NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 168

(July 28, 2011) *** NEWS IN BRIEF N.K. Condemns S. Korea's Nat'l Security Law as Anti-human Rights SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Two civilian North Korean groups blasted a South Korean law that bans South Koreans from siding with the socialist North Korean regime, calling it "the most fascist law against human rights," the North's state media said on July 22. South Korea's National Security Law prohibits any activity that is sympathetic to the Pyongyang regime, including the formation of pro-North Korea groups, contacting North Koreans without government permission and distributing publications praising the North. According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the Democratic Lawyers Association of (North) Korea and the DPRK Association of Human Rights Studies issued a joint indictment on July 22, accusing South Korean President Lee Myung-bak of violating human rights in his country through the National Security Law (NSL). "According to the indictment, the 'National Security Law,' which consists of four chapters and 25 sections and annex, is the most fascist law against human rights, unprecedented in its contents," the KCNA said in a dispatch monitored in Seoul. "The indictment cites concrete data to prove that since the very day it took office the Lee Myung-bak puppet group revived the NSL and fascist dictatorial system and has savagely violated the rights of the South Koreans," it said. The dispatch went on to claim that the South Korean government in 2009 deleted at least 14,000 articles praising North Korea from the Internet and arrested those responsible. It also mentioned several other high-profile cases related to the National Security Law, saying they "aimed to calm down the people's resentment caused by the (Lee Myung-bak) group's domestic and foreign policy failure, economic bankruptcy, people's destitution and anti-reunification policy for confrontation." The groups also called on the South Korean government to abolish the law and stop raising the issue of human rights abuses in North Korea. Pyongyang vehemently denies any accusations of rights abuses, despite international reports of thousands of political prisoners, extrajudicial executions, torture and forced labor. ------------------------ North Korea Decides to Send Ambassador to ASEAN SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea has decided to dispatch a resident ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a Pyongyang news agency reported on July 22. Citing a foreign ministry spokesperson, the KCNA said that the decision came as the North has always paid close attention to developments in its relations with ASEAN, which has a long history and tradition. "ASEAN has emerged as a powerful political and economic force promoting regional peace, stability and prosperity on the principle of respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs and equality," the spokesperson was quoted as saying. "Prompted by its desire to contribute to the peace and development of Asia and the rest of the world through the development of relations with ASEAN ... the DPRK (North Korea) government decided to dispatch its ambassador to ASEAN to further expand and develop the friendly and cooperative relations with ASEAN as required by the developing reality," the spokesperson said, using the abbreviation of the North's official name. The report didn't elaborate on the details, including the new envoy's name and expected location. The latest announcement came after North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun arrived in Bali, Indonesia, Thursday to attend an ASEAN-hosted regional security meeting. Earlier, foreign ministers from ASEAN called for a quick resumption of stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear program during their meeting in Bali, Indonesia. The top diplomats are also scheduled to meet with their counterparts from the two Koreas, the United States and other regional powers on the resort island on Saturday for an annual meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Asia's biggest security gathering. ------------------------ 20 Million Tons of Rare Earth Minerals Buried in N. Korea SEOUL (Yonhap) -- About 20 million tons of rare earth minerals have been found buried in North Korea, a pro-North Korean newspaper said on July 23, as the cash-strapped nation is working on developing the materials for economic growth. The Choson Shinbo said in a report datelined Pyongyang that the North has promoted its national resource development agency as part of efforts to launch a rare earth development project in a full scale. According to resource development senior officials, the amount of rare earth buried in the North amounts to approximately 20 million tons. Estimates on the amount could rise if the current digging work finds new burial grounds or more elements deeper in existing sites, said the Tokyo-based paper, which serves as a channel for Pyongyang to deliver messages. So far, no exact amount of rare earth deposits in the reclusive socialist nation has been confirmed. The largest burial deposit was discovered in North Phyongan Province, the newspaper said, while the rest of the elements were distributed in the southern and northern parts of the nation. The North is working on using the rare earth minerals in manufacturing industries and is considering joint projects with other nations, Kim Heung-joo, a vice chief of the state-run resource development agency, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. The government will put limits on its output and exports of rare earth materials, Kim added. Rare earth minerals are compounds of rare earth metals, including cerium and neodymium, which are used as a crucial element in semiconductors, cars, computers and other advanced technology areas. Some types of rare earth materials can be used to build missiles. ------------------------ KCNA Keeps Mum on Inter-Korean Contacts in Indonesia SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea's official media on July 23 reported the attendance of the country's delegates at the ASEAN Regional Forum under way in Bali, Indonesia, but didn't mention their contact with South Korean officials. The North's official news agency KCNA said North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun on July 22 held talks respectively with his Chinese and Russian counterparts Yang Jiechi and Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the forum. The KCNA also noted that Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Yong-ho was on hand at the meetings but it didn't mention Ri's separate meeting with South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac in Bali on July 22, let alone Pak's informal talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on July 23. Those rare inter-Korean contacts appeared to have laid the ground for the resumption of stalled six-party talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons program. ------------------------ North Korea Reports Death of Senior Military General SEOU (Yonhap) -- One of North Korea's senior military generals, Vice Marshal Ri Jong-san, has died of an unspecified illness, the North's state media said on July 25. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il expressed "deep condolences" over the Saturday death of Ri at the age of 87, the KCNA reported. Ri was one of eight vice marshals among the North's 1,586 general-level officers as of September last year, according to data by Seoul's Unification Ministry. Born in 1922 in China, Ri fought with North Korea's late founder, Kim Il-sung, against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula, the KCNA report said. ------------------------ Candidates Win 100 Pct Approval in N.K. Local Elections SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Koreans voted for all candidates in local elections on July 24, the country's official news agency said July 26, the latest reminder that the polls are a formality in the socialist country. The KCNA said 99.97 percent of all registered voters voted for a total of 28,116 candidates for deputies in people's assemblies across the country. In North Korean elections, turnout is usually near 100 percent and candidates, hand-picked by the ruling party, are elected with absolute support. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il also cast his ballot at a polling station in Pyongyang, along with his heir-apparent son Kim Jong-un and a senior party official, according to the KCNA. Earlier on July 24, North Koreans voted in local elections as state media stepped up calls for loyalty to the ruling Workers' Party and leader Kim Jong-il as the totalitarian leader has been trying to hand power over to his youngest son. Kim cast his ballot at a polling station in Pyongyang, along with his heir-apparent son Kim Jong-un and a senior party official, according to the KCNA. Kim met with candidates at the station and asked them to sincerely carry out their duties, KCNA said. About 28,000 deputies to local people's assemblies are expected to be selected in Sunday's vote, though the elections are considered a formality to rubber-stamp candidates hand-picked by the ruling party. In North Korean elections, turnout is usually near 100 percent and candidates are elected with absolute support. The KCNA said 99.97 percent of voters except those on foreign tours or working in oceans cast their votes. Local elections are held every four years. About 27,390 deputies were elected in 2007. Voting stations were crowded with colorfully dressed people even before polls opened, with percussion bands staging performances in a festive mood, KCNA said. As of noon, turnout was 84.66 percent, it said. Pyongyang's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial that North Koreans should support candidates so as to display the country is united around the party. It also said the country's revolution has been "progressing at a high level since the historic convention" of the ruling party, referring to the Workers' Party convention held in September last year where leader Kim's youngest son, Jong-un, was elected to key party posts. The convention marked the first time the North has unveiled the son as the heir-apparent to the family dynasty. The succession would mark communism's second hereditary power transfer. The elder Kim inherited power from his father, the country's founder Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994. ------------------------ North Korea Enacts Environment Protection Regulations SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea has enacted enforcement ordinances for an environment protection law to improve its citizens' health and provide better living conditions, the North's news outlet said on July 26. "The Cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) recently released a decision on enacting regulations for the implementation of the Law on the Protection of Environment," the KCNA said. The regulations are aimed to "improve the people's health and provide them with better living and working conditions," the news agency added. According to the KCNA, the regulations consist of four chapters and 60 articles, which stipulate the principle of environmental protection and guidelines for preventing environmental pollution. The previous regulations for the environment protection law, which were endorsed by the Cabinet in October 1999, have become invalid after the enactment of the new regulations, the KCNA said. ------------------------ N. Korea Calls for Peace Treaty with U.S. to End Korean War SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea called on July 27 for a peace treaty with the United States to officially end the Korean War decades after the fighting ceased, describing it as a first step toward the peninsula's denuclearization. The move comes as a senior North Korean official arrived in New York for rare talks with U.S. officials on how to resume stalled six-nation negotiations on ending the North's nuclear programs. Pyongyang has long yearned to sign a peace treaty with Washington as a way to improve their relations after decades of enmity following the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. The U.S. led the U.N. forces to repel the Chinese-backed North Korean troops, and still keeps some 28,500 troops in South Korea to deter the North's possible aggression. "Being a curtain-raiser to confidence-building, the conclusion of a peace agreement will provide an institutional guarantee for wiping out the bilateral distrust and opening the relations of mutual respect and equality," the KCNA said in a commentary. The KCNA also insisted that it's impossible to achieve a smooth solution to the issue of denuclearization as long as hostile relations persist between Pyongyang and Washington. "Concluding a peace agreement may be the first step for settling the Korean issue, including denuclearization," the commentary said on the anniversary of the cease-fire from 1953.