North Korea on the brink: struggle for survival

273 Pages·2008·2.137 MB·English

by  Kwon, Soyoung;Ford, Glyn

NORTH KOREA
ON THE BRINK

North Korea on the Brink
Struggle for Survival
Glyn Ford
with Soyoung Kwon
Foreword by Gareth Evans
Pluto Press
London • Ann Arbor, MI
First published 2008 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 839 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Glyn Ford 2008
The right of Glyn Ford to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 2599 6 hardback
ISBN 978 0 7453 2598 9 paperback
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Curran Publishing
Services, Norwich
Printed and bound in the European Union by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne, England
Contents
List of figures, tables and maps viii
List of abbreviations ix
Note on Korean names and words xi
Foreword by Gareth Evans xii
Preamble xv
1. North Korea in context 1
Introduction 1
Northern exposure 1
Hypocrisy and democracy 5
Regional perspectives 8
European voice 9
Going North 12
2. Drawing the Iron Curtain 16
Introduction 16
Geography 16
The Yanks arrive 18
Revolts, riots and invasion 20
Annexation and resistance 20
Rising nationalism 21
Kim enters stage left 22
Colonial consequences 23
The Soviets come and go 26
Gerrymandered elections 28
Pre-war war 29
Stalin says yes 31
Mao concurs 32
Who kicked off? 33
Civil war to cold war conflict 33
The process 37
Going for a draw 39
POWs 41
The end 42
Hangover 44
Winners and losers 46
3. Kim’s Korea 48
Introduction 48
Divide and rule 49
Kim under threat 50
Then there was one 52
Leaving Marx 54
[ v ]
CONTENTS
Economy takes off 56
Heroes of labour 58
Economic turbulence 60
Economic autarky 60
Economy in reverse 62
Welfare state 63
Alone abroad 66
Switching partners 68
Alternative to the Soviet bloc 69
Friends and foes 70
Reunification of the Fatherland 73
Kim’s legacy 76
4. Alife in Wonderland 79
Introduction 79
Building the nation 79
Shaping the nation 84
Controlling the nation 88
Juche culture 93
Mangamania 95
Bread and circuses 96
Games people play 100
National health 103
Equal opportunities 105
Crime and punishment 107
Coming out? 110
5. Food, famine and fugitives 112
Introduction 112
Food and famine 113
Korea’s cry for help 114
Calling on the EU 115
Aid at what cost? 118
EU aid 121
Solving its own problems 121
Reform’s rhetoric 125
In our own style 125
Factions 129
Reading the signs 131
Kim 3 132
Flood of refugees? 132
Defectors’ world tour 137
North Korean Human Rights Act 140
EU talks about human rights 141
Things can only get better 143
Same country, two pictures 144
[ vi ]
CONTENTS
6. WMD paranoia rules 145
Introduction 145
Team America 145
Military perception 146
WMD 147
Nukes 148
Framing an agreement 151
Nukes II 154
Nuclear club 157
Missiles’ reality 158
Born on the fourth of July 160
Star Wars 161
Comrades-in-arms 165
Security perception or reality 168
7. Negotiating its place 169
Introduction 169
Traditional allies 169
Inter-Korea relations 172
Sleeping with the enemy 176
Broken promises 180
KEDO 183
Six-party talks 186
Back to square one 190
New partner for dialogue 193
8. Changing regime or regime change? 199
Introduction 199
Kim’s regime 200
Nuclear crisis I 201
Nuclear crisis II 202
Reform rules 203
Reading the signs 205
EU: payer or player 209
Diverging interests 210
Possible solutions 214
Notes 219
Recommended reading and viewing 230
Index 233
Unless otherwise indicated all photographs are the authors’ own.
[ vii ]
Figures, tables and maps
Figures
5.1 Change in rhetoric in North Korea 1980–2006 129
5.2 The number of North Korean defectors 137
Tables
3.1 Economic assistance from the Communist countries 58
3.2 Political classification system in North Korea by
social origin 64
5.1 The number of North Korean defectors arriving
in South Korea 136
7.1 Timetable of diplomatic relations between
EU member states and the DPRK 196
Maps
North Korea xx
Korea’s surroundings xxi
[ viii ]
Abbreviations
ACF Action Contra La Faim
APTN Associated Press Television News
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
AWACS Airborne Warning and Control System
BAT British American Tobacco
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BTWC Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention
CARE Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere
CFSP Common Foreign and Security Policy
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
COMECON Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union
CPV Chinese People’s Volunteers
CVID Complete Verifiable Irreversible Dismantlement
DMZ Demilitarised Zone
DPRK Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
EBA European Business Association
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GNP Gross National Product
HEU Highly Enriched Uranium
HFO Heavy Fuel Oil
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
IOC International Olympic Committee
IT Information Technology
KAL Korean Air Line
KCIA Korean Central Intelligence Agency
KCNA Korean Central News Agency
KCP Korean Communist Party
KEDO Korean-Peninsula Energy Development Organisation
KEPCO Korea Electric Power Corporation
KGB Russian-language abbreviation for Committee for
State Security
KMT Kuomintang
KPA Korean People’s Army
KWP Korean Workers’ Party
LWR Light Water Reactor
MAC Military Armistice Commission
[ ix ]