DPRK Premier Visits Power Station and Coal Mine

DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim tours the Kumyagang Army-People Power Station on May 5, 2012 (Photo: KCNA)

DPRK state media reported on 6 May (Sunday) that Premier Choe Yong Rim and DPRK Cabinet officials visited the Ku’myagang Army-People Power Station and the Ku’mya Youth Coal Mine in South Hamgyo’ng Province on 5 May (Saturday).  KCNA reports:

The first leg of his visit was the Kumyagang Army-People Power Station. He held a consultative meeting after going round various places of the station.

It took measures for boosting the electricity production by operating the generating equipment in full capacity and underscored the need for the related units to supply equipment and materials necessary for the operation of the power station.

The next leg of his visit was the Kumya Youth Coal Mine.

He learned in detail about the coal production there before holding a consultative meeting of the officials concerned on the spot.

The meeting called on the officials to take good care of workers true to the dear respected Kim Jong Un’s noble idea of loving people and took measures for providing a satisfactory supply of coal badly needed by various fields of the national economy.

DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim tours Kumya Youth Coal Mine in South Hamgyong Province on 5 May 2012 (Photo: KCNA)

New Russian Ambassador to DPRK Presents Credentials

Russian diplomat Alexander Timonin (highlighted) has been appointed his country’s ambassador to the DPRK. (Photo: Yoav Cerralbo/Korea Herald)

The Russian Federation has appointed a new Ambassador to the DPRK.  Alexandr Timonin has worked in the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Asia Department, served as an at-large ambassador and was an interim manager of Russia’s embassy in Pyongyang.  Timonin also gave an interview to Kommersant in 2011 on plans to construct an oil pipeline running through the DPRK into South Korea, which he said reached a “milestone” after outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with Kim Jong Il in Ulan Ude in August 2011.  Timonin replaces Valery Sukhinin, who was appointed in 2007.  Sukhinin accompanied Kim Jong Il on his trip to Russia’s Far East in 2011.  He also attended a March 2012 concert by the U’nhasu Orchestra at which he danced with one of the performers and was greeted by Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n).  In April, Sukhinin made a farewell tour around Pyongyang, meeting with DPRK Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun, Supreme People’s Assembly Presidium President Kim Yong Nam and receiving the DPRK Order of Friendship.

On 3 May (Thursday), Timonin presented his credentials to Kim Yong Nam.  KCNA reports:

Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK, received credentials from Alexandr Timonin, Russian ambassador to DPRK, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall on May 3.

Kim had a talk with him after receiving the credentials.

Science and Technology Festival Opened

DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim (2nd R) tours the Science and Technology Festival on Friday, 27 April in Pyongyang (Photo: KCNA)

On Friday (27 April) DPRK state media reported that the a Science and Technology Festival opened at the Three Revolutions Exhibition Hall.  DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim and KWP Secretary Choe Tae Bok, among other central leadership, attended the opening ceremony.  The festival was announced   KCNA reports:

The festival is divided into 13 panels of light industry, agriculture, foodstuff, railway transport, energy, construction and building materials, basic science, state of the art and others.

Presented to the festival are achievements of more than 200 units in the process of putting the production processes on a modern and scientific basis by pushing back the frontiers of latest science and technology together with many research findings of scientists, technicians and working people highly appreciated at local festivals.

Attending the ceremony were Choe Yong Rim, premier of the Cabinet, Choe Thae Bok, secretary of the C.C., the Workers’ Party of Korea, Ri Ja Bang, chairman of the State Science and Technology Commission, officials concerned, scientists, technicians and working people.

Meanwhile, 372 km (231 miles) northeast of the Three Revolutions Exhibition Hall, excavation and construction work proceeds.  The ongoing activity suggests that preparations are under way for the DPRK to conduct a third nuclear detonation at its test site in P’unggye-ri, Kilchu County, North Hamgyo’ng Province.  Kyodo reported on 25 April that Russia raised its alert level on the expectation that the DPRK’s nuclear test would be within the week.  38 North reports:

The latest imagery, taken April 18, 2012, documents continuing preparations for an upcoming nuclear test and shows a train of mining carts on top of the spoil pile and random unidentified structures or objects on or near the piles (see figure 3). Based on an examination of previous satellite photos, their position and number appear to vary on a day-to-day basis, indicating the continued movement of vehicles, structures and other objects on or near the spoil piles at the mouth of the test tunnel. According to one press report on April 21, the North had completed the removal of the large spoil pile near the test site, probably to seal the tunnel for the explosion. However, this imagery shows the size of the pile largely unchanged. Whether the test device has been emplaced in the chamber and stemming with other material has been completed, remains unclear.

Images of a tunnel entrance (top) and tunnel leading to the nuclear detonation site. These images appeared in episode 4 of the 2009 Korea Film Studios' feature The Country I Saw, which included a depiction of the 25 May 2009 nuclear test

The DPRK’s third nuclear test may not be as imminent as some in the neighborhood foresee.  Korea Herald reports:

Pollack was in Seoul last week to attend the 2012 Asan Plenum, a three-day international forum on global challenges that kicked off last Wednesday. The annual forum was organized by local think tank Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

Pyongyang may face a tougher response from its crucial patron China should it take another destabilizing action following the recent rocket launch, he pointed out. In an unusual move, Beijing agreed at the U.N. Security Council to condemn Pyongyang on April 16, three days after the botched launch.

“They may also be weighing the implications. This time, China would really impose some severe costs on them. We have the Chinese vice foreign minister in the forum, giving some very forceful remarks,” he said.

“They will test it at some point, but not now yet,” Jonathan Pollack of the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, told The Korea Herald.

“The reason might not be technical, but political that another nuclear test would probably be damaging to North Korea from the point of view of seeing a future South Korean president more aligned with their interests.”

“He did not say a nuclear test, but you could see what he was talking about to make clear that China’s disapproval of any such third test would be very strong, potentially very harsh.”

Pollack paid particular attention to the fact that Pyongyang has not been explicit yet about its preparation for a nuclear test while it gave some explanation before their past nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

“There has been no explicit threat to test the nuclear weapon. The other thing I want to emphasize that in both 2006 and 2009, they developed almost what we would call an immediate campaign over a period of time,” he said.

“I don’t know, it was perhaps, weeks or months, but it was trying to build the case for why they would then proceed to a nuclear test.”

Although it would not be easy for Beijing to change its core policy toward its impoverished ally considering that it favors stability on the peninsula, China could make some adjustments in it to protect its national interests, he argued.

“The Chinese are not, in my own view, likely to discard North Korea, but under some circumstances, it is possible that they might really try to put limits on the relationship if North Korea is affecting their Chinese vital interests,” he said.

“China’s larger worries concern North Korea undertaking actions to which the ROK (Republic of Korea) would respond this time, and then, this triggers an environment that draws in both the U.S. and China on the peninsula.”

KJI Returns Home

Kim Jong Il returned from his week-long sojourn to Russia and northeast China on 27 August (Saturday).  Kim Kyong Hui (Kim Kyo’ng-hu’i) and Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) led a group of the central leadership which greeted him at the train station.  On his return to the DPRK, KJI visited Tonghua City, before his train crossed the DPRK-China border around 17:00 on Saturday.  Unlike his return from China in May, KJI and his welcome-back party did not visit Hu’ich’o'n Power Station or any other infrastructure projects.  Instead, he attended a banquet jointly given by the National Defense Commission and the Party Central Military Commission.  He also attended a concert of the State Merited Choir.   Yonhap reports:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il attended a banquet held to congratulate him on his “successful” recent visits to Russia and China, the North’s state media said Monday.

The banquet was hosted by the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party and the National Defense Commission, according to a brief dispatch by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), monitored in Seoul. It did not mention where or when the event took place.

Kim returned home on Saturday after an eight-day trip aboard his special armored train across Russia’s Far East and northeastern China. The trip included summit talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev near the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude on Wednesday and tours of various industrial sites in both countries.

A view of Kim Jong Il's rail route through Russia to northeast China during 20-27 August 2011 (Photo: Google image)

Among those who attended KJI’s post-return events was CMC Member and commander of the KPA Air Force (Korean People’s Air Force), Gen. Ri Pyong Chol (Ri P’yo’ng-ch’o'l).  Gen. Ri was spotted in attendance at one of KJI’s interactions with Dmitry Medvedev, as part of DPRK efforts to acquire military aircraft from Russia, although Ri was not reported by DPRK media to have accompanied KJI on the trip. Chosun Ilbo reports:

“Photos taken by foreign news agencies during the North Korea-Russia summit show Gen. Ri Pyong-chol, the commander of the North Korean Air Force, standing in formal suits [not in military uniform] between Kim and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev,” a South Korean security official said Sunday.

It is rare that an Air Force chief accompanies Kim on an overseas trip. “This is decisive proof that one of the goals of Kim Jong-il’s visit was to buy new fighter jets from Russia,” a source familiar with North Korean affairs said.

A list of Kim’s official entourage released last Sunday by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency included Minister of the People’s Armed Forces Kim Yong-chun, Ju Kyu-chang, the first vice-director of the Ministry of Defense Industry, and Pak To-chun, Workers Party secretary for munitions, but not Ri.

A South Korean government official said, “As a four-star Air Force general, Ri would deserve a place on the list, but it seems his name was omitted deliberately.”

Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow made it clear whether the two leaders discussed supply of munitions to the North.

Kim Jong Il meets with Russian pilots at the Chkalov Aeronautic Complex in Novosibirsk in August 2001 (Photo: KCNA)

Kim Jong Il Makes His Return (Revised)

A view of Manzhouli Railway Station at the Russia-China border (Photo: Google image)

Kim Jong Il (Kim Cho’ng-il) is returning to the DPRK.  The locomotive of his personal  train was spotted in northeastern China at the Russia-China border in Manzhouli, according to Yonhap.  KCNA reported that KJI “will pay a visit to the Northeast area of the People’s Republic of China on August 25 on his way home.”

Back in the DPRK, KCNA reported on Kim Jong Il’s (Kim Cho’ng-il) meeting and the other events that he attended with Russian President Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev.  While mentioning KJI’s pronouncement on the country’s return to the Six Party Talks, KCNA did not mention anything about his declaration to suspend nuclear weapons tests or production.

Kim Jong Il departs the summit talks with Dmitry Medvedev, seen at the right is his current wife Kim Ok (Photo: RIA Novosti)

First, KCNA reported about KJI’s initial interaction with Medvedev, at the Sosnovy Bor hotel where the Russian President was staying during his visit to the area:

Kim Jong Il exchanged warm greetings with Medvedev and had a talk with him.

The president warmly welcomed leader Kim Jong Il visiting Russia by sparing precious time despite his tight schedule leading the building of a prosperous and powerful country in the DPRK on behalf of the Russian government and the people. He said that the visit would mark a particularly important occasion in further developing the Russia-DPRK friendly relations as required by the new century.

The third visit to Russia paid by Kim Jong Il in the new century clearly proves what importance he is attaching to the Russia-DPRK friendship, he noted, paying high tribute to Kim Jong Il who has made an immortal contribution to the development of the Russia-DPRK friendship.

Kim Jong Il expressed his pleasure of meeting with Medvedev and thanked him for coming all the way to Ulan-Ude to kindly meet with him. He gave his impressions of his visit to the Far East and Siberian regions under the great concern of the Russian government and people and amid their cordial hospitality.

Kim Jong Il and Dmitry Medvedev sit for a media availability on 24 August 2011in Ulan Ude (Photo: Kremlin)

KJI and Medvedev then made their way to the military base for their meeting.  Only five (5) of the dozen or so reported members of KJI’s travel party were reported as attending.  Jang Song Taek (Chang So’ng-t’aek) was not reported to have attended the interaction.  Interestingly in this and other KCNA reporting on the trip, VMar Kim Yong Chun (Kim Yo’ng-ch’un) was identified as a member of the Political Bureau and minister of the People’s Armed Forces, but not Vice-Chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC).

Kim Jong Il thanked the Russian president and other central leading officials and the governments and people of different regions for kindly receiving him wherever he went and according him cordial hospitality and extended his regards to the Russian people.

He said he witnessed the successes achieved by the Russian government and people in the work to modernize the economy, bolster the defense capability and achieve social stability under the leadership of Medvedev and got better knowledge of the history and culture of Russia while touring several cities and units of the vast Far East and Siberian regions. He hoped the Russian people would enjoy prosperity in the future, too.

At the talks the top leaders of the two countries informed each other of the situation in their countries and appreciated with satisfaction the favorably developing bilateral relations. They exchanged their views on developing the bilateral relations and reached a consensus of views on all the issues discussed.

The two top leaders were unanimous in saying that boosting the bilateral friendly and cooperative relations with a long historical tradition is not only in line with the desire of the two peoples and their fundamental interests but is of important significance in developing Northeast Asia and defending world peace and security.

The Russian president reiterated that the Russian side would join the DPRK side in boosting the Russia-DPRK good-neighborly, friendly and cooperative relations and thus making a positive contribution to bringing greater well-being to the two peoples.

Kim Jong Il reiterated the determination of the government and people of the DPRK to make every possible effort to further develop the traditional bilateral friendly and cooperative relations in the future, too.

At the talks the top leaders underlined the need for the two countries to boost the friendship, equality and mutually beneficial cooperative relations in the spirit of the DPRK-Russia Joint Declaration inked in Pyongyang in 2000, the 2001 DPRK-Russia Moscow Declaration and the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighborliness and Cooperation between the DPRK and Russia.

They expressed firm belief that the cause of building a prosperous and powerful nation in the DPRK and that of building a powerful state in Russia would surely be accomplished thanks to the two peoples’ vigorous struggle for social progress and development. They expressed mutual support and solidarity with the cause.

The two top leaders had an in-depth exchange of views on regional and international issues at the talks.

The Russians arranged a performance for KJI:

The performance was given by well-known national art troupes, people’s and merited artistes and international concourse winners of Russia.

Their repertoire included chorus “Song of General Kim Jong Il,” an immortal revolutionary hymn, chorus and dance “Katyusa,” song and dance suite “Land of friendship,” chorus “Russia and Korea, eternal friends.”

The performers expressed boundless reverence and thanks of the Russian people for Kim Jong Il for making an undying contribution to the development of traditional DPRK-Russia friendship.

Pleasant and optimistic dances and songs showcased part of a long history and culture of the Russian people and culture of the Buryat.

The performance was acclaimed by the audience for its high artistic value.

Kim Jong Il conveyed a floral basket to the artistes for their successful performance.

Medvedev also hosted “a grand banquet” for the DPRK officials:

Kim Jong Il was present at the banquet on invitation.

Also present there on invitation were Kim Yong Chun, member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and minister of the People’s Armed Forces, Kang Sok Ju, member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and vice-premier of the Cabinet, Jang Song Thaek, alternate member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and vice-chairman of the NDC, Kim Yang Gon, Pak To Chun and Thae Jong Su, alternate members of the Political Bureau and secretaries of the WPK Central Committee, Ju Kyu Chang, alternate member of the Political Bureau and department director of the WPK Central Committee, Pak Pong Ju, first vice department director of the WPK Central Committee, O Su Yong, chief secretary of the North Hamgyong Provincial Committee of the WPK, Kim Kye Gwan, first vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, Kim Yong Jae, DPRK ambassador to Russia, Sim Kuk Ryong, consul general of the DPRK Consulate General in Nakhodka of Russia, and other suite members.

Present there together with Medvedev were Alexandr Avramov, assistant to the president for regional policy, Sergei Prikhodiko, assistant to the president for external policy, Viktor Ishayev, presidential envoy to the Far East Region of the Russian Federation, Viktor Tolokonski, presidential envoy to the Siberian Region of the Russian Federation, Anatoly Serzhukov, minister of Defense, Igor Levitin, minister of Transport, Viktor Basargin, minister of Regional Development who is chairman of the Russian side to the Governmental Committee between Russia-DPRK for the Cooperation of Trade and Economy, Science and Technology, Valery Sukhinin, Russian ambassador to the DPRK, Aleksei Borodavkin, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, Byacheslav Nagovitsin, president of the Republic of Buryatia, Matbei Gershevich, chairman of the People’s Khural, Gennadi Aidayev, mayor of Ulan-Ude, Anatoly Sidorov, first vice commander of the Eastern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Tsilko, commander of the 36th Combined Forces of the Eastern Military District, and other central and local leading officials and commanding officers of the armed forces.

Dmitri Anatoliyevich Medvedev made a speech at the banquet.

Kim Jong Il spoke next.

The banquet proceeded in an amicable atmosphere overflowing with friendship.

According to KCNA Medvedev, in part, said:

The good neighborly relations between our two countries have a solid foundation. This is not merely because of geographical proximity and long-standing bilateral relations.

The cooperation between Russia and the DPRK has great potential.

To realize cooperation between the two countries will bring a lot of benefits including not a few economic fruits to our two peoples.

Today I and Your Excellency Kim Jong Il agreed to further political dialogue and comprehensively develop working cooperation.

There is great possibility of cooperation for us in the educational and cultural fields, too.

The Russian center has already operated in Pyongyang for the last three years and students of the DPRK are studying and having training programs at universities of Russia.

Art groups of Russia made ceaseless performance tours of the DPRK and it has become a tradition for them to participate in the April Spring Friendship Art Festival.

The contacts between the regions of the two countries have become more brisk recently.

Documents on establishing sister relations between various cities of Russia and the DPRK are in the making.

Cooperation among Russia, the DPRK and the Republic of Korea in carrying out the grand plans in the fields of infrastructure and power has a great prospect.

I am convinced that to realize this cooperation would be beneficial to all our three countries and have a positive impact on providing favorable environment for dialogue and confidence-building between the DPRK and the ROK.

It is our common task to put an end to the confrontation between the north and the south that has lasted for more than half a century, I think.

We will in the future, too, contribute to seeking political and economic solutions to turn the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia into regions in which durable peace and security are settled.

Respected friends,

Hoping you will have good impressions during your stay in Russia, let me propose to toast to the good health of respected Your Excellency Kim Jong Il, chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, and to the good health of all those present here and to the well-being and prosperity of the peoples of the DPRK and Russia.

According to KCNA, Kim Jong Il’s after-dinner speech said, in part:

It gives me great pleasure to revisit Siberia and the Far East Region of Russia, a friendly neighbor, after the lapse of a decade and meet with you.

Allow me to express, first of all, my heartfelt thanks to you for traveling thousands of kilometers to come to Ulan-Ude from Moscow, the capital city, warmly greeting us and providing us with such meaningful place today.

It gives us particular pleasure to visit your country for the third time in the new century and see for ourselves the achievements made by your people in building powerful and modern Russia.

The Russian government and people are registering many successes in the work to bolster the defence capability of the country and achieve the modernization of economy and social and political stability and working hard to establish a fair international order against high-handed and arbitrary practices under your leadership.

It is our sincere hope that the efforts of the friendly Russian government and people to defend world peace and security and build rich and powerful Russia will bear good fruits.

The peoples of our two countries have given steady continuity to the history and tradition of friendship along with the placid flow of the River Tuman.

We are glad to see that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries have favorably developed in various fields recently.

To steadily develop in depth the history and tradition of the DPRK-Russia friendship entirely conforms with the interests of the two peoples and is of weighty significance in defending the peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

We are convinced that the summit meeting today will undoubtedly mark an important landmark in boosting the DPRK-Russia relations in line with the aspiration and desire of the two peoples and turning Northeast Asia into the region for peace and cooperation.

We will in the future, too, make every effort to boost the traditional DPRK-Russia friendly and cooperative relations.

In closing, I, availing myself of this opportunity overflowing with the friendship, would like to propose a toast to the strengthening and development of the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries, to the good health of Respected Your Excellency President Dmitri Anatoliyevich Medvedev and to the good health of the dear friends of Russia and all those present here.

Medvedev later saw KJI depart from Ulan Ude.  In a separate piece, KCNA reported that “the Korean people are now making great achievements in their work to delight leader Kim Jong Il when he returns home from his unofficial visit to Siberian and Far East regions of the Russian Federation.”

The president hoped that he would meet with leader Kim Jong Il again and sincerely wished him greater success in his important work for building a prosperous and powerful country.

Kim Jong Il once again extended thanks to the president, the government and the people of Russia for having accorded him cordial hospitality with all sincerity during his visit and wished them new success in the efforts for the economic development of the country and the well-being of the people.

Kim Jong Il and Dmitri Anatoliyevich Medvedev shook hands with each other before bidding farewell.

The revisit paid by Kim Jong Il to Russia for steadily strengthening and developing the DPRK-Russia friendship proved successful thanks to the particular concern and hospitality of the Russian president including leading officials of the Russian government and various regions and their people.

He expressed his satisfaction over the results of the visit and sincere thanks to the Russian people for their warmest hospitality.

Kim Jong Il’s historical visit to Russia will go a long way towards boosting the traditional DPRK-Russia friendship and record another brilliant chapter in its history.

One projected rail route for Kim Jong Il's return to the DPRK (Photo: Google image)

Kim Jong Il Meets with Medvedev

Kim Jong Il steps out of his car prior to meeting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 24 August 2011 outside of Ulan Ude in Siberia (Photo: RIA Novosti)

Kim Jong Il (Kim Cho’ng-il) met with Russian Federation President Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev on Wednesday (24 August) at a military compound outside of Ulan Ude in Siberia.  During the meeting, KJI said that he would consider suspending any additional nuclear weapons development, testing and production as part of an oft-repeated pledge for the DPRK to return to the Six Party Talks.  RT reports:

North Korea is ready to return to the Six-Party negotiation table unconditionally and to do so, Kim Jong-il promised his country will impose moratorium on nuclear testing and nuclear weapons production.

Presidential Press Secretary Natalia Timakova announced these results of the meeting on Wednesday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his North Korean counterpart have met in the secluded military compound Sosnovy Bor (Pine Wood) on the outskirts of the capital of Republic of Buryatia, Ulan-Ude. The talks lasted for two hours and ten minutes.The leaders shook hands for protocol photos in the presence of press, then proceeded to negotiate behind closed doors. Few results were announced once the negotiations were over, including little information about the topics of discussion.

Surely, tense topics have been discussed during the meeting. Most likely the talks were focused on Six-Party Talks: North Korea withdrew from the Six-Party Talks (which include North and South Koreas, Russia, China, US and Japan) and continued with its nuclear experiments, defiant in its continuation of its nuclear program, predictably causing outrage not only within the Six Parties, but the whole of the international community.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) meets with Kim Jong Il, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), near Russia's eastern Siberian city of Ulan Ude, Aug. 24, 2011. (Xinhua/RIA NOVOSTI)

KJI and Medvedev also discussed the formation of a three-country commission to oversee the development and construction of a gas pipeline running from Russia through the DPRK to ROK.  ITAR-TASS reports:

Medvedev said, “We achieved certain results on gas cooperation. In particular, a decision has been taken to create a special commission for gas transit to the Republic of Korea via the territory of the DPRK.”

“The DPRK seeks to realise this project,” the Russian president stressed. At the same time, he pointed out that the gas pipeline of 1,100 km long was planning to be built.

“This year it will be possible to transport up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas by this pipeline. If there is demand, we are ready to increase our supplies,” Medvedev said.

“We instructed our agencies to create a special commission in order to determine concrete parameters of gas cooperation via the territory of the DPRK and involve South Korea in this project due to the fact that main consumers are deployed on its territory,” the Russian president said.

He noted, “The DPRK seeks to realise such tripartite project with the participation of Russia and South Korea. Now we are starting a technical work.” “Some time ago the Gazprom delegation led by the deputy head of the board visited the DPRK. Yesterday I instructed [the company’s head Alexei] Miller to deal with this problem. We’ll hope that there will be a good project,” Medvedev said.

A delegation from Russia’s Gazprom gas giant visited North Korea last week, for the latest in a sudden flurry of mysterious contacts between Moscow and the isolated state, the company said.

The Gazprom team was headed by deputy managing chairman Alexander Ananenkov, who met with North Korea’s oil minister to discuss “outstanding issues of cooperation in the energy sphere,” the Russian company said.

The construction of a gas pipeline between Russia and South Korea via the DPRK will guarantee the restoration and strengthening of trust between Seoul and Pyongyang, said Georgy Toloraya, director of research programmes at the Centre for Modern Korean Studies, Institute of World Economy and International Relations.

Commenting on a visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Toloraya said, “The upcoming talks between the Russian and North Korean leaders are important. The six-party consultations may resume. North Koreans said they were ready to resume negotiations and discus the nuclear programme. It will be more difficult to ignore a signal that Kim Jong-il will give to the international community with the aid of Dmitry Medvedev.”

“If Russia supports the initiative [on resuming the six-party talks] and guarantees that North Koreans seek to discuss this problem, it will be more difficult for Seoul and Washington to scuttle the dialogue,” the Russian expert said.

Economic projects, such as the construction of a gas pipeline between Russia and South Korea via the DPRK, the linking up of the Trans-Korean railway with the Trans-Siberian mainline and the construction of a power transmission line from the Far East to the Republic of Korea, can be very significant in relations between the two countries. “This issue is being actively finalised. Gazprom’ s project has been approved by North Korea. Pyongyang is also ready to take part in the project jointly with South Koreans despite difficult relations. Now Gazprom intends to inform Seoul about this. South Koreans agree in word although they voice concerns over North Korea’s possible dependence, including illegal gas extraction and blackmail,” he said.

At the same time, he said, “The pipeline will guarantee the restoration and strengthening of trust between the North and the South. The economic development of North Korea will become one more argument for stopping the nuclear programme.”

Kim Jong Il meets with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 24 August 2011 outside of Ulan Ude in Siberia (Photo: Kremlin)

Kim Jong Il and Dmitry Medvedev sit for a media availability on 24 August 2011 (Photo: Kremlin)

The meeting’s agenda also included a bit of old business, including the DPRK’s formal recognition of the Russian Federation succeeding the Soviet Union and the DPRK’s repayment of foreign debts to the former USSR.  RIA Novosti reports:

Medvedev and Kim met in Ulan-Ude, in East Siberia’s Buryatia Region earlier in the day.

“The leaders agreed on an approach toward solving this issue,” the source said.

Renewed talks on the issue had been going on for around six weeks, the source added.

“The Russian delegation thinks that the fact that these talks have been renewed is a significant breakthrough toward solving this issue.”

The talks involve North Korea’s $11 billion debt to Russia from the Soviet era, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said on Wednesday.

He also said that North Korea should first recognize Russia as a successor state of the Soviet Union. Then the two states need to recalculate the sum of the loan, which was issued in Soviet rubles at the exchange rate of 0.6 rubles per $1.

Only then the two countries may launch negotiations “on how to repay the resulting sum.”

Moscow sees the loan as one of the factors that hinder trade and economic cooperation between the two states.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev talks with Kim Jong Il during a photo op on 24 August (Photo: Xinhua)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Kim Jong Il (R) on 24 August 2011 in Ulan Ude in Siberia (Photo: Xinhua)

KJI Arrives in Ulan Ude

North Korean and Russian flags are hung at Ulan-Ude Station in Ulan-Ude in eastern Siberia on the occassion of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's visit on Aug. 23. (Yonhap)

Kim Jong Il arrived in Ulan Ude on 23 August (Tuesday), greeted at the railway station by various local officials.  KJI is expected to meet with Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday (24 August).  On Tuesday, KJI indulged in one of his favorite past times, swimming, on this occasion in a pool of water pumped from Lake Baikal.  KJI took a dip with a local elected official, then cruised the lake and enjoyed a dinner of regional dishes.  Later in the day he toured Ulan Ude’s aircraft factory.  Radio Netherlands reports:

Kim’s armoured train earlier pulled into the traditionally Buddhist city of Ulan-Ude where he is expected to hold talks with Medvedev on Wednesday in an apparent bid to win Russian aid for his isolated state amid food shortages.

Russian officials have pulled out all the stops for the high-profile visit which has seen Kim ease his way across Siberia along the famed Trans-Siberian railway from the Pacific since crossing the border into Russia at the weekend.

Amid unprecedented security involving dozens of guards and North Korean snipers, the reclusive Kim was taken to the small village of Turka on the picturesque shores of Lake Baikal, a regional official told AFP.

There he took a swim in the pool filled with Lake Baikal water which locals believe has medicinal powers and gives bathers vital energy and health, he told AFP. “It is considered sacred,” said the official, who asked not to be named.

Kim was also given a boat ride across the lake and was offered local delicacies like the endemic omul fish and traditional Buryat dish of meat dumplings known as buuza.

World famous for its dramatic beauty, Lake Baikal contains around a fifth of the world’s fresh water and is home to a variety of endemic species.

Kim also visited the Soviet-era Ulan-Ude aviation plant making assault jets and helicopters. “It was a good day,” said another local official involved with the visit, noting the straight-faced Kim sported his trademark sunglasses.

In an apparent nod to Kim’s concerns about personal safety, the Kremlin imposed a virtual blanket ban on information about Kim’s plans and itinerary.

Kim is set to meet Medvedev for a rare summit in the eastern Siberian city 5,550 kilometres (3,450 miles) east of Moscow on Wednesday, with the talks expected to focus on Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, energy and food shortages in the isolated state.

Back in the DPRK, the country welcomed a Russian military delegation, among other visitors. KCNA reported on on 22 August of the arrival (among others) of “a delegation of the Eastern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation headed by Commander of the district Konstantin Sidenko.”  Kyodo News, citing ITAR-TASS, reports:

Itar-Tass said a Russian military delegation headed Adm. Konstantin Sidenko, commander of troops of the Eastern Military District, arrived in North Korea earlier in the day for a five-day visit.

Citing the Russian Defense Ministry, the report said, ”The agenda of the visit envisages meetings with the top officers of the Korean People’s Army in order to have consultations seeking to resume and develop military and naval cooperation.” It said the visit is also intended ”to negotiate probable dates and the scenario of Russian-North Korean humanitarian exercises and to exchange courtesy visits of Russian and North Korean warships.”

The two sides ”will discuss prospects for cooperation between the ground troops of the countries, probable joint exercises and trainings for the search and rescue of ships in distress and the aid to people in natural disasters.”

For a glimpse of Kim Jong Il, spots and all, one might wish to rely on images taken and released by non-DPRK media sources.  Chosun Ilbo reports that DPRK media has edited KJI’s liver spots and other blemishes from photos it releases.  It seems that the DPRK has imported the practice of the airbrushed celebrity.

The most conspicuous picture was shown on CCTV and features Kim in Yangzhou in the Chinese province of Jiangsu on May 23. But in a photo released on May 28 by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, which it claimed shows Kim inspecting Huichon Power Station, he has no liver spots on his face. Another image shows him inspecting a fish farm on June 2, again without liver spots.

But in a photo taken by a Xinhua news agency cameraman, which shows Kim meeting with Chinese official Li Yuanchao in Pyongyang on June 13, he has liver spots again.

On his July 6 visit to Sinam Cooperative Farm in North Pyongan Province, the KCNA seems to have photoshopped his skin clean again.

But in a picture released by Chinese media on July 12, he has dark spots on his face again.

KJI-Medvedev to Meet Wednesday?

According to ROK and Russian media reports, Kim Jong Il is expected to visit Skovorodino en route to his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Ulan Ude. The red line indicates his rail route. (Photo: Google image)

Russian and ROK media said that Kim Jong Il and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet on Wednesday (24 August) in Ulan Ude.  The DPRK-Russian leadership meeting was originally believed to take place on Tuesday (23 August), but may have been delayed by a day.  On his way to Ulan Ude KJI will reportedly visit Skovorodino.  Yonhap reports:

On Monday, the third day of his Russian trip, an armored train believed to carry Kim was heading to the eastern Siberian city of Ulan-Ude, where the two leaders are expected to meet. On Sunday, Kim paid a visit to the Bureiskaya hydroelectric plant in the Amur region.

Ulan-Ude, near Lake Baikal, is about 3,000 kilometers away from Bureiskaya.

“On his way to Ulan-Ude, Kim is likely to stop off at the city of Skovorodino,” the intelligence official said on the condition of anonymity. “If so, the North Korea-Russia summit, originally scheduled for Aug. 23, will be delayed by one day.”

Skovorodino is the starting point for an oil pipeline between eastern Siberia and China. Russia and China completed a 1,000-km oil pipeline linking Skovorodino to Daqing in the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang last year.

In Seoul, a senior government official also said, “There is a possibility that Kim will arrive in Ulan-Ude on Aug. 23 and hold the summit on Aug. 24 after spending a night.”

Newspapers in Russia carried similar reports, citing their diplomatic sources.

The Izvestiya newspaper reported the Kim-Medvedev talks would be held on Wednesday and the venue for the summit would be a state guesthouse in Ulan-Ude, not a military compound.

Tight security measures were in force ahead of his arrival at the city’s railway station and near the state guesthouse, the Russian daily reported.

For years, Russia has proposed building a pipeline through the divided Korean Peninsula to sell Siberian natural gas to South Korea, one of the world’s largest buyers of natural gas.

If realized, the project could help ease tensions on the peninsula and bring much-needed hard currency to North Korea. North Korea can expect to earn more than US$500 million a year in handling charges over the gas pipeline, according to South Korean analysts.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said this month that North Korea reacted “positively” to the natural-gas pipeline construction project. The North’s reaction was conveyed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Kim during their bilateral talks on Aug. 8.

Moscow has also floated the idea of connecting its Trans-Siberian Railway with South Korea via North Korea, a proposal that would provide cheaper shipping routes for South Korean companies selling goods to Europe.

Kim Jong Il's arrives on 21 August at an Amur Oblast railway station in Russia's Far East (Photo: Port Amur/Amur information agency)

DPRK media reported KJI’s visit to Amur and his tour of the Bureiskaya (Bureya) power plant on Sunday and Monday (22 August).  In its report KCNA referred to his “next destination,” but not did disclose where or what that was.

After being briefed on the history of the plant, he acquainted himself in detail with the construction and electricity production, going round the generating room and other places.

Commanding a bird’s-eye view of the giant plant from the observation deck, he said it is a great structure to go down in the history of Russia.

Highly praising the brave and talented Russian people for having built the modern large-scale hydro-electric plant by harnessing nature for dozens of years, he expressed expectation that the workers of the plant would keep the electricity production going at a high rate and contribute to the economic development in the Far East Region and its people’s wellbeing.

He wrote in the visitor’s book: “Inexhaustible is the strength of the Russian people who occupied Bureya nature. Kim Jong Il. August 21, 2011.”

The director of the plant presented him with a gift which was prepared with sincerity carrying boundless respect and reverence of all its employees for him.

The governor of the region gave a luncheon in honor of Kim Jong Il on a visit to the region.

Warmly welcoming Kim Jong Il visiting the Far East Region for the strengthening and development of the Russia-DPRK friendship on behalf of the Regional Government and people, the governor expre ssed the pleasure to receive in their region the leader in good health and full of energy.

The luncheon proceeded in an amicable atmosphere overflowing with friendship. An art performance prepared by the artistes of the region was given in welcome of him.

He was presented with a gift by the governor on behalf of the officials and people of the region in token of his historic visit to the region.

He left for his next destination amid the warm send-off by senior officials of the region.

Meanwhile, back on the peninsula, the DPRK announced that it will continue with the disposal of assets at Ku’mgang resort.  KBS World reports:

North Korea says that it will dispose under its law all assets of South Korean companies at the North’s Mount Geumgang resort.

North Korea revealed its stance in a statement issued by a spokesman from the resort’s guidance bureau on Monday. According to the North’s official Korea Central News Agency, the statement said the North will take legal steps to dispose all South Korean property, including real estate, equipment and vehicles, at Mount Geumgang. It added that the South Korean government has completely abandoned the protection of assets of South Korean companies in the resort.

The news agency also reported that North Korea has banned South Korean companies from taking any goods and assets out of the Mount Geumgang resort from midnight on Sunday, and further demanded that South Korean personnel leave Mount Geumgang within 72 hours.

Previously, North Korea demanded South Korean firms on July 29th to make a decision on the disposal of their assets at the mountain resort within three weeks in accordance with its special law on the Geumgang tourist district.

An official notice reading "Freeze" in Korean is stuck to a South Korean-owned building at the Mount Kumgang resort, one of several assets that North Korea froze last year. (Yonhap file photo)

KJI Visits Hydroelectric Power Plant in Russian Far East

Kim Jong Il is greeted at an Amur railway station on 21 August with bread (Photo: Port Amur/Amur information agency)

Kim Jong Il (Kim Cho’ng-il) continued his visit Sunday (21 August) to Russia’s Far East with a visit to Amur Oblast, which included a tour of the Bureiskaya hydroelectric power plant.  There was a small reception and send-off at the local train station.  According to Amur news agency, during his visit to the power plant, he toured the machine room and then watched the water discharge.  He departed the city in the late afternoon, as he wends his way to Ulan Ude where his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Anatoliyevich Medvedev is expected to occur.  RT reports:

North Korean leader has been greeted with Russian traditional bread and salt in Russia’s Far Eastern Amur Region as he came off his armored train. Kim Jong Il’s security was guarded heavily by dozens of police.

People living nearby were advised to veil their windows and photo and video shooting were prohibited, local news agency Amur.info reported.

The North Korean leader stepped out onto a red carpet and was then swept off in his very own Mercedes-Benz, which had travelled with him on the same armored train.

The motorcade headed for the local Bureiskaya hydropower plant where he spent just five minutes.

Kim Jong Il is now proceeding on his train to Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Republic of Buryatia, where he is due to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Kim Jong Il tours the Bureiskaya Hydroelectric Power Plant in Amur Oblast on 21 August 2011 (Photo: Port Amur/Amur information agency)

Kim Jong Il signs a guestbook during his visit to a hydroelectric power plant in Amur Oblast on 21 August 2011. Arrow indicates an individual believed to be his wife, Kim Ok (Photo: Port Amur/Amur information agency)

KJI crossed the DPRK-Russian border on Saturday (20 August) where he met briefly with local officials at Khasan Railway Station.  Xinhua’s Mu Xuequan reports:

According to the KCNA, the unofficial visit by Kim Jong Il to Siberia and the Far East Region of the Russian Federation at the invitation of Dmitri Anatoliyevich Medvedev, president of the Russian Federation, is another event in “achieving world peace and security and the human cause of independence” and will mark a historic occasion in “boosting the DPRK-Russia friendship given steady continuity generation after generation and putting strong impetus to the drive of all the servicepersons and people to build a thriving socialist nation”. Kim was greeted at Khasan Railway Station by Viktor Ishayev, presidential envoy to the Far East Region of the Russian Federation, Sergey Darikin, governor of Maritime Territory, and other senior Russian officials at the railway station. The officials warmly welcomed Kim, saying President Medvedev who paid deep attention to the Russia-DPRK friendship dispatched them to greet him and the current visit of Kim to Russia will mark a historic occasion in putting the Russia-DPRK friendly and cooperative relations onto a fresher and higher stage, said the report. Kim said that he was very pleased to see the achievements made by the Russian people and appreciated the greeting of the senior officials of Russia, the report added.

Seen in attendance, standing behind Kim Jong Il, are members of the DPRK leadership including Tae Jong Su, Jang Song Taek, Pak To Chun and Kim Yong Chun (Photo: Port Amur/Amur information agency)

KCNA reported about KJI’s first day in Russia, as well as a selected list of the members of his travel party:

He was presented with a souvenir by Sergey Darikin on behalf of the Maritime Territorial Government and people.

After a while, he left for his destination amid send-off by senior officials of Russia.

Prior to it, he left the country to pay an unofficial visit to Siberia and the Far East Region of the Russian Federation.

He is accompanied by Kim Yong Chun, member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and minister of the People’s Armed Forces, Kang Sok Ju, member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and vice-premier of the Cabinet, Jang Song Thaek, alternate member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and vice-chairman of the NDC, Kim Yang Gon, Pak To Chun and Thae Jong Su, alternate members of the Political Bureau and secretaries of the WPK Central Committee, Ju Kyu Chang, alternate member of the Political Bureau and department director of the WPK Central Committee, Pak Pong Ju, first vice department director of the WPK Central Committee, O Su Yong, chief secretary of the North Hamgyong Provincial Committee of the WPK, Kim Kye Gwan, first vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, Kim Yong Jae, DPRK ambassador to Russia, and Sim Kuk Ryong, consul general of the DPRK Consulate General in Nakhodka of Russia.

His visit to Russia, another event in achieving world peace and security and the human cause of independence, will mark a historic occasion in boosting the DPRK-Russia friendship given steady continuity generation after generation and putting strong impetus to the drive of all the servicepersons and people to build a thriving socialist nation.

A view of Kim Jong Il's projected rail route during his sojourn through Russia's Far East (Photo: Google image)

In images taken by a local news agency, an individual who resembles KJI’s current wife, Kim Ok, was also seen in attendance.  Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) was neither listed nor observed to have accompanied KJI.  AFP (via Channel News Asia) reports:

Korean Central News Agency confirmed on Sunday Kim’s “unofficial visit to Siberia and the Far East” region at the invitation of Russian leader Dmitri Medvedev, calling it a “historic occasion”.

A large group of government and military officials were accompanying Kim including defence minister Kim Yong-Chun, vice premier Kang Sok-Ju and Jang Song-Thaek, the leader’s brother-in-law and vice head of the powerful National Defence Commission, KCNA said.

But Jong-Un, the leader’s youngest son and heir apparent, was not listed in the official entourage.

The young protege, believed to be in his late 20s, was made a general and given senior posts in the ruling communist party last September.

The leader, who suffered a stroke in August 2008, has been grooming his Swiss-educated son as eventual successor in an attempt to extend the family dynasty into a third generation.

Kim Jong-Il took over in the late 1990s from his father and founding president Kim Il-Sung, who built the dynasty that has ruled the impoverished country with an iron first for more than six decades.

Jong-Un, known to be expanding his role in policy-making, has not yet been spotted accompanying his father to diplomatic trips overseas including the leader’s surprise visit to China in May.

The visit to Russia comes at a sensitive time for the two countries. Russia is heading into crucial presidential polls in 2012, in which the big unknown is whether Medvedev or former president and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will run.

Kim Jong Il enters his personal armored train, prior to departing Amur on 21 August 2011 (Photo: Port Amur/Amur information agency)