ID :
208762
Thu, 09/22/2011 - 07:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/208762
The shortlink copeid
*** TIP ON NORTH KOREA
NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 176 (September 22, 2011)
*** TIP ON NORTH KOREA
N.K. Forces People to Donate Money to Build Prosperous Country
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea has pressed its people to donate money to build a powerful and prosperous nation by next year, a move that has triggered public discontent amid chronic food shortages, a source familiar with the issue said on Sept. 15.
Propaganda officials recently held public meetings in cities and provinces to try to collect money by stoking competition among people to donate, the source said.
North Korea tried to encourage voluntary donations, saying some people donated money due to the North's shelling of a South Korean border island in November, the source said on condition of anonymity, citing office policy.
The attack further aggravated inter-Korean ties that were already badly strained over the sinking early last year of a South Korean warship blamed on the North. Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed.
The donation campaign has caused the public to complain at a time when people are suffering from food shortages, according to the source.
North Korea suffered devastating floods in recent months that washed away tens of thousands of hectares of farmland, damage that is feared to threaten the already fragile food situation.
The North has vowed to achieve its stated goal of building a prosperous nation next year, the centennial of the birth of the country's late founder and president, Kim Il-sung, the father of current leader Kim Jong-il.
Still, there is doubt about whether the North can make any economic breakthrough by next year.
------------------------
Pro-Pyongyang Activities Surge in Cyberspace
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Pro-North Korea activities mushroomed in cyberspace over the past three years in South Korea where the penetration rate of Internet connection is one of the highest levels in the world, a police report showed on Sept. 16.
Police took 82 cases to court last year for illegally posting materials praising the North's socialist regime on the Internet, according to the National Police Agency report submitted to Yoo Jeong-bok, a lawmaker from the ruling Grand National Party.
The latest figure marks a 16-fold increase from just five cases that were subject to court decisions in 2007.
The corresponding figures were 32 in 2009 and 82 last year, according to the report.
Police crack down on Internet users who extol or propagandize the leader or the political system of North Korea, which is by law defined as a national enemy since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
The sharp growth is mainly attributable to the recent emergence of easier Internet communication tools like social network services in addition to blogs and Internet Web sites, which were previously used often for the pro-North activities.
A total of 80,449 postings were deleted by authorities for violation of the law banning such activities, showing substantially sharp growth compared with only 1,434 posted in 2007, the report noted.
"Pro-North activities surely seem to have mushroomed in cyberspace in the recent two-three years due to the North's torpedoing of the Cheonan and shelling of the border island of Yeonpyeong," a police official said.
------------------------
North Korean Leader's Half Brother in Warsaw, Poland
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's half brother is currently in Warsaw, Poland, a U.S.-based broadcaster said on Sept. 18, refuting a South Korean media's earlier report that he is under house arrest in the socialist country.
Citing Polish diplomatic sources, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that Kim Pyong-il, a North Korean Ambassador to Poland, attended a banquet to commemorate the North's 63rd founding anniversary at the North Korean Embassy in Warsaw.
The local media reported in July that the North Korean leadership put the ambassador under home confinement since May, with the intent to sideline him from domestic politics and to consolidate power.
"Whether Ambassador Kim was under house arrest during his visit to Pyongyang is unconfirmed, but he has returned to Poland," the RFA said, adding, "After making annual trips back to the North, Kim always returns to Poland before the yearly banquet."
The RFA also added that Ambassador Kim is an important figure as he brings in foreign currency to the socialist country by managing the N. Korean workforce in Poland. In a bid to earn much-needed hard currency, the cash-strapped North is reported to have dispatched N. Korean workers to Poland.
Kim Pyong-il, born to the North's founding leader, Kim Il-sung, and his second wife, Kim Song-ae, has been abroad for the past two decades as North Korea's envoy to Bulgaria, Hungary, Finland and Poland. He took the current post in January 1998.
------------------------
Interest Due on Failed N.K. Energy Project Loan Close to $800 Mln
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The amount of interest on South Korean government bonds issued to fund a failed light-water reactor project in North Korea has snowballed to more than 900 billion won (US$798 million) over more than a decade, a government report showed on Sept. 20.
The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) -- an international consortium of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan -- launched the energy project to build two commercial reactors under a 1994 agreement between Pyongyang and Washington. The project was abandoned in late 2005 when it was about one-third finished because Washington suspected the communist state was running a secret uranium enrichment program, leaving no way for participants to retrieve their investments.
South Korea, which had agreed to shoulder 70 percent of the cost, has issued a total of 5.4 trillion won in government bonds from 1999 until this month to cover a 1.3 trillion won loan and interest from the delayed repayment, the Unification Ministry report said.
The accumulated interest is nearly 65.5 percent of the total amount, and it is likely to swell down the road if not paid off soon, the ministry said.
"Paying off the loan by issuing government bonds can weigh on the nation's fiscal soundness," said Rep. Hong Jung-wook of the Grand National Party, who released the report. "The government should seek ways to repay the loan, including using the inter-Korea cooperation fund."
The North conducted two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, and it revealed the existence of a uranium enrichment facility in November last year, adding urgency to international efforts to stop Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development.
------------------------
N.K.'s Cyber Attacks on S. Korean Government Offices on Steep Rise
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea's attempts to hack the Web sites of South Korea's health ministry and its related organizations are on a steep increase as the information obtained from such organizations could greatly benefit the communist state, a lawmaker said on Sept. 20.
The number of hacking attempts against the Ministry of Health and Welfare and organizations under its wings jumped over six-fold from 3,349 in 2009 to 17,091 last year, according to Rep. Yoon Seok-yong of the ruling Grand National Party.
The number has already reached 14,669 in the first half of this year, said the lawmaker, citing data provided by the ministry, which is currently undergoing an annual parliamentary audit along with the rest of the government offices.
"Once the network of the health and welfare ministry is breached, the hackers will have all the personal information of each and every one of our citizens," Yoon said in a news release.
Along with increased cyber attacks against all government offices, the North's hacking attempts against the National Pension Service and the National Health Insurance Corp. (NHIC) also increased sharply from 11 cases last year to 41 cases already this year.
An infiltration into the network of the two state organizations could provide North Korea with the vital information of how they manage their large funds, which would allow the communist state to follow their steps and make large profits in South Korea, the lawmaker claimed.
The National Pension Service currently is South Korea's largest investor with an estimated 340 trillion won (US$297 billion) worth of assets under its management.
Yoon also claimed a breach of information on the people's health through a successful hacking attempt at NHIC could assist North Korea in chemical warfare by allowing it to know what diseases and chemicals South Koreans are most vulnerable to.
------------------------
Communication Limited in N. Korea's Rason Economic Zone: Report
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Communication remains difficult in North Korea's special economic zone of Rason despite the existence of a local mobile phone network, according to a recent report by a foreign visitor to the area.
The network is operated by a Thai company, Loxley Pacific Co., but foreigners are not yet allowed to own or use a phone on the network, according to Andray Abrahamian, an executive director for Choson Exchange, a Singaporean organization that facilitates educational exchanges with North Koreans.
Abrahamian traveled to Rason in late August to attend a trade fair there.
"Direct communication between foreigners and their partners in Rason remains difficult," he wrote in his report posted on Choson Exchange's Web site. "International calling is nonexistent. Group emails do exist for administrators and managers in Rason, but they are unreliable. At some point in 2012, both international calling and individual email is expected to be permitted, though exactly when is unclear."
The local network operates separately from an Egyptian-North Korean joint venture that has been providing mobile services in Pyongyang and other parts of the country since 2008, he said.
North Korea designated Rason as a special economic zone in 1991 and has since striven to develop it into a regional transportation hub, though no major progress has been made. The area borders both China and Russia.
North Korea first launched mobile phone service jointly with the Thai company in Pyongyang and Rason in 2002, but banned it after a deadly explosion in a northern train station in 2004, possibly out of concern that it could be used in a plot against the Pyongyang regime.
------------------------
Obama Warns North Korea of More "Pressure, Isolation"
NEW YORK (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama warned on Sept. 21 that North Korea will face "greater pressure and isolation" should it continue nuclear weapons development and hostile actions against South Korea.
"North Korea has yet to take concrete steps towards abandoning its weapons, and continues belligerent action against the South," Obama said, addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He stressed, "If they continue down a path that is outside international law, they must be met with greater pressure and isolation. That is what our commitment to peace and security demands."
Obama, however, said North Koreans will see greater opportunity if their government abides by international rules and obligations.
Obama's comments on the peninsula came as top nuclear envoys from the two Koreas had another round of "denuclearization talks" in Beijing, which many view as a prelude to additional meetings between Pyongyang and Washington.
The president renewed his call for joint efforts towards a world without nuclear weapons.
He expressed hope that the second Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul in March will "advance our efforts to lock down all of them."
"America will continue to work for a ban on the testing of nuclear weapons, and the production of fissile material needed to make them," he added. "As we meet our obligations, we have strengthened the treaties and institutions that help stop the spread of these weapons. To do so, we must continue to hold accountable those nations that flout them."
------------------------
N. Korean Heir-apparent Wields Command over Defense, Security Issues
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Kim Jong-un, the third son and heir apparent of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, has started to wield command over the country's defense and security issues, one year after receiving top military and political posts, a source familiar with the socialist regime said on Sept. 21.
The younger Kim, believed to be in his late 20s, was named a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the North's ruling Workers' Party and a four-star general in September last year, paving the way for his rise to the top.
"Kim Jong-un, under the protection of his father, has effectively been commanding the military by carrying out reforms and handing down operational directions through Ri Yong-ho, chief of the general staff of the (North) Korean People's Army (KPA) and Kim Jong-gak, first-vice director of the KPA's General Political Bureau," the source said, requesting anonymity.
The source also said the heir apparent is building a solid support base within the military by filling commander-level posts with his loyalists, who are in their 30s or 40s. As part of the hereditary succession process, the younger Kim is now deeply involved in the internal affairs of the National Security Agency and purging ranking party officials he deems corrupt, the source added.
There are other areas, however, in which the son apparently does not get involved.
"Kim Jong-un is keeping his distance from economic or foreign affairs, apparently due to the potential burdens of an (economic) policy failure and the possible relative decline of his father's status," the source said.
The younger Kim was not spotted on any of his father's trips to China and Russia over the past year.
This week, the Seoul government also reported a series of similar observations. At an annual parliamentary audit, the defense ministry said the younger Kim has been actively participating in the regime's politics and policymaking process to facilitate the alleged power transfer.
Meanwhile, the South's Unification Ministry forecast that in the future, the heir apparent is likely to assume such posts as a member or standing member of the ruling party's politburo, a secretary of the party's secretariat and a member of the powerful National Defense Commission, chaired by his father.
------------------------
27 N. Korean Entities, 5 Individuals Targeted by U.S. Sanctions
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- A total of 27 North Korean entities and five individuals have been targeted under financial sanctions imposed by the United States, including the alleged caretaker of leader Kim Jong-il's secret funds, a South Korean lawmaker said on Sept. 21.
The U.S. has imposed financial sanctions on North Korean firms and people for their involvement in the trade of weapons of mass destruction, counterfeiting money or other illicit activities that support the communist regime.
Washington broadened the sanctions last year in a series of reprisals against Pyongyang over its deadly sinking of a South Korean warship. Forty-six sailors were killed in the torpedo attack in March last year, but North Korea denies responsibility.
The five individuals include Kim Tong-myong, head of North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank, who is believed to be taking care of leader Kim's secret funds overseas, and Kim Yong-chul, director of the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau who is believed to have masterminded the attack on the Cheonan warship, according to a report released by Rep. Park Joo-sun of the main opposition Democratic Party.
Park said he obtained the report from the foreign ministry.
Among the North Korean entities listed on the U.S. sanctions blacklist since last November were Korea Taesong Trading, Korea Taesong Bank and Bank of East Land, the report said.
South Korean officials said the North Korean entities are believed to be engaged in a competition to show their allegiance to leader Kim Jong-il and his heir-apparent son Kim Jong-un.
In return, the North Korean leader showers his top aides and other elites with luxury goods to win their loyalty.
North Korea is also under U.N. sanctions for its defiant missile and nuclear tests in 2009. The lifting of the U.N. sanctions is one of key North Korean demands for its return to long-stalled six-party talks on its nuclear programs.
(END)
*** TIP ON NORTH KOREA
N.K. Forces People to Donate Money to Build Prosperous Country
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea has pressed its people to donate money to build a powerful and prosperous nation by next year, a move that has triggered public discontent amid chronic food shortages, a source familiar with the issue said on Sept. 15.
Propaganda officials recently held public meetings in cities and provinces to try to collect money by stoking competition among people to donate, the source said.
North Korea tried to encourage voluntary donations, saying some people donated money due to the North's shelling of a South Korean border island in November, the source said on condition of anonymity, citing office policy.
The attack further aggravated inter-Korean ties that were already badly strained over the sinking early last year of a South Korean warship blamed on the North. Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed.
The donation campaign has caused the public to complain at a time when people are suffering from food shortages, according to the source.
North Korea suffered devastating floods in recent months that washed away tens of thousands of hectares of farmland, damage that is feared to threaten the already fragile food situation.
The North has vowed to achieve its stated goal of building a prosperous nation next year, the centennial of the birth of the country's late founder and president, Kim Il-sung, the father of current leader Kim Jong-il.
Still, there is doubt about whether the North can make any economic breakthrough by next year.
------------------------
Pro-Pyongyang Activities Surge in Cyberspace
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Pro-North Korea activities mushroomed in cyberspace over the past three years in South Korea where the penetration rate of Internet connection is one of the highest levels in the world, a police report showed on Sept. 16.
Police took 82 cases to court last year for illegally posting materials praising the North's socialist regime on the Internet, according to the National Police Agency report submitted to Yoo Jeong-bok, a lawmaker from the ruling Grand National Party.
The latest figure marks a 16-fold increase from just five cases that were subject to court decisions in 2007.
The corresponding figures were 32 in 2009 and 82 last year, according to the report.
Police crack down on Internet users who extol or propagandize the leader or the political system of North Korea, which is by law defined as a national enemy since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
The sharp growth is mainly attributable to the recent emergence of easier Internet communication tools like social network services in addition to blogs and Internet Web sites, which were previously used often for the pro-North activities.
A total of 80,449 postings were deleted by authorities for violation of the law banning such activities, showing substantially sharp growth compared with only 1,434 posted in 2007, the report noted.
"Pro-North activities surely seem to have mushroomed in cyberspace in the recent two-three years due to the North's torpedoing of the Cheonan and shelling of the border island of Yeonpyeong," a police official said.
------------------------
North Korean Leader's Half Brother in Warsaw, Poland
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's half brother is currently in Warsaw, Poland, a U.S.-based broadcaster said on Sept. 18, refuting a South Korean media's earlier report that he is under house arrest in the socialist country.
Citing Polish diplomatic sources, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that Kim Pyong-il, a North Korean Ambassador to Poland, attended a banquet to commemorate the North's 63rd founding anniversary at the North Korean Embassy in Warsaw.
The local media reported in July that the North Korean leadership put the ambassador under home confinement since May, with the intent to sideline him from domestic politics and to consolidate power.
"Whether Ambassador Kim was under house arrest during his visit to Pyongyang is unconfirmed, but he has returned to Poland," the RFA said, adding, "After making annual trips back to the North, Kim always returns to Poland before the yearly banquet."
The RFA also added that Ambassador Kim is an important figure as he brings in foreign currency to the socialist country by managing the N. Korean workforce in Poland. In a bid to earn much-needed hard currency, the cash-strapped North is reported to have dispatched N. Korean workers to Poland.
Kim Pyong-il, born to the North's founding leader, Kim Il-sung, and his second wife, Kim Song-ae, has been abroad for the past two decades as North Korea's envoy to Bulgaria, Hungary, Finland and Poland. He took the current post in January 1998.
------------------------
Interest Due on Failed N.K. Energy Project Loan Close to $800 Mln
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The amount of interest on South Korean government bonds issued to fund a failed light-water reactor project in North Korea has snowballed to more than 900 billion won (US$798 million) over more than a decade, a government report showed on Sept. 20.
The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) -- an international consortium of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan -- launched the energy project to build two commercial reactors under a 1994 agreement between Pyongyang and Washington. The project was abandoned in late 2005 when it was about one-third finished because Washington suspected the communist state was running a secret uranium enrichment program, leaving no way for participants to retrieve their investments.
South Korea, which had agreed to shoulder 70 percent of the cost, has issued a total of 5.4 trillion won in government bonds from 1999 until this month to cover a 1.3 trillion won loan and interest from the delayed repayment, the Unification Ministry report said.
The accumulated interest is nearly 65.5 percent of the total amount, and it is likely to swell down the road if not paid off soon, the ministry said.
"Paying off the loan by issuing government bonds can weigh on the nation's fiscal soundness," said Rep. Hong Jung-wook of the Grand National Party, who released the report. "The government should seek ways to repay the loan, including using the inter-Korea cooperation fund."
The North conducted two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, and it revealed the existence of a uranium enrichment facility in November last year, adding urgency to international efforts to stop Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development.
------------------------
N.K.'s Cyber Attacks on S. Korean Government Offices on Steep Rise
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea's attempts to hack the Web sites of South Korea's health ministry and its related organizations are on a steep increase as the information obtained from such organizations could greatly benefit the communist state, a lawmaker said on Sept. 20.
The number of hacking attempts against the Ministry of Health and Welfare and organizations under its wings jumped over six-fold from 3,349 in 2009 to 17,091 last year, according to Rep. Yoon Seok-yong of the ruling Grand National Party.
The number has already reached 14,669 in the first half of this year, said the lawmaker, citing data provided by the ministry, which is currently undergoing an annual parliamentary audit along with the rest of the government offices.
"Once the network of the health and welfare ministry is breached, the hackers will have all the personal information of each and every one of our citizens," Yoon said in a news release.
Along with increased cyber attacks against all government offices, the North's hacking attempts against the National Pension Service and the National Health Insurance Corp. (NHIC) also increased sharply from 11 cases last year to 41 cases already this year.
An infiltration into the network of the two state organizations could provide North Korea with the vital information of how they manage their large funds, which would allow the communist state to follow their steps and make large profits in South Korea, the lawmaker claimed.
The National Pension Service currently is South Korea's largest investor with an estimated 340 trillion won (US$297 billion) worth of assets under its management.
Yoon also claimed a breach of information on the people's health through a successful hacking attempt at NHIC could assist North Korea in chemical warfare by allowing it to know what diseases and chemicals South Koreans are most vulnerable to.
------------------------
Communication Limited in N. Korea's Rason Economic Zone: Report
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Communication remains difficult in North Korea's special economic zone of Rason despite the existence of a local mobile phone network, according to a recent report by a foreign visitor to the area.
The network is operated by a Thai company, Loxley Pacific Co., but foreigners are not yet allowed to own or use a phone on the network, according to Andray Abrahamian, an executive director for Choson Exchange, a Singaporean organization that facilitates educational exchanges with North Koreans.
Abrahamian traveled to Rason in late August to attend a trade fair there.
"Direct communication between foreigners and their partners in Rason remains difficult," he wrote in his report posted on Choson Exchange's Web site. "International calling is nonexistent. Group emails do exist for administrators and managers in Rason, but they are unreliable. At some point in 2012, both international calling and individual email is expected to be permitted, though exactly when is unclear."
The local network operates separately from an Egyptian-North Korean joint venture that has been providing mobile services in Pyongyang and other parts of the country since 2008, he said.
North Korea designated Rason as a special economic zone in 1991 and has since striven to develop it into a regional transportation hub, though no major progress has been made. The area borders both China and Russia.
North Korea first launched mobile phone service jointly with the Thai company in Pyongyang and Rason in 2002, but banned it after a deadly explosion in a northern train station in 2004, possibly out of concern that it could be used in a plot against the Pyongyang regime.
------------------------
Obama Warns North Korea of More "Pressure, Isolation"
NEW YORK (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama warned on Sept. 21 that North Korea will face "greater pressure and isolation" should it continue nuclear weapons development and hostile actions against South Korea.
"North Korea has yet to take concrete steps towards abandoning its weapons, and continues belligerent action against the South," Obama said, addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He stressed, "If they continue down a path that is outside international law, they must be met with greater pressure and isolation. That is what our commitment to peace and security demands."
Obama, however, said North Koreans will see greater opportunity if their government abides by international rules and obligations.
Obama's comments on the peninsula came as top nuclear envoys from the two Koreas had another round of "denuclearization talks" in Beijing, which many view as a prelude to additional meetings between Pyongyang and Washington.
The president renewed his call for joint efforts towards a world without nuclear weapons.
He expressed hope that the second Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul in March will "advance our efforts to lock down all of them."
"America will continue to work for a ban on the testing of nuclear weapons, and the production of fissile material needed to make them," he added. "As we meet our obligations, we have strengthened the treaties and institutions that help stop the spread of these weapons. To do so, we must continue to hold accountable those nations that flout them."
------------------------
N. Korean Heir-apparent Wields Command over Defense, Security Issues
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Kim Jong-un, the third son and heir apparent of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, has started to wield command over the country's defense and security issues, one year after receiving top military and political posts, a source familiar with the socialist regime said on Sept. 21.
The younger Kim, believed to be in his late 20s, was named a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the North's ruling Workers' Party and a four-star general in September last year, paving the way for his rise to the top.
"Kim Jong-un, under the protection of his father, has effectively been commanding the military by carrying out reforms and handing down operational directions through Ri Yong-ho, chief of the general staff of the (North) Korean People's Army (KPA) and Kim Jong-gak, first-vice director of the KPA's General Political Bureau," the source said, requesting anonymity.
The source also said the heir apparent is building a solid support base within the military by filling commander-level posts with his loyalists, who are in their 30s or 40s. As part of the hereditary succession process, the younger Kim is now deeply involved in the internal affairs of the National Security Agency and purging ranking party officials he deems corrupt, the source added.
There are other areas, however, in which the son apparently does not get involved.
"Kim Jong-un is keeping his distance from economic or foreign affairs, apparently due to the potential burdens of an (economic) policy failure and the possible relative decline of his father's status," the source said.
The younger Kim was not spotted on any of his father's trips to China and Russia over the past year.
This week, the Seoul government also reported a series of similar observations. At an annual parliamentary audit, the defense ministry said the younger Kim has been actively participating in the regime's politics and policymaking process to facilitate the alleged power transfer.
Meanwhile, the South's Unification Ministry forecast that in the future, the heir apparent is likely to assume such posts as a member or standing member of the ruling party's politburo, a secretary of the party's secretariat and a member of the powerful National Defense Commission, chaired by his father.
------------------------
27 N. Korean Entities, 5 Individuals Targeted by U.S. Sanctions
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- A total of 27 North Korean entities and five individuals have been targeted under financial sanctions imposed by the United States, including the alleged caretaker of leader Kim Jong-il's secret funds, a South Korean lawmaker said on Sept. 21.
The U.S. has imposed financial sanctions on North Korean firms and people for their involvement in the trade of weapons of mass destruction, counterfeiting money or other illicit activities that support the communist regime.
Washington broadened the sanctions last year in a series of reprisals against Pyongyang over its deadly sinking of a South Korean warship. Forty-six sailors were killed in the torpedo attack in March last year, but North Korea denies responsibility.
The five individuals include Kim Tong-myong, head of North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank, who is believed to be taking care of leader Kim's secret funds overseas, and Kim Yong-chul, director of the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau who is believed to have masterminded the attack on the Cheonan warship, according to a report released by Rep. Park Joo-sun of the main opposition Democratic Party.
Park said he obtained the report from the foreign ministry.
Among the North Korean entities listed on the U.S. sanctions blacklist since last November were Korea Taesong Trading, Korea Taesong Bank and Bank of East Land, the report said.
South Korean officials said the North Korean entities are believed to be engaged in a competition to show their allegiance to leader Kim Jong-il and his heir-apparent son Kim Jong-un.
In return, the North Korean leader showers his top aides and other elites with luxury goods to win their loyalty.
North Korea is also under U.N. sanctions for its defiant missile and nuclear tests in 2009. The lifting of the U.N. sanctions is one of key North Korean demands for its return to long-stalled six-party talks on its nuclear programs.
(END)
