territory in the West Sea. As we have clarified to the world, as long as it continues, our revolutionary military power will maintain the Military Limit Line at the West Sea. Until the day of unification of the motherland, there is only the Marine Military Limit Line set by us, not the illegal Northern Limit Line at the West Sea. The traitor Lee Myung-bak and puppet militant warmongers will face our rifles and experience the dear price they will have to pay for the path of confrontation against our people. There will be no day waiting for the evil confrontational fanatics.
On January 17, the spokesman for The General Staff of People’s Army, North Korea issued a statement on Chosun Central TV about its ‘Willingness to Wage a Total War against South Korea.’ At 10 PM on the same evening, North Korea’s national security agencies in all of the major cities held emergency meetings and received counter-measures ‘on how to thoroughly smash anti-republic conspiracy by the enemy.’ This implies that the issued statement was not only for international but also domestic consumption.
Why Did North Korea Issue Such a Statement Early in the New Year?
It seems to be an attempt to cause changes in its relationship with South Korea by means of high-pressure policy, a relationship that is currently at a stalemate. Starting with an editorial in the Rodong Shinmun last April 1, North Korea has regularly issued strong statements against the new government of South Korea. Since then, the North-South relationship has been hardening with each passing week. South Korea has not shown any particular reaction, following its current policy of ‘calm measures,’ which North Korea equates with ‘intentional disregard.’ This lack of reaction by South Korea has resulted in even greater hardening of North Korea’s policy toward South Korea. The statement of ‘Willingness to Wage a Total War against South Korea’ is the high-water mark of the current aggressive policies. On one hand, these tactics stimulate the security crisis within South Korea, raising level of real fear. On the other hand, the also precipitate changes in the hardened relationship with South Korea.
The belligerent statements of The People’s Army can also be interpreted as an attempt to resolve domestic confusion and restore control. North Korean leadership considers ‘openness to reformation’ to be a very sensitive issue, to an extent that it is equivalent to ‘overthrowing the governing system’. Within North Korea, more and more people believe in secret that the current system with ‘business as usual’ is unlikely to survive. Even if they keep quiet in public, they believe that some sort of change should occur, although it will not necessarily be an ‘openness to reformation.’ North Korean leadership is keenly aware of this sort of idea. North Korean leadership tries to remind its people of the seriousness of the ‘enemy’s conspiracy to overthrow the governing system’ through a heightened tension in national security, believing this to be effective in tightening discordant ideology.
Thirdly, the military’s statements can be interpreted as an attempt to attract the attention of the United States prior to the inauguration of President Obama. North Korea insists that South Korea has remained an antagonist while the North desires to proceed toward a unification of the Koreas peacefully ‘among ourselves.’ Consequently, nuclearization cannot be abandoned. The statement by the spokesman of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, North Korea, that possession of nuclear deterrence capability and normalization of the U.S.-North Korea relationship are two different things, follows a similar line of argument. Nuclearization by North Korea is necessary as a tool for self-defense against South Korea as well as a protection of the state’s national security against The United States. This is the way North Korea shifts the responsibility to South Korea.
What is the Background behind the Recent Statement?
The most visible reason for the statement by The People’s Army is the recent inauguration of President Obama, a leader who is seen as unwilling to initiate a preemptive strike on North Korea. The primary interests of the Obama government are thought to be the economic crises, both domestic and international, and disputes in the Middle East. It is therefore necessary for North Korea to attract the attention of The United States early on.
North Korea is also taking the chance to display confidence now that they possess nuclear weaponry, a stronger asymmetrical weapon. It has been a consistent war strategy of North Korea against South Korea that speedy warfare will be waged by deploying 70% of their total armed forces to the strategically important areas on the frontline. Judgments of North Korea indicate that if North Korea wins a local battle along the Northern Limit Line (NLL) during a spontaneous conflict, The United States would hesitate to engage immediately. If war crisis becomes visible, anti-war public opinions in South Korea would escalate, which would limit the options available to the South Korean government. North Korea would then take the initiative in negotiations with South Korea, and North Korea would be able to extract profits, political and economical.
Thirdly, this aggressive expression of confidence is useful in straightening and enhancing the morale of The North Korean military, which has reached new depths. The longer South Korea keeps silent, the more North Korea will try to use this silence domestically as an example of ‘scared South Koreans.’
Following the issued statement, North Korea emphasized that it was not ‘a usual, routine talk.’
What is Likely to be North Korea’s Next Course of Action?
More than anything else, the likelihood of an incident between patrol boats has increased on the waters near the Northern Limit Line. Baeknyong Island cannot be ruled out as an area of dispute. How would the direct military action by North Korea affect the attitude of the United States in its negotiations on nuclear issues? This is the key question.
[Full Text of the Statement by the Spokesman of The General Staff of The People’s Army of North Korea]
National traitor Lee Myung-bak at the dawn of New Year declared publically without hesitation that the North-South relationship cannot be improved through cooperation. This is plainly a refusal of national reconciliation and unity and a public confrontational statement against the 6.15 unification era. This confrontation at a time of a state of cease-fire heightens tension and makes a war inevitable.
Puppet militant warmongers believe that only open flames make the paths forward visible. As if awaiting the confrontational statement, they emphasize that military power will back up their confrontational policy in the North-South relationship in support of their so-called ‘ideology of supreme command.’
Who is making noise about non-existent military provocations? Who encourages hostilities against our republic and strengthening readiness for war? It is the traitor Lee Myung-bak and his cronies as well as those puppet militant warmongers who do not know what they are doing, that’s who. The puppet Minister of Defense shouts for readiness in the third exchange of fire in the West Sea and the puppet Chairman of Joint Chiefs mumbles about retribution for someone instead of learning a lesson from the nonsense of ‘preemptive attack.’ Daily territorial invasions by puppet naval vessels in the West Sea of Korea, various military provocations and anti-republic confrontations have already exceeded the danger level. In addition, military exercises with North Korea as the potential enemy are approaching a point of no tolerance. Recently, traitor Lee Myung-bak and his cronies desired to deploy an Aegis fleet of the imperial U.S navy in the Pacific Ocean. The carrier fleet is equipped with 90% full Aegis capability and loaded with a nuclear arsenal, and it is aimed at us. Stealth tactical aviation squads on the island of Okinawa have been reinforced. Strategic bombers and other attack units already deployed are ready for attacks on areas on or near Korean peninsula.
It has been a long time since our revolutionary forces branded as trickery the so-called ‘reopening dialogue’ and the advertisement of a ‘position of respect’ by the traitor Lee Myung-bak and his cronies. Accordingly, we have been watching with keen eyes every movement by the traitors. Reality shows that we have been right all along in our assessments, meaning that the behaviors of the traitor Lee Myung-bak and his cronies are a plain refusal to national reconciliation and unity, a public confrontation to peace and prosperity and a counter-march to unification. As the supreme commander’s behaviors are evil and ignorant, so are his policies. Consequently, soldiers under him end up being indiscreet. Even in South Korea, the traitor Lee Myung-bak is being blamed as a person who would bring disaster to the nation. He is blamed as a man who took power and is solidifying dictatorship in the fashion of the infamous Hitler. Facing this serious confrontation, The General Staff of The People’s Army of North Korea will maintain national independence and dignity and do our utmost to defend our socialist fatherland as our supreme mission. Therefore,
We Clarify To the World Our Principled Positions
(1) Now that the traitor Lee Myung-bak and his cronies have chosen to deny national reconciliation and cooperation and have taken a path of confrontation with the support of a foreign power, our revolutionary military power will hesitantly have to face them with our willingness to wage a total war. Our military will defeat the enemy in a total war. The world will clearly see how pitifully the reckless conspiracy by the traitors against our republic will be crushed. Our willingness to wage a total war is based on the support of our military and millions of people desiring national justice.
(2) Puppet militant warmongers are busy with their preparations for ‘preemptive attack’ and ‘retribution’ following the so-called ‘ideology of supreme command.’ Our strong counter-measures of revolutionary military power will be ready to meet them and crush them. Our military counter-measures will have the strong, limitless and merciless attacking power of revolutionary Baekdoo military and they will be executed fiercely without allowing any guess even by the most advanced tools. The traitor Lee Myung-bak and puppet militant warmongers should clearly understand it. The more efforts traitors and their cronies put into anti-republic hostilities and fever toward war against North Korea, the stronger and more merciless the retribution our military counter-measures will become.
(3) South Korea is neglecting our earnest measures and sincere tolerance by invading our territory in the West Sea. As we have clarified to the world, as long as it continues, our revolutionary military power will maintain the Military Limit Line at the West Sea. Until the day of unification of the motherland, there is only the Marine Military Limit Line set by us, not the illegal Northern Limit Line at the West Sea. The traitor Lee Myung-bak and puppet militant warmongers will face our rifles and experience the dear price they will have to pay for the path of confrontation against our people. There will be no day waiting for the evil confrontational fanatics.
