The surprise visit from three of Pyongyang’s top officials earlier this month to South Korea to attend
the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games has become a source of
criticism among North Koreans, according to a local source.
“On state-run broadcasts nothing was reported after the visit, so people didn’t know anything about it at
first,” the source based in North Hamgyung Province
told the Daily NK on Wednesday. “But as people came to
hear about it from outside channels [in China], the news is spreading rapidly.”
On October 4th, North Korea’s Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Department of
the Chosun People’s Army; Choe Ryong Hae, secretary of
the Workers’ Party; and Kim Yang Gon, the director of
the United Front Department of the Chosun Workers’
Party made an unexpected visit to the South, placing the event under the global
spotlight. South Korean media dissected each and every statement and gesture
from the North, speculating on how the visit would affect soured inter-Korean relations.
During their short 14-hour stay, the
delegation met with high-level officials, including national security director
Kim Kwan Jin, unification minister Ryoo Kihl Jae, and shortly before the
closing ceremony, Prime Minister Chung Hong Won.
Caught on camera were some candid moments,
such as Hwang using two hands to envelope Prime Minister Chung’s extended hand while welcoming the North Korean official. Choe told Minister
Ryoo, “the South’s cheering
played a pivotal role in helping our [North Korean] athletes win,” as they sat down for a conversation.
These gestures and comments now circulating
among North Koreans have been called “a submissive act
towards the enemy,” the source said.
“The top military aide who jabbers on about
the puppet government in the South was flustered in front of just the Prime
Minister,” residents have commented. “He donned himself in his military uniform to look dignified, but it’s an embarrassment to his rank.”
In reference to Choe’s remarks, some have said, “it was an act of
subservience and appeasement,” while commenting, “that’s why he’s
unable to hold on to one post for long,” according to
the source.
He explained the recent Asian Games had
received a lot of attention from North Koreans because they were held in the
South. Along the border areas [with China] as well as regions near the Military
Demarcation Line [Hwanghae, Gangwon Provinces], a lot of people secretly tuned
into South Korean and Chinese channels to watch the Games.
“Shoddy construction at a hydroelectric
power plant and a severe drought have resulted in power shortages affecting
television broadcasts, but people are able to tune in by using compact TVs from
China that are 8W, 10W, or 12W, by using a 12V battery,” the source elaborated, noting that Chinese TV sets have better
reception compared to others, making them a popular option for residents.
North Korea has put out measures to try to
weed out the practice of watching these small television sets in Pyongyang
homes by launching crackdowns in which they not only bust people, but also
confiscate their devices. However, the small TVs are still popular in smaller
provincial cities.
Such devices gave residents the ability to come to their own conclusions about the trio’s trip, “Compared to a weightlifter in his 20s who
was able to promote the Marshal’s [Kim Jong Eun] great
achievements, the delegation had no political vigilance,” many have pointed out. “Whatever the
case is, you have to say athletes won because of our Marshal, not because the
South was rooting for them,” the source concluded.
