Choe Yong Rim Visits Iron and Steel Complex, Attends Trade Fair

DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim (4th R) visits the Hwanghae Iron and Steel Complex in Songrim, North Hwanghae Province, on 15 May 2012 (Photo: KCNA)

DPRK state media reported on Wednesday (16 May) that DPRK Cabinet Premier Choe Yong Rim inspected the Hwanghae Iron and Steel Complex on Tuesday (15 May).  KCNA reports:

The workers of the complex are making achievements in updating it and producing heavy-duty rails true to the behests of leader Kim Jong Il.

Going round gas generation and high temperature air combustion heating process and various other places, the premier learned in detail about the progress made in updating the complex and held a consultative meeting.

The meeting discussed the issues of implementing the WPK’s policy on modernizing railways and replacing the existing rails with heavy-duty ones, pushing forward the updating of the complex and keeping rail production going at a high rate. It took measures to ensure that relevant units satisfactorily ensure the supply of raw and other materials needed for production.

The premier got familiar with the management and operation of the hostel and supply service.

Stressing the need for the officials to provide the workers with convenience on a priority basis and take good care of their living, by learning from the dear respected Kim Jong Un’s noble outlook on the people. He took measures to complete the construction of dwelling houses as early as possible.

DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim (3rd L) talks to a vendor at the 15th Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair, during a 15 May 2012 tour (Photo: KCNA)

Later in the day, Choe visited the the 15th Spring International Trade Fair being held at the Three Revolutions’ Exhibition in Pyongyang.

The premier also visited the 15th Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair on the same day. He underlined the need to positively develop the bilateral and multilateral cooperation among countries and regions in the economic and trade fields.

View of opening ceremony of the 15th Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair. The ceremony was held on 14 May (Monday) (Photo: KCNA)

DPRK Vice Premier and KWP Political Bureau Member, Kang Sok Ju (2nd L) is briefed on products displayed at the spring trade fair on 14 May (Photo: KCNA)

Pyongyang’s 15th Spring International Trade Fair, scheduled from 14 thru 17 May, displays the products of companies from 14 different countries.  On Monday (14 May) the trade fair had its opening ceremony.  KCNA reports:

Present at the opening ceremony were Kang Sok Ju, vice-premier of the DPRK, Ri Ryong Nam, minister of Foreign Trade, and others, delegations of different countries and regions and diplomatic envoys of various countries and staff members of foreign embassies here.

A congratulatory speech by O Ryong Chol, vice-minister of Foreign Trade, followed an inaugural speech made by Kim Mun Jong, president of the Korean International Exhibition Corporation.

Speakers welcomed delegations of different countries and regions participating in the fair.

They said that the fair is a prestigious international economic gathering which reflects the desire and wish of mankind to establish a new international economic order based on independence and achieve the common prosperity and development.

He hoped that they would make good achievements through broad contacts and positive trade dealings.

They declared the DPRK would in the future, too, further expand and develop bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the fields of economy and trade with all countries and regions on the principle of equality and mutual benefit.

At the end of the ceremony, the participants looked round products from companies of the DPRK, Netherlands, Germany, Bulgaria, Switzerland, the UK, Austria, Italy, Finland, Poland, Australia, Malaysia, Mongolia, China and Taipei of China.

The fair will last till May 17.

Pyongyang Restaurant Opened in Amsterdam

The Pyongyang Restaurant in Amsterdam (Yonhap)

Pyongyang Restaurant in western Amsterdam (Photo: Google image)

After a small delay, the Netherlands branch of Pyongyang Restaurant opened in the Osdorp area of western Amsterdam in mid-January 2012.  The grand opening is scheduled to occur on 17 February 2012, and may be attended by the DPRK Ambassador to Switzerland So Se-p’yo’ng, the country’s nonresident ambassador to the Netherlands.  One of the Dutch partners in the joint venture is Remco van Daal, who has traveled to the DPRK on several occasions and was involved in several NL-DPRK organizations.

Yonhap reports:

The “Pyongyang Restaurant” was launched late last month under a joint venture between North Korea and two Dutch businessmen. While North Korea is known to operate dozens of restaurants across Asia, it is the first time a North Korean restaurant has opened in Europe, with the exception of a canteen that briefly operated near the North Korean Embassy in Vienna in the mid-1990′s, according to a local source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The restaurant is staffed by nine North Koreans, including the director and manager, Han Myong-hee, who worked for 15 years at a North Korean restaurant in Beijing operated by the North’s ruling Workers’ Party.

Pyongyang Restaurant, which seats 24 people, has its walls covered with pictures of Pyongyang and North Korean nature, while its menu consists solely of a nine-course meal priced at 79 euros (US$104).

Han said there are plans to offer more affordable dishes such as Korean noodles and dumplings after the restaurant’s official opening on Feb. 17.

“After our official launch, we plan to gradually serve a variety of dishes and during lunch hours as well,” she said. The restaurant currently serves only dinner.

The opening ceremony is expected to be attended by the North Korean ambassador to Switzerland, other North Koreans, and key figures from the Netherlands and different European nations, Han said.

Analysts said the restaurant is likely to serve not only as a source of much-needed cash but also as a bridge to Europe for the isolated North.

“North Korea has been putting a lot of effort into normalizing relations with European nations since 2000,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. “The opening of North Korea’s first restaurant in Europe can be seen as the North’s attempt to improve ties with the West through exchanges at the civilian level.”

Curtis has a comprehensive survey on DPRK restaurants abroad.

Dutch Stamp Collector Detained in DPRK Gives Interview

Store front of Willem van der Bijl's stamp and coin shop on Zandelstraat in Utrecht (Photo: RTV Utrecht)

A Dutch citizen held by DPRK authorities during the summer of 2011 has given a media interview about his detention.  Willem van der Bijl, a Utrecht shop owner and stamp collector, was detained and interrogated by the north’s Ministry of State Security for nearly two weeks from 29 July to 12 August.  Van der Bijl told NRC Handelsblad that he was arrested on espionage charges and kept in a 2 m by 3 m (6 ft by 9 ft) cell, surrounded by four armed guards.  He was interrogated three times a day, at 90 minute intervals, by two DPRK officials.  When not being interrogated, Van der Bijl spent 15 hours per day sitting in the chair in his cell.  Radio Netherlands Worldwide has a gist of the interview in its daily review of the Dutch press:

Philatelist Willem van der Bijl spent two weeks in a North Korean cell. The authorities mistrusted his Korean contacts and his collection of souvenirs. Not to mention the surreptitious snaps of an old village on his laptop: “You are trying to convince your leaders that our country is poor!” he was told.

Mr Van der Bijl’s account of his ordeal confirms quite a few suspicions about life under the Communist dictatorship. “I was in a cell, two by three metres with only a bed and a hard chair. I had to sit on the chair for 15 hours a day. I was surrounded by four soldiers 24 hours a day. I’m a positive fellow but it’s no wonder I began to lose my mind.” Thankfully he did not suffer any physical violence and after copying out a nine-page confession, he was eventually released.

So what was he doing in North Korea in the first place? “I love the people there,” he says. “They are sweet and naive … I’m an inquisitive soul, always have been. And it’s a fascinating place.” He admits he’s addicted and itching to go back. But he sighs “my friends and family won’t let me.”

Van der Bijl traveled to the DPRK 24 times, since 1998.  He was presumed missing on or about 30 July 2011, when he was not his return flight to Holland.  His colleagues and neighbors presumed that he had been detained.  While he was under arrest, DPRK media published a short essay about elections to local power organs which was supposedly written by Van der Bijl and carried an image of him wearing a party lapel pin.

Kim Jong Il Meets with Laos President

A commemorative photograph of Lao President Choummaly Sayasone (C) with Kim Jong Il (R) and Kim Jong Un (L) (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Kim Jong Il met with Lao President Choummaly Sayasone.  In addition to the Lao officials accompanying Mr. Sayasone, joining the meeting and dinner reception from the DPRK were Chief of the KPA General Staff VMar Ri Yong Ho, CC KWP Secretary and Department Director Kim Yong Il, NDC Member and CC KWP Secretary Pak To Chun, NDC Member and CC KWP Department Director Ju Kyu Chang, and KJI’s hereditary successor, Kim Jong Un.  The presence of Pak To Chun and Ju Kyu Chang suggest that part of the meeting may have included weapons sales or exchanges between the DPRK and Laos.

A commemorative group photograph of Kim Jong Il's meeting and reception for Lao President Choummaly Sayasone. From the DPRK, standing in the 2nd row, are Ju Kyu Chang (L), Kim Yong Il (2nd L), Ri Yong Ho (3rd R) and Pak To Chun (L) (Photo: KCNA)

Lao President Choummaly Sayasone presents gifts to Kim Jong Il (Photo: KCNA)

Saysone, who also heads his country’s ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, arrived in the DPRK on Wednesday, 21 September, after visiting China.  During his visits, the DPRK central leadership held a reception for him where he interacted with SPA Presidium President Kim Yong Nam (Kim Yo’ng-nam), CC KWP Secretary Choe Tae Bok (Choe T’ae-pok) and others.  KCNA reports:

Kim Yong Nam made a speech at the reception.

He said the Lao president’s DPRK visit marked a very important occasion in boosting the unity and friendly and cooperative relations between the two parties and peoples which were forged in the common struggle for socialism against imperialism.

He went on: The friendly and cooperative relations between the two parties and peoples provided by the leaders of the elder generation have grown stronger under the deep care of leader Kim Jong Il and Choummaly Sayasone.

The WPK and the people of the DPRK sincerely wished the LPRP and the people of Laos more admirable successes in their efforts for attaining the task and goals advanced at the 9th Congress of LPRP.

The WPK and the DPRK government will make positive efforts to constantly develop the friendship and cooperation with the LPRP and the people of Laos in the road towards socialism against imperialism.

Choummaly Sayasone, speaking next, highly estimated with pleasure that the fraternal Korean people are registering great achievements in the drive for achieving the prosperity of the socialist country and improving the standard of people’s living following the juche idea and the songun idea under the banner of self-reliance under the leadership of the Workers’ Party of Korea headed by Kim Jong Il, holding President Kim Il Sung, the eternal leader.

He was convinced that the fraternal Korean people would make greater successes in building a thriving socialist nation and accomplishing the cause of national reunification on the principles of independence, peace and great national unity.

He expressed deep thanks to the fraternal party, government and people of the DPRK for having rendered precious cooperation to the struggle of the Lao people for national salvation in the past and their national defence and construction at present on behalf of the Lao party, state and people.

We will in the future, too, defend and strengthen the traditional friendly and cooperative relations, the good and precious heritages, which were provided by Kaysone Phomvihane, president of the Lao people and Kim Il Sung, the great leader of the Korean people, and have been carried and expanded by the leaders of the new generation, he stressed.

Lao President Choummaly Sayasone talks with Kim Jong Il during a dinner reception (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Visiting Laotian President Choummaly Saygnasone (L), escorted by Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, inspects an honor guard after arriving at the airport in Pyongyang on Sept. 21. The (North) Korean Central News Agency released the photo on Sept. 22 without elaborating on his itinerary. (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Sayasone’s arrival in the DPRK was greeted with editorials in Rodong Sinmun and Minju Choson.  KCNA also published a biographical profile on Sayasone, which in part read:

He took part in revolution in 1954 and joined the Lao People’s Party, the predecessor of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, in 1955.

He received military and politico-theoretical education in Vietnam and the former Soviet Union.

He was a political commissar of a battalion and battalion commander, chief of staff and commander of the force stationed in Xiengkhouang area, the liberation area from 1962 to 1975.

He worked as director of the Combat Department of the Lao Ministry of Defence and deputy chief of the General Staff of the Lao People’s Army and vice-minister of Defence from 1976.

He was appointed as first vice-minister of Defence in 1986 and minister of Defence in August of 1991.

He was elected vice-president of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in 2001.

Sayasone led one of several delegations visiting Pyongyang this week.  Sayasone arrived on the same day as a delegation of ROK religious leaders.  On 20 September a number of foreign academics (primarily from China and Russia) arrived in the DPRK for a symposium held to commemorate the 65th anniversary of Kim Il Sung University.  A delegation from The Netherlands led by Ambassador Paul Alex Mankveld arrived on 21 September.  Mankveld attended an event commemorating the 10-year anniversary of NL-DPRK diplomatic relations.

van der Bijl Returns to NL

Storefront of Willem van der Bijl's shop on Zandelstraat in Utrecht, NL. (Photo: Winkenelsvinden.nl)

Willem van der Bijl, owner of a Utrecht stamp and coin shop, returned to The Netherlands via Beijing on Saturday (13 August).  Mr. van der Bijl had been slated to return to his home country on 30 July, but was not on his return flight.  People close to van der Bijl claim that he may have been detained by DPRK authorities for weeks.  During the time of his disappearance, he appeared in DPRK media where talked about his visit to a polling place for elections to local power organs (i.e. Local People’s Assemblies).  Mr. van der Bijl had traveled to the DPRK on up to two dozen occasions.  Radio Netherlands reports:

A spokesperson said the foreign ministry never comments on individual cases. However, a friend of the family told local television channel RTV Utrecht that Van der Bijl was held on suspicion of subversive activities. He said Van der Bijl was interrogated for two weeks before being put on a plane to Beijing on Saturday.

Mr Van der Bijl, who has visited the country a number of times at the invitation of North Korean business partners, was originally scheduled to return to the Netherlands on 30 July.

His Dutch business associate Ronald de Groen raised the alarm when he failed to appear for the return flight. At the time, Mr De Groen had not spoken to Mr Van der Bijl for some weeks because foreigners have to hand in their mobile phones when they enter North Korea.

In the past few weeks, the foreign ministry repeatedly contacted the North Korean authorities to inquire after the whereabouts and the wellbeing of Van der Bijl. ,,We are glad he was able to leave the country,” the spokesperson said.