In voting on dueling
amendments, Senate continues food aid to North Korea
By Daniel Strauss - 06/20/12
The Senate voted to continue
food aid to North Korea, shooting down an amendment ending that aid and also approving a
different one in support of it.
First, the Senate
voted on an amendment by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Dick Lugar (R-Ind.)
that was essentially a counter to an amendment by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) to cut
off U.S. food aid to North Korea. The Kerry-Lugar amendment was approved in a
vote of 59 to 40, and Kyl's amendment failed 43 to 56.
S.AMDT.2454
Amends: S.3240
Sponsor: Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] (submitted 6/18/2012) (proposed 6/20/2012)
Amends: S.3240
Sponsor: Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] (submitted 6/18/2012) (proposed 6/20/2012)
AMENDMENT PURPOSE:
To prohibit assistance to North Korea under title II of the Food for Peace Act unless the President issues a national interest waiver.
To prohibit assistance to North Korea under title II of the Food for Peace Act unless the President issues a national interest waiver.
SEC. 3015. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE FOR NORTH KOREA.
(a) In
General.--No amounts may be obligated or expended to provide assistance
under title II of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.) to the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
(b) National
Interest Waiver.--The President may waive subsection (a) if the President
determines and certifies to the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry and Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committees on Agriculture
and Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that the waiver is in the
national interest of the United States.
S.AMDT.2354
Amends: S.3240
Sponsor: Sen Kyl, Jon [AZ] (submitted 6/12/2012) (proposed 6/20/2012)
Amends: S.3240
Sponsor: Sen Kyl, Jon [AZ] (submitted 6/12/2012) (proposed 6/20/2012)
AMENDMENT PURPOSE:
To prohibit assistance to North Korea under title II of the Food for Peace Act.
To prohibit assistance to North Korea under title II of the Food for Peace Act.
SEC. 3015. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE FOR NORTH KOREA.
No
amounts may be obligated or expended to provide assistance under title II of the
Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.) to the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea.
No Water Supplies in
Parched Pyongyang
By Kim Yong Hun 2012-06-21
With North Korea in
the midst of an unusually difficult dry spell .. , a number of parts of Pyongyang have now been without running water for two
months due to electricity
shortages.
(North Korea relies
on hydroelectric power generation for electricity. Without the electricity generated by North
Korea’s main dams due to drought, water supplies cannot be
maintained.)
“The water has been
off in the residential districts of Pyongcheon, Daedonggang, Yeokpo and
Yongseong since the Day of the Sun (April 15th)
Electricity must be
supplied consistently if the capital city’s water supply system were to
function correctly.
“As soon as
electricity supplies to Pyongyang run into trouble, all the reservoirs from
which the water is meant to come enter an emergency situation, too,” the source
said. “Because insufficient electricity is coming from Heecheon, the pumps are
not working properly and ultimately there is no water for homes either.”
The source believes
that it is primarily the failure of the newly completed hydroelectric power
station at Heecheon in Jagang Province to reach official expectations. Water levels behind the dam at Heecheon are
insufficient to meet electricity generation targets.
However, there are
other reasons for the current state of affairs, notably events for the 10t0th
anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung and the period of mass mobilization for
farming.
“Because they wanted
it for the April events, most of the electricity coming to Pyongyang went to
the Mansudae and Central districts, while the places where most people actually
live didn’t get regular supplies. Then in May they started sending most of it
to cooperative farms in North Hwanghae Province for the mass farming
mobilization.”
Currently, residential
areas of the capital are receiving electricity two or three times a day for an
hour or two at a time, meaning anything from three to five hours of power per
day.
North Korea slams
joint drill among U.S., Japan and South Korea
By K.J. Kwon, CNN , Thu
June 21, 2012
North Korea called a
joint military drill among U.S., South Korea and Japan "reckless military
provocations" that could lead to "nuclear war" as the allies
started their operations Thursday amid tensions in the region.
USS George Washington
roared into the sea off the coast of South Korea to conduct a drill with the
two allies.
A number of destroyers
and other naval vessels will take part in the two-day exercise that will focus
on reconnaissance, search and seizure, and rescue missions.
The trilateral exercise
will be followed by a separate U.S./South Korea drill and routine carrier
operations between the two navies
S. Korea, U.S., Japan
kick off trilateral naval drills
2012-06-21
The U.S.
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, will take part in
the exercise Friday then will join a separate joint drill with South Korea set
for Saturday through Monday, the U.S. Defense Department said in a statement.
On Thursday, North
Korea's ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun denounced the three-nation
exercise as a "reckless provocation."
UPP main faction won't
soften views
June 21,2012 By Kim
Jung-wook, Ryu Jung-hwa[heejin@joongang.co.kr
The dominant,
pro-North Korean faction of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party
debated how to get over the public uproar over its ideological views
yesterday, and decided to stick to its decades-old convictions.
"If a liberal
party follows only what ordinary people want, they will face a self-contradiction
in which they will deny what they strive for," said Lee Ui-yeob, an
inner-circle member of the UPP's Gyeonggi Dongbu Alliance, composed of mostly
former pro-North student activists from the 1970s and 1980s. "Our top
priority at this moment is to prevent the party from degenerating."
The party's largest
faction held an open debate yesterday at the National Assembly to decide its
future course.
The leadership run by
the UPP's smaller faction recently announced reform measures for the party to
make it less leftist and pro-North Korean to move it closer to the center
In their debate
yesterday, the Gyeonggi Dongbu Alliance members clarified their position on
maintaining stances that are hard line against the U.S. military presence and
pro-Pyongyang.
"The rigged
primary scandal was an irrational, crazy witch hunt based on groundless
allegations," said Lee Ui-yeob, who was convicted in 2000 of forming a spy
ring for North Korea and served two years and six months in jail
Prime Minister Adds to
6.25 Abductee List
By Mok Yong Jae , 2012-06-21
Pursuant to a recent
advertizing campaign on subway trains and in other public places, the South
Korean government has added 351 to the number of accepted cases of Korean War
abduction by North Korea, bringing the total to 743.
Prime Minister Kim
Hwang Sik formally added to the existing list of cases yesterday during the 6th
meeting of a committee established under the auspices of the prime minister’s
office to deal with the issue.
The newly added list
of ‘abductees’ contains a number of
important figures, including the following: ▲ ten
politicians, including National Assembly lawmakers Kim Kyo Hyun, Kwon Tae Hee,
Park Young Rae and Park Chul Kyu; ▲ six journalists and
media company employees, including Baek Un Sun (then of the Donga Ilbo), Lee
Jong Seung (then of Seoul Shinmun); and ▲ six judicial
officials, including Choi Dong Uk (then a Seoul high court judge) and Ha Jin
Moon (then a Seoul district court judge).
An official at Sinuiju
sees no prospect of getting Hwanggumpyong and Wihwado development plan off the
ground
[460호] “황금평 개발, 물 건너갔다”
Pyongyang's newest SEZ
just another shortcut
By Leonid Petrov June 22, 2012
Hwanggumpyong and Wihwado Economic Zone are simply measures to lure a handful of
random foreign investors and should not
be seen as a sign of change
special economic zone
(SEZ)
Last week, North Korea announced to the world
that it would make its two islands Hwanggumpyong and Wihwado a visa-free
zone for foreigners. A special law has been adopted to attract foreign
investors and give them preferential treatment in the payment of tariffs and
taxes and in land use. Will this change in policy rescue the country from
poverty and change things for the better?
the islands lie at the
mouth of the Amnok River,. Its location, just opposite the cities of
Sinuiju on the Korean side and Dandong on the Chinese side, adds strategic
importance to this historic place. In June 2011, a start-up ceremony took place
on the island in recognition of the North Korea-China joint development and
operation project.
The executive decision to develop the
abandoned islands into a thriving industrial park was made by the late North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who frequently visited China to solicit economic
aid and investment. Soon after his death last December, his son and successor,
Kim Jong-eun, called on the citizens of North Korea actively to do business
with China and "bring in as much cash profit as possible". As such,
the commercial importance of the Hwanggumpyong and Wihwado Economic Zone has
only increased, raising speculations that it would be turned into the
playground of capitalism for North Korea's centrally planned and autarkic
economy. (ß the question presented ; à. Short answer is no )
(Rason shows that China invests only if it is
given an upper hand)
The earlier experience
of joint development and cooperation in the Rason (Rajin-Seonbong) Economic
and Trade Zone showed that neighboring China was keen on
aggressively investing in infrastructure and manufacturing sectors provided (that)
they could be guaranteed an upper hand in competition against Russian,
Japanese or South Korean investors. China's
access to the Sea of Japan (or East Sea to Koreans) is cut short by the
17-kilometer-long Korean-Russian border, rendering the industrial base of Jilin
and Heilongjing landlocked. On the contrary, the Hwanggumpyong and Wihwado
Economic Zone, at the mouth of the Yalu (Amnok) River, which flows into the
Yellow (West) Sea, seems to be a more attractive option for China.
Beijing once before
thwarted North Korea's plans to set up an SEZ in Sinuiju, where Pyongyang intended to create a new
Hong Kong or Macau. Chinese billionaire Yang Bin was appointed by Kim
Jong-il as the governor of Sinuiju Special Administrative Region in 2002. That
same year the North Korean government enacted a new economic policy on wage and
pricing systems based on self-accounting management, known as the "July 1
Measures". To Pyongyang's dismay, China was not impressed by the prospects
of having another Hong Kong on its northeastern frontier and quickly arrested
Yang Bin for tax evasion. The message was clear: Any development close to China's borders must be
endorsed by Beijing. (otherwise, thwarted by China)
This time, the
Hwanggumpyong and Wihwado Economic Zone is the product of a Sino-North Korean
administrative and trade agreement. Even
the recent announcement that foreigners would be granted visa-free access and
enjoy tax breaks still manages to provide China with full control over the
movement of people and capital within its territory. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News
Agency reported that "upon presentation of passports or other equivalent
documentation, foreigners and vehicles may enter or leave the zone through the
designated route without a visa". It also promised that "customs duties
will not be levied on materials brought into the zone for processing, or on
finished goods". China's control of the surrounding geography means
that Chinese investors and manufacturers will have an upper hand in trade. (in
the Hwanggumpyong and Wihwado Economic Zone)
North Korea is in no
position to bargain. Pyongyang's dependence on Beijing is growing as
international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs make it
increasingly difficult for it to access international markets and credit. The
impoverished country is striving to revitalize its economy through foreign
investment in its economic zones. Since China has already invested about
US$3 billion in developing port facilities and roads in the Rason
Economic and Trade Zone, Beijing might decide to funnel significant capital
to the Hwanggumpyong and Wihwado Economic Zone too. But will this contemporary
"Wihwado Retreat" rescue the North Korean economy?
Beijing would love to
see Pyongyang follow its example by introducing market-oriented reforms, but
North Korea simply cannot come to terms with granting its population the many
freedoms necessary to make such a reform successful. Even the Chinese-style
reform of the late 1970s required some basic liberties (freedom of movement,
information, association, etc). This is simply impossible in the conditions of
an ongoing Korean War, in which North Korean society is continuously fed lies
by the regime and inherently fears interaction with the rest of the world,
particularly South Korea. If
Pyongyang decides to initiate reform, Chinese-style or otherwise, it
would inevitably and quickly lead to the collapse of North Korea's political
regime. Therefore, the very word "reform" is taboo in North
Korea.
The North Korean
leadership genuinely wants to
modernize the economy but does not want to change its social and
political life. Pyongyang is
constantly searching for shortcuts that could boost its dysfunctional
economy without having to conduct systemic reform. The new leader, despite of his young age, is
surrounded by conservative older family members and elites who have no
visionary plan for developing the country. Setting up tiny SEZs, which would
generate foreign exchange without bringing about any change to the rest of the
country, is a preferable way forward. As a result of this half-hearted policy,
ordinary North Koreans will eat and dress better; they might even own personal
computers and mobile phones. But they will continue to live in the same paranoid
state of fear and dependency on the Great Leader's decisions.
The visa-free regime
and tax holidays promised for the Hwanggumpyong and Wihwado Economic Zone
are simply measures to lure a handful of random foreign investors and
should not be seen as a sign of change in the economic thinking of Kim
Jong-eun. Neither reform nor economic liberalization is in the cards because
either of these would immediately jeopardize domestic stability. The zones of
economic cooperation are reluctantly permitted by the North Koreans with
apprehension that possible ideological contamination might cost more to the
regime than economic benefit.
Given the
circumstances of the ongoing inter-Korean conflict, the sustainable development
of the North Korean economy is impossible. The regime is locked in a security
dilemma and is reluctant to experiment. Only
peaceful co-existence and economic collaboration between Seoul and Pyongyang
would remove fears and rebuild trust.
Increased inter-Korean
cooperation, where the plentiful resources of the North are complemented by the
cutting-edge technologies from the South, is capable of bringing North Korea
back from its prolonged socio-economic crisis. Such collaboration would also
enhance the powerhouse of South Korea, opening new markets beyond the Military
Demarcation Line and linking the trans-Korean railway to the Eurasian continent
Leonid A Petrov PhD is
a lecturer in Korean studies at the School of Languages and Cultures, Faculty
of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney.
Release of the 2012 Trafficking in Persons
Report
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton,
Secretary of State
Maria Otero, Under Secretary for Civilian Security,
Democracy, and Human Rights
Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large, Office To Monitor and
Combat Trafficking in Persons
Vincent Paraiso
Benjamin Franklin Room,
Washington, DC, June 19, 2012
The Report
Special Briefing
Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large,
Office To Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Via Teleconference, Washington,
DC, June 19, 2012
QUESTION: Yes. I would
like to ask what was the particular different situation regarding North Korea
in terms of human trafficking. And also, I would like to ask whether there has
been any cases that U.S. Government prohibited North Korea from getting any
loan from the IMF and World Bank because it was recorded as the Third Tier in
terms of human trafficking by the State Department’s report.
AMBASSADOR CDEBACA: Well, one of the things that we’ve seen with North Korea repeatedly
over the years is, again, this notion of state-supported forced labor.
And we are, of course, concerned not
just about forced labor within the country, but also in recent years more and
more labor exporting of North Korean, often, men, whether it’s into
the Middle East, whether it’s into especially Russia and other
places. And of course, with most countries, when they send workers overseas,
it’s between the workers, the recruiters, the employers. When the North Koreans
send workers overseas, they send the police with them and keep them under
surveillance and retaliate against them if they try to fight for their
rights or if they try to leave.
So we continue to see
the situation of forced labor/human trafficking in North Korea as very grave. The
United States is required to vote no in the international financial
institutions when countries are on Tier 3 of the trafficking report. That’s
something, frankly, that the Treasury Department and some others work on, and I
don’t have an immediate answer for you on that notion of were there votes this
year in which the United States voted no on this basis. But it’s something that
we can look at and we can circle back.
N. Korea on U.S. list
of worst-human trafficking nations for 10th year
2012/06/21
WASHINGTON, June 20
(Yonhap) -- North Korea remains on an annual U.S. list of the nations that
could face sanctions for making little effort to combat human trafficking for
a 10th consecutive year, according to the State Department's report
Wednesday.
In its annual Trafficking in Persons report,
the State Department ranked North Korea once again in "Tier 3"
for countries with the poorest record of fighting human trafficking. A total of 17 nations were included in
the 2012 list with Syria newly added
Since 2003, North
Korea has been on the list of the Tier 3 countries that may "be
subject to certain sanctions, whereby the U.S. government may withhold or
withdraw non-humanitarian, no-trade-related foreign assistance," according
to the department
US criticiZes N.
Korea's forced labor
06-21-2012 By Kim
Young-jin
“Workers’ salaries are
deposited into accounts controlled by the North Korean government, which keeps
most of the money, claiming fees for various ‘voluntary’ contributions to
government endeavors.”
The report said
Pyongyang worked harder to place North Korean workers in Russia especially in
the Far East, where it estimated there were between 10,000 and 15,000 North
Korean workers employed in logging camps. Such workers reportedly have only two
days of rest per year, it said.
