‘Ordinary life in N.K. appears busy, active’

Based on the limited aspects of North Korea seen from his recent trip, the North Korean public appears to be leading busy lives with active exchanges of foodstuffs in state markets, a U.S. expert said Wednesday.

“The Tongil (unification) Market felt like Seoul,” John Delury, professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, told a seminar following his recent trip to Pyongyang. “Very vital trade was seen in the market, though operated by the state. It was busy and active.”

“The fields looked good near Pyongyang too,” he said, adding “a lot more traffic and vehicle” was seen in the capital city.

The comments by Delury come as the communist North has been increasing calls on the international society to send it aid of food and fuel, claiming flood and bad harvest have left its people with little to eat.

The reclusive North Korean regime, which has relied on outside aid to feed its starving population of 24 million since the mid-1990s, has faced deeper isolation since it left multinational talks on its denuclearization and conducted a second nuclear test in 2009.

Jeremy Laurence, the Reuters correspondent to Seoul who took a five-day tour around Mount. Geumgang, the Rason Special Economic Zone and elsewhere in North Korea from Aug. 29, also said the food situation in the North did not seem “that bad.”

“Our minder (guide) said the harvest was going to be good this year,” he told the Wednesday seminar prepared by Seoul’s think tank East Asia Foundation.

“Now, I can’t be sure about the rest of the country, but at least for the regions near Wonjong to the port of Sonbong, crops looked good,” said Laurence, adding he met with other Western tourists who said the situation looked okay in the central region also.

Delury, an expert on China who has been emphasizing the need for the U.S. to continue efforts on economic engagement with North Korea, said the North Korean officials he met during the trip put “much emphasis on people’s welfare and standard of living.”

“Even though (North Korea) does not embrace market economy, they are making changes, especially in the lead up to next year’s goal of becoming a strong country and the 100th anniversary of the birth of their leader,” he said.

Delury also noted the apparent inflow of overseas DVDs in Pyongyang despite the regime’s stern policy to keep its people isolated.

“I saw many DVD rental shops in Pyongyang. While domestic DVDs were rented at 1,000 North Korean won, foreign DVDs were rented at twice the price,” he said.

By Shin Hae-in (hayney@heraldcorp.com)