Table Of ContentNorth Korea
About the author
Born in London and educated there and in Glasgow, Paul
French has lived and worked in Shanghai for many years. A
leading expert on North Korea, he is a widely published analyst
and commentator on Asia and has written a number of books
dealing with China’s pre-1949 history and Asian politics and
current affairs. His previous books include a history of North
Korea, a biography of Shanghai ad man and adventurer Carl
Crow, and a history of foreign correspondents in China. Paul
was awarded the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime for
his international best-seller Midnight in Peking.
North Korea
State of paranoia
Paul French
Zed Books
london | new york
North Korea: State of Paranoia was first published in 2014 by
Zed Books Ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, London n1 9JF, uk and
Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, ny 10010, uSa
www.zedbooks.co.uk
Copyright © Paul French 2014
The right of Paul French to be identified as the author
of this work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988
Designed and typeset in Monotype Bembo Book
by illuminati, Grosmont
Index by John Barker
Cover designed by www.roguefour.co.uk
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or
otherwise, without the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data available
ISBn 978-1-78032-949-9
Contents
acknowledgementS vii
aBBrevIatIonS, SPellIngS
and FIgureS ix
Foreword The myth and the reality
of the state of paranoia xvi
IntroductIon The paranoid peninsula 1
Part I The Juche nation: beloved leaders,
brilliant thoughts, power cuts
and empty shelves
1 A normal day in Pyongyang 15
2 The Juche state: political theory
in North Korea 45
3 The revolutionary dynasty:
leadership in North Korea 72
Part II The economics of North Korea:
Chollima, speed battles, collapse and famine
4 Economics Pyongyang style:
command and control 105
5 The worst of times: food, famine and the
arduous march 168
6 The start of a sort of reform: change and
regime survival 203
7 The reality of reform: a case study of
Sinuiju 246
Part III Diplomacy and the military: foreign
relations, nuclear crisis and self-defence
8 Don’t poke the snake:
US–DPRK relations 273
9 Nuclear ambitions revealed: bluster,
brinkmanship or battle? 308
10 ‘Military First’ emerges 319
Part Iv Change, collapse and reunification
11 One Korea: the dream of reunification 345
12 Kim3: the dynasty continues 381
13 How will the story end? 389
concluSIon Still the world’s most dangerous tripwire 410
noteS 425
BIBlIograPhy 446
Index 452
Acknowledgements
This book is the culmination of watching the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for many years and writing
about the country from a business perspective for my former
company Access Asia and a variety of other publications. It
has to be stated at the start that many people who fed ideas
and experiences into this book cannot be mentioned by name.
Such is the nature of the DPRK that securing entry visas and
building relationships are hard enough without being associ-
ated with a book that will probably not be warmly greeted
in Pyongyang. Those people know who they are and will I
hope recognise their contributions. Naturally, any mistakes
made with the information they provided or differences in
interpretation are entirely the author’s responsibility.
A number of people can be mentioned, though. Primary
thanks must go to my two former colleagues at Access Asia:
Matthew Crabbe (who provided the title) and Chris Torrens,
both of whom share my interest in the DPRK and contributed
to the debates around the changing nature of the country. Both
were also gracious enough to indulge me patiently in pursuing
this book. Thanks should also go to Barry Colman in Shanghai
for his comments on the original proposal and encouragement.
Thanks must go to Joe Studwell and Arthur Kroeber of
the China Economic Quarterly; Stephen Green, head of Greater
China research at Standard Chartered; Professor David Wall
viii north korea
of Cambridge University’s School of International Relations;
Andy Rothman, Chief China Strategist with CLSA; Hugh
Peyman of Research-Works; and Tom Toback of Pyongyang-
square.com. Thanks also to Mark O’Neill for comments on
Sinuiju, and to Richard McGregor of the Financial Times for
his thoughts on the DPRK.
Other thanks go to various Pyongyang and East Asia observ-
ers including Josh Green, Keith Bennett, John Swenson-Wright
of Cambridge University and Aidan Foster-Carter.
Information on the DPRK is hard enough to dig up, though
made easier by the helpful staff of the Shanghai Public Library,
the British Library, the London Library, Hong Kong Univer-
sity Library, the RIIA’s library, London School of Economics
Library, the Russian State Library, Shanghai’s Fudan Uni-
versity Library, the Marx Memorial Library in London and
the New York Public Library. I also acknowledge the work
the Nautilus Institute does in supplying regular updates and
thoughtful essays on the situation in the DPRK (www.nautilus.
org), CanKor for its DPRK clippings service (www.cankor.ca)
and Pyongyangsquare.com for its database of DPRK-related
information (www.pyongyangsquare.com).
At Zed Books in London thanks must go to senior editor
Robert Molteno, who first enthusiastically took up this project,
Kim Walker for continuing it, Robin Gable and Lucy Morton
for editing the book in various incarnations, and Jonathan
Maunder for publicity and marketing.
Abbreviations, spellings and figures
AC Administrative Council (DPRK)
ACF Action Contre la Faim
ADB Asian Development Bank
ADRA Adventist Development and Relief Agency International
AFTA Asian Free Trade Association
AMC asset management company
APEC Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
AREP Agricultural Recovery and Environment Plan
ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations
CAP Consolidated Appeals Process (UN)
CBMs confidence-building measures
CBW chemical and biological weapons
CCTV China Central Television (Chinese state broadcaster)
CDMA code division multiple access
CFSAM Crop and Food Supply Assessment (FAO/WFP)
CIA Central Intelligence Agency (US)
CNKR Commission to Help North Korean Refugees (ROK)
CNN Cable News Network
Comecon Council for Mutual Economic Cooperation
CPC Communist Party of China
CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union
CSRC China Securities Regulatory Commission (stock market
regulator)
DCRK Democratic Confederal Republic of Koryo
DMZ demilitarized zone
DPRK Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)
EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
EU European Union
FALU Food Aid Liaison Unit
FAM Food Administration Ministry (DPRK)
