20 Year Anniversary: Choosing to see Good

Mike Kim with a North Korean orphan.

When Mike Kim returned from his missions trip to Northeast China in 2001, I was deeply impacted by his stories. Neither of us could get the stories of North Korean refugees out of our minds. And with childlike naivete and a little pride, we thought we could do something to change the world. I was 24 years old and had a lot of growing up to do. We all did. The story of Crossing Borders as an organization has been about learning and growing. These are just a few things we have gleaned along the way.

Learning from the W’s and L’s

We have helped hundreds of North Koreans. For the overwhelming majority of refugees, the aid given has had a profound positive impact on their lives. But not everything in the field always went according to plan. Through the humbling moments to the greatest victories, God gave us the gift of wisdom and understanding. Starting an organization at the age of 24 with no prior experience or training also proved to be one of the most difficult and rewarding challenges of my life. Successes and failures have shaped us to become who we are today and we are grateful for both. 

Impact

The count of refugees we’ve helped doesn’t quite encapsulate the full breadth of the work because of the significant impact that a little help and care have had in the lives of many refugees. While providing people with vital resources like food, shelter and money, I have bore witness to the softening of many hearts. I have seen people who were hardened by the Great North Korean Famine and then human trafficking sing and dance with joy and freedom. It is this immeasurable impact that most motivates me.

The power of community amplifies our effectiveness. We do not help North Korean refugees in a vacuum. We try our best to help them in the context of a group setting. Human traffickers sold these women to men in targeted regions of China. We learned of these concentrated areas where they have done “business” which enabled us to minister to many more trafficked North Korean women. But before they met Crossing Borders, most were unaware that there were others like them nearby.

There is power in knowing that you are not alone.

We also have felt the power of community from our donors. This work would not be possible without your financial support, but most importantly, it is your moral support, faithful prayers and loving encouragement that keeps us going. You help us stay grounded and humble while challenging us to continue to fight the good fight.

Dan Chung at the North Korea-China border.

Laughter is the spice of life

I am prone to colossal accidents. My staff rarely passes up opportunities to tease me about them because, let’s be honest, it’s who I am. Here is an abbreviated list of my best “worst” moments during my tenure at Crossing Borders:

1. I lost my passport on my first trip to China and I was told I would be stuck there for at least six months. Fortunately, this did not happen. 

2. My six-foot, American-fed frame is not able to fit into a Chinese outhouse. There are pictures floating around internally that depict this. 

3. I once shattered my elbow while on a bike ride with a donor. I invited him for a ride because I wanted to cheer him up.

The nature of our work is heavy and the depravity we see can oftentimes bring us towards depression. There have been times over these years where the sadness and unfathomable suffering of the North Korean people has consumed me. I’m grateful that God clothed me with gladness (Psalm 30:11) in those seasons as he reminds me of his immense love for the destitute. There’s great joy in seeing even one life, one refugee’s eternity changed forever.

Through this work, I have learned to laugh. If you’re going to start an organization and be exposed to some of the darkest aspects of human behavior, I’d suggest that you do it with people who can make you laugh. It has been good for my soul to balance all of the heaviness with the lighter moments. It helps me to continue in this line of work. I also hope for the day when all of the refugees we help can experience unadulterated joy and laughter.

As an eternal pessimist (I am a Cubs fan, after all), I can easily focus on the cruelty and bile I see everyday in this line of work. Over the years, God has trained me to choose to see the good. Though there is much brokenness in the lives of the people we help, I choose hope, peace and love. While the darkness may seem unavoidable, I know the Lord is at hand!

Paul (a prisoner himself) addressed this so well in Philippians 4:8: 

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

This is how I can rejoice in any and every situation.

As we reflect on the twenty years behind us and look towards (hopefully) another twenty years ahead, I’m humbled by the beautiful work that God is doing. He works through us, in us and oftentimes in spite of lost passports, outhouse mishaps and even broken elbows for His own glory and for the good of the sojourner. I’m not the reason why Crossing Borders has been able to help refugees for two decades. He is. This is at the heart of what keeps me going with the same vigor that we started with many years ago. I am grateful for all of you who have journeyed with us.

Top NK Headlines - February 2023

NORTH KOREA GIVES OUT EXTRA FOOD TO BOOST BIRTH RATE

• Despite chronic food shortages, the authorities are offering families with three or more children extra food twice a year (on the birthdays of North Korea’s former leaders) to boost the country’s birth rate.

• Qualified families are given 20 kilograms of corn, two kilograms of fermented soybean paste and a bottle of cooking oil.

• However, a source told Radio Free Asia that, “It’s hard for most women to make ends meet just for themselves these days. So who in her right mind would have three or more children, like a fool?”

• A declining birth rate is detrimental to a country which heavily relies on raw manpower for its seven-year mandatory military service, as well as for construction, agriculture and mining work.

Source:
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/multiple-children-02142023184314.html 

NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS RECEIVE VACCINATION IN CHINA 

• Disease control agencies in certain areas in Heilongjiang (China’s northmost province) and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region are providing Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines to North Korea defectors.

• The agencies are cooperating with local police to obtain personal information of defectors illegally residing in China.

• Local authorities are providing vaccine shots to female defectors living with Chinese nationals at known addresses and male defectors who have been hiding in the mountains and steppes.

• Chinese police reportedly told female defectors receiving the Covid-19 shots that they “must not abandon their husbands and children to run away to South Korea or engage in crimes while in contact [with people] in North Korea” and that they must “live well without causing problems.”

• However, the vaccination campaign for defectors is limited and many North Korean defectors in China do not have access to vaccines.

Source:
https://www.dailynk.com/english/china-begins-limited-campaign-vaccinate-north-korean-defectors/ 

Kim Jong Un’s daughter at a military banquet. (KCNA)

KIM JONG-UN’S DAUGHTER’S APPEARANCE FUELS SUCCESSION TALK

• Three months since the North Korean leader was seen at a public event with his daughter, Kim Ju-ae has made another appearance at a weapons parade in Pyongyang.

• The nine-year-old’s fifth appearance in less than three months has sparked speculations that she would become North Korea’s future leader.

• Analysts also noted that there are significant changes in the way she is introduced to the public.  For example, state media first described Ju-ae as Kim Jong-un’s “beloved” daughter, but has now elevated her title to Kim’s “respected” daughter.

• A recent photo showing the young Ms. Kim seated in the center of the lead table between Kim Jong-un and his wife, and surrounded by senior cadres at a military banquet also adds to an apparent growth in stature.

Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64581465
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/08/asia/north-korea-kim-jong-un-daughter-banquet-intl-hnk/ 

NORTH KOREA FIRES MISSILE AHEAD OF US-SOUTH KOREA MILITARY DRILLS

• On February 17, Pyongyang threatened an “unprecedentedly persistent, strong” response to the annual joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea.

• North Korea confirmed launching a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (“ICBM”) against hostile forces on February 19.

• According to missile expert, Ankit Panda, “The important bit here is that the exercise was ordered day-of, without warning to the crew involved,” adding that “The amount of time between the order and the launch is likely going to be decreased with additional testing.”

• State media video footages suggest that North Korea may have created a military unit to operate new ICBMs.

Source:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/18/north-korea-fired-ballistic-missile-east-coast-south-korea

Assassination Attempt by North Koreans: 55-years Ago and Still Unbelievable

The Blue House in South Korea.

Border closures and economic sanctions did not stop Pyongyang from doubling its missile launches in 2022. Since 1984, the hermit kingdom has carried out over 270 missile tests, with more than 90 cruise and ballistic missiles fired last year alone. The current North Korean leader has repeatedly directed and prioritized the country’s nuclear development since he came into power in 2011 and had vowed to strengthen its nuclear forces at the “highest possible” speed. Experts suggest that the tests are no longer experimental, but rather a sign that “Kim Jong Un is dead serious about using nuclear capabilities early in a conflict if necessary.”

The aggressive acceleration in weapons testing has alarmed neighboring regions and led many countries, including South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, to conduct a series of military responses. However, the current tension between North and South Korea is no novel matter – in fact, provocations by the North have been a recurring theme that can be dated back to half a century ago.

THE BLUE HOUSE INVASION

Despite the end of the Korean War in the 1950s, the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone (the “DMZ,” a strip of land that runs between the Korean Peninsula) and maritime boundaries remain highly sensitive to this day, particularly during periods of military tensions. In January 1968, 31 North Korean special force soldiers from Unit 124 – an elite troop handpicked by Pyongyang’s top military group, cut through a wire fence along the DMZ and slipped into South Korea undetected. Disguised in South Korean military uniforms, each of the commandos carried a submachine gun, a pistol, 320 rounds of ammunition, 14 grenades and a knife before heading for the Blue House in Seoul with one goal in mind: assassinate the then-South Korean President, Park Chung-hee.

The men managed to hide from nearby patrolling U.S. soldiers, who were stationed less than 100 feet away, and even rested in an area less than two miles from a U.S. Army Divisional Headquarters. Their tactic involved sleeping during the day and only moving at night, covering as much as seven miles an hour through the icy mountains. However, on the second day, the group accidentally stumbled across four brothers who were out cutting wood. Unable to deceive the brothers, the soldiers took them captive but ultimately decided against killing their witnesses because it was impossible to bury them in the frozen ground. Before letting the woodcutters go, they were lectured for four hours on the benefits of Communism and warned not to inform the authorities.

The brothers immediately reported to the police and South Korea was put on high alert in search of the infiltrators. The intense special force training back in North Korea proved to have been a success, as days went by, and the group remained at large despite thousands of soldiers and police dispatched to locate them. It was reported that military training involved running for dozens of miles while carrying as much as 60 pounds of gear in freezing temperatures at high altitudes and digging into graves to hide among bodies for concealment. For this particular mission, the group from Unit 124 even practiced assaulting a full-size replica of the Blue House.

It was not until the commandos marched directly past numerous police and military checkpoints and arrived less than half a mile from the Blue House, that suspicious policemen challenged the group for information. Instead of responding to the questions, the commandos opened fire and killed the police and his driver, along with 24 civilians on a passing bus. Recognizing that their mission had failed, the commanding officer ordered his troop to run for their homeland. 27 of the 31 North Korean soldiers were killed during the following 8-day manhunt. One fleeing commando committed suicide immediately after breaking into a house and eating a bowl of white rice. Another soldier, Kim Shin-jo, surrendered to South Korea upon being captured and was released with ROK citizenship in 1970. He later became a Christian pastor and continued to live in South Korea to this day, while his parents and siblings were executed back home. Only two DPRK soldiers escaped and safely crossed the DMZ into North Korea, one of whom was identified as Pak Jae-gyong, who later became a four-star general in the military.

DEPLOYING ‘HARMLESS’ DRONES

Even though Pyongyang no longer sends death squads across the DMZ, it continues to menace South Korean leaders with the help of modern technology. For instance, a North Korean drone entered a no-fly zone that protects South Korea’s presidential office in Seoul in December 2022, sparking criticisms of the South’s air defenses for its “insufficient readiness to defect, track and shoot down such small drones.” Even though drones are technically simple and appear to cause little direct harm, they pose a threat to South Korea’s national security as they could be used to spy or launch a future attack.

Remembering the Capture of the USS Pueblo and Crew by North Korea

The USS Pueblo crew members as they arrive in North Korea following their capture on Jan. 23, 1968 (KCNA/AP)

North Korea’s state media, Rodong Sinmun, recently celebrated the capture of the USS Pueblo (an unarmed U.S. Navy intelligence vessel) 55 years ago as a symbol that “victory always belongs to the DPRK and defeat always belongs to the United States in the confrontation between the two countries.” On January 23, 1968, 83 crew members aboard the USS Pueblo were captured and 82 were held hostage for 11 months in North Korea. The American ship had since turned into a war museum for local visitors in Pyongyang to admire their country’s resilience and combat readiness in eliminating invaders who attempt to attack their state integrity and internal affairs.

THE CAPTURE AND RELEASE OF SAILORS, BUT NOT THE SHIP

The USS Pueblo was embarking on an intelligence gathering mission as she sailed into the international waters off North Korea’s eastern coast. Unaware of rising tensions between the two Koreas following a failed invasion of the Blue House which killed 26 South Koreans only a few days prior, the USS Pueblo journeyed on and was attacked by North Korean military forces. The ship managed to contact U.S. forces in South Korea over the radio during a nearly three-hour standoff. However, upon realizing that they were abandoned and help was not coming, the USS Pueblo’s skipper, Lt. Cmdr. Lloyd “Pete” Bucher, made the unusual, but in hindsight the “right decision” to give up the ship, which ultimately saved their lives.

All hostages were tortured into falsely confessing that the USS Pueblo was a spy ship that had intruded in North Korea’s territorial waters. One crew member recalled that “My ear lobe on the right side was just hanging by a small part of the skin” after his head was beaten with rifle butts in one torture sessions. He also described sustaining lasting psychological impacts from hearing “every blow that every one of the sailors got” in the torture room next to his room. In the end, Lloyd Bucher confessed to espionage at a press conference in Pyongyang after being told that failure to do so would result in his crew members being executed one by one. The U.S. later signed a document drafted by North Korea, known as the three A’s: Admit wrongdoing, Apologize for it, Assure it will never happen again (later proclaimed by North Korea as the U.S.’s “instrument of surrender”), “to free the crew and only to free the crew.” On December 23, 1968, the 82 captives were repatriated to the U.S., leaving behind the USS Pueblo, along with ten encryption machines and thousands of top-secret documents seized from the ship.

Since the incident, crew members and their families have filed a lawsuit against North Korea for damages resulting from mental and physical abuse during their detention. In 2021, a U.S. federal district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered North Korea to pay over $2 billion USD or a minimum of $3.35 million USD for each crew member in compensation. However, North Korea was not represented in the case and it is highly unlikely that the victims could expect to recover any damages. Meanwhile, it is likewise improbable for the U.S. to expect compliance from North Korea with regards to its demand for the return of the USS Pueblo, especially when the ship is a token of triumph that echoes its vow to “wipe out the U.S. land” in response to intrusion.

NORTH KOREA’S STRATEGY

Since North Korea’s use of torture to obtain false confessions proved to be effective in the USS Pueblo incident, the same tactic continued to be used on detained U.S. citizens. For instance, Merrill Newman was forced to make a televised confession after mentioning to his tour guide that he fought in the Korean War on the “wrong side” in 2013. Similarly, Jeffrey Fowle was asked to “put some emotion into” his confession after being detained in North Korea for almost six months for leaving a Bible in a bathroom stall in 2014. While U.S. student, Otto Frederick Warmbier, who was arrested after attempting to steal a propaganda poster from his hotel begged for the DPRK’s forgiveness in a video released by state media, though he did not survive the ordeal and was “blind, deaf, and brain dead” when he returned home, passing away shortly afterwards.

While capturing U.S. citizens and collecting “declarations of defeat” might mark victory for North Korea over U.S. imperialism, it shows North Korea’s blatant disregard of not only its reputation on the global stage but more importantly, of human dignity.

Top NK Headlines - January 2023

KIM JONG UN’S MIDLIFE CRISIS?

• Bags of sweets were given to children at nursery and elementary schools as the North Korean leader celebrated his 39th birthday on January 8.

• It is an annual tradition to hand out sweets to commemorate North Korean leaders’ birthdays.

• Before the pandemic, imported sweets from China were readily available and North Koreans used to compare and criticize the difference in quality against domestically made sweets distributed by the authorities. However, a source told Daily NK that “these days it’s so hard to feed one’s family that everyone is saying, ‘We’re so grateful just to receive [the candy].’”

• Despite the seemingly joyous occasion, experts suggest that the leader is undergoing a midlife crisis and battling serious health problems as a result of his unhealthy lifestyle.

• According to Dr. Choi Jinwook from a Seoul-based North Korea academic, “I heard he is crying after drinking a lot. He is very lonely and under pressure” over his personal health and safety.

Source:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/01/08/kim-jong-uns-midlife-crisis-crying-drinking-lot/
https://www.dailynk.com/english/north-korea-distributes-sweets-children-celebration-kim-jong-un-birthday/ 

NORTH KOREA COWS ARE FED BEFORE ITS PEOPLE

• Sources told Radio Free Asia that caretakers received plenty to feed working cows in order to boost harvest production while annual rations for farmers were halved. “As a result, farmers complained that cows were treated more favorably than people, and that cows are more important than people.”

• According to the 2022 North Korean Crop Production Estimate, the country experienced a decrease in 180,000 tons of food from 2021.

• Cow managers were given 100kg, or 100 days’ worth, of grain on top of farmers’ year-end distribution, while regular farmers only received 200 days’ worth of grain for the 365 working days.

• As North Korea’s winter temperatures drop below zero, food becomes scarce and many missing people are believed to have starved or frozen to death.

• Homeless beggar children, also known as kotebji, are dying on the streets while the working population leave home to hunt or fish in remote areas as they otherwise cannot afford food.

Source:
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/cows-12282022181455.html

NORTH KOREAN MUSEUM WARNS AGAINST DRUG USE AND K-POP

• Despite various laws and campaigns that aim at preventing drug-related crimes, the use of meth and opium is common in North Korea, especially during Lunar New Year.

• North Korean state media recently showed a group visit to a government-run museum that addresses how drug usage and foreign media consumption are “schemes to collapse our society by spreading reactionary ideological culture.”

• Words like “drug use,” “smuggling” and “black market dealing” are exhibited along with photos of hard drives and other products that aid smuggling to educate citizens of what to avoid and report to the authorities.

• Most items labeled as dangerous carriers of foreign media are from the early 2000s, including discs and USB sticks that are nowadays replaced by SD cards due to their small size and higher storage capacity.

Source:
https://www.nknews.org/2023/01/north-korean-museum-targets-drug-use-k-pop-in-campaign-against-social-ills/ 

NORTH KOREAN GUARD CHOSE LIFE ON THE STREET OVER KIM’S LUXURIOUS VILLA

• A 19-year-old, Ri, who was tasked with guarding Kim Jong-un’s lavish Chamosan Villa in Pyongsong and deserted his post earlier this month was recently captured.

• During his interrogation, Ri confessed that he had planned to live as a wandering beggar, also known as kkotjebi, at markets in Pyongyang’s Unjong District just to get a good night’s sleep.

• The owner of a soup stall who sheltered and fed Ri for a week in exchange for labor and his military uniform was also called in for questioning.

• Ri testified that he tossed away the automatic rifle and shells he took on a hillside near his patrol zone, but his unit was unable to retrieve the weapons and the Supreme Guard Command is treating this as a direct threat to the personal safety of Kim Jong-un.

Source:
https://www.dailynk.com/english/guard-deserted-kim-jong-un-pyongsong-villa-turns-up-wandering-beggar/
https://www.dailynk.com/english/a-guard-at-kim-jong-uns-pyongsong-villa-deserts-with-weapon/

Elim Community: January Update

January is off to a great start at Elim Community! Community classes offered in January include weekly fitness/strength training, art and conversational English classes. We’ve had participants join us from both Elim House, the Incheon Hana Center and also those who heard by word of mouth. 

Most classes have been taught by our Crossing Borders and Elim House staff and we’ve also had outside instructors brought in for specialized classes, such as art.

We’ve heard from our instructor and the Elim House team that the women work extremely hard during their fitness classes to the point where some aren’t able to make it to the next class due to being overly sore!

Recently, we also had an opportunity to visit a North Korean senior center. With outdoor activities limited due to winter weather, our missionaries blessed the center with a ping-pong table. As a result, our team was challenged to a friendly ping-pong tournament! Team Elim was not victorious but a great time was had by all!

Elim Community classes are held at a coworking space in Incheon, which is easily accessible by public transportation.

We are also looking for partnerships with local Korean and English ministry churches in the Incheon area! Our first need is for instructors. If the talented folks at your church have a heart to serve by teaching classes, please contact us at hello@crossingbordersnk.org. Secondly, if your church has space for us to use to teach classes during the week, we would love to learn more!

Thank you for your support of our work! Happy Lunar New Year!

Growing Defections from North Korea and China to Close out 2022

Despite the steep rise in Covid-19 infections in China and intensified security along the China-North Korea border, the number of defections recorded has also increased as North Korea continues to self-isolate. Earlier last month, a soldier in his early 20s who had reportedly been starving due to poor rations in the army convinced his cousin, who was unemployed and in his late 20s, to risk their lives and defect to China. The two young men were caught by a border patrol while crossing Yalu River into China. The older cousin was sent to a forced labor camp while the younger was punished more severely and sent to a political prison camp for initiating the defection as a military man.

COVID IN THE ‘OPENED-UP’ CHINA

Following China’s decision to lift its stringent zero-Covid policies, a leaked ministerial document from the National Health Commission dated December 20, 2022, revealed that around 250 million people (around 17.65 percent of China’s population) may have been infected since the beginning of December 1, 2022. An unprecedented number of deaths resulting from Covid-19 infections – as many as 5,000 per day – was estimated by U.K.-based research firm, Airfinity. According to a doctor in Shanghai, 70 percent of the Shanghai population has likely been infected as of the beginning of January 2023. Meanwhile, funeral parlors in Beijing were reportedly working around the clock and dealing with five times the usual number of cremations, with one employee telling Radio Free Asia that, “There is no space here … our cold storage is full and there is nowhere to put [any more bodies]. We’re cremating 180 people a day.”

Shortly after South Korea imposed mandatory PCR tests on Chinese arrivals, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced that 22.7 percent of all arrivals from China were infected with Covid-19. More notably, a Chinese national who tested positive for Covid-19 was found missing after arriving at Incheon International Airport awaiting admission to quarantine. Authorities began searching for the missing person, who could face up to one year in prison or 10 million won ($7,840 USD) in fines.

SUCCESSFUL DEFECTIONS

North Korean border patrols are specifically tasked with arresting anyone who attempts to defect or smuggle into China. However, collusion between guards and brokers help explain the many successful escapes in the China-North Korea border region. A source from Daily NK described a defection case of a woman in her early 40s from Hyesan, Yanggang Province, who managed to reach Changbai in Jilin Province last November after bribing her way out of an arrest by the authorities. The source added that an average bribe amounts to around 5,000 RMB ($718 USD), but soldiers sometimes accept less as they also face financial difficulties during the lockdown.

It is worth noting that North Koreans are not the only ones fleeing their country due to economic hardship resulting from draconian Covid-19 prevention measures. According to the Panamanian government, at least 1,300 migrants from China entered in 2022 to trek through the dangerous, roadless Central American rainforest up to the U.S. southern border in search for a better life.

SMUGGLING ACTIVITIES ON THE RISE

North Korean smugglers are known to trade a variety of goods to China, including medicinal herbs and even expensive minerals like copper and gold, for as little as RMB 2,000 ($286 USD).

Amidst rising smuggling activities along the coastal regions of the border, a Chinese patrol boat had reportedly fired rubber bullets on a North Korean boat carrying five or six North Koreans as it fled back to the North during a smuggling operation in late November 2022. A source told Daily NK that the involvement of a North Korean patrol boat suggests that border guards, who should have been cracking down on the very activity they were performing, attempted to deal smuggled goods in their own capacity. All crew members received punishments and the captain would likely face a severe sentence as a result of this incident.

New Year, New Bribes – Bribery Season in North Korea

Crowned as the most corrupt country in the world three years in a row, North Korea was ranked 194th out of 194 countries for the capacity of civil society oversight and expectations of business-to-government bribes. Even though its leader, Kim Jong-un, has repeatedly called to toughen up measures against corruption and ordered a “stern penalty system” to weed out abuses of power among party members during his administration, bribery has been an inalienable part of North Korea since the famine that devastated the country in the 1990s. It is interesting to note that, according to Chris Carothers of the European Center for North Korean Studies, Kim’s anti-corruption campaigns merely targeted mid-level officials to ensure resources could reach the upper tier of the regime.

DECEMBER IS BRIBERY SEASON

Every December, as the rest of the world prepares for a busy holiday season, North Koreans are also kept occupied ahead of their bribery season. Corruption is an integral part of life in North Korea. As described by Carothers, it “pays the bills” and “helps the regime politically because private citizens with enough money can bribe their way out of onerous government rules and restrictions – enabling anything from commerce to travel to changing your ‘songbun’ status,” which determines one’s social status based on their actions and the actions of your ancestors.

According to a source from Radio Free Asia, state-owned companies systematically hand over bribes along with their budget proposals to treasury officials at the end of each year to avoid fund reductions in the coming year. As institutions, including schools and hospitals, solely depend on government funding to run their facilities, it is essential that the authorities accept the bribes and allocate extra funding in order to settle wages or deliver vital services to the public. This is of particular importance where resources are scarce – Pyongyang’s annual budget is less than approximately 1/40 of its southern neighbor.

“It is rare for a budget submitted without bribery to be passed as is”

The source further explained that, since authorities prefer receiving commodities that can be used or readily converted into cash over the actual handing over of cash, his organization offered 20 kilograms of alcohol and 10 gasoline coupons each (worth about $160 USD) as bribes. Another source added that, “It is rare for a budget submitted without bribery to be passed as is,” and if funding is cut, “the damage is passed on to residents.” For instance, ordinary citizens would have to volunteer and step into the shoes of workers to maintain roads and parks, run water treatment facilities, and even clean out sewers.

NEW YEAR, NEW BRIBES

The bribery season does not end as people countdown to the western calendar but carries over to meet the second wave of bribes ahead of Lunar New Year. A source told Daily NK that brokers who facilitate remittances between defectors and their families back in the North are under immense pressure to satisfy excessive demands for cash by the officials guarding the China-North Korea bordering regions. Another source confirmed and added that agents from the Hoeryong branch of the Ministry of State Security visited the homes of brokers and other families to demand cash. 

Border securities are likewise pressurized by their superiors to pay their portions of bribes at the end of the year and during Lunar New Year. It has always been a custom for North Koreans to surrender bribes under the pretense of visiting and delivering holiday greetings to their superiors or agency heads. In particular, officials who wish to keep their jobs or seek promotion would be seen paying visits to the homes of high-ranking cadres and gifting expensive liquor, cigarettes or even cash. As a result, security officials have reportedly been asking residents and brokers within their jurisdictions to raise funds for their New Year visits.

Before the pandemic, jobs at the border regions were extremely competitive, but security officials have lost their stable income from smugglers for the past three years due to the closing of borders from COVID-19. Nevertheless, as China and Russia began trading with North Korea again, smuggling activities are expected to resume in 2023.

Top NK Headlines - December 2022

Kim Jong Un with his daughter. (KCNA/Reuters)

NORTH KOREAN LEADER REVEALS DAUGHTER TO THE WORLD

• Kim Jong-un appeared with his daughter, Kim Chu-ae, at an inspection of North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

• The leader’s personal life is considered state secret and is rarely revealed to the public.

• State media declared that the father-daughter appearance showed Kim’s devotion to his country and family.

• Some analysts speculate that the surprise appearance suggests she may be the chosen successor.

• Even though North Korea has a deeply patriarchal political culture, Michael Madden, director of North Korea Leadership Watch, told the Guardian that this does not automatically disqualify women from becoming leaders as Kim has already promoted his sister to senior positions and appointed Choe Son-hui as the country’s first female foreign minister.

Source:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/23/symbolism-or-succession-clues-kim-jong-uns-daughter-debut-sparks-speculation-over-north-koreas-future

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63685497

NORTH KOREAN BORDER CITIES IN STATE OF EMERGENCY AFTER 200KG GOLD STOLEN

• Authorities in Hyesan and other border cities declared a state of emergency after 200 kilograms of gold bars (worth U.S. $12 million) were stolen.

• The three masked bandits who appeared to have had special military training overpowered two soldiers on guard duty and rode off into the countryside.

• North Korea produces between two and four metric tons of gold annually, with part of the gold entering its central bank and most of it given to the Kim family.

• There is no market for gold in North Korea so the authorities are desperately searching for the robbers to prevent the loot from being smuggled to China.

• All former special force soldiers in North Pyongan province, home to North Korea’s main gold production facilities, were put on the list of suspects and interrogated.

• A source told Radio Free Asia that many people secretly support the theft as the gold would otherwise be used to fund the government instead of helping the people with their financial struggles.

Source:
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/gold-12012022142916.html 

The Simpsons (Fox)

U.S. SANCTIONED COMPANIES FOR TRADING WITH NORTH KOREAN FIRM THAT ALLEGEDLY ANIMATED THE SIMPSONS, LION KING AND POCAHONTAS

• SEK Studio was founded by Kim Il-sung in the 1950s and has been an ideal choice for subcontract work due to North Korea’s low-cost labor.  

• The U.S. Treasury designated seven companies based in China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia for doing business with Pyongyang’s SEK Studio.

• The U.S. imposed sanctions to target North Korea’s animation industry by freezing U.S.-banked assets of those targeted, blocking U.S. entities from transacting with them and revoking or denying their U.S visa.

• The animation studio has been involved in at least 1,200 films and TV shows, and may have helped animate The Simpsons, The Lion King, Pocahontas, and even the extremely popular South Korean children’s TV show, Pororo.

• SEK Studio had previously been sanctioned by the U.S. in December 2021.

• New sanctions were also made against North Korea’s border control authorities for their efforts to stop defectors from escaping, including planting landmines and imposing shoot-on-sight orders.

Source:
https://www.nknews.org/2022/12/us-sanctions-north-korean-border-guards-for-stopping-people-from-escaping/ 

https://www.nknews.org/2022/01/the-north-korean-studio-that-has-animated-a-christmas-film-and-italian-cartoons/ 

NORTH KOREA DIRECTS QUARANTINE EFFORTS TO FIGHT BIRD FLU

• Authorities launched measures near Pyongyang to stop the spread of Avian influenza with a focus on migratory bird habitats.

• Provincial quarantine offices also began slaughtering birds at ostrich ranch and chicken factories, which supply side dishes to residents and the military.

• This will likely result in rising meat prices and impact on the country’s worsening food crisis.

• Some officials took bribes to sell infected poultry at lower prices.

• A source told Daily NK that “Many people are worried because there are lots of other diseases going around as we enter the winter season.”

Source:
https://www.dailynk.com/english/north-korea-suffers-avian-flu-outbreak-ostrich-ran-chicken-factory-near-pyongyang/

North Korea Broadcasts World Cup for the First Time After South Korea’s Loss to Brazil

Just days after North Korea publicly executed two teenagers for distributing South Korean movies, state television broadcasted the Brazil vs. South Korea FIFA World Cup match in Qatar in an attempt to humiliate South Korea’s 1-4 loss to Brazil.

ANY OPPORTUNITY TO HUMILIATE SOUTH KOREA

As the world congratulated South Korea for its historical win against Portugal and reaching the round of 16, Pyongyang’s Korean Central Television also made a historical move by airing its first ever football (soccer) game featuring the South Korean team and even naming the ROK players at the start of the match. Images showing the devastated looks of South Korean players after the team’s loss to Brazil and elimination were also included in the footage.

Stimson Center fellow, Martyn Williams, described the North’s move as petty and told NK News that “It’s obviously not by chance that the one South Korean game shown is the one that put them out of the World Cup.”

A HISTORY OF NORTH KOREA’S WORLD CUP WINS?

Since its leader, Kim Jong-un, is known to be a football fan who supports Manchester United, it is no surprise that “foreign influences” like the World Cup could be broadcasted on national television, even if it involves receiving its feed from South Korean networks. The North Korean leadership has also historically made an exception for sports despite risks concerning outside influences. For instance, its founding leader, Kim Il-sung, had emphasized the role of physical culture and sports and their development during the Sixth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in 1980. A North Korean company had also launched a 3D football simulation game in 2017 which featured top football stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo.

North Korea had previously participated in two World Cup games in 1966 and 2010. In 2010, North Korea declared a 1-0 win against Brazil when in fact, Brazil defeated North Korea 2-1. According to North Korean state television, the hermit country’s football players made it through to the games during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. A video even showed Kim waving to fans in Brazil as they celebrated North Korea’s rounds of victory against Japan 7-1, the U.S. 4-0 and China 2-0.

TV CENSORSHIP IN NORTH KOREA

According to Williams, “North Korean TV is tightly controlled and programmed, to the extent that most programming aligns with directives from the Propaganda and Agitation Department.” Therefore, live television is rarely an option, particularly after its failed experimental live broadcast during the 2010 World Cup. State television aired North Korea’s match against Portugal live after the team performed better than expected against five-time champion Brazil, which turned into a sporting humiliation when the country witnessed the DPRK team lose 7-0 in real time. The game brought so much shame to the nation that the entire football team, their coach and 400 sports personnel received an official reprimand for losing and “betraying” their leader.

Similarly, other major international tournaments such as the Olympics and Wimbledon are often aired weeks or even months after the games take place to allow time for internal editing and censorship. The much shorter delay in airing South Korea’s game this time shows how desperately Pyongyang wishes to shame and embarrass its neighbor.

Pyongyang Fashion Week?

North Korea held its Women's Clothes Exhibition from October 27 to November 9 this year in Pyongyang “amid expectations and interests from the people of the whole country,” according to state media. Ri Song-hak, Chairman of the Korean Garment Industry Association, gave an opening speech and addressed the Workers’ Party’s intention to promote modern Korean-style clothing and “make the Korean-made clothes fashionable and pioneer a socialist, cultured way of life.”

Images and videos show a range of locally made luxury handbags and clothes targeting women in their 30s and 40s that were produced by over 540 production shops, including the Unha Trade Bureau, the Ponghwa Trade Bureau, the Pyongyang City Garment Industry Management Bureau and other garment producers and tailor shops from across the country. Cosmetics from dozens of suppliers, including the Pyongyang Cosmetics Factory and Sinuiju Cosmetics Factory, showcase North Korea’s ability to domestically manufacture “highly effective and functional” beauty products, without the need to rely on imported goods from China.

NORTH KOREA AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF FASHION?

Perhaps due to conflicts between the high demand for foreign luxury products among Pyongyang's affluent women and the country’s frequent crackdowns on “capitalist fashion,” the exhibition hall featured apparent counterfeit goods including scarves with Chanel’s iconic double-C logo. Toys and Handbags showing minion characters from Universal Pictures’ “Despicable Me” also earned a spot in the exhibition hall as part of North Korea’s proud locally branded products.

Modern technology such as virtual fitting mirrors were offered by the Yanggwang Exchange Company, which allowed visitors to virtually try on their outfits in 3D. During the two-week exhibition, there were reportedly technical exchanges and sharing of advanced clothing design and processing techniques between experts in the apparel industry and consultations held between the production units and customers to conduct reviews for improvements. As an event to show-off the new developments of Korean-style clothing culture, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un pledged to “ensure that the people enjoy the best civilization at the highest level,” according to state media.

Outside Pyongyang, North Korea gains “international” recognition as it expands its clothing industry to bring in foreign currency. For instance, Russia expressed an interest in importing clothes and shoes from North Korea, having reportedly bought winter uniforms, underwear and footwear for Russian soldiers in Ukraine in violation of UN economic sanctions that prohibit countries from importing North Korean textiles. A source told Radio Free Asia that at least three garment factories in Pyongyang, each employing between 500 to 1,000 workers, have been utilizing Russian raw materials to supply Russia with military uniforms in large quantities for about a month.

NORTH KOREA’S FASHION FREEDOM

Even though state media praised Kim Jong-un for driving fashion developments and setting a trendy and modern standard of beauty in women's clothing, these so-called “developments”  ironically reflect products that feature national symbols such as the country’s flag, pine trees, magnolia flowers and other designs with social and cultural sentiment, which were reportedly popular among visitors at the exhibition. The authenticity of this newfound popularity in patriotic fashion appears particularly questionable following punishments ordered against a number of high school and university students who used worn out T-shirts with the North Korean flag to polish statues of the Kim family ahead of North Korea’s National Foundation Day in September. A source further told Daily NK that the authorities ordered that if clothing emblazoned with the country’s flag becomes entirely frayed, they should be sold to special state-run agencies in each district as waste fabric.

North Korea is known for shunning foreign influence and using state propaganda to dictate how one should look – no jeans, dress conservatively and apply minimal or no makeup. Not only do current policies restrict how citizens are to dress, the party strictly controls fashion options and requires manufacturing companies to receive approvals from the Central Industrial Art Bureau before creating their own designs. Pyongyang’s decision to hold a fashion exhibition just weeks after Paris Fashion Week appears to be an attempt for the government to convey an image of fashion freedom to the rest of the world, as well as how self-sufficient it remains despite the almost three-year Covid-19 lockdown. This facade portrays that citizens are somehow able to afford high-end products despite reports of severe poverty and nationwide starvation following the pandemic.

The Women of Elim Community

North Korean refugee women at a retreat.

We heard many stories from North Korean refugees that joined our events over the past six months. The common thread in most of the stories is that life in South Korea is difficult and many live in isolation or without any sort of a community.

That’s what led us to focus on Elim Community this Giving Tuesday. The aim of our classes and retreats is to foster a safe and loving community for North Korean refugees who often have little support.

A New Visitor

A volunteer from the US taught workout classes to refugee women during her time in Korea this past summer. Since she’s returned home, many women have longingly asked when classes would resume as they truly enjoyed both working out and socializing together. After much searching, we were able to find a local yoga/pilate instructor to teach classes in November and December. A refugee woman brought a friend. This is the feedback we received from the friend:

“Hello. Since God, in his grace, brought me to South Korea, this is the first yoga/fitness class I’ve ever participated in. I want to thank the Elim House team for considering and loving refugees in this way and look forward to more classes like this. Have a wonderful night.”

Jenna’s Summer Retreat

Rail bikes are four-wheeled pedal bikes that are built on railroad tracks. We had an opportunity to enjoy this activity before arriving at our retreat site this past summer. The wheels sound like actual trains slowly passing over tracks. As two North Korean refugee women rode with a couple of our team members, one woman who we call Jenna let out a sigh and reminisced about how that sound reminded her of home. As she soaked in the ocean air, Jenna quietly murmured “Thank you, God” and smiled.

Jenna was one of the four women that joined our first overnight retreat. The retreat was designed as a getaway and a chance for these women to find rest and healing. The refugee women spent the weekend confiding in one another, laughing and crying together. Jenna shared with us about living in the tension between the guilt of family members still left behind in North Korea while trying to thrive in South Korea. The burden she felt for her family back north was palpable. Acknowledging the challenges they all shared of living in this constant tension, Jenna  encouraged the other women that they should all help each other and be there for one another.

Meeting Ellie for the first time.

Ellie’s Time at Elim House

This fall we welcomed another refugee into Elim House. We call her “Ellie.” Ellie moved to South Korea in 2005 and scratched out a living as a restaurant worker. Her husband recently became abusive as a result of a mental illness, according to Ellie. She was so miserable that she attempted suicide. Finally, she asked around if there was any other place for her to live.

“I don’t want to divorce him. I just need a break,” she told our staff when she entered Elim House for the first time. Elim House was the resting place she needed.

Ellie has also been enjoying the conversational English classes that were offered by our team. She remembers when she first moved to South Korea and how it took about four to five years for her to fully understand the language.

She has been doing Bible studies with our social workers. Ellie’s curiosity about Christianity has grown and she’s even wondered why she didn’t consider the Bible more seriously in the past.

Looking ahead at 2023

Elim House continues to be a place of physical, emotional and spiritual respite for our refugees. We hope that Elim Community will extend this respite to many others.

The new year is just around the corner and we are so excited to see how God will use our teams and gifts to build Elim Community. Having broader reach enables us to serve more people, including through Elim House and local churches.  Thank you for being a part of our journey.

Why Elim Community is Needed for Refugees

North Korean refugee women painting verses from Psalm 23 during our 2022 Fall Retreat

For the better part of 2022, Elim House housed one resident. It wasn’t from a lack of marketing our safehouse to our network in South Korea. In speaking with other organizations and government workers involved in helping North Korean refugees, it was the broader trend this year.

As the entire world recovered from the pandemic, South Korea took several steps to relax their stringent travel restrictions. This enabled our US team to make four separate trips throughout the year. Our missionaries are on the ground at the time of this writing. Having such a low number of residents gave us new opportunities as teams started to arrive in South Korea. With added manpower, we were able to test new ideas to bring refugees together, both past residents and those who were new to our network.

classes and retreats

Refugees joined us for free exercise classes, conversational English classes and overnight retreats. It started out as a means of providing access to classes and getaways that North Korean refugees typically wouldn’t go to on their own. We were overwhelmed by how grateful participants were, not only in being able to attend, but in just being able to spend quality time with other refugees. People shared about their lives to one another and we witnessed the depth of pain and lingering trauma in them. Many of the refugees stepped up to encourage and build one another up. But it didn’t end there. Retreats gave all of us more time together, and there, we all shared, listened, cried and prayed together. We saw community start to form and healing start to happen.

A woman we call Mary attended one of our classes this fall. During a meal after class, Mary opened up about how she suffers from long term effects of trauma. Any loud noise or the sound of sirens triggers panic attacks and her condition is so severe that she can no longer take care of her child. We were touched by her vulnerability with this group but even more amazed when another refugee consoled her and shared about how counseling had helped her deal with her own trauma.

The more events we put on, the more our eyes were opened to the reality that North Korean refugees in South Korea lack community. They are a people who feel like they don’t belong and therefore, stay out of situations that might draw attention to themselves. This includes not going to a local fitness studio or a Subway sandwich shop because they don’t know the right questions to ask. A refugee woman shared after a retreat that she had wanted to try a cafe latte for a long time but never knew how to properly order one and so she just went without. Many have also been burned by religious groups including cults and simply avoid organized religion altogether. 

elim community

We are excited at this unique and wonderful opportunity that God has given us. Elim House will continue to house women in need of shelter and protection. We are thankful for two new  residents this fall and many other inquiries. ELIM COMMUNITY, which is what we’re calling our community events, will invite North Korean refugees into community by way of classes, workshops and retreats. As we reach more refugees through Elim Community, we hope to create the time and space that encourages friendships to be kindled and a loving and supportive community to be built.

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. - Galatians 6:2

Would you prayerfully consider helping us build this community where North Korean refugees can heal from their trauma and Christ’s love is shared?

North Korean Defector’s Decomposed Body Found in Home

South Korean authorities recently discovered the decomposing remains of a 49-year-old North Korean defector in her apartment in Seoul. The woman defected to South Korea in 2002 and began working as a counselor at the ministry-run Korea Hana Foundation to support other defectors in 2011. According to some media outlets, she had a good reputation among defectors and was hailed as a successful resettlement case. However, she left her job in 2017 and had asked the police not to extend their protection services in 2019. Her badly decomposed body was found approximately one year after her demise after she had failed to settle multiple rent payments. Dressed in her winter clothes, she was almost in a “skeleton” state upon being discovered and was said to have died a lonely death without any family members in South Korea.

NEW LIVES, OLD TRAUMAS

Every year, hundreds of North Koreans flee their country and risk being trafficked in China’s sex trade or being caught and repatriated, where they face torture, imprisonment or possibly even death back home, in search for a better life. South Korea’s Unification Ministry reported that over 30,000 North Koreans have defected since 1998 in the aftermath of the end of the 1953 Korean War, though only 42 defectors have been recorded since the pandemic.

Nevertheless, for those few “lucky” individuals who successfully make it to the South, their newfound freedom is often met with financial difficulties, culture shock and hostility from some South Koreans as they struggle to adapt to the country’s notoriously competitive and success-driven society. Our own surveys with medical experts show that 100% of the North Korean refugees in Crossing Borders’ network in China suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. This includes a defector under Crossing Borders’ care, Boa, who left her parents and younger sister and fled the North in 2011, only to experience a new sense of loss and fear upon settling in the South.

REALITY CHECK: THE CONTINUOUS STRUGGLES

An official from the Unification Ministry commented that a re-examination of the crisis management system for defectors shall be carried out in response to this “very sad” case. However, this is not the first time the authorities had promised to improve social welfare for defectors.

Two years ago, a similar tragedy unfolded in a low-income Seoul apartment. 42-year-old single mother, Han Sung-ok, who escaped the North, was starved to death along with her 6-year-old son, Dong-jin, in one of Asia’s wealthiest cities. After risking everything to flee her homeland, she was sold to a Chinese man in China with whom she had a son. When she decided to escape to South Korea, she left her family behind and gave birth to Dong-jin a few years later. Han struggled to keep up with work while caring for her young child; meanwhile, she fell through a gap in the welfare system where she could not secure government assistance without presenting the divorce papers necessary for her to qualify for benefits as a single parent. By then, she was also no longer eligible to receive help as a defector because the protection period of five years had expired. The last reports received about Han from a neighbor claimed that she was distracted and anxious. Shortly after, a water meter inspector who noticed a foul odor alerted the building management, which led to the subsequent discovery of two decomposing bodies, a bag of red pepper chili flakes (the only food found in their sparsely furnished home) and a bank statement showing Han had withdrawn her last 3,858 ($3 USD) a few months before her death.

These tragic deaths are not isolated cases. Rather, they should serve as a reminder that although North Korean defectors are free from the Kim’s authoritarian regime, many still suffer from unimaginable pain, loneliness, isolation and discrimination in the South. Past traumas do not automatically come to an end with their arrival in South Korea. Crossing Borders is trying to help as many as possible.

South Korea Mourns Over Deadly Halloween Tragedy

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered a one-week mourning period after at least 156 people were killed and almost as many injured in a crowd crush during the country’s first Halloween celebration in two years following the pandemic. The sad incident has taught many lessons to the South Korean government and has also been an early litmus test of the relationship between North Korea and the new Yoon administration.

The tragedy unfolded as an estimated 100,000 people, most of them in their 20s and 30s, were pushed into a narrow, steep alleyway in one of Seoul’s most popular nightlife districts in Itaewon on October 29, 2022. Shortly after 10 p.m., witnesses reported seeing crowds surging in different directions and people falling like dominoes, piling one person onto another and trapping them.

The police chief acknowledged that they had received numerous calls alerting them to the seriousness of the situation hours before the deadly incident and admitted that their emergency response was “inadequate” and vowed to conduct a “speedy and rigorous intensive investigation,” while the Interior Minister, Lee Sang-min, apologized to citizens at a National Assembly meeting, “It is very sad for me as a father who has a son and daughter… it is difficult to express in words how unreal this situation is, and it is difficult to accept this situation.”

WORLD LEADERS GRIEVE WITH SOUTH KOREA

Foreign leaders expressed condolences over the mass loss of lives, with at least 26 foreign nationals from 15 countries confirmed dead. At least four Chinese nationals were among those killed and China’s President Xi Jinping sent his condolences to President Yoon, “On behalf of the Chinese government and the people of China, I express our deep condolences for the victims,” their families and the injured. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden also sent well wishes to South Korea, but one particular country remained silent – North Korea’s President Kim Jong-un was absent among those expressing sympathy.

During South Korea’s former President Moon Jae-in’s administration, Kim had personally sent messages of condolences to Seoul over the passing of President Moon’s mother in 2019 and the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 where he expressed solidarity with “compatriots” in the South and wanted to “share the difficulties and pain with the South” as a common Korean people. In return, President Moon had sent a condolence letter to Pyongyang over typhoons and flood damages in 2020. However, unlike his predecessor, President Yoon has no personal relationship with Kim, thus it may be safe to assume that no response to the horrific Halloween tragedy is expected from the North.

WILL NORTH KOREA RESPOND?

Although Seoul has not heard from Pyongyang over the Halloween incident, some speculate that communication may take form as criticisms over President Yoon’s administration through North Korean state media. For example, during the Sewol ferry sinking tragedy in 2014 which resulted in over 300 deaths, North Korean state media criticized the effectiveness of the then South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s government for the slow rescue efforts and even demanded the president to be put to death. As public outrage in South Korea grows alongside the climbing death toll from the Halloween disaster, the North may even take advantage of the divisions among South Koreans to side with the people and criticize the government for going ahead with their joint South Korea-U.S. military drills amid national mourning period in order to justify the series of “aggressive and provocative” missile exchanges.

However North Korea chooses to respond, it would shed light on the current state of inter-Korean relations. If Kim does decide to send President Yoon a personal condolence and refrain from broadcasting a nationwide criticism of the South, the Itaewon tragedy could potentially serve as a bridge to mend relations between the two Korean governments. Kim Jong-un has undoubtedly been busy as missile testing activity has increased recently and communications in the midst of firing missiles could also send mixed messages to their southern neighbors.

Top NK Headlines - October 2022

INCREASED SURVEILLANCE IN CHINA-NORTH KOREA BORDER REGIONS

• North Korea’s Ministry of State Security issued an order to “closely watch and punish behavior that harms internal order” amidst rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

• Local branches along the China-North Korea border were asked to ensure that “not one single incident or accident occurs” by immediately arresting those who continue to use illegal mobile phones and subjecting them to public trials and criminal punishments.

• Authorities in Yanggang province near the China-North Korea border began reemphasizing an August 2020 decree which placed night time curfews on residents because China and other countries are still suffering from Covid-19, resulting in the border being “unsafe.” The provincial branch warned locals that the curfew remains in force until next year.

• However, it appears many North Koreans are willing to protect each other as the authorities intensify public surveillance due to distrust toward the government, with a source telling DailyNK that, “while commoners are suffering from daily food shortages, the leadership doesn’t care if they live or die because their bellies are full.”

Source:
https://www.dailynk.com/english/north-korea-security-agency-calls-tightened-surveillance-people-border-region/ 
https://www.dailynk.com/english/n-korean-government-again-emphasizes-nighttime-curfews-in-border-region/ 

NORTH KOREA WORKERS SENT TO RUSSIA ESCAPE AFTER LEARNING THEY ARE BEING SHIPPED TO UKRAINE

• An increasing number of North Korean construction workers in Russia fled their duty stations and went into hiding after being told that they would be sent to wait for assignments in war-torn Russian-controlled areas in Ukraine.

• Although the North Korean government controls media within its borders, citizens overseas are well aware of Russia’s invasion.

• There is a high demand for construction amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict, particularly in Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

• A source told Radio Free Asia that, “The Workers are shaken by the news. … Pyongyang in early September ordered the dispatching companies to gather workers and put them on standby instead of taking on new work where they are currently dispatched.”

• Management officials also chose to flee their posts upon learning about the impending deployment.

• Meanwhile, even Russians have been attempting to flee their own country, with 23 Russians reaching South Korea by sea since late September, but most were refused entry.

Source:
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/ukraine-10052022185441.html 
https://www.reuters.com/world/russians-fleeing-putins-call-up-sail-skorea-most-refused-entry-report-2022-10-12/

NORTH KOREA GRANTS AMNESTY TO NON-SOCIALIST CITIZENS AND PARDONS COVID RULE BREAKERS

• North Korean authorities are offering amnesty to people who leaked government propaganda to South Korea if they turn themselves in and expose others by the end of the month.

• The amnesty is only available to ordinary citizens, as government officials guilty of the crime would not be forgiven.

• The government fears that copies of propaganda materials given out at lectures provided by the Propaganda and Agitation Department might be used by organizations, media or intelligence in the South to gain information about Pyongyang and how it keeps its people in the dark.

• A source told Radio Free Asia that, “The authorities threatened that if the residents do not turn themselves in during the surrender period, they and their family members would be sent to a political prison camp.”

• Sources added that the government tend to offer amnesty to citizens for “non-socialist behavior” whenever there is tension within or outside the country, or when public morale is low.

• In addition, North Korea was expected to pardon some political prisoners for minor violations of emergency quarantine regulations in the last three years based on “a general review of the prisoners’ attitude toward reform, how they carried out their disciplinary labor tasks, issues regarding their ideological attitudes are more.”

• However, it is unclear whether the pardons actually happened, as they are rare among prisoners at political prison camps operated by the Ministry of State Security, which are deemed “total control zones” – once prisoners go in, most never leave.

• A source told DailyNK that the pardons appear to aim at demonstrating the “magnanimity and consideration of the Workers’ Party” and “would be the first time it’s happened in the Supreme Leader’s 10 years in office.”

Source:
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/amnesty-10062022184040.html 
https://www.dailynk.com/english/north-korea-set-pardon-prisoners-accused-breaking-covid-19-regulations/ 

NORTH KOREA REMAINS UNSTOPPABLE IN MISSILE DEVELOPMENT

• North Korea fired its fifth ballistic missile in just over a week across Japan’s northern Hokkaido and Aomori prefectures for the first time in five years on October 4, 2022, prompting the government to urge citizens to seek shelter from falling debris.

• North Korea further launched its sixth missile test near the border with South Korea hours after the South detected 10 North Korean warplanes flying 12km to the border on October 14, 2022.

• Pyongyang carried out a record number of weapon launches in 2022 and Seoul imposed its first unilateral sanctions against the North in nearly five years for missile development.

• China and Russia later blamed U.S. military drills for provoking North Korea during an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting.

Source:
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/03/1126660435/north-korea-ballistic-missile-japan
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/04/north-korea-fires-missile-over-japan-prompting-warnings-for-residents-to-shelter
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/13/north-korean-aircraft-buzz-south-korea-border-fighters-scrambled
https://www.nknews.org/2022/10/security-council-fails-to-condemn-north-korean-missile-test-over-japan/

Xi’s China Continues to Strive for Zero-Covid

Over 2,000 party delegates from around the country gathered in Beijing as China’s ruling party embarked on its week-long Communist Party Congress on October 16, 2022. President Xi Jinping, who is widely considered to be the most powerful Chinese ruler since Mao Zedong and is expected to win an unprecedented third leadership term, kicked off the 20th national congress by delivering a strategic plan for the party and the rest of China for the next five years. Accompanied by his two immediate predecessors, Xi’s speech focused on the importance of strengthening national security through military and economic developments and his commitment to achieve zero-COVID.

PANDEMIC FATIGUE

China has long maintained that its governance is unique and cannot be judged through the lens of traditional Western approaches based on capitalism, thus it was no surprise that Xi repeatedly emphasized the Chinese model of peace and common prosperity (a slogan that facilitated last year’s crackdown on the big tech, education and real estate sectors), while labeling his controversial zero-COVID policy as a “people’s war to stop the spread of the virus.” During his speech, Xi added that the party puts “the people and their lives above all else,” which has since caused widespread frustration and disappointment among citizens and investors who had been earnestly hoping for change, not continuity with the current policy.

Despite heightened security measures being implemented across China in the run-up to the congress, the increasing COVID fatigue over lockdowns and travel restrictions has sparked a rare public protest in Beijing. Even though criticisms of the government, particularly in relation to nationwide restrictions associated with Xi’s stringent zero-COVID policy, is a punishable offense in China, images showed two protest banners on a bridge in Haidian in Beijing, a district home to China’s top universities. “We want food, not PCR tests. We want freedom, not lockdowns. We want respect, not lies. We want reform, not a Cultural Revolution. We want a vote, not a leader. We want to be citizens, not slaves,” said one banner, while the other called for a boycott of schools, strikes and the removal of Xi.

In a desperate attempt to contain outbreaks before the congress, the government imposed a number of security curbs in the name of COVID-19 across Shanghai, Xinjiang and 36 other cities. In Shanghai alone, at least 46 residential buildings or neighborhoods across 14 of Shanghai’s 16 districts were designated medium risk and one high risk. As for the highly controlled autonomous territory of Xinjiang, 22 million people have been suspended from traveling in and out of the region after the National Health Commission announced 93 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases.

CHINA’S ECONOMY UNDER XI’S LEADERSHIP

Although China’s economy has drastically slowed down since the pandemic, Xi took pride in reflecting how the country has “made tremendously encouraging achievements in both epidemic response and economic and social development,” as well as echoed slogans from previous congresses to emphasize the party’s top priority in development. This is contrary to reports indicating salary cuts and reversal of bonuses among civil servants in China, with section-level cadres in Shanghai having their annual salary reduced from 350,000 RMB to 200,000 RMB ($48,635 to $27,792 USD)  and subdivision heads from 240,000 RMB to 150,000 RMB ($33,350 to $20,844 USD) . Our sources also revealed to us that a number of public-school teachers in Chongqing faced pay cuts between 40 to 60%, while teachers from a public high school in Hebei were said to have their monthly salary reduced from 8,000 RMB to 6,000 RMB ($1,112 to $834 USD) and were ordered to volunteer at COVID-19 testing sites in the middle of the night.

There does, however, appear to be a shift in Xi’s attitude toward China’s past conservative economic policies, which placed a high level of scrutiny on the private sector and deemed key private markets as enemies of “common prosperity.” Going forward, Xi pledged to build a “high-level socialist market economic system … unswervingly consolidate and develop the public ownership system, unswervingly encourage and support the development of the private economy, give full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources, and give better play to the role of the government.” In relation to tech crackdowns, he instructed the tech sector to focus on “national strategic needs, gather strength to carry out indigenous and leading scientific and technological research, and resolutely win the battle in key core technologies,” which commentators speculate is in response to the U.S.’s move to restrict China from obtaining or manufacturing key chips and components for supercomputers.

It is unclear if Xi’s attempt to reinvigorate the nation in the face of challenges such as youth unemployment, the imploding real estate market and a slowing economy will cause greater protest or settle the masses. Our hope is that the country gets back to “business as usual” once congress concludes, allowing our work with refugees to also return to its former levels.

Konglish - Elim Community Classes

What is Konglish

The two Koreas took divergent paths when they were split in 1945. The South has been open to the outside world, its products and influences, while the North has been hermetically sealed off from the rest of the world. This is all too apparent in how language has evolved in the two countries. Though the North and South shared the same language (Hangul), the South Korean strand of Hangul has taken many words, phrases and ideas from the West since the split.

When North Korean refugees land in South Korea they find themselves in a dizzying array of new. They must find their way in what seems to many like taking a time machine into the future. One thing that makes this transition even more jarring is language. Though the majority of the words, grammar and syntax are still shared between the two countries, South Korea has adopted many English words through the influx of American culture. This hybrid language is what has been dubbed “Konglish.” Not entirely Korean nor English, this hybrid language is more cultural than academic and therefore, there isn’t an easy way to learn it. Crossing Borders started Konglish classes to help North Koreans learn this confusing new language. These classes have already proven to be more than just an education but a starting point for this nascent community.

There are hundreds if not thousands of Konglish words sprinkled in everyday Korean dialogue. For example, the word “rinse” is 린스, which is pronounced “rin-sue” in South Korea and the word for “apartment” is 아파트 and is pronounced “ah-pah-teu.” Though there are Korean words for rinse and bus, South Koreans prefer to use the English word.
Even more confusing are some Konglish words that are derivations of English words or phrases. Take for example the word “오바이트,” pronounced “oh-ba-ee-tue.” This word means to vomit and is a derivative of the English word “overeat”. Also, the word “핫도그” pronounced “hot-doe-geu,” which doesn’t mean “hotdog” but rather corn dog. This list goes on and on.

Konglish Classes

While there are language programs that help young, ambitious North Koreans learn English in order to further their future prospects, there are very few that help North Koreans assimilate culturally, and in this case, with Konglish. Many of the refugees that Crossing Borders has helped through Elim House and in China are not young. The majority are mothers in their 40s and 50s who are trying to scratch out a living and raise their children. This is an underserved population in South Korea and many feel too busy to enjoy any kind of community. According to South Korea’s Ministry of Reunification Survey of North Korean refugees in 2019, 75 percent of North Korean refugees said they do not participate in “any community activities.”

In the three pilot classes that we hosted this fall, we taught 12 refugees and gave them vital language skills that will hopefully serve them well in acclimating in South Korea. But what is more, this has given Crossing Borders the opportunity to help foster a community among the refugees who have participated in our classes. 

Community Among Classmates

At dinner after one of our classes this fall, a North Korean refugee told our executive director Dan Chung and others at their table that she was having trouble sleeping since she came to South Korea in 2019. When asked for more details, she opened up about the times she had to hide from the police in China. She described one incident in which the police came into her apartment but she escaped through a window in the back. She said that whenever she heard sirens or even a loud car at night, her heart rate spiked and a grave panic overtook her. She said she often woke up screaming and she had to send one of her children away to a boarding school because her nightly outbursts were so disruptive.

Another refugee at their table was deeply empathetic and encouraged this refugee to get mental health help. We explained to her the effects of trauma and how it’s important to seek help.

In Crossing Borders’ value statement we clearly lay out our goals. It states “Crossing Borders offers North Korean refugees and their children opportunities to thrive by providing physical care, emotional healing and spiritual guidance in a safe community.” Through just a few classes, this “safe community” is already forming and we couldn’t be more excited.

What started out as a fun idea to help meet the needs of refugees trying to assimilate, we feel like God has shown us a great opportunity to foster community. Please pray for us as we explore more classes tailored to North Korean refugees in need.

North Korea’s Changing Attitude Towards Marriage

In traditional North Korean society, people seldom question the government or societal norms to avoid trouble. This is especially true among women living in the countryside who are often arranged to marry officials from the security and police force for the sake of social and economic stability.

NKNews described the life of a North Korean woman, Kim Young-sook (a pseudonym), who was born into a well-to-do, deeply patriarchal family in the late 1970s. Kim’s mother raised her to become a good wife one day when she eventually married a man chosen by her relatives or colleagues before turning 30.  Kim became a teacher and was introduced to a young military officer by a friend’s mother when she turned 23. Their courtship lasted longer than expected but the two eventually married. Kim got pregnant shortly after their marriage and also took her household duties very seriously as taught by her mother. As she continued to work as a teacher after marriage, the family lived a privileged life receiving two extra sets of rations (one for being a teacher and one for being an officer’s wife) which was far more important than the salary she brought home. By all accounts, she lived the model life of a loyal North Korean comrade who did everything right.

THE DRAW TOWARDS MEN WITH DEFECTOR FAMILY MEMBERS

In the past, North Korean men with family members who defected were often socially and politically isolated, thus not perceived as “marriage material.” However, since local North Koreans have been unable to achieve any professional and societal advancement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, women nowadays are looking to men with relatives overseas. A source told DailyNK that North Korean women look for men with defector family members as marriage partners, as they are presumed to lead a better life compared to fellow citizens suffering from a nationwide food shortage. Another woman in her 20s from Hoeryong said that she and her friends would only marry men with “good conditions,” which means “a man with lots of money [i.e., a man with defectors in his family] rather than a man with a good job.”

Many refugees from South Korea and China have reported to Crossing Borders regularly sending remittances to their relatives in North Korea despite the heavy surcharge taken by the brokers.

According to the source, security agents and police in Hyesan, Yanggang province, used to profit from local smugglers until COVID-19 prolonged border closures. Today, those working in law enforcement no longer have an edge over everyday North Korean citizens in padding their own pockets or securing rations due to North Korea’s failing economy. While ordinary citizens struggle to put food on the table, people with defector families are “living in luxury” due to the money sent to them.

CHANGING ATTITUDES TOWARDS NORTH KOREAN MARRIAGES

While financial security is a prerequisite for marriage among many North Korean women aiming for survival, a major reason why many young North Korean women delay or even abandon the idea of marriage is reportedly due to South Korea’s pop culture displaying personal freedom and the advantages of having their own living space. According to a source in North Hamgyong province, not being able to live in their own homes would mean that either the wives would need to adopt the customary concept of living with and taking care of their parents-in-law, or the husbands would receive cold stares from the in-laws as their workplace fails to provide rations or proper salaries. A man in his 30s who got married in 2019 and recently moved out of his single-room home which he shared with his parents told DailyNK that he preferred paying an extra $44 USD to rent out with his wife and living comfortably “even if this meant having to survive on porridge.”

Another noteworthy shift amongst young North Koreans’ attitude towards marriage is their reluctance to register marriages due to the hefty bribes and long waiting time to legalize divorces. As the government considers the dissolution of marriage to be “an anti-socialist act that creates social unrest,” courts have been ordered to refuse divorces unless there is an “unavoidable reason.” A source told Radio Free Asia that each city and county court has a cap on the number of divorce cases it could handle in a year based on the size of the population, for example, Kyongsong county which has a population of about 106,000 can only grant 40 divorces a year. Another source added that, “In the past few years, family quarrels have been increasing due to difficulties in living, so the number of families seeking a divorce is increasing. There used to be a tendency to be ashamed of getting a divorce, but this is not the case these days.”

A marriage in North Korea may be more about survival than a relationship. This is another unfortunate example of a beautiful gift of God disfigured by an oppressive dictator.

Top NK Headlines - September 2022

(THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-James Manning/Pool Photo via AP)

NORTH KOREA AMONG THE 1,000 INVITEES TO ATTEND QUEEN ELIZABETH’S FUNERAL

• The UK has invited a representative from North Korea, which has an embassy in West London, to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on September 19, 2022.

• Foreign office officials have handwritten around 1,000 invitations to world leaders and other dignitaries to attend the funeral as well as a reception with King Charles, but Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Russia, Myanmar and Belarus were not invited.

• The invitation is at an ambassadorial level, meaning Pyongyang’s leader, Kim Jong-un, would not attend.

• South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, has accepted the invitation to attend the funeral in London before his visit to meet Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, in Canada.

Source: 
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/09/14/North-Korea-invited-to-send-representative-to-Queen-Elizabeth-s-funeral-source-says 
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/09/113_335916.html

NORTH KOREA COMMENCES COVID-19 VACCINATIONS

• Covid-19 vaccinations have commenced in some parts of North Korea after Kim Jong-un briefly mentioned vaccines during his speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly on September 8, 2022, and recommended that the public wear masks starting in November.

• Authorities have yet to announce when a nationwide vaccination campaign would begin.

• The vaccination vials have no labels and health officials administrating the shots have circulated rumors that they are from China.

• Authorities avoided officially disclosing that the vaccines were for Covid-19 and people were told that the shots were to “prevent the flu and fevers” that originated abroad.

Source: 
https://www.dailynk.com/english/covid-19-vaccinations-commence-some-parts-north-korea/
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/covid_vaccine-09162022170058.html 

NORTH KOREA PASSED NEW LAW AND DECLARED A NUCLEAR STATE

• North Korea put their “Nuclear Forces Policy Act” into effect on September 8, 2022 to legitimize the right to use pre-emptive nuclear strikes, which is described by Kim Jong-un, to turn the country’s nuclear status “irreversible” and thereby bars denuclearization talks.

• The country has since forced citizens to attend a week of propaganda lectures to promote the new law and highlight its passage as an example of Kim’s greatness.

• Article 1 of the law stipulates that nuclear forces shall be a main force of national defense to deter war.

• Article 3 of the law stipulates that the president of the State Affairs of the DPRK shall have all decisive powers concerning nuclear weapons and that in case the command and control system over the state nuclear forces is placed in danger owing to an attack by hostile forces, a nuclear strike shall be launched automatically and immediately to destroy the hostile forces.

• Article 6 of the law stipulates that the DPRK can use nuclear weapons:-

1. in case an attack is launched or the like is judged to be on the horizon (i) by nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction; (ii) by hostile forces on the state leadership and the command of the state’s nuclear forces; or (iii) against important strategic objects of the state; or

2. in case the operation for preventing the expansion and protraction of a war and taking the initiative in the war is in the opinion of the DPRK to be “inevitably needed”; or

3. in case the DPRK decides it to be an “inevitable situation” in which it is compelled to respond by nuclear weapons to protect the state and its people.

• Article 7 of the law stipulates the readiness of nuclear forces to be immediately executed in any conditions and circumstances upon issuance of an order by the state.

• Article 9 of the law stipulates that the DPRK shall constantly assess and upgrade its nuclear forces in accordance with international nuclear threats.

• In response to the passing of the new nuclear law, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense issued a warning that “Should North Korea attempt to use nuclear arms, it would face the overwhelming response from the South Korea-U.S. alliance, and its regime would enter a path of self-destruction.”

Source: 
https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1662721725-307939464/dprk’s-law-on-policy-of-nuclear-forces-promulgated/
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-vows-continued-deployment-strategic-assets-after-nkorea-nuclear-law-2022-09-16/ 
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/nuclear_lectures-09142022155748.html 

NORTH KOREA SELLS WEAPONS TO RUSSIA

• According to U.S. intelligence, North Korea intends to sell millions of rockets and artillery shells to Russia.

• Since Russia is running low in ammunition supply since its invasion of Ukraine, its former ally, North Korea, which keeps a significant stockpile of Soviet-era-copied shells, is said to be an ideal candidate.

• Due to international sanctions and export controls, North Korea “may represent the single biggest source of compatible legacy artillery ammunition outside of Russia, including domestic production facilities to further supplies”, said Joseph Dempsey, research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

• In return, North Korea will likely want food, fuel and other materials from Russia due to U.N. sanctions imposed over its nuclear program.

Source: 
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a41094368/russia-buying-north-korean-weapons/ 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/explainer-what-help-are-north-korean-weapons-to-russia/2022/09/07/97055a64-2e82-11ed-bcc6-0874b26ae296_story.html