Rodong Sinmun is North Korea\u2019s
\nParty-run publicatoin, which is used for propaganda to glorify the leadership.
\nIt\u2019s time now to examine the distortions and manipulation used by this
\npublication with Seo Jae Pyung, the secretary-general of the Committee for the
\nDemocratization of North Korea. Hello.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Hello. Yes, we will again look at three “As a monumental creation of the Workers\u2019 1. With the 70th Of course, it is possible. As you can see 1-1. How long does it take to build In the \u201870s when things were carried out at 1-2. It takes much longer in South In South Korea, they complete ten stories 1-3. So you don\u2019t think the fast The structure would probably have had to 2. North Korean The word combat is used to describe 3. But speed isn\u2019t When military troops are behind the 4. The article is The street is being built in Pyongyang in Also, there are a lot of apartments in the 5. With the In the third year of Kim Jong Un\u2019s rule, 6. But according to The construction of Mirae Scientists Street If construction of the Mirae Scientists 7. If many construction projects are taking Currently, the military is doing the 7-1 Doesn\u2019t the increase in construction The money that goes to support the project Kim Jong Un is carrying out all this work Let\u2019s take a look at the next story. The “The south Korean puppet authorities let 8. Not only South Korea but Most of the workers sent to Russia are 9. Do Russian businesses There are two methods. A large Russian 10. So, they cannot think of Right, and this is why people are calling 11. I heard that it\u2019s not uncommon to There were North Korean laborers in Russia 12. This article does not mention the Of course they know it is true But they 13. The North Korean authorities have This is because for Let\u2019s now look at the third piece of recent “To mark the 51st anniversary since the 14. The countries mentioned in the Yes. Those countries have relatively 15. So these media outlets are part of North Korea uses the word \u201cinternational\u201d 16. If we just look at the articles, The people of North Korea already all know 17. But North Korean authorities The Propaganda and Agitation Department MC: So, today we looked at and analyzed Rodong Sinmun is North Korea\u2019s Party-run publicatoin, which is used for propaganda to glorify the leadership. It\u2019s time now to examine the distortions and manipulation used by this publication with Seo Jae Pyung, the secretary-general of the Committee for the Democratization of North Korea. Hello. Hello. Yes, we will again look at three articles from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":31251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
\narticles from the Rodong Sinmun today. This is an excerpt from a piece from last month:<\/span><\/p>\n
\nParty, soldiers of the People\u2019s army\u2019s Baek Il Nam Unit, who participated in
\nthe construction of the Mirae [Future] Scientists Street 2nd level, achieved a
\ndazzling result of successfully constructing the framework of a 30-story
\napartment, which rises high far into the sky. On top of the ever high building,
\nthe commanders who waved the flag of victory are further raising the flame of
\ncreation across Pyongyang and are going to continue the progress of
\nconstructing the best possible quality of architecture and vigorously continue
\ngrowth on the road of innovation.”<\/span><\/p>\n
\nanniversary of the Worker\u2019s Party foundation approaching on October 10th, there
\nare various construction projects underway. The article seems to commend the
\nfast completion of the construction and compliments the Korean People\u2019s Army,
\nwhich took part. But is it possible to complete the framework of an apartment
\nin 50 days?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\nin the photographs of the construction site, there were a large number of
\nsoldiers who were mobilized, and if you consider North Korea\u2019s level of
\nconstruction, 50 days is sufficient, as long as they are provided with enough
\nmaterials and electricity.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\none apartment building?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u201cPyongyang speed\u201d, they used to say it took 14 minutes to add one story. This
\nis for prefabricated buildings. So for the framework, in the North you can
\nexpect about one floor to go up each day.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nKorea.<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\nat a time and take a break. They wait for the cement to harden enough. With
\ngood quality cement, it\u2019s fine for one story to go up a day. Since the article
\nsays the construction was completed within 50 days, they probably used higher
\nquality concrete. If not, there would be problems.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nspeed necessarily means there are problems with safety?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\npass North Korea\u2019s own safety guidelines in construction methods and management.
\nEspecially after the apartment collapse last year, they would have taken
\nmeasures to reassure the safety.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nauthorities compare all forms of labor to combat. Even in this article, it says
\nthat military personnel are on their toes and greeting a new day of battle. Why
\nthe comparison to combat?<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/p>\n
\nsoldiers facing their enemies in the battlefield, but in the North they use it
\nfor everything. I have grown up hearing the word \u2018combat\u2019 a lot. If you think
\nabout it, when you\u2019re in combat it means you are full of tension and very
\nalert. I think they mean to tell people to do everything, including labor, with
\nthe vigilance and determination they would have in combat.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\neverything. A structure built slowly with greater consideration for safety
\nwould be a much better one. Do North Korean authorities conduct safety checks
\nwhen constructing buildings?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\nconstruction, there are separate technology staff officers. At the construction
\nsites, there are professionals who supervise and lead the project, such as
\ntechnology advisors and engineers. They do oversee various aspects such as
\nsafety on site and engineering involved. However, they all have higher ranking
\nofficials in the military. So if their superiors say they should speed up,
\nthese advisors are unable to slam the brakes when needed and make suggestions.
\nIn the end, it ends up being a lot of top-down orders.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nabout building homes on Mirae Scientists Street. Why does Kim Jong Un want to
\nbuild such tall buildings and homes for scientists?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\nthe central district heading out towards Taedong River. Around that area, there
\nare apartments for educators of Kim Chaek University of Technology, which are
\nalready complete, and other parts central to the North.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\ncentral area, which were some of the first to go up after the war. It has a lot
\nof old apartments, built in the \u201860s and \u201870s. So by positioning the future
\nscientists street in that area, it looks like they are trying to give the area
\na whole new image by tearing down old structures and building new tall
\nbuildings instead.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nanniversary of the Workers\u2019 Party Foundation Day coming up in October, there
\nare many construction projects going on each province. They are being pressed
\nto complete the construction before the anniversary. Why is that?<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/p>\n
\nthe country is facing an important milestone, marking the 70th anniversary.
\nEvery five-year milestone is considered more important, so this is a great
\nopportunity for Kim to add to his legacy. The North conducts major celebrations
\nfor the anniversaries every five years, and for the 70th anniversary it looks
\nlike its goal is to promote large accomplishments in the field of construction.
\nThey\u2019re using this opportunity of presenting gifts for the Party\u2019s foundation
\nas a means to promote Kim\u2019s achievements. Another core reason would be to
\nstrengthen his leadership.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nrecent reports, to the lack of materials has been slowing down progress. It
\nlooks like there will be quite a number of incomplete structures on October
\n10th. What do you think?<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/p>\n
\nbegan last year. The first stage was completed on April 15, and the second stage
\nis set to wrap up on October 10. On February 15, Kim Jong Un surveyed the
\nsite from a plane and also visited the site to directly inspect it. Four months
\nhave passed since then and the North is now touting its completion of the
\nthirty-story framework in 50 days. But it is unclear just how many units will
\nactually be complete by October 10.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nStreet is too slow, Kim Jong Un is likely to take special measures, since he
\nsees it as a crucial project for his legacy. For instance, he might order
\nfocused supplies of materials and electricity to that area, but because there
\nare still three months left, we will have to wait and see how things progress.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nplace in various regions, are regular citizens being mobilized as well?<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/p>\n
\nconstruction work. Civilians are not being mobilized for projects that soldiers
\nare working on. They are instead supporting the project by providing daily
\nsupplies, construction tools, equipment, and basic material. People scrape
\nmoney together to buy the things they have been tasked with and send them to
\nthe soldiers.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nwork lead to a lot of complaints from people and the soldiers?<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/p>\n
\nis forcibly collected from people who are already finding it hard to get by, so
\nthis inevitably leads to a lot of complaints.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nso that he can propagandize his accomplishments on October 10th, the upcoming
\nanniversary of the establishment of the Party. But I am afraid that his lack of
\nconcern for safety and his emphasis on speed might lead to a big accident.
\nPressing people to work that quickly would also be very taxing, so I\u2019m worried.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nsecond article we\u2019re going to look at is called \u201cS. Korean Regime’s Anti-DPRK
\n\u2018Human Rights\u2019 Racket Assailed.”<\/span> Here is an excerpt:<\/p>\n
\nsubsidized institutes and anti-DPRK “human rights” bodies made up of
\nriff-raffs spout a litany of invective remarks painting those workers sent by
\nthe DPRK to different countries for external economic cooperation as “ones
\nengaged in slave labor” and “subject to exploitation. All the workers of the DPRK will surely
\nsmash the sinister anti-DPRK “human rights” racket of the South
\nKorean puppet group, hordes of rare traitors.<\/span> “<\/p>\n
\nalso the international community has expressed concern about the abysmal
\nworking conditions of the North Korean workers dispatched abroad. The article
\nrefutes such concerns, but according to research by international organizations
\nand South Korean NGOs, most of the wages that the workers earn go to the Kim
\nJong Un regime. Research also shows they are working under forced conditions
\nwithout the guarantee of rest. How are North Korean laborers in Russia actually
\ndoing?<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/p>\n
\nworking in the field of construction, such as the construction of homes or
\nroads. They have to pay the North\u2019s companies in overseeing the project 1,000
\nUSD a month. The money they send to their families in North Korea comes from
\nthe side jobs they take at night after work, and the work environment is truly
\nabysmal.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\ndirectly pay the workers? Or do they pay North Korean authorities, who shave
\noff a certain sum before paying the laborers?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\ncompany would commission a project to a North Korean firm to build a house with
\n1 million USD in six months, using 100 workers. The lion\u2019s share of the money
\nearned goes to the firm. It\u2019s estimated that 10-20% or less goes to the workers. The money that the laborers send to their families is mostly earned from
\nside jobs after work, which they must find on their own.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\ndefecting or doing anything else even if they wanted.<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/p>\n
\nthis a violation of human rights.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nfind North Koreans who have escaped while dispatched to other countries like
\nRussia, because the working conditions are just too abysmal. Is this true?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\nwho defected to South Korea in the mid-1990s, and this trend continues to this
\nday. In fact, there were two North Korean laborers from the far eastern regions
\nof Russia who entered South Korea this month. <\/span> <\/p>\n
\nworking conditions of North Korean laborers dispatched to Russia or other
\nforeign countries, and it merely criticizes South Korean authorities. Do North
\nKoreans know about the harsh conditions overseas, as reported by the
\ninternational community? Do they think it\u2019s true?<\/span> <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\nthink if they are able to earn money abroad, they should despite the poor
\nenvironment. In North Korea, there is nowhere to earn money. It is too hard to
\nmake ends meet, so most people are not even aware that this is an infringement
\nof human rights. They think that it\u2019s simply something they have to endure in
\norder to earn money. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nbeen increasing the number of workers they send abroad. What is the reason for
\nthis?<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/p>\n
\nthe North, it realizes the best way to earn foreign currency is to send workers
\nabroad. <\/span>The North Korean authorities need to
\nexamine the working environment its citizens face abroad and work to protect
\nthem. They cannot remove themselves from scrutiny and pressure from the
\ninternational community simply by refuting claims about human rights abuses.<\/p>\n
\nnews. The article is entitled, \u201cThe Great Guardian and Leader of Independent
\nFeats.” The following is a portion of the article:<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nleader Kim Jong Il comrade started a work in the Korean Workers Party\u2019s Central
\nCommittee, newspapers and broadcasters from Iran, Peru, and Cambodia
\n featured a special on May 26th and 27th. The article from Cambodia
\nreported that Leader Kim Jong Il is the lord of independent politics, who has
\naccomplished monumental feats in the global politics. The Peruvian newspaper
\nreported that leader Kim Jong Il led the Chosun people and progressive parties
\nto victory in a fight for mankind.”<\/span> <\/p>\n
\narticle are Iran, Peru and Cambodia. These countries are close to North Korea
\nand are still developing. It\u2019s much easier to form organizations in these
\ncountries, right?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\namicable relations with North Korea and as long as the government overlooks it creating pro-North Korean organizations there is not so difficult.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nother organizations formed by North Korean authorities. What is the reason
\nNorth Korea is making pro-North Korean organizations in various countries?<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/p>\n
\noften in its propaganda. In the midst of North Korea\u2019s current severe isolation
\nfrom the international community, it is trying to form these pro-North Korean
\norganizations in various countries. Through these media, the North Korean
\ngovernment tries to lie to its citizens and claim that it is actually gaining
\nsupport from the international community.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nit makes it look like there are many countries around the world are praising
\nKim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un. How about people in the North? Do they believe in
\nany of this?<\/span> <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\nthat foreign media praising Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un are basically groups
\nthat have been bribed by North Korea. The least popular pages of the Rodong
\nSinmun are the 5th and 6th pages, where they publish this \u2018foreign news.\u2019<\/span> <\/p>\n
\ncontinue to publish these false reports. Do they think the people will continue
\nto accept this?<\/span> <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\nregulates and supervises Rodong Sinmun. The department tells the press where to
\nput what. As mentioned earlier, it has to unconditionally make a section that
\nshows the international community is supporting North Korea. So regardless of
\nwhat the citizens think, it will have to continue on with its regular work.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nstories and claims made by North Korea in its Party-run Rodong Sinmun. Thank
\nyou Mr. Seo Jae Pyung for speaking with us.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"