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| China-Japan-Koreas | ||
| N Korean children begging, army starving | ||
| 2011-06-28 | ||
Shot over several months by an undercover North Korean journalist, the harrowing footage shows images of filthy, homeless and orphaned children begging for food and soldiers demanding bribes. The footage also shows North Koreans labouring on a private railway track for the dictator's son and heir near the capital Pyongyang. Strolling up to the site supervisor, the man with the hidden camera asks what is going on. "This rail line is a present from Kim Jong-il to comrade Kim Jong-un," he is told. The video shows young children caked in filth begging in markets, pleading for scraps from compatriots who have nothing to give. "I am eight," says one boy. "My father died and my mother left me. I sleep outdoors." Many of the children are orphans; their parents victims of starvation or the gulag. The state no longer has any rations to hand out. But markets do exist - private markets that stock bags of rice, pork, and corn. But the state wants its share of this embryonic capitalism. In the footage, a party official is demanding a stallholder make a donation of rice to the army. "My business is not good," complains the stallholder. "Shut up," replies the official. "Don't offer excuses." It is clear that the all-powerful army - once quarantined from food shortages and famine - is starting to go hungry. "Everybody is weak," says one young North Korean soldier. "Within my troop of 100 comrades, half of them are malnourished," he said. Jiro Ishimaru is the man who trained the undercover reporter to use the hidden camera. "This footage is important because it shows that Kim Jong-il's regime is growing weak," he said. "It used to put the military first, but now it can't even supply food to its soldiers. Rice is being sold in markets but they are starving. This is the most significant thing in this video." Kim Jong-il's grip on power depends on the military and if some of its soldiers have growling, empty bellies, it is bad news for the dictator and his hopes for a smooth transition to his son. "The priority for Kim Jong-il is the succession," said Mr Ishimaru. "But Kim Jong-un is still very young, just 27 or 28. He doesn't have any experience and hasn't achieved anything. So opposition to a third generation of the Kim family taking over is growing." But this dynasty of dictators has proven that it is more than capable of keeping its wretched population in line through gulags, hunger and a total control over every aspect of life. But as this footage shows, occasionally, a crack of light emerges from this dark, dark place. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 Better get John Kerry on this right away. He's been to Vietnam, so he knows. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2011-06-28 19:30 |
| #5 What they need is a world cup win to rally the faithful. Oh wait. Pffft! World Cup, what a waste. What they really need is the Olympics! Yeah, that's the ticket. |
| Posted by: Secret Asian Man 2011-06-28 18:49 |
| #4 Hungry armies with weak leaders in a succession battle tend to revolt or 'support' the leader that can get them the food. China has made clear that it wants an economic change in North Korea, and may well look the other way during a coup. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2011-06-28 15:36 |
| #3 What they need is a world cup win to rally the faithful. Oh wait. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2011-06-28 14:42 |
| #2 TS. (That stands for "tough situation") |
| Posted by: mojo 2011-06-28 13:19 |
| #1 Army starving? That sounds extremely dangerous. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2011-06-28 09:13 |