Archive for January, 2011

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Worker’s Party regulations revised

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

According ot Yonhap:

In an apparent bid to facilitate its hereditary power succession, North Korea has rewritten major regulations governing its ruling party, allowing its leader-in-waiting to take full control of the state with greater ease, a government source said Thursday.

The revisions were approved at the landmark convention of the top Workers’ Party delegates in September, during which Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of leader Kim Jong-il, rose as a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, the source said.

“The revisions paved the way for the Kims to monopolize every part of the North Korean system while making it official that the country is a dynasty,” the source said, asking not to be named because of the intelligence nature of the documents he cited.

North Korea removed a clause that made it mandatory for the party to hold a general convention every five years, the source said. Instead, the party can now elect senior members and revise its regulations just by holding a top delegates’ meeting.

“Another measure that makes it easy for Kim Jong-un to take power is to automatically appoint the party secretary as head of the Central Military Commission,” the source said, adding that the move suggests Kim Jong-un, a four-star general, may be on track to succeeding his father as party secretary.

“This allows Kim Jong-un to control both the party and the military just by rising to the top of the party, the source said.

Kim is believed to be no older than 28. His birthday is this Saturday, Jan. 8.

The Central Military Commission within the party has also been given more power, the source said, as it now “governs all defense and military programs conducted between each party convention.”

The revision signals that the commission may grow more powerful than the National Defense Commission, the highest seat of power headed by Kim Jong-il but not yet joined by Kim Jong-un, he said.

Read the full story here:
N. Korea rewrites party regulations to boost hereditary power succession: source
Yonhap
Sam Kim
1/6/2011

Share

Posted in Central Committee, Central Miltary Committee, Worker's Party | Comments Closed

ROK goods saturate DPRK

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

According to the Hankyorey:

A report on major North Korean indicators released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday revealed that South Korean products are becoming increasingly popular in North Korea, and that there are hardly any North Korean urban youth who do not watch South Korean TV dramas or movies.

In the report, Statistics Korea said it is becoming a fad for young people in major North Korean cities like Pyongyang and along the border with China to watch South Korean television dramas and films using MP3 players or laptop computers. Statistics Korea said MP3 players with 1G of memory cost 60,000 North Korean Won (estimated $419), while a used laptop costs about 2 million North Korean Won. A memory chip with two or three movies costs 10,000 North Korean Won if it is an original, and 5,000 North Korean Won if its a copy.

The report also said many South Korean products are in circulation in North Korea, including blenders, portable heaters, gas ranges, butane cans, lunch trays, gas heaters, rice cookers, dishrags and gloves. According to the report, South Korean shampoo and conditioner is popular with the wives of high-ranking North Korean officials in Pyongyang. Some 470g bottles of South Korean shampoo and rinse go for 40-50 yuan (8,000-10,000 South Korean Won) in Pyongyang. The report said the popularity of South Korean products was also reflected in other goods. South Korean necklaces are sold for about $500 and earrings for about $70-80, while South Korean products like perfume, deodorant, car air fresheners, refrigerator deodorizer and bathroom air fresheners are also selling well.

South Korea’s nominal GNI in 2009 was $837.2 billion, 37.4 times that of North Korea’s $22.4 billion. North Korea’s economic power, all told, is no more than the level of the South Korean city of Gwangju (about 22 trillion Won). South Korea’s per capita income of $18,175 was 17.9 times that of North Korea’s $960. South Korea also conducted $686.6 billion in total trade, 201.9 times that of North Korea, which conducted only $3.4 billion. The only sectors in which North Korea topped South Korea were production of iron ore and coal and length of railroads. North Korea’s iron ore production was 4.955 million tons, ten times that of South Korea (455,000 tons), and its coal production was 25.5 million tons, 10 times that of South Korea (2.519 million tons). North Korea also had 5,242km of railroads, 1.4 times that of South Korea’s 3,378km. North Korea is also believed to have 7 quadrillion Won in underground mineral wealth.

I have been unable to locate the original on the Statistics Korea page.  If any readers can find it, please let me know.

Read the full story here:
In limited N.Korean market, furor for S.Korean products
Hankyoreh
Hwangbo Yon
1/6/2011

Share

Posted in Art, Civil society, Coal, Cosmetics, Energy, Film, GDP statistics, Iron Ore, Mining/Minerals, Music, Railways, Statistics, Television, Trade Statistics, Transportation | 2 Comments »

New ROK firm begins Kaesong operations

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

According to Yonhap:

Despite persisting political woes, a new South Korean company has begun operating in North Korea’s border industrial complex that combines superior South Korean capital and know-how with the North’s cheap local labor, a government official said Thursday.

The company, known as DSE, completed building its factory in Kaesong in early May and is therefore exempt from the investment ban on North Korea that Seoul imposed later that month over the sinking of a South Korean warship, the Unification Ministry official said.

…

The ministry official, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, said DSE began operating on Jan. 3 and is employing 160 North Korean workers, part of the 44,000 workforce in the Kaesong complex, to produce lighting apparatuses and other metallic products.

The number of South Korean companies operating in Kaesong now stands at 122, the official added.

…

South Korea has since sharply cut down on the number of its workers allowed to stay in Kaesong. The North, in an apparent act of desperation to revive its economy, has since called for lowering tension and holding cross-border dialogue. South Korean officials are demanding that the North first show “sincerity,” indicating Pyongyang must apologize for the series of provocations blamed on it.

Read the full story here:
New S. Korean company begins operating in N. Korean factory park
Yonhap
Sam Kim
1/6/2011

Share

Posted in Economic reform, Foreign direct investment, Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), South Korea, Special Economic Zones (Established before 2013) | Comments Closed

DPRK art show in Moscow

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

According to AFP:

A pony-tailed worker taps on a laptop while, not far away, rosy-cheeked children sport baseball caps. Both vistas are part of a rare exhibition of contemporary North Korean art, nowadays on display at a trendy Moscow gallery.

The exhibition, titled “Water Still Flows under Ice,” addresses such themes as World Cup football, new technology and Western fashion. It is running at Winzavod, a brick-walled former factory that usually hosts cutting-edge shows.

In one painting, children wearing T-shirts and baseball caps gaze at monkeys at a zoo.

In another, a female engineer with a helmet over her pony tail taps on a laptop. There’s no sign of any brand name.

None of the works have been shown before outside the isolated Stalinist state, organizers of the show said.

They called the exhibition “unprecedented” and “attempt to break the ideological ice.”

The art is “post-socialist realism,” said Winzavod gallery’s director, Sofiya Trotsenko, referring to the Soviet idea of carrying a political message to the masses through folksy scenes of socialist triumphs.

She stressed the exhibition, which opened this month and runs to the end of January, was not intended as propaganda, despite being endorsed by the North Korean government.

“This exhibition is not propagandizing anything,” Trotsenko told AFP. “We do not make any judgments. We just show [the art] and it’s your business to draw conclusions on what you see.”

Much of the art dates from 2009 and this year. A painting from 2009 shows North Korea’s football team wildly celebrating a win. It was presumably commissioned after the country qualified for the 2010 World Cup.

Titled “Winners,” it shows crowds cheering and footballers waving a giant national flag. In reality, North Korea took one goal against Brazil but then lost 7-0 to Portugal.

All the art comes from the Mansude studio in Pyongyang, the vast workshop of the most favored official artists, who create public art such as patriotic mosaics in the metro.

The organizers said they tried to select works that were not overtly political, however.

“We wanted to show domestic things, Trotsenko said. “We wanted specifically to show daily life.”

She said she got the idea for the exhibition after she visited North Korea as a tourist and went on an excursion to the art studio in Pyongyang.

“There isn’t a single portrait of the Great Leader. Everything here is about private life,” said one of the curators, artist Oleg Kulik.

“We thought it was interesting to do an exhibition that was not ideological,” Kulik added.

Nevertheless, scenes such as those featuring plump babies lying in a hi-tech maternity ward look unlikely in a country where it is feared that malnutrition has stunted generations.

Kulik, an outrageous artist best known for his naked performances as a dog, designed the exhibition’s layout, with pink neon lighting and an installation that shows army helmets hanging over a bowl of rice.

He called it “a metaphor for the condition of North Korea.”

Read the sull story here:
Official art from North Korea comes to Moscow
AFP
1/5/2011

Share

Posted in Art, Russia | Comments Closed

The North Korean Republican Guard

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

According to StrategyPage.com:

North Korea has expanded its special operations troops to 200,000 troops over the last five years, an increase of 67 percent. This is apparently an effort to maintain a reliable force of troops as the armed forces, as a whole, declines because of lack of maintenance, new equipment and anything resembling morale. These 200,000 troops have turned into a North Korean “Republican Guard,” an army within the army that is more reliable and loyal than the rest of the armed forces.

North Korea has long maintained elite commando forces, troops who were carefully selected, then paid, housed and fed better, and given access to better equipment. This alone insured a higher degree of loyalty. About 16 percent of the 1.2 million military personnel are now in these elite units. Most of them are similar to U.S. rangers, marines, paratroopers or special reconnaissance troops (U.S. Marine Force Recon and army LURPS). There are also some 30,000 snipers, organized into ten Sniper Brigades. This is a rather unique use of snipers, and given shortages of ammunition in the north, it’s uncertain how well these troops, no matter how well selected, are at sniping. If you want to maintain your shooting skills, you have to fire thousands of rounds a year. The same applies for all elite troops, although a lot of the training just consists of physical conditioning and combat drills. For snipers, this consists practicing staying hidden. This can be accomplished, if you can keep the troops well fed and housed. This is no longer the case with many of the Special Forces, and morale is suffering.

At the apex of North Korean Special Forces there are over five thousand commando and U.S. Special Forces type troops. These are meant to get into South Korea and go after key targets and people. Again, the North Koreans have trained for half a century to do this, but have not been able to actually put these troops to the test much. There have been thousands of small operations in the south over the last half century. In the 1960s there was a low level war going on, as the North Koreans sent dozens of small teams south each year. Over a hundred American troops were killed or wounded, and many more South Korean soldiers and police. Yet, the North Koreans had little success.

While the top special operations units are still well cared for, more and more reports come out of the north about many less skilled special operations troops complaining about lower quality food and other benefits (like access to electricity year round, and heat during the Winter.) More of these troops are deserting and heading for China, where they can be more easily interviewed. Some have made it all the way to South Korea, where the extent of their numbers and preparations has pushed South Korean commanders to increase their security preparations, and train more troops to deal with all these commandos in war time.

While the North Korean special operations troops are grumbling, and not getting all the training resources (ammo and fuel) they need, they remain a highly motivated, and generally loyal, force. The government uses these troops to insure the loyalty of the other 84 percent of the military, and more and more elite troops are being used to assist the secret police in going after dissidents and corrupt officials. This is probably hurting the North Korean special operations forces more than anything else. The troops are getting a close look at the corruption and contradictions in North Korea. The troops generally lived in closed bases and don’t get out much. But now that they do, they see a North Korea that is unpleasant, and not as swell as their commanders told them it was. It turns out those letters they were getting from home were not exaggerating how bad things were. And the trend has been down for so long, it’s hard to assure the troops that there’s any way up.

Read the full story here:
The North Korean Republican Guard
Strategy Page
1/5/2011

Share

Posted in Military | Comments Closed

DPRK-ROK income gap reaches record in 2009

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

According to Arirang News:

The income disparity between South and North Korea has widened by close to 40 times.

According to figures released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday South Korea’s Gross National Income reached 837 billion US dollars in 2009 about 37 times more than North Korea’s 22 billion dollars.

South Korea’s GNI per person posted 17,175 US dollars roughly 18 times more than North Korea’s 960 dollars while in annual trade the South saw 686 billion dollars in 2009 which is 202 times larger than the North’s 3 billion dollars.

As for economic growth that year the South saw a [0.2%] expansion in the wake of the global financial crisis whereas the North posted a contraction of 0.9.

Economists say such figures show that it is almost impossible for North Korea to catch up with South Korea anytime soon.

An official with the finance ministry in Seoul says South Korea’s overall economic strength is about 40 times that of the communist regime adding that such power provides the foundation for South Korea to stay ahead of North Korea in every field including defense.

And according to the Choson Ilbo:

South Korea’s economy is 37.4 times larger than North Korea’s, according to the latest data. Statistics Korea said Wednesday that as of 2009 South Korea’s nominal gross national income stood at US$837.2 billion as against North Korea’s GNI of $22.4 billion. The figure is slightly lower than the 37.7-fold gap seen in 2008 but marked a significant increase from the 34.7-fold difference seen in 2006.

Per-capita GNI was $17,175 in the South, 17.9 times larger than North Korea’s $960, and South Korea’s total trade volume of $686.6 billion was 201.9 times greater than North Korea’s $3.4 billion.

But North Korea has ample mineral resources. As of 2008, North Korea had W6,983.6 trillion (US$1=W1,126) worth of mineral resources, 24.1 times more than South Korea’s W289.1 trillion. The North has an estimated W2,679.7 trillion worth of magnesite (6 billion tons), W2,662.9 trillion worth of coal (20.5 billion tons), and W61.33 trillion worth of gold (2,000 tons). South Korea had no magnesite while its coal deposits amount to just W15.7 billion or 1.36 billion tons, 5.9 percent of North Korea’s.

Statistics Korea also cited media reports to describe the rising interest among North Koreans in South Korean pop culture. South Korean-made mixers, heaters, gas ranges, gas containers, lunch boxes, pressurized rice cookers, towels and gloves are sold in North Korea with the brand labels intact.

South Korean-made shampoo and conditioners are popular among high-ranking North Korean officials, with a 470 g product costing between 8,000 to 10,000 North Korean won and US$1.50 for a bar of soap. Some young North Koreans watch South Korean movies and TV dramas such as “Friend,” “My Wife is a Gangster,” and “Winter Sonata” on their Chinese laptops and listen to South Korean pop songs on their MP3 or CD players.

Read the full story here:
Income Gap Between South and North Korea Records 37 Times Differences in 2009
Arirang News
Kim Na-ri
1/5/2011

Economic Gap Between 2 Korea Remains Huge
Choson Ilbo
1/6/2011

Share

Posted in GDP statistics, Statistics | Comments Closed

2010 marks KJI’s most publicly active year

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

According to Yonhap:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il conducted the largest number of public activities last year since he inherited the communist country from his father in 1994, according to figures aggregated by the South Korean government.

The 68-year-old appeared in North Korea’s official media a total of 161 times, the Unification Ministry said Tuesday in a release that suggested Kim was trying to tamp down outside speculation over his health. About one fifth of his activities last year were joined by his third son and heir-apparent Kim Jong-un, the ministry said.

Kim Jong-il reportedly suffered a stroke in 2008, a year during which he showed up only 97 times. Kim appeared in official media 159 times in 2009, increasing his visits to factories and other economy-related facilities. Last year, he made 63 visits to economic sites and 38 to military ones, the ministry said.

“He seems to be trying to unite the regime by showing both internally and externally that he remains healthy and that he is focused on enhancing the living standards of people,” a ministry official said, asking not to be named.

North Korea is trying to revive its economy ahead of 2012, which marks the centennial of the birth of Kim Il-sung, who founded the country and later passed his power to Kim Jong-il upon his death.

Outside analysts say the heavy focus on the economy is aimed at creating a setting favorable for another hereditary power succession, this time, to Kim Jong-un, believed to be about 28.

North Korea’s media have yet to report on Kim Jong-il’s first public activity this year.

Read the full story here:
N. Korean leader most active last year despite health woes
Yonhap
Sam Kim
1/4/2011

Share

Posted in 2012 Strong and Prosperous Nation (Kangsong Taeguk), Kim Jong Un, Political economy | Comments Closed

Rason port facilitates intra-China coal distribution

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

rajin-ports-thumb.jpg

Click image to see the Chinese, Russian, and North Korean piers

UPDATE 5: No more intra-Chinese coal shipments  through Rason have been reported following this 2011 experiment.

UPDATE 4 (2011-6-4): KCNA reports some additional details on the coal being shipped from Hunchun to Shanghai via Rason. According to the article:

It was against this backdrop that China was in the process of transporting 20,000 tons of coal to Rason Port via Hunchun from May 14 and then transporting it to Shanghai by a cargo ship.

Yanbian Ribao, conveying this news on May 18, reported that the Shanghai branches of the Hunchun Mining Group and the Chungjiang Group would transport 500,000 tons of coal to Shanghai by this method this year. This would be tantamount to more than 14,000 truck loads. An official concerned of the Mining Group said that transport of loads to various provinces of Southern China by this method would help sharply cut down the time and transport charges, etc. as compared with the inland transport.

So apparently the 20,000 tonne pilot project what supposed to pave the way for a 500,000 tonne project that never materialized.

UPDATE 3 (2011-1-25): China ships coal from North Korean port for first time. According to Michael Rank:

China has for the first time shipped coal from the North Korean port of Rajin following a deal by a Chinese company to renovate the port, a Chinese website reports.

The 20,000 tonnes of coal, mined in Hunchun, about 80 km north of Rajin, was shipped to Shanghai last month. After going through customs inspection at Hunchun, it was transported by road via the Wonjeongri border post near Dumangang, the report said.

It noted how shipping the coal from Rajin saved the cost of transporting it to the nearest suitable Chinese port of Yingkou or further afield by train and how the deal to renovate and expand Rajin’s no 1 dock would help to boost trade from northeast China more generally.

It said the Dalian-based Chuangli Group reached a deal to lease the dock in 2008 and the following year agreed to renovate it and expand its capacity to one million tonnes a year, although news was not announced until last spring.

But when this reporter visited Rajin last September there was no sign of the port being renovated and expanded, and although a couple of small North Korean vessels were moored at the port, there was little sign of any activity and the area was largely deserted.

China does have ambitious hopes for Rajin, however, and last month a Chinese company, Shangdi Guanquan Investment Co, was reported to have signed a letter of intent to invest $2 billion in an industrial zone in the region.

The Wall Street Journal quoted an assistant to the managing director to Shangdi Guangqun as saying the plan was to develop infrastructure, including docks, a power plant and roads over the next two to three years, followed by various industrial projects, including an oil refinery, over the next five to 10 years. He said the company was waiting for a response from the Pyongyang government before applying for approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce.

“It’s all pending at this stage, and it’s really up to the Korean side to make the decision,” the assistant, named only as Han, said, according to the WSJ. He added that the $2 billion figure was what the North Korean side had hoped for, not necessarily what his company could deliver.

North Korea has implausible dreams of turning the city into an international freight brokerage, export processing and finance hub, and has even made a computerised promotional video about its plans to build glitzy skyscrapers along the seafront.

Photo of Rajin port here.

UPDATE 2 (2011-1-14): According to Every China:

As the first cross-border cargo ship for domestic trade in China, 10,000 tonner “Jinbo”, loaded with 21,000 tons of coal, arrived safely at Shanghai and docked steadily at the pier of Waigaoqiao Terminal at 4 p.m. on January 14. This marked the success of the maiden sail for cross-border domestic trade in our nation.

It is introduced that this 10,000 tonner Jinbo is a freight ship serving for Hunchun Chuangli Shipping Logistics Co., Ltd. of Jilin Province. There was totally 20,000 tons of coal in this cross-border transport produced by Hunchun Mining Group, departing from Hunchun Quanhe Port on December 7, 2010 to Rajin Port of North Korea and cargo concentration in port was accomplished there after one month. Special purpose vessel Jinbo ship docked at No.1 pier of Rajin Port of North Korea at 15 o clock on January 6 this year. The shipment began on 7th and the ship departed from Rajin Port at local time 10:30 on January 11 and arrived safely at the pier of Waigaoqiao Terminal, Shanghai after over 3 days voyage. Currently, related procedures for customs and inspections are in process.

Successive notices on pilot cross-border domestic trade transport in Jilin Province have been issued by General Administration of Customs, Ministry of Transport and General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People s Republic of China since last year. Now, the successful arrival of the first cargo ship at the destination is an important achievement gained by Hunchun City or even Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture from implementing the forerunning policy of The Planning Outline of Cooperation in the Exploitation of Tumen River Zone, China. It is also a significant breakthrough in new international land-sea joint transport passage of Hunchun City or even Jilin Province, marking a crucial progress in the Launching out to sea through borrowed port strategy of Jilin Province.

Not only the coal resource of Hunchun City, but also that of Heilongjiang Province, closely adjacent to Yanbian area, can be transported to South China after Rajin Port exit is available. Because of the relatively low transport cost compared with that of other ports at home, this sea passage may become the Golden Passage for transporting coal from the north to the south until then.

UPDATE 1 (2011-2-22): According to the China Daily:

A city in Northeast China is aiming to import coal from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as part of its effort to establish an international coal production base in the border area.

Hunchun, a city wedged between the DPRK and Russia, has coal reserves of 1.2 billion tons, and supplies the fuel to Jilin, Liaoning, Jiangsu and Shangdong provinces. It currently produces about 6 million tons of coal annually.

“We plan to raise our production to more than 10 million tons a year by importing and exploiting coal both from the DPRK and Russia,” said a senior Hunchun city official, who declined to be named.

In January, coal was shipped for the first time from Hunchun to Shanghai via the DPRK port of Rajin, following a deal made by a Chinese company to renovate that port.

The 20,000 tons of coal mined in Hunchun reached Shanghai in three days in the transportation trial. Normally, it takes more than 10 days to transport that amount of coal by train from Hunchun to Shanghai.

“We will try to deliver coal by this new shipping route in the future, because it saved a lot of money in transportation costs,” the government officer said.

The city government also intends to transmit the electricity power generated by its coal-fired power plant to the DPRK.

China has been striving to establish an international sea route through the two countries to boost bilateral trade.

Dalian-based Chuangli Group invested 30 million yuan ($4.6 million) in improvements to Rajin last year, according to officials.

The Dalian group expanded the port’s annual shipping capacity to 1 million tons last year, after reaching a deal to lease and reconstruct it in 2009.

Hunchun officials said the city’s foreign trade volume has quadrupled in the past three years, thanks to improved international shipping.

By taking advantage of cross-border energy production and transportation, Huchun expects its coal production to rise by 22 percent during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

The Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported earlier that the DPRK plans to cooperate with Chinese enterprises on exploiting mineral resources in Hamgyeongbuk-do in the DPRK, which has about 200 million tons in coal reserves.

ORIGINAL POST (2011-1-4): Rason is being used to transport coal from Hunchun to Shanghai. According to the Choson Ilbo:

In official confirmation that closer China-North Korea business ties have come to fruition, the state-run Xinhua news agency and local media in Jilin on Monday said China has transported 20,000 tons of coal from a mine in Jilin to Shanghai and Ningbo through North Korea’s Rajin-Sonbong Port since Dec. 7.

The coal produced in Hunchun was carried by some 570 35-ton trucks across the Duman (or Tumen) River and transported to the port along a 60 km unpaved road between Hunchun and Rajin-Sonbong.

A source in Hunchun said, “Since a month ago, dozens of trucks a day have been going to the North” through Quanhe Customs Office.

The abundant coal deposits in the northeastern China are mainly used for heating homes in southern China in winter, but with no access to the East Sea, China had to transport it overland to Yingkou Port in the Bohai Bay, some 800 km to the west, incurring logistical costs.

China has long tried to get the right to use Rajin-Sonbong and Chongjin ports in North Hamgyong Province in North Korea in a bid to secure an East Sea route.

In 2009, Chuangli Group, an environmental facilities manufacturer in Dalian, obtained the right to use a pier in the Rajin-Songbong port for 10 years in collaboration with a North Korean trading company. Another Chinese firm in Tumen is also reportedly seeking the right to use Chongjin Port.

Prof. Yoon Seung-hyun of Yanbian University said Chongjin Port, has better facilities than Rajin-Sonbong. “The North is more open and aggressive” because it is groaning under international sanctions and aid from South Korea has dried up, he added.

Recent posts on Rajin (Rason) can be found here.

Read the full story here:
Chinese Shipping Through N.Korean Port in Full Swing
Choson Ilbo
2011-1-4

Share

Posted in China, Coal, Rason Economic and Trade Zone (Rajin-Sonbong), Sea shipping, Special Economic Zones (Established before 2013), Transportation | Comments Closed

The DPRK’s artificial intelligence “Go” software

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

According to the Korea IT Times:

Eunbyul 2010 is a “Go” game, or commonly known as baduk in Korean; a software program developed by North Korea and played in North and South Korea. Winner of the third Computer Go Competition UED Cup in 2009, defeating so many outstanding programs from all over the world, Eunbyul 2010 is maintaining 3-dan at cyberoro.com and also ranks number one in sales in Japanese computer Go program market.

Go was invented by Chinese emperor Yao around 2300 BC, and has been widely played in the three countries in Far East: Korea, Japan, and China. In North Korea, the game was previously considered ‘the bourgeoisie game,’ thus a taboo; however since the 1990’s, the government has promoted Go as a traditional game that dates back to the Three States era; in addition it highlights the game as a brain exerciser that helps children develop their intelligence and old people keep their brains from aging. North Korea classifies Go – also called brain combat or brain fight in the country- as a type of martial arts just like Taekwondo or Ssireum, the Korean wrestling. North Korea’s Go was controlled by Chosun Sports Association, but under the command from Kim Jeong-il in 1990s; it was transferred to Chosun Martial Arts Federation that had better training environment, and subsequently categorized as public sport; now Taekwondo Commission is in charge of the game. Cho Daewon, 22 and MunYoungsam, 33, both amateur 7-dan, are noted as the top players in the country.

The estimated number of Go players in North Korea was around 10,000 in 1994, and is currently over 30,000. North Korean government encourages children to play Go as they believe the game has a significant effect on improving many brain activities such as concentration, observation, memory, imagination, and structure perception. Go classes are organized at kindergarten and the government tries to promote the game by holding various Go competitions for children.

Along with their passion for the game, North Korea is also regarded as one of the world’s best developer of computer Go game. Since early 1990s, the university computer development group composed of Kim Ilseong University, Kim Chek Engineering College, etc. – has developed computer Go programs. In 1995, Eunbyul Computer Technology Trade Center which is now called Korea Computer Center (KCC) focused on making software programs for Go, chess, Janggi and the like. The Go software ‘Eunbyul 2010 (see the picture above)’ – was imported into South Korea and is now available to the public consumers (here).

Eunbyul 2010 is the latest version of Eunbyul 2006, which was released in 2006 drawing attention to the industry. It integrated Monte Carlo Method into the algorithm of the original 2006 version, substantially improving the level of performance. While Eunbyul 2006 was rated level 6 according to Korea Baduk Association’s system, its 2010 counterpart attained 2-dan after the battles with random user at Cyber Oro, the internet Go match website. The user won 54 and lost 46games – 31 victories and 25 defeats in 1-dan battles and 23 victories and 21 defeats in 2-dan battles -hence, with 54 percent of winning rate. The software also won the International Computer Go Tournament held last year in Japan, sweeping all the matches and, thus, proving to be the best of its kind in the world.

There are two types of engines in Go programs. Tree search system, in theory, takes more than 361 (factorial) searches for one match because it has to create a move by move searching tool to explore every path. There is Monte Carlo method engine, which randomly selects one of the undefeated moves after proceeding hundreds of thousands of simulated battles to the end. Despite the relatively higher performance (on amateur beginner’s levels), this method was difficult to be adopted for commercial use because it required computation by either supercomputer or tens of CPUs from parallel wired computers.

4OneBiz, the sales rights holder in South Korea, signed the contract with North Korea in June 2006 before beginning the sales in the South. In September the same year, the company held an 8-day workshop in which an engineer who spent over a decade on developing Go programs at KCC and a professional5-dan Go player participated in the activities. The main objective of the workshop was to decide whether they should improve the performance of the existing Eunbyul program or develop a completely new engine from the design. Ultimately, they chose the latter.

North and South Korea agreed to develop a whole new level of Go program engine that contains tactical data, which narrows down the potential moves to only a few, so as to make the next move in a simpler way. They also aim to make a program with optimal performance that is light and fast enough to be installed in a mobile device. South Korea provides an expert-levelalgorithm design whereas North Korean developers will take charge of creating a program based on the theory and basic algorithm. This new expert-level Go engine is already completed, and its automatic evaluator and situation-determination module are currently being supplied to a popular Korean Go website. Further use is currently under negotiation. One engineer who specialized in expert-level Go engine and gave up after spending more than 10 years on developing the engine once contended that “it is beyond human capability to develop an amateur-expert level of Go engine.”

However, the recent success can be largely contributed to the thoughtful collaboration between South and North Korea: i.e., the North Korean engineers spent more than a decade focused and devoted to Go engine development, and South Korea’s also has well-known competence in Go game. The incredible synergy was all thanks to the socialist system of North Korea where the engineers could stick to the Go engine development project for nearly 20 years regardless of its profitability; and also the capitalist South fostered the best Go players with its wealth and the professional Go player system. For those reasons, North Korea could have developed Eunbyul 2010, the best artificial intelligence Go program in the world.

Read the full story here:
North Korea’s Artificial Intelligence Go Software
Korea IT Times
Choi Sung, Professor of computer science at Namseoul University
1/4/2011

Share

Posted in Civil society, Computing/IT, Korea Computer Center (KCC), Sports | Comments Closed

DPRK trades steel for food

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

According to the Daily NK:

North Korean trading companies operated by several organs have been selling steel to China in exchange for food.

One Chinese trader who does business with North Korea reported to The Daily NK on Monday, “China-based North Korean workers in charge of trading with China for Cheongusan Trading Company (under the Escort Command), say that this year Chosun is expanding the volume of its steel sales with China.”

The trader said, “In November last year, the analysis table of steel quality was delivered to us, and accordingly a contract has also already been signed.” He added, “In Chosun, the company is waiting for a permit to trade from an upper organ after having loaded materials on freight trains.”

He explained further, “For the price of the steel, Chosun has asked for rice, flour, noodles and also construction materials,” adding, “Food in bulk can enter Chosun.”

He explained that since North Korea is facing a serious lack of food, cement and other construction materials due to isolation from the international community, the country is trying to barter steel for food with China, from which the North is able to import.

Another trader in China verified the story, explaining, “Recently in Dandong, workers from Kangsung General Trading Company (under the General Staff) and other companies visited China for the purpose of selling steel.”

He added, “From now on, our company is going to do only steel trade with Chosun. We have decided not to do business in other things because our experiences have shown that there is no credit there.”

He went on, “North Korean trading units may have suffered from limitations put on items by Chinese companies,” going on, “If Chosun does not make a deal with us, they will starve to death this year. Even though they emphasize independent rehabilitation, when have they ever been rehabilitated?”

North Korea’s media frequently emphasizes the glorious production of “Juche” steel at Kim Chaek Steel Mill and Gangsun Steel Mill. Indeed, the Common Editorial issued on the first day of this year stated that, “By the power of the realization of the faith and model of Kim Steel (steel from Kim Chaek Steel Mill) and Juche steel, let’s have waves of victories.”

According to KOTRA, South Korea’s trade statistics agency, from January to October, 2010, North Korea exported steel to China worth $82 million.

One potentially positive aspect to this story is the recognition by the DPRK of the benefits of comparative advantage in trade.  Rather than aiming to produce all of its own food, the DPRK can instead specialize in steel production and trade for Chinese produced food.  Through trade, China and the DPRK could both consume more steel and food than if each country practiced autarchy.  Unfortunately the DPRK’s recent history has demonstrated a callous disregard for comparative advantage and has instead focused on increasing domestic food production and aid while limiting international trade.  Lets hope to see more rational policies prevail in the future.

Read the full story here:
North Korea Bartering Steel for Food
Daily NK
Im Jeong Jin
1/3/2011

Share

Posted in Cheongusan Trading Company, China, Food, International trade, Manufacturing, Steel | Comments Closed

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »