ID :
203412
Thu, 08/25/2011 - 07:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/203412
The shortlink copeid
*** FOREIGN TIPS
S. Korean TV Shows Gain Popularity in N. Korea: Expert
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- A growing number of North Koreans enjoy popular South Korean TV programs, an expert here said on Aug. 18 in the latest comment on cultural diffusion into the isolated country.
"More and more North Koreans living south of Pyongyang and Hamhung have been receiving signals from South Korea to watch Seoul's variety shows," Lee Ju-cheol, an official at the national broadcaster KBS, said in a forum held in downtown Seoul, referring to the North Korean capital and another northeastern city.
Major programs that draw interest from North Koreans include Seoul's popular weekend reality-variety shows such as "One Night Two Days," which airs on a KBS channel, and "Infinite Challenge," which airs on a channel operated by another major broadcaster, MBC, the expert added.
"Some North Korean defectors said high-ranking officials in the socialist country are more proactive about watching South Korean programs," Lee said.
The regime in the reclusive country has officially banned its public from watching foreign broadcasts and any other video materials carrying foreign programs, including those from South Korea. Even so, residents have been able to secretly gain access to such broadcasts.
Lee attributed the increased opportunities for the North Korean public to enjoy South Korean programs to the likelihood of South Korean broadcasters' signals reaching as far as the city of Pyongyang, as well as the somewhat improved ability of North Koreans to receive radio waves carrying such TV programs.
Some North Koreans living in and near the northern border areas close to China have clandestinely gained access to Chinese broadcasts, and a growing number of people there enjoy programs aired on those channels, the expert added.
Lee, however, noted that those in the North's inland areas have still been isolated from the outside world, failing to experience any other cultures.
------------------------
U.S. to Offer $900,000 in Relief Aid for North Korea
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States announced a decision on Aug. 18 to provide $900,000 worth of emergency aid to flood-ravaged North Korea less than a month after the two sides resumed high-level dialogue.
"In response to humanitarian needs arising from recent flooding in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK/ North Korea), the United States will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to DPRK," the State Department said in a press release. "The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will contribute up to $900,000 in emergency relief supplies to North Korea's Kangwon and North and South Hwanghae provinces through U.S. NGOs (nongovernmental organizations)."
The department emphasized that its move is unrelated to political or diplomatic circumstances.
"This emergency relief demonstrates our continuing concern for the well-being of the North Korean people. It has been the United States' longstanding position that the provision of humanitarian assistance is separate from political and security concerns."
In a press briefing later, department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. is working on details through the North Korean mission to the United Nations, which in diplomatic circles is called the New York channel.
"We are still talking through the New York channel to North Korea about needs," she said.
"It would not include food. It includes things like plastic sheeting, tents, that kind of humanitarian, housing relief, that kind of thing. But I think we haven't decided."
Top North Korean and U.S. diplomats had two days of meetings in New York in late July to explore ways to revive the six-way nuclear negotiations.
South Korean officials said they have consulted with the U.S. over flood aid to the North.
The U.S. provided $600,000 in emergency relief supplies to North Korea in September after reports of severe floods in the North.
Earlier August, South Korea offered aid worth 5 billion won ($4.7 million) to North Korea.
------------------------
N. Korean Leader Kim Jong-il Enjoys Yacht Holiday Amid Floods
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has been enjoying sailing on his yacht along the east coast in recent weeks, a person familiar with the issue said on Aug. 18, as his country is struggling to recover from devastating floods.
Kim has been sailing in waters off a coastal villa, where he has been staying since August for a summer holiday, as he did in previous years, the person said on condition of anonymity. He was not authorized to speak to the media on intelligence matters on the record. He did not elaborate on the type of boat and who accompanied the leader during the cruise.
The development underscored that Kim's lavish lifestyle has not changed despite international sanctions banning the sale of yachts and other luxury goods to North Korea to try to squeeze Kim and his ruling elites.
Despite years of economic difficulty and food shortages, Kim has engaged in the gift politics of showering his top aides and other elites with luxury goods to win their loyalty.
Kim's summer holiday comes as the North is working to recover from the floods in the recent past that left dozens of people dead, injured or missing, while destroying thousands of homes and submerging or washing away tens of thousands of hectares of farmland.
There was no report in the North's state media on whether he traveled to the flood-stricken areas.
Kim visited a factory near his coastal villa in his first public appearance this month, according to the person, who is well positioned to know about the situation inside the isolated country.
------------------------
North Korea to Host Amateur Golf Tournament Next Year
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea plans to host its second annual amateur golf tournament in May next year, the organizer said on Aug. 19, in an apparent bid to earn much-needed hard currency.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK/ North Korea) Amateur Open, sponsored by British travel agency Lupine Travel, will be held from May 19-21 next year in Pyongyang, according to the Web site of the event.
The 2011 open, the first such competition in the communist country, drew 17 competitors from eight countries including Britain, France, and South Africa, offering them a rare chance to go to the isolated nation and play golf within its borders.
All amateur golfers "with an up-to-date verified handicap" are eligible for entry, the organizer said.
As part of a seven-night trip, the entry to the tournament costs 1,499 euros (US$2,141.63) per person. It includes travel by train into the reclusive country from China, meals and accommodation, as well as a three-day tour of North Korea, according to the organizer.
The impoverished country has devised a variety of measures to secure hard currency, including opening air routes in recent months with Malaysia and China to lure more foreign tourists.
------------------------
N. Korea Proposed Summit Talks with U.S., Professor Claims
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea proposed holding a summit with the United States in an apparent bid to seek a breakthrough for reopening the stalled aid-for-denuclearization talks, a South Korean professor claimed on Aug. 19.
The proposal was made in late July when North Korea's First-vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan held a rare two-day meeting in New York with Stephen Bosworth, Washington's special envoy on Pyongyang, said Moon Chung-in, professor of political science at Seoul-based Yonsei University, citing a source he didn't identify.
"What was interesting in the New York meeting is the fact that North Korea offered to hold the top-level meeting, in other words, summit talks, to simplify the negotiations and save time," Moon said in his commentary posted on the website of a local publisher.
A senior official at Seoul's foreign ministry said he could not confirm the remarks by Moon, but noted that the reported offer for summit talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and U.S. President Barack Obama is unlikely to be accepted, given the "political reality" in Washington.
"I've never heard about that," the official said on the condition of anonymity. "It is difficult to understand that North Korea proposed a summit at a time when differences between the North and the U.S., including the North's nuclear issue, remain unresolved."
The U.S. and North Korea have never had diplomatic relations because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, thus leaving the Korean Peninsula technically at war.
The multinational negotiations aimed at ending the North's nuclear programs in return for economic and other rewards have been stalled since late 2008 after the North stormed out.
The New York meeting came days after the chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and North Korea met in Indonesia on the sidelines of an Asian security conference and agreed to make joint efforts to reopen the six-party talks.
In the article, Moon revealed some details of the New York meeting.
"According to the source, Kim Kye-gwan expressed the North's willingness to impose a moratorium on additional nuclear tests and missile test-launches if the U.S. eases sanctions and resumes food aid to the North," Moon said.
However, North Korea repeated its stance that its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful energy use, Moon said.
------------------------
N. Korea Sees Value of Its Natural Resource Holdings Spike: Report
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea saw the value of its natural resource holdings jump nearly 40 percent over the past two years as prices of minerals in international markets have been surging, a local think tank said on Aug. 23.
According to the report compiled by the North Korea Resources Institute, the North held major natural resources valued at around US$10.4 trillion as of July, up 39.3 percent from 2009.
The figure is based on disclosed data regarding the reclusive country along with international prices of major minerals and other resources, it explained. Many of those figures were not officially verified by the North, it added.
The North held coal worth $3.48 trillion as of July, the largest among its holdings of natural resources, the report said.
The North's gold and iron ore holdings were estimated at $134.69 billion and $794.68 billion, respectively, which were 67 times and 133 times larger than the South, the report showed.
Its uranium holdings came to $16.33 billion, much higher than $3.83 billion in the South, according to the report.
South Korea's holdings of natural resources, meanwhile, were estimated at $470 billion, a 44.5 percent increase over the same cited period, the report showed.
------------------------
Over 200 N. Koreans Still Working in Strife-torn Libya: Official
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- More than 200 North Koreans are still working in Libya, an official said on Aug. 24, despite ongoing violence between rebels and forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
"Some 200 North Koreans are working in Libya as doctors, nurses and construction workers, and it appears that they haven't returned home yet," the official said on condition of anonymity.
The North Koreans are mostly working in deserts and other remote areas, which have not been directly affected by the six-month-long conflict, U.S. broadcaster Radio Free Asia said Tuesday, quoting an unidentified official at the South Korean embassy in Libya. The embassy was temporarily moved to Tunisia in May amid escalating danger.
A source familiar with North Korean affairs told Yonhap News Agency in April that Pyongyang ordered its people in the North African nation not to return home, apparently out of fear that they may spread news of anti-government uprisings across the Middle East.
Between the two Koreas, Pyongyang was first to establish diplomatic relations with Tripoli in 1974.
Meanwhile, a total of 19 South Koreans remain in Libya and they have been confirmed safe, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- A growing number of North Koreans enjoy popular South Korean TV programs, an expert here said on Aug. 18 in the latest comment on cultural diffusion into the isolated country.
"More and more North Koreans living south of Pyongyang and Hamhung have been receiving signals from South Korea to watch Seoul's variety shows," Lee Ju-cheol, an official at the national broadcaster KBS, said in a forum held in downtown Seoul, referring to the North Korean capital and another northeastern city.
Major programs that draw interest from North Koreans include Seoul's popular weekend reality-variety shows such as "One Night Two Days," which airs on a KBS channel, and "Infinite Challenge," which airs on a channel operated by another major broadcaster, MBC, the expert added.
"Some North Korean defectors said high-ranking officials in the socialist country are more proactive about watching South Korean programs," Lee said.
The regime in the reclusive country has officially banned its public from watching foreign broadcasts and any other video materials carrying foreign programs, including those from South Korea. Even so, residents have been able to secretly gain access to such broadcasts.
Lee attributed the increased opportunities for the North Korean public to enjoy South Korean programs to the likelihood of South Korean broadcasters' signals reaching as far as the city of Pyongyang, as well as the somewhat improved ability of North Koreans to receive radio waves carrying such TV programs.
Some North Koreans living in and near the northern border areas close to China have clandestinely gained access to Chinese broadcasts, and a growing number of people there enjoy programs aired on those channels, the expert added.
Lee, however, noted that those in the North's inland areas have still been isolated from the outside world, failing to experience any other cultures.
------------------------
U.S. to Offer $900,000 in Relief Aid for North Korea
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States announced a decision on Aug. 18 to provide $900,000 worth of emergency aid to flood-ravaged North Korea less than a month after the two sides resumed high-level dialogue.
"In response to humanitarian needs arising from recent flooding in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK/ North Korea), the United States will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to DPRK," the State Department said in a press release. "The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will contribute up to $900,000 in emergency relief supplies to North Korea's Kangwon and North and South Hwanghae provinces through U.S. NGOs (nongovernmental organizations)."
The department emphasized that its move is unrelated to political or diplomatic circumstances.
"This emergency relief demonstrates our continuing concern for the well-being of the North Korean people. It has been the United States' longstanding position that the provision of humanitarian assistance is separate from political and security concerns."
In a press briefing later, department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. is working on details through the North Korean mission to the United Nations, which in diplomatic circles is called the New York channel.
"We are still talking through the New York channel to North Korea about needs," she said.
"It would not include food. It includes things like plastic sheeting, tents, that kind of humanitarian, housing relief, that kind of thing. But I think we haven't decided."
Top North Korean and U.S. diplomats had two days of meetings in New York in late July to explore ways to revive the six-way nuclear negotiations.
South Korean officials said they have consulted with the U.S. over flood aid to the North.
The U.S. provided $600,000 in emergency relief supplies to North Korea in September after reports of severe floods in the North.
Earlier August, South Korea offered aid worth 5 billion won ($4.7 million) to North Korea.
------------------------
N. Korean Leader Kim Jong-il Enjoys Yacht Holiday Amid Floods
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has been enjoying sailing on his yacht along the east coast in recent weeks, a person familiar with the issue said on Aug. 18, as his country is struggling to recover from devastating floods.
Kim has been sailing in waters off a coastal villa, where he has been staying since August for a summer holiday, as he did in previous years, the person said on condition of anonymity. He was not authorized to speak to the media on intelligence matters on the record. He did not elaborate on the type of boat and who accompanied the leader during the cruise.
The development underscored that Kim's lavish lifestyle has not changed despite international sanctions banning the sale of yachts and other luxury goods to North Korea to try to squeeze Kim and his ruling elites.
Despite years of economic difficulty and food shortages, Kim has engaged in the gift politics of showering his top aides and other elites with luxury goods to win their loyalty.
Kim's summer holiday comes as the North is working to recover from the floods in the recent past that left dozens of people dead, injured or missing, while destroying thousands of homes and submerging or washing away tens of thousands of hectares of farmland.
There was no report in the North's state media on whether he traveled to the flood-stricken areas.
Kim visited a factory near his coastal villa in his first public appearance this month, according to the person, who is well positioned to know about the situation inside the isolated country.
------------------------
North Korea to Host Amateur Golf Tournament Next Year
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea plans to host its second annual amateur golf tournament in May next year, the organizer said on Aug. 19, in an apparent bid to earn much-needed hard currency.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK/ North Korea) Amateur Open, sponsored by British travel agency Lupine Travel, will be held from May 19-21 next year in Pyongyang, according to the Web site of the event.
The 2011 open, the first such competition in the communist country, drew 17 competitors from eight countries including Britain, France, and South Africa, offering them a rare chance to go to the isolated nation and play golf within its borders.
All amateur golfers "with an up-to-date verified handicap" are eligible for entry, the organizer said.
As part of a seven-night trip, the entry to the tournament costs 1,499 euros (US$2,141.63) per person. It includes travel by train into the reclusive country from China, meals and accommodation, as well as a three-day tour of North Korea, according to the organizer.
The impoverished country has devised a variety of measures to secure hard currency, including opening air routes in recent months with Malaysia and China to lure more foreign tourists.
------------------------
N. Korea Proposed Summit Talks with U.S., Professor Claims
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea proposed holding a summit with the United States in an apparent bid to seek a breakthrough for reopening the stalled aid-for-denuclearization talks, a South Korean professor claimed on Aug. 19.
The proposal was made in late July when North Korea's First-vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan held a rare two-day meeting in New York with Stephen Bosworth, Washington's special envoy on Pyongyang, said Moon Chung-in, professor of political science at Seoul-based Yonsei University, citing a source he didn't identify.
"What was interesting in the New York meeting is the fact that North Korea offered to hold the top-level meeting, in other words, summit talks, to simplify the negotiations and save time," Moon said in his commentary posted on the website of a local publisher.
A senior official at Seoul's foreign ministry said he could not confirm the remarks by Moon, but noted that the reported offer for summit talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and U.S. President Barack Obama is unlikely to be accepted, given the "political reality" in Washington.
"I've never heard about that," the official said on the condition of anonymity. "It is difficult to understand that North Korea proposed a summit at a time when differences between the North and the U.S., including the North's nuclear issue, remain unresolved."
The U.S. and North Korea have never had diplomatic relations because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, thus leaving the Korean Peninsula technically at war.
The multinational negotiations aimed at ending the North's nuclear programs in return for economic and other rewards have been stalled since late 2008 after the North stormed out.
The New York meeting came days after the chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and North Korea met in Indonesia on the sidelines of an Asian security conference and agreed to make joint efforts to reopen the six-party talks.
In the article, Moon revealed some details of the New York meeting.
"According to the source, Kim Kye-gwan expressed the North's willingness to impose a moratorium on additional nuclear tests and missile test-launches if the U.S. eases sanctions and resumes food aid to the North," Moon said.
However, North Korea repeated its stance that its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful energy use, Moon said.
------------------------
N. Korea Sees Value of Its Natural Resource Holdings Spike: Report
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea saw the value of its natural resource holdings jump nearly 40 percent over the past two years as prices of minerals in international markets have been surging, a local think tank said on Aug. 23.
According to the report compiled by the North Korea Resources Institute, the North held major natural resources valued at around US$10.4 trillion as of July, up 39.3 percent from 2009.
The figure is based on disclosed data regarding the reclusive country along with international prices of major minerals and other resources, it explained. Many of those figures were not officially verified by the North, it added.
The North held coal worth $3.48 trillion as of July, the largest among its holdings of natural resources, the report said.
The North's gold and iron ore holdings were estimated at $134.69 billion and $794.68 billion, respectively, which were 67 times and 133 times larger than the South, the report showed.
Its uranium holdings came to $16.33 billion, much higher than $3.83 billion in the South, according to the report.
South Korea's holdings of natural resources, meanwhile, were estimated at $470 billion, a 44.5 percent increase over the same cited period, the report showed.
------------------------
Over 200 N. Koreans Still Working in Strife-torn Libya: Official
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- More than 200 North Koreans are still working in Libya, an official said on Aug. 24, despite ongoing violence between rebels and forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
"Some 200 North Koreans are working in Libya as doctors, nurses and construction workers, and it appears that they haven't returned home yet," the official said on condition of anonymity.
The North Koreans are mostly working in deserts and other remote areas, which have not been directly affected by the six-month-long conflict, U.S. broadcaster Radio Free Asia said Tuesday, quoting an unidentified official at the South Korean embassy in Libya. The embassy was temporarily moved to Tunisia in May amid escalating danger.
A source familiar with North Korean affairs told Yonhap News Agency in April that Pyongyang ordered its people in the North African nation not to return home, apparently out of fear that they may spread news of anti-government uprisings across the Middle East.
Between the two Koreas, Pyongyang was first to establish diplomatic relations with Tripoli in 1974.
Meanwhile, a total of 19 South Koreans remain in Libya and they have been confirmed safe, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
