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| Nostalgia for Kim Il-sung Rising in N. Korea |
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The late North Korean
leader Kim Il-sung |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The acute food shortage in North Korea after the failed currency revaluation last year has led some residents to miss the good old days when they had no worries concerning what to eat under the late former leader Kim Il-sung.
A group of North Korean refugees here said that the presence of nostalgia for the late Kim in the North is associated with simmering public anger over the current leadership.
North Koreans had no worries about skipping meals during the 1960s and 1970s as what they called the great leader Kim put people's livelihood first, said a group named Good Friends.
In a recent news release, the group said that not only grassroots organizations but also government officials have complained about the harsh reality facing them after the currency reform.
The news report was based on stories told over the phone from secret North Korean stringers based in the reclusive nation.
Before the currency reform, people in rural areas used to make ends meet through earnings in markets but after the reform they were unable to afford proper meals any more.
``When the late leader was in power, people had no worries over meals. The merit-based system was in place during the period, and residents were encouraged to work harder,'' said the release, citing a North Korean reporter.
After the 1980s, the North's military first policy has made things worse as more North Koreans have starved, the report said.
Another North Korean refugee group said the North pushed ``external threats'' to turn away public attention from the harsh economic reality facing its residents.
The North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity in Seoul said Pyongyang created a sense of urgency inside the reclusive nation by declaring martial law in early March.
The measure was taken about a week before an annual Korea-U.S. military drill, known as Key Resolve, kicked off in the South.
Citing a North Korean stringer, the group said that the North's ruling Workers' Party also launched extensive security education programs on a regular basis for workers and residents.
Last week, Pyongyang threatened to confiscate South Korean assets at the resort of Mt. Geumgang if South Korean businesses or individuals having business interests there fail to attend a March 25 meeting there.
The North said it set up the meeting in order to take a survey of South Korean real estate assets there.
Seoul said that it won't propose inter-Korean tourism talks.
A high-ranking official from the government said on condition of anonymity that the North should apologize for the killing of a South Korean tourist at the resort two years ago and then come up with concrete measures to make sure that South Koreans will be safe during any trips.
The Mt. Geumgang tourism program was suspended in 2008 after a South Korean woman was shot dead there.
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr
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무디스, 스페인·伊·포르투갈 신용등급 강등
