[imText1]This is how we see Kim Jong Il’s recent visit to China.
There are many things said about Kim Jong Il’s visit to China.
What would be the purpose of his visit? What is the implication of his secret visit that reminds us of spy movies? The media is busy trying to trace Kim Jong Il and their assumptions differ from one another..
The DailyNK interviewed three defectors, two former economists in North Korea and one former party official to find out about the real purpose of Kim Jong Il’s visit to China. Their conclusion was that Kim Jong Il is putting up a show that has nothing to do with “reformation and liberalization.”
Four Reasons Why North Korea Cannot Reform
Kang Min Jun (pseudonym, age 65), a former executive of the “Keumgang Jewelry Processing Co.”, a North Korea-China state cooperative factory asserted that Kim Jong Il’s visit to China is a mere gesture.
When asked if the visit is not to study reformation and liberalization, Kang replied, “When Kim Jong Il visited Shanghai in January 2001, people gossiped that it may be for reformation and liberalization, but in reality, that was not the case. If not back then, it is still not now.”
“I participated in the National Economic Sector Officials Seminar held in Pyongyang, and it was before the 2002 7.1 Economic Measure was announced. The central party officials who came to educate us said, “Reformation and liberalization does not fit into our revolution reality so do not expect it to happen.” Unless the North Korean regimes changes, reformation and liberalization will remain a dream,” Kang said.
“After his 2001 visit to China, Kim Jong Il praised China’s changes calling it, “heaven and earth reversed” and called on three hundred professors and experts from Pyongyang People’s Economy University and Wonsan Economics University and made them visit China and study economics. They came back and during their discussion for reformation, their study was abandoned due to the four principles that the Party insisted should never to be violated.”
The four principles Kang presented are as follows. ▲ Planned economy must never be abandoned. ▲ Private ownership by the people cannot be permitted. ▲ Liberalization of individual economy must not be allowed. ▲ The Public Distribution System (food distribution system) must not be abandoned.
An Attempt to Obtain Aid While Containing the US Together with China
Kim Tae San, a former North Korea economic bureaucrat and former executive of the North Korean state shoe factory in the Czech Republic said, “Kim Jong Il’s main purpose of visiting China is to come up with a countermeasure to contain the American pressure by siding with China at the six-party talks, and appear to be interested in reformation and liberalization while it makes the money counterfeit issue fade away.”
“Chinese aid for this year is also based on North Korea’s reformation, thus Kim Jong Il is trying to secure China’s aid plan by paying a visit to China,” said Kim.
“Whenever he is in trouble, Kim Jong Il makes an event. Right now, Kim Jong Il is in deep trouble. Nuclear issue, counterfeit issue, Banco Delta Asia fund freeze, human rights issue, food issue and all the problems are now coming together. The only way to solve these problems is siding with China. If North Korea is determined to reform, it could have just made a foreign investment attraction policy instead of making a trip all the way to China.”
Taking Pleasure by Putting Up False Front
Um Chun Shin, (pseudonym, age 62), a former military party undersecretary of Myungchon-gun, North Hamkyung province, analyzed Kim Jong Il’s recent visit to China as follows.
“Kim Jong Il has always liked doing things in secret. He takes pleasure in bugging on a person. For the recent visit, he involved a train while flying planes and showed bodyguards running around his car in order to show off his smartness.”
About Kim’s unofficial visit, Um said, “The reason why he moves in secret is because he committed many sins.”
“After the Ryongchon Incident, even when he visits the military compounds, he puts out machine guns on his car,” added Um.
