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WASHINGTON, Jul 17 (OneWorld.net) - In this interview, Kim Young Seong, a North Korean defector, discusses his time doing forced labor in a mine, the 1990s famine, the military's ubiquitous presence, and people's growing desire for change.

North Korean Traffic Controller © yeowatzup (flickr)What's the Story?

After spending two years working in a coal mine at a forced labor camp, Seong made the dangerous trek through the North Korean border region to China in 1997. After several years in China and Russia, he eventually settled in South Korea, where he currently resides.

Speaking with Zoltán Dujisin of the Inter Press Service (IPS), a humanitarian news agency, Kim offers an extremely rare glimpse into life in North Korea, one of the most isolated and poorest countries in the world.

The picture he paints is one of a heavily militarized society -- "you can feel the military presence everywhere" -- in which citizens and visitors alike are constantly monitored and many are punished with years of forced labor, for reasons Kim does not explain.

Information is also under tight control, and citizens must get permission to travel both within the country and abroad. Even contact with foreigners was forbidden "in the past," notes Kim, presumably referring to the 1990s.

He concludes: "whether North Korea likes it or not, it is becoming more dependent on the outside world and society is becoming more open to it... But from newspapers and recent defectors, I hear the ruling authorities have no will to reform politically or economically. But society is changing; there are more markets outside state control, the lifestyle is also changing... People knew nothing of the outside world before the 1990s famine. But that is changing. They now realize how poor they are and feel the need for change. But there is no way for them to express their social discontent, which has grown in recent years." (Read more excerpts from the IPS interview with Kim below.)

An Ongoing Food Crisis in North Korea

When asked about the famine that hit North Korea in the mid-1990s -- claiming up to 2 million lives -- Kim shared the following memory: "I will never forget a little girl whom I saw at a train station. I was eating the food my mother had prepared for me. I noticed a little girl in a primary school uniform staring at me. She was very hungry and was looking at the food I was eating. But I couldn't part with my own food or I would go hungry."

In 2007, the World Food Program (WFP) warned that "having enough to eat is still a daily struggle for one-third to one-half of all North Koreans." The following year, the United Nations (UN) estimated that 40 percent of North Korea's population would need urgent food aid over a period of several months due to cereal shortages.

In addition to food assistance from China, South Korea, and humanitarian organizations like WFP, most North Koreans rely on the government's notoriously inefficient food distribution program, which is supposed to ensure fairness through defined rations but instead tends to favor elite groups of party members and government officials at the expense of others. 

The economic crisis is now threatening to exacerbate the hunger crisis in the East Asian nation. Due to a lack of funds, the United Nations is cutting back an emergency food aid program in North Korea, where an estimated 9 million people may go hungry due to cereal shortages this year.

In the past, desperately needed food aid in North Korea has also been obstructed by government policies. For a period in 2005 and 2006, the country refused all food aid in deference to the dogma of self-reliance and in denial of a WFP survey that found 37 percent of North Korean children suffered stunted growth while a third of all mothers were malnourished and anaemic.

For more background on the food crisis, development, and the economy in North Korea, see OneWorld.net's North Korea country guide.

Sanctions Imposed After Nuclear Tests

The UN Security Council imposed sanctions yesterday on five companies and five individuals in North Korea associated with the nuclear weapons test the country conducted on May 5. The launch violated a 2006 resolution demanding North Korea "not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile," passed after the country alleged to have conducted a nuclear test earlier that year.

The new resolution calls for a halt to any further nuclear tests or launch using ballistic missile technology and mandates "tougher inspections of cargo suspected of containing banned items related to the country's nuclear and ballistic missile activities, a tighter arms embargo with the exception of light weapons, and new financial restrictions," reports the UN News Center. 

In response to North Korea's latest violations of international accords restricting their weapons use, peace advocates have emphasized the importance of dialogue and a less aggressive U.S. policy toward North Korea.

"The United States and other members of the United Nations Security Council, which are so strong in their condemnation of North Korea's nuclear testing, are not doing enough to resolve important security issues with North Korea by diplomacy, the only sensible solution," wrote David Krieger, president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. "Nor are the permanent members of the Security Council setting the right example by adhering to their own obligations under international law for 'good faith' negotiations for total nuclear disarmament." 

"The Obama administration -- and the international community -- is understandably appalled at North Korea's actions. Condemning, sanctioning, and cordoning off the country might be all satisfying and politically expedient tactics. But these responses have not proven effective in the past," advised John Feffer, a foreign policy and Koreas expert at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies. "To achieve a viable agreement with North Korea, we must negotiate in good faith."

As for the North Korean people's increasing desire for change, a limited degree of openness can be found in the economy since market-oriented reforms were launched in 2003; there are now busy markets in Pyongyang and advertisements for consumer goods. Nonetheless, the economy remains centrally planned and reliant on inefficient heavy industry handicapped by energy shortages and antiquated machinery.

This piece was compiled by David Iaconangelo.

Q&A: "I Saw People Dying Before My Eyes."

From: Inter Press Service

7/14/09

Zoltán Dujisin interviews KIM YOUNG SEONG, a North Korean defector.

SEOUL, Jul 14 (IPS) - Very little is known about North Korean society considering the country is so isolated from the outside world. Those who flee the country refrain from speaking out, fearing persecution against them or their families. IPS's Zoltán Dujisin caught up with Kim Young Seong, a North Korean defector, who gave a rare insight into North Korean society. The following are extracts from the interview.

IPS: Why did you leave North Korea? And how?

Kim Young Seong: I left in 1997 through the Chinese border, after I was sent to do forced labour at a mine for 2 years. Crossing it was very risky and difficult. There were many soldiers and I risked severe punishment, but a friend who knew the situation in the border region helped me. I stayed in China and Russia for some years and then I settled in South Korea, where I've been for seven years now.

IPS: What were conditions like at the mine?

KYS: Many people were sent there from Pyongyang as punishment. We were very close, once a week we would drink and talk and I heard many terrible stories. Compared to many others, whose families were also sent to the coal mines and who, like in much of the country, died of starvation, I was very fortunate. My family was one of the few allowed to stay in Pyongyang, because my crime was considered to be rather light.

IPS: How much did people know about the famine?

KYS: People knew about it. When I lived in Pyongyang I heard that many people died of starvation in other cities, but it was something I hadn't personally seen till then. But when I was sent to the coal mine, it was my first time outside Pyongyang, and I saw people dying before my eyes. I will never forget a little girl whom I saw at train station. I was eating the food my mother had prepared for me. I noticed a little girl in a primary school uniform staring at me. She was very hungry and was looking at the food I was eating. But I couldn't part with my own food or I would go hungry. Those were different times and I was another person. I now have my own daughter. I would like to apologise to her if I get the chance. I still clearly remember her face.

IPS: Can North Koreans travel inside the country and see the situation for themselves?

KYS: No, they can't. They need permission from authorities. It is very difficult to get permission for private business, but there is always the possibility to bribe someone or use your contacts in the authorities. People did not know much about what happened outside their own region, but compared to the past more people are traveling now and there is a greater flow of information, though often illegally.

IPS: How heavily militarized is North Korea?

KYS: It's very heavily militarized. You can feel the military presence everywhere. Military service usually starts when you're 17, and it lasts for more than 10 years. In this period you are allowed to see your family just once or twice. When I was in the country, people found this acceptable, and took pride in being a part of the army and competed for positions within it. Without your military service you are seen as unaccomplished man.

IPS: Can North Koreans study abroad?

KYS: Possibilities are very limited, and the decision is not up to the individual, but the government, which decides who goes where and when.

IPS: People are learning English and there is more interest in the Western world. Doesn't the state mind that?

KYS: Whether North Korea likes it or not, it is becoming more dependent on the outside world and society is becoming more open to it. Authorities know this. In the past, for instance, scientific information was coming from Russia. Russian was an important language, but now engineers, businessmen and scientists are learning English and Chinese very intensively.

IPS: Are there any interactions with Foreigners?

KYS: The majority of foreigners are diplomats, businessman, and people from international organizations or non-governmental organizations, and they all live in Pyongyang. There was no contact with foreigners in the past; it was forbidden even to talk to them. If you were a foreigner in the street trying to ask for directions, the citizen could not answer the question, otherwise he would be questioned by security agents: "what did you tell the foreigner?" And there is always someone following each foreigner, a guide who monitors his every behavior. I've been a guide myself and I had to report every day on the activities of the foreigner I was escorting.

IPS: Are there internal forces of change at work in North Korea?

KYS: My own opinion on several subjects has changed several times since I got to South Korea, because now I lack consistent and fresh information about it. But from newspapers and recent defectors, I hear the ruling authorities have no will to reform politically or economically. But society is changing; there are more markets outside state control, the lifestyle is also changing. People are buying DVD players, clothes, music, computers, and they are more dependent on markets than ever before. People knew nothing of the outside world before the 1990s famine. But that is changing. They now realise how poor they are and feel the need for change. But there is no way for them to express their social discontent, which has grown in recent years.

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