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A
KBC publication |
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October
2009 |
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| [COVER] |
| China
eyes DPRK's mineral wealth |
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Wen
Jiabao, China's premier, can hail his visit to North Korea
as a bit of a diplomatic coup. Now the question is whether
there is an economic dividend too.
After bear hugs with Kim Jong-il and co-operation deals,
Mr Wen engineered the geopolitical compromise he wanted,
with the North Korean leader on Tuesday announcing he
might return to international talks on dismantling his
nuclear weapons programme if he gets the kudos of direct
talks with the US first.
Mr Kim's announcement did not guarantee fresh six-party
talks between Beijing, Seoul, Moscow, Tokyo, Pyongyang
and Washington but restored political goodwill.
Yet if resource-hungry China hopes revived camaraderie
will also grant it a large bite of North Korea's massive
untapped mineral wealth, analysts and diplomats warn,
Beijing could be sorely disappointed. |
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KBC
is pleased to announce;
- a talk on "Doing Biz in Korea" + "PY:
A Personal Perspective";Tues 24 November at
Nearby the Tree in Beijing 5-7pm.
- Biz Fact-Finding Mission to Pyongyang 8-12 Dec'
09
Contact info@kbc-global.com
for details. |
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SinoMining
acquires 51% of DPRK's Hyesan Copper Mine with view
to reopen mine
On November 30, 2008, Interfax China Metals reported
that privately-owned Sino Mining International Investment
had acquired a 51% interest in the Hyesan copper-gold-silver
mine in North Korea for $33.8 million (euro 22.9
million) from North Korea Hyesan Company. Under
the agreement, Sino will fund its share of the $66.2
million development cost of Hyesan.
Hyesan began production in the 1960s and produced
about 80% of North Korea's mined copper, but it
has closed several times due to flooding. The North
Korean government recently decided to rehabilitate
the mine and bring it back into production. Hyesan
is expected to process 2,000 mt/day of ore over
an estimated 40-year mine life, from reserves containing
an estimated 1.5 million mt of copper, 1.9 million
oz of gold, and 511 million oz of silver. |
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North
Korea's mineral wealth is receiving close scrutiny, with South
Korea's government this week valuing reserves at $6,000bn (€4,070bn,
£3,670bn). Encouraged by data on metals, Goldman Sachs last
month predicted the economy of a unified Korea could rival Japan’s
by 2050.
Until the 1970s North Korea was the wealthier half of the peninsula.
Under communism it has supplied gold to the international bullion
market. But poor technology and limited funds have in effect
trapped most mineral reserves, potential investors say.
Trade with China is growing, reaching $2.8bn last year from
about $2bn in 2007. But military authorities in North Korea
are perceived as hostile to the changes in society and infrastructure
that foreign investment could bring.
"If the North opens its mineral resources to foreign countries,
that is tantamount to taking a military, social and political
gamble, jeopardising their security," said Lim Eul-chul,
of Seoul's Institute of Far Eastern Studies.
A South Korean diplomat closely involved with nuclear talks
doubted Pyongyang would allow China to make big investments
inside its border. "They cannot permit that kind of influence,"
he said.
Although they were long communist allies, North Korea and China
have a mutual mistrust, partly tied to territorial claims.
Still, limited foreign investment in the sector is not impossible.
Colin McAskill, executive chairman of Koryo Asia, says he has
signed a letter of intent and memorandum of understanding to
invest in North Korean metals and argues his model would not
interfere with sovereignty issues that concern Pyongyang.
Switzerland's Quintermina has posted reports on its website
saying it is looking to extract magnesite in North Korea.
Chinese investors are believed to have some metals interests
and are also involved in coal mining.
"The Chinese companies that have tried to do business in
North Korea complain a lot that the regulations change frequently
and that the power supply is erratic," said a Chinese academic
in Beijing. |
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Transformation and Modernization
of North Korea: Implications for Future Engagement Policy
By Bradley O. Babson
Objectives
for Transformative Engagement
In constructing specific actions for integrating policies that
will influence the course of transformation of North Korea into
an overall strategy of engagement, overall objectives should
include:
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- Encouraging
expansion of markets and decentralized decision-making by
enterprises, collective farms, households and local governments.
- Supporting
adoption of appropriate regulation and social safety nets,
while resisting regressive efforts to stifle markets and
reassert the dominance of the Public Distribution System.
- Promoting
more transparency, openness, accountability and systemic
integration, while resisting secrecy and stove-piping that
protect inefficient and unacceptable practices.
- Supporting
development of a rules-based financial system and credible
legal enforcement system, while pursing anti-money laundering
and illicit transactions interventions.• Encouraging development
of a business culture based on internationally accepted
commercial practices, such as honoring contracts, while
resisting corruption and cash-for- concessions dealings.
- Supporting
expansion of opportunities for knowledge sharing for modernization,
mutual learning, and trust building.
- Supporting
younger generation gaining access to knowledge and relationships
that reinforce their confidence in building a better future.
- Ensuring
that any aid given that is linked to political objectives
has a meaningful economic rationality compatible with the
transformative agenda, so that the aid will reinforce and
not undermine the sustainability of the political achievements
and vise versa.
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In
addition to these general objectives, linkages of actions designed
to influence the course of transformations of the North Korean
socio-economic system to actions designed to achieve specific
objectives in the political and military security areas, should
be carefully considered. Where such linkages can reinforce the
incentives environment for accomplishing U.S. goals in these
areas, they should be considered. Where maintaining independent
tracks would better serve the objectives, this should be pursued. |
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DPRK sees peace pact
with US as key to disarmament
France-Presse reported that the DPRK called for a peace pact
with the United States. "A peace accord should be concluded
between the DPRK and the US if the nuclear issue on the peninsula
is to be settled," the Rodong Shinmun said. Such an accord
is "one of the most reasonable and practical ways"
to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons, it said. US
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Wednesday his
country was ready for an "initial interaction" with
the DPRK "that would lead rapidly to a six-party resumption
of talks". |
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US "willing to engage DPRK directly"
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A
top U.S. diplomat said the Obama administration is willing
to engage North Korea directly to restart stalled nuclear
disarmament talks, while the communist state warned South
Korea not to interfere.
"We are prepared to have direct engagement, bilateral
engagement with North Korea if it's an aid of bringing
North Korea back into the six-party talks," U.S.
Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg told reporters
in Seoul today. "There is an opportunity to return
to a more productive path and it's the path that we hope
they will seize."
Steinberg's remarks were followed by a North Korean warning
to South Korea not to interfere. A proposal made by South
Korean President Lee Myung Bak last week to offer the
North a comprehensive reward for giving up nuclear weapons
is "ridiculous," the official Korean Central
News Agency said today in a commentary.
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North
Korea and the U.S. should deal with the nuclear issue directly,
KCNA said. South Korean officials and Lee "are seriously
mistaken" to think the North would accept their suggestions,
the commentary said.
North Korea has pushed for more direct talks with the U.S. instead
of through the six-nation forum that includes China, Japan,
South Korea and Russia. China, which is North Korea's largest
trading partner, has also been pressuring Kim Jong Il's regime
to commit to abandoning nuclear weapons. |
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Commitment
to China
An envoy sent by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Beijing, Dai
Bingguo, received a commitment from North Korea on Sept. 18
that it would continue to pursue the goal ridding the Korean
Peninsula of nuclear weapons, the official Xinhua News Agency
reported. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is scheduled to visit North
Korea next month.
Aby h Korea's rejection of South Korean involvement followed
a speech today by Lee in which he said his government should
play a bigger role in the negotiations.
"We haven't had a voice despite the fact that South Korea,
along with North Korea, are the most affected parties,"
Lee said in the televised address. "We have just been following
proposals made by the U.S. and China."
Kim today praised Hu in a letter and vowed to strengthen bilateral
relations with China.
"It is the consistent position of our party and the government
to continue developing the friendship generation after generation,"
Kim said in the letter carried by KCNA.
No
Return
North Korea vowed to never return to six-nation nuclear talks
in April, following United Nations condemnation of a ballistic
missile test. Kim's government detonated a nuclear device in
May.
Since then North Korea has softened its stance and made concessions
including the freeing of two detained U.S. journalists on Aug.
5. Kim pardoned the two female reporters, who were accused of
entering North Korea illegally, after a visit from former U.S.
President Bill
Clinton.
"What we need is a comprehensive, definitive resolution
to the nuclear question," Steinberg said today. |
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"DPRK
Energy Sector Assistance to Accompany Progress in Denuclearization
Discussions: Options and Considerations"
By David von Hippel and Peter Hayes
Energy sector needs are a critical dimension of the North Korean
nuclear weapons challenge. Energy sector issues-specifically,
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK's) difficulties
obtaining energy supplies and maintaining aging energy supply
infrastructure-have been a driver of its nuclear weapons policies.
On the other side of the coin addressing energy sector needs
in the DPRK has played, and will continue to play, a key role
in working toward a solution of the DPRK nuclear weapons dilemma.
The denuclearization of North Korea will require provision of
energy assistance by the international community in a phased
package that is carefully coordinated with milestones in the
denuclearization process. These energy options must be based
on the realistic needs and capabilities of the DPRK noting economic
and humanitarian conditions as well as political priorities
in the country.
Over the short term these options should focus on symbolic,
confidence-building projects with a goal of restarting dialogue
and beginning negotiations over the more substantive issues.
Short-term options thus include the direct provision of fuel,
diesel generators, and agricultural equipment, as well as providing
training for DPRK personnel on energy related issues.
In the medium term, in response to freezing of activities at
and monitoring of nuclear facilities in the DPRK, energy aid
should prioritize the rehabilitation of the DPRK's energy infrastructure
and building the technical capacity of DPRK engineers and technicians.
Specific aid options include the refurbishing of power plants
and the electricity grid, reforestation projects, and other
capacity building and model projects in the DPRK.
If negotiations are successful in causing the dismantling of
the DPRK's nuclear arsenal and securing control of the country's
fissile material, aid options should focus on rebuilding the
energy infrastructure of the North. Negotiations will have to
address the DPRK's demand for large Light Water (nuclear) Reactors
for power generation. Offering one reactor and additional energy
aid equal to the perceived value of the second reactor is a
possibility. The provision of either one or two reactors will
necessitate the interconnection of the ROK and DPRK electricity
grids to some degree, and/or major electrical interties between
the DPRK and Russia and/or China.
Resolving-or at least taking meaningful steps toward resolving-North
Korea's chronic energy sector problems is a necessary (but not
sufficient) condition to induce the country to surrender its
nuclear weapons and fissile material. Failing to address the
DPRK's underlying needs for energy services will virtually guarantee
that any solution to the nuclear weapons issue will be unsustainable.
Read the full report at: http://www.nautilus.org/DPRKPolicy/vonHippel.pdf |
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Billy
Graham's son visits DPRK to deliver aid
The son of veteran U.S. evangelist Billy Graham recently spent
three days in the DPRK delivering aid.
Broadcaster APTN in North Korea showed the Rev. Franklin Graham,
who leads a Christian relief group, arriving at Pyongyang's
airport.
Ri Gun, director general in charge of American affairs at North
Korea's Foreign Ministry, greeted Graham at the airport and
the two held talks, APTN footage showed. Ri is also North Korea's
deputy nuclear negotiator.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency also reported
Graham's arrival in a brief dispatch, quoting him as saying
he made the visit to "play the role of a bridge for better
relations" between the two countries.
Graham leads the U.S.-based aid group Samaritan's Purse, which
has provided the impoverished North with more than $10 million
in aid since 1997.
The organization said on its Web site that Graham will oversee
the delivery of $190,000 in equipment and supplies for a new
dental school in Pyongyang, meet with high-level officials and
visit one of three hospitals where the group has installed electricity
generators.
The group said Graham will visit China later this week.
The latest trip is Graham's third to North Korea. He also visited
last year.
Billy Graham's family has had relations with the communist North
for years. The senior Graham went to North Korea in 1992 and
in 1994 at the invitation of then-North Korean leader Kim Il
Sung, father of current leader Kim Jong Il. |
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| Lang
visits Seoul as part of French diplomatic push
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Ahead
of his scheduled visit to North Korea next month, the
French president's special envoy on North Korea met with
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak yesterday and discussed
issues about the regime's nuclear arms program.
Jack Lang's visit took place as Paris intensifies its
efforts to participate in the denuclearization negotiations.
Last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy appointed
the Socialist former culture minister as his special envoy
to North Korea to analyze the possibility of diplomatic
relations with Pyongyang.
According to a statement released by Elysee Palace on
Oct. 1, Lang will explore "initiatives that France
could usefully take to contribute to the resolution of
the North Korean crisis."
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Although
France has maintained traditionally cordial relations with North
Korea, it is one of the few European nations that does not have
diplomatic ties with the country.
After his appointment, Lang wasted no time in traveling to Asia.
He visited Japan earlier this week, and he arrived here Tuesday
and met with senior Seoul officials, including the foreign and
unification ministers.
In his meeting with President Lee yesterday, Lang delivered
a personal letter from Sarkozy.
"The special envoy is currently touring Asia and will soon
visit North Korea," President Lee said. "Now is a
crucial time to deal with the North Korean issues, and the international
community is showing a great interest. I appreciate the envoy's
visit greatly."
After his arrival in Seoul, Lang said Wednesday that he would
visit North Korea early next month and was seeking talks with
its leader, Kim Jong-il.
Lang said the North had endorsed his trip, Agence France-Presse
reported. "I expressed my wish to meet the highest figure,"
Lang said.
According to media reports, Lang said he would seek ways for
France to contribute to regional peace. Possible diplomatic
ties with Pyongyang can be used as leverage, he added.
Lang also said European countries could possibly take part in
international compensation for North Korea should it ultimately
decide to give up its nuclear arms program.
The European Union was a member of the Korean Peninsula Energy
Development Organization, a multinational consortium created
in the 1990s to provide non-military nuclear reactors in return
for Pyongyang's dismantlement of its existing nuclear program.
The deal, however, collapsed in 2002 when the North's clandestine
nuclear arms program was revealed.
Lang was in Japan before coming to South Korea and said he would
also visit China, Russia and the United States.
A Blue House aide in charge of the president's policy on the
nuclear issue said France's move does not mean progress, dismissing
the possibility that France or the European Union will take
the initiative in the stalled negotiations to denuclearize the
North.
"President Lee's grand bargain proposal is designed to
resolve the problem through the six-nation talks. France is
not a part of it," he said. "If France or the EU wants
to do something with the North, I guess that's possible, but
the principle is that the North's nuclear arms programs will
be dealt with at the six-party talks. There won't be and shouldn't
be any other negotiation body."
While the Blue House appears to be irritated by the sudden French
interest, North Korea experts said Pyongyang will likely welcome
the appearance of a new player.
"It's no wonder that the Lee administration will be upset,"
said Kim Yong-hyun, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk
University. "The grand bargain aims at resolving the issue
at once, but when there are too many players, the process will
naturally be distracted. And there is nothing good about giving
the North more options."
Last month, Lee made public a proposed "grand bargain"
in which North Korea would swap dismantlement of core parts
of its nuclear arms program in exchange for security assurances
and international economic aid.
The plan seeks to seal an overall deal because past step-by-step
approaches have proven inefficient. According to Kim, Seoul
still sees sanctions as an important way to pressure Pyongyang,
but France or the EU's involvement will give North Korea room
to breathe.
Kim said Washington will probably welcome the French interest
in the matter. "The United States will eventually need
to seek support from the international community to provide
economic assistance to the North when progress is made in the
denuclearization talks," Kim said. "Then, contributions
by the EU or other countries such as Australia will be appreciated
as long as the format of the six-party talks remains undisturbed."
Kim said France probably seeks to expand its diplomatic reach
in East Asia by participating in this already complicated nuclear
game. |
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DPRK
vows to expand trade
Yonhap reported that the DPRK said it hopes to expand trade
with the international community as a trade fair opened in its
capital with businesses from 15 countries. "The DPRK would
as ever develop on a wider scale the economic and commercial
dealings with all countries which are friendly towards it on
the principles of complete equality and reciprocity," Kim
Mun-jong, director of the Korean International Exhibition Corporation,
a DPRK organization hosting the trade fair, said at an opening
speech.
China
poised to give substantial aid
China is apparently poised to give substantial economic aid
to North Korea when Premier Wen Jiabao visits the country on
Oct. 4-6.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters
Tuesday that several agreements will be signed with North Korea
in areas including economy, trade, education and tourism. She
made the remarks in reply to a question whether Wen plans to
conclude a cooperation agreement on food and energy with North
Korea.
"China has been providing assistance to [North Korea] within
our capacity to improve their people's lives and help them develop
their economy."
On Sept. 16, Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, an envoy for
President Hu Jintao, visited North Korea and met with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il. His delegation included Vice Commerce
Minister Fu Ziying, suggesting that economic cooperation was
also on the agenda.
DPRK
films looking for joint producers
Xinhua News reported that international partners are being sought
for the production of films in the DPRK, according to the website
of the Choson Sinbo daily. The website reported Thursday that
an international film cooperative subsidiary of the DPRK's national
film committee was seeking joint producers for six Korean films.
The films focus on historical themes. One of them tells the
story of a loving couple defending their hometown from pirates,
one about the last queen of the Ri dynasty (1392-1910) who failed
to fight Japanese invaders, and another on a story that Korean
and Chinese people saved a Soviet pilot in World War II. |
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Buddhists
from south, north call for reopening of Mount Kumgang tour
Yonhap News reported that Buddhist leaders from the ROK and
DPRK on Tuesday jointly pressed for the reopening of tours to
a scenic mountain in the DPRK, a project suspended by Seoul
last year after a shooting incident. The call came during a
service at Singye Temple, a 6th-century worship house perched
at the foot of Mount Kumgang, to mark the second anniversary
of its restoration, said the DPRK's Korean Central News Agency.
After the worship, the Buddhists issued "a joint prayer
statement that conveyed the resolutions of North and South Buddhists
to open the way for Mount Kumgang tourism and the pilgrimage
to Singye Temple and to proactively work for the reunification,
peace and prosperity of the nation," the report said.
Kaesong
factory recognized for quality
IFES NK Brief reported that DPRK laborers in the Kaesong Industrial
Complex are gaining attention as they are awarded with the government's
certificate of high quality, a certification difficult for even
ROK companies to earn. It is very rare for the DPRK to earn
in only about one year what it takes ROK small and mid-sized
businesses 2~3 years to get. When the factory first opened,
the skill level of the workers was considerably lower than counterparts
elsewhere, and this was reflected in the dissatisfaction of
customers and large number of defective products. However, as
the workers became more loyal to the company, their efficiency
improved as well, and employees even began repairing their own
equipment in the event of a failure.
Frayed
relations hindering development of mineral resources
Yonhap reported that DPRK owns vast mineral deposits worth trillions
of dollars, but development of the resources in joint projects
with the ROK is now in limbo due to frayed political relations,
opposition lawmakers said Monday, citing government reports.
DPRK's mineral reserves are believed to be among the largest
in the world, worth 6,984 trillion won (US$5.94 trillion), based
on 2008 prices, according to the Unification Ministry reports
submitted to Democratic Party lawmakers.
ROK
aid to the DPRK falls in first half of 2009
Xinhua News reported that the ROK's humanitarian medical aid
to the DPRK was cut back in the first half of this year amid
sore inter-Korean relations, quoting a Seoul lawmaker said.
According to Rep. Song Young-kil of the main opposition Democratic
Party (DP), who cited data by the Ministry of Unification and
the Korea National Red Cross, total medical support to the DPRK
stood at 7.09 million U.S. dollars during the first six months
of 2009, sharply down from 57.89 million U.S. dollars in 2008.
Lawmakers
call for use of rice surplus as DPRK aid
Korea Times reported that a group of 14 opposition lawmakers
urged the ROK government Wednesday to resume sending rice aid
to the DPRK to help stabilize prices. They asked the government
to use part of a rice production surplus as aid for DPRK residents
fighting famine, and to lessen farmers' worries about falling
prices. They labeled the government's price stabilization plan,
which was made public a day ago, as short-sighted and ineffective.
Farmers
Demand Rice Price Stabilization
Hankyoreh reported that ROK farmers plowed over their fields
and held demonstrations to demand the government take measures
to arrest plummeting rice prices. Around 60 farmers gathered
in the village of Bondu 2-ri in Yeoju County located in the
Gyeonggi region to hold a press conference demanding a guarantee
for rice prices and a
resumption of rice aid to the DPRK. They plowed over 2,300 square
meters of fields prior to the fall harvest. In Jeollabuk region,
an estimated 2,000 people gathered in front of the provincial
hall to demonstrate for measures to stop rice prices from dropping. |
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Kenya
establishes diplomatic relations with DPRK
North Korean Ambassador Pak Hyon Jae presented his diplomatic
credentials yesterday to President Kibaki at State House,
Nairobi, before proceeding to a luncheon hosted by Foreign
Affairs Minister Moses Wetang'ula at the Intercontinental
Hotel. He, however, declined to speak to the media during
and after the ceremony.
Also feted in the same luncheon were diplomatic representatives
from Trinidad and Tobago, Niger, Qatar and Sierra Leone.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong II never travels outside the country
and maintains a strict centralized military state. In the past
60 years, the country has been technically at war with the USA
over its nuclear and military capabilities.
In his speech, Mr Wetang'ula expressed support for North Korea's
nuclear programme if peaceful and non-military, adding Kenya
was also seeking nuclear technology to generate energy for its
expanding economy.
"We welcome North Korea to Kenya, just as we welcome any
other nations, because we have so much to exchange and share,"
he said. But Wetang'ula was quick to dismiss suggestions that
Kenya could borrow nuclear technology from North Korea to generate
energy for the country.
"If we need nuclear power we don't have to go to North
Korea alone, we are in friendly terms with many nuclear states,
who are too happy to share with us," he said. He said the
University of Nairobi was doing good work in preparations to
introduce nuclear energy into mass use in the country.
The North Korean mission will be managed from Kampala, Uganda,
where the country maintains a full diplomatic presence. The
USA, one of Kenya's key allies in military and economic fronts,
has no diplomatic relations with North Korea. |
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Eriksson
to coach DPRK?
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Notts
County director of football Sven-Goran Eriksson could
secure a loan deal with North Korea to manage their first
World Cup appearance in 44 years.
Peter Trembling, the Notts County executive chairman,
is understood to have been involved in talks with intermediaries
representing the Football Association of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea. Those negotiations were with
a view to securing the Meadow Lane director of football's
services on loan. |
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The process is now advanced enough for Trembling and Eriksson
to be travelling to Beijing later this week on an eight-day
trip. The club chairman is also expected to discuss Chinese
business investment opportunities in Qadbak, the British Virgin
Islands-registered investment vehicle that owns County.
A source close to the deal confirmed that the trip to east Asia
is going ahead and did not deny that Eriksson's stewardship
of the world's 90th-ranked team was under discussion. North
Korea's embassy in London suggested there might be an announcement
in "two or three weeks".
Like Russia's well-travelled coach, Guus Hiddink, and the England
manager, Fabio Capello, Eriksson is increasingly an international
hand for hire. Having spent five years as England manager from
2001, the Swede had 10 turbulent months as Mexico's coach, ending
in April this year. If Eriksson says yes, it will see him take
the reins in the Koreans' first World Cup finals since reaching
the last eight in 1966.
Qualification for the tournament in South Africa next year was
confirmed with a 0-0 draw in Saudi Arabia in June and, despite
Kim Jong-hun's achievements as coach, he has not escaped criticism.
His team emerged alongside South Korea from their group despite
scoring only seven goals in eight games.
Although clearly the foundation stone of Kim's success, that
defensive solidity has been attacked by influential voices in
North Korean football who consider that it would invite pressure
from more powerful teams at the finals tournament.
Pak Doo-ik, who scored in the 1-0 defeat of Italy in 1966 that
took North Korea to the quarter-finals, believes the 5-4-1 formation
favoured by Kim is flawed.
"Despite reaching the World Cup, we are still far from
becoming a world-class team," he has said. "We will
have our work cut out and there are still huge areas in which
to improve, including in defence, creating chances and putting
them away."
Although it would be a football fairytale for Eriksson and the
players involved, the development would lead to inevitable criticism
of Trembling's willingness to interact with a country where
human rights abuses are routine. There will also be questions
about what fee Notts County's owners, Qadbak, might be receiving
from a nation that is beset by famine and which has test-fired
intercontinental ballistic missiles and a nuclear bomb.
Eriksson will be aware of the challenge in football terms with
the team he is set to lead in South Africa after they had a
10-day training camp in France this month that included a 0-0
draw against the French second division team Nantes. The Koreans'
first European football excursion since 1966 ended with another
goalless draw against Congo in Le Mans last night.
Eriksson's availability for next summer was confirmed this week
when Sweden's football federation made clear that it will not
seek to replace the outgoing Lars Lagerback with the former
England and Mexico coach. Eriksson has ruled out any notion
that he might take charge of the Notts County first team following
the sacking of Ian McParland on Monday |
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DPRK's
Hong battles for gold at World Gymnastic Championships
Olympic champions He Kexin of China and North Korea's Hong Un-Jong
made their push for gold at the world gymnastics championships
in London recently.
He, the gold medallist in Beijing in the uneven bars, topped
qualification with 15.975 points ahead of promising American
talent Rebecca Bross (15.050) and North Korea's Cha Hong Gwa
(15.025).
Hong, gold medallist in the pommel horse at the Olympics, was
second after qualifying with 14.787, just behind Kayla Williams
of the USA with 14.812.
Bross and Romania's Ana Porgras demonstrated their young talents
by dominating the all-around event.
Bross, just 16, topped the charts with 57.400pts while Porgras
scored 57.300. Australia's Lauren Mitchell was third (56.675)
with China's Deng Linlin (56.350) in fourth.
Porgras, who has yet to celebrate her 16th birthday, wowed the
crowds with her subtle and athletic routine, especially on the
beam where she finished on top of qualifying. |
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"She
is a fine gymnast, expressive and blessed with many talents,"
said Romania coach Nicolae Forminte. "I'm happy to
see that she hasn't felt the pressure."
Britain's Beth Tweddle blew her chance of a medal on the
uneven bars but the 2007 world champion did secure a place
in the floor final.
Tweddle slipped during her uneven bar performance while
trying to execute the 'Tweddle' - the move named after
her. |
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She finished the routine but could only score 13.850 which left
her out of the top-eight qualifying positions in 11th.
"I'm pretty gutted. I didn't know anything about it until
I hit the floor," she said. |
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DPRK
begins preparations for World Cup
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Having
qualified for their second World Cup, North Korean footballers
now want to take full advantage of their first trip to
Europe in 43 years to learn about football.
The North Korean delegation has moved into its training
camp on the outskirts of the western French city of Nantes
and will play two friendlies, against second-division
team Nantes on Friday at La Roche-sur-Yon before taking
on the Republic of Congo on Oct. 13 at Le Mans.
A third game against second-division side Vannes was initially
scheduled on Saturday but was scratched from the program
to give the players more time to rest.
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"We are here to learn some things about European football,"
head coach Kim Jong Hun said Tuesday during a 20-minute press
conference through a translator. "During the World Cup,
we are likely to play against European teams and the match against
Nantes will give us a good opportunity to discover this kind
of football."
In South Africa next year, the team will be playing its first
World Cup since 1966, when it created a huge upset by ousting
Italy on its way to the quarterfinals where it lost 5-3 to Portugal
after throwing away a 3-0 lead.
"We want to revive the feat of our predecessors,"
Kim Jong Hun said. "And to achieve that, we are playing
a football made of speed and good technique combined to the
standards of modern football which include a great physical
strength."
Ranked 90th in the world by FIFA, North Korea made headlines
with its World Cup qualification but its return to top level
competition has been overshadowed by repeated controversial
actions by the communist country.
Since early April, North Korea has launched a long-range rocket,
abandoned nuclear disarmament talks and conducted an underground
atomic test, earning international condemnation and new United
Nations sanctions aimed at punishing the regime for its nuclear
defiance. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il, however, offered
on Tuesday a return to multinational disarmament talks.
And what do the North Koreans players think about this? Questioners
will not find out.
"The North Koreans players and their coach don't want political
questions, they don't want to be asked about politics and won't
answer," said Alexandre Cadet, the boss of Sports Live
Agency, the company organizing the North Koreans tour.
One-to-one interviews are banned and the North Koreans officials
had even considered asking reporters to give them their lists
of questions ahead of press conferences.
When asked about the North Korean league's format, team captain
Nam Song Chol preferred to let his coach answer the question.
"As a captain, I think it's better to ask the coach or
somebody from the federation," he said.
The government banned the team from traveling abroad following
defeats to both Japan and South Korea in the qualifying stages
for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. The squad returned
to the international stage in 1999 but skipped the 1998 and
2002 World Cups, and failed to qualify for the 2006 tournament.
Only a few North Koreans players have signed for foreign clubs
and the 19 players reunited in Nantes all play at home.
According to Cadet, their trip in France was made possible by
the French ministry of foreign affairs.
"They immediately understood that the purpose of their
trip was just about football," he said.
But the North Koreans will not be free to do as they please
during their stay. Some outings as tourists are scheduled for
them in Paris and in the Nantes area, but they always will stay
together.
Earlier this month, French President Nicolas Sarkozy assigned
an envoy to a special North Korea mission to evaluate ways France
could help end the standoff over the country's nuclear program.
Former minister Jack Lang will analyze under what circumstances
France might establish relations with North Korea, "taking
into account the need for progress on the nuclear question,
on its relations with South Korea, and the humanitarian and
human rights situation." |
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Mangyongdae
The Mangyongdae Revolutionary Site is a place that all visitors
to Pyongyang are taken to. It is the birthplace of the DPRK's
founder, Kim Il Sung, and where he spent his childhood, before
setting off, at the age of 13, on his "long march for learning"
and to pursue his revolutionary career. It is located some 12
km southwest of the city center, on the north bank of the Taedong
River. The hamlet consists of a few thatched-roof huts, with
the primitive farming tools of the early 1900s preserved. The
surrounding area is well manicured. Mangyongdae (meaning "hill
with 10,000 views") is considered a place of pilgrimage
for all Koreans, and there is a daily throng of visitors on
factory, school or Party outings. Nearby are the Mangyongdae
Revolutionary Museum, Mangyongdae Fun Fair and Mangyongdae Revolutionary
School. The latter was originally set up to educate the children
of revolutionary martyrs, and is now a school for specially
gifted children. It is unlikely that you will be shown this
place, but the other attractions are open to foreigners. Picture-taking
here is not only allowed; it is encouraged. Unlike other "shrines"
it doesn't seem to be the custom at Mangyongdae to present bunches
of flowers.
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