N. Korea growing more sensitive to foreigners’ travel

North Korea is becoming stricter on foreigners’ travel in the country, apparently sensitive to the impact of outside news on the recent death of Libya’s longtime dictator, a U.S.-funded radio station said Tuesday.

Not wanting outsiders to bring in recent news on Libya, the North Korean regime is asking foreign officials and businessmen not to leave Pyongyang without approval, Radio Free Asia reported, quoting people in Pyongyang.

Former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was killed by revolutionary fighters in his hometown of Sirte on Oct. 20, but North Korea’s official media have so far been silent about his death, fearing a similar threat to the Pyongyang regime.

A Russian businessman running a firm in Pyongyang told RFA that he was “thoroughly questioned” by North Korean immigration officials, who warned he may be banned from returning if he visits any country other than China.

Another source in North Korea said the regime has been working hard to prevent foreigners from communicating with the general North Korean public.

In a similar move, the communist regime is strengthening its control over North Koreans working in Libya and other nations affected by the Arab Spring revolutions.

Since April, Pyongyang has reportedly ordered its people in the region not to return home out of fear they will spread news of the popular democratic uprisings. Until now, the ban applied mainly to North Korean doctors, nurses and construction workers who were working in African and Middle Eastern nations to earn hard currency for their impoverished country.

As one of the most reclusive countries in the world, North Korea keeps its people largely isolated from outside news to keep them loyal to dictator Kim Jong-il.

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