Freedom in the World 1998 - North Korea

1998 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 7.0
Civil Liberties: 7
Political Rights: 7

Overview

On September 9, 1998, North Korea celebrated its 50th anniversary against a backdrop of economic collapse, mass starvation, and increasing international concern over its suspected nuclear weapons program. The country's deterioration, together with the election of a more conciliatory government in South Korea, had led to speculation that the year would yield new openness from the reclusive government in Pyongyang. However, as 1998 drew to a close, North Korea remained one of the world's most closed and secretive societies and showed little sign of change.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was established on September 9, 1948, following the end of World War II, and the division of the Korean peninsula. With assistance from Moscow, Kim Il-sung, a former Soviet army officer, became head of the North Korean government. In June 1950, Kim, with Soviet military support, invaded South Korea in an attempt to reunify the peninsula under communist rule. The three-year Korean War ended in a truce after intervention by U.S. and Chinese troops, which left the two Koreas bitterly divided.

Throughout the cold war, Kim solidified his power base in the north through an extensive personality cult and the development of Juche (self-reliance), a home-grown ideology said to be an application of Marxism-Leninism specific to North Korea. In practice, it became an ideological justification for communist leadership under Kim's rule and for the pervasive Stalinist control of the economy and all aspects of public and private life.

By the 1990's, the North Korean economy was achieving negative growth rates every year. The disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 meant the loss of Pyongyang's cold war patrons in Moscow and increasing isolation for North Korea. As a result, North Korea has been periodically forced into negotiations over its nuclear weapons programs in return for food aid to support its malnourished population.

Kim Il-sung died suddenly of a heart attack in 1994, paving the way for his son and appointed successor, Kim Jong-il, to assume power, marking the first-ever communist dynastic succession. While the younger Kim was regarded as the ruler of North Korea after his father's death, he delayed formally assuming positions of power for several years, not becoming general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party until October 1997.

1998 was marked by mid-year elections for representatives of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature, and by Kim Jong-il's ascension as head-of-state. On July 26, 687 deputies were chosen for the 10th SPA in the first elections held in eight years. Although the constitution calls for elections every five years, North Korea had failed to form a new parliament following the end of the 9th SPA's five-year term in April 1995. The balloting was a mere formality. Only one candidate was registered in each of the country's 687 districts. 67 percent of the deputies were replaced by new figures (compared with 31 percent in the previous election), indicating a possible generational and ideological shift in the North Korean ruling elite.

The formation of the 10th SPA was viewed as the opening of the Kim Jong-il era. The SPA convened in Pyongyang on September 5th and, in a surprise move, revised the Socialist Constitution (renaming it the "Kim Il-sung Constitution") and abolished the post of president, which Kim Jong-il had been expected to assume. Kim was reelected chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC), the nation's highest military supervisory body. With the post of president abolished, the NDC became the highest organ of power in the nation and its chairman the de facto head of state. Kim also holds the country's two other power offices: head of the ruling party and supreme military commander.

On August 31, North Korea launched a three-stage missile that flew over the Japanese island of Hokkaido and crashed into the Pacific, raising new concerns over the north's ability to threaten its neighbors. Pyongyang claimed that the launch was part of an effort to put a satellite into space. International concern also mounted in 1998 over North Korea's ambitions to develop nuclear weapons. The concern surrounded a number of underground complexes at a site north of Pyongyang where weapons construction was suspected. American demands to inspect the site were countered with North Korean demands for $300 million in cash and food aid in return for inspection rights. The demands were rejected and the deteriorating situation threatened to undermine the 1994 Agreed Framework, under which North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for light water nuclear reactors which could not easily be used to make weapons.

There were some indications in 1998 that North Korea may be considering modest openings in the economic sphere. An agreement was reached between the North Korean government and Hyundai, South Korea's largest conglomerate, to develop a tourist facility in the Diamond Mountains in North Korea and to organize tours for South Koreans. For this, Hyundai agreed to pay North Korea $906 million over the next six years. The first group of South Koreans visited the North late in the year – under heavily restricted conditions. There were also signs that Pyongyang would experiment with more free economic zones, in addition to the existing Rajin-Sonbong area and the Nampo-Wonson area south of the capital. The government has come to view such zones as a means to revive the economy without undertaking serious reform. The SPA decided in September that business and trade activities within these zones would be extended to so-called "socialist cooperative groups."

A combination of floods and droughts in recent years, combined with a legacy of agricultural mismanagement and the end of food subsidies from former Communist states, has produced severe food shortages in North Korea. Details regarding the full impact and extent of the resulting famine are difficult to come by, but first-hand accounts, particularly from the border region near China, have told of widespread hunger and even cannibalism. The government has rejected requests by human rights and aid organizations to evaluate fully the extent of the humanitarian crisis. In September, the French-based Médecins Sans Frontières, which had been running the largest international aid operation in North Korea, removed its workers from the country, citing government interference in the distribution of aid. UN workers also reported being denied access to famine-affected counties for "security reasons." There were also reports that food aid was being diverted to the military and government officials.

The governments of North and South Korea resumed efforts in 1998 to end their long-standing hostilities, though little substantive progress was noted. In April, the two sides met in Beijing for direct government-to-government talks for the first time in four years. The talks were part of a continuing series of negotiations aimed at bringing a formal end to the Korean War, which was ended by a truce but without a formal treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at a state of war. The border between the two Koreas is the world's most heavily-armed, with some 2 million troops deployed on both sides.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

North Korea is arguably the most tightly-controlled country in the world. Its citizens cannot change their government democratically. Elections are held regularly, but all candidates are state-sponsored and belong to either the ruling Workers' Party or smaller, state-organized parties. The Supreme People's Assembly, nominally the highest organ of state power, provides little more than a veneer of legitimacy to government decisions. Opposition parties are illegal, and there appears to be little organized dissent due to the regime's repression, widespread internal surveillance, and isolationist policies. Even the most basic elements of a civil society do not exist in North Korea.

The judicial system consists of the Central Court, under which there are various municipal courts, and it is merely another extension of state authority. The SPA has the power to elect and recall the president of the Central Court. The criminal law subjects citizens to arbitrary arrest, detention, and execution for "counterrevolutionary crimes" and other broadly-defined political offenses. In practice, these can include non-violent acts such as attempted defection, criticism of the leadership, and listening to foreign broadcasts. Defense lawyers persuade defendants to plead guilty rather than advocate for them. The rule of law is nonexistent.

Prison conditions are characterized by severe mistreatment of prisoners and, by some accounts, frequent summary executions. The regime operates "re-education through labor" camps that reportedly hold tens of thousands of political prisoners and their families. Defectors say some political prisoners are "re-educated" and released after a few years, while others are held indefinitely.

Authorities implement arbitrary checks of residences, use electronic surveillance, and maintain a network of informants to monitor the population. At school, children are encouraged to report on their parents. The government assigns a security rating to each individual that, to a somewhat lesser extent than in the past, still determines access to education, employment, and health services. North Koreans face a steady onslaught of propaganda from radios and televisions that are pre-tuned to government stations.

Travel within the country generally requires a permit which is normally granted only for state business, weddings, or funerals, although some reports suggest that internal travel restrictions have been slightly eased. Travel into the capital is heavily restricted, with permission usually granted only for government business. The government reportedly forcibly resettles politically suspect citizens. Chinese authorities return some refugees and defectors at the border, many of whom are reportedly summarily executed. Chinese sources say many North Koreans are in fact returned by North Korean agents operating across the border. Only a handful of foreign journalists are accredited in North Korea and entry for foreign visitors is highly restricted.

The General Federation of Trade Unions is the sole legal trade union federation, and its affiliates are used to monitor workers. The regime does not permit strikes, collective bargaining, or other core labor activity. Religious practice is restricted to state-sponsored Buddhist and Christian services. Private property ownership is banned.