DPRK Diplomats Defy Pyongyang, Kids Not Sent Home
by Richardson ~ April 3rd, 2007. Filed under: Defectors & Refugees, Kim Jong-il.Update: Earlier today I had time for only a quick posting of a link on this, but will interject a bit more now. In the first week of March there were reports of Pyongyang issuing an order that diplomats and other overseas officials could have only one child abroad with them. Presumably this was to discourage defections, in effect holding the children as hostage.
Assuming the first report was true – which may or may not be the case – there is at least one alternate, plausible explanation for an extension of the deadline for children to return to North Korea; a lack of transportation funds. Some estimates say that 3,000 children (4,000 in the article below) from five years old and above have to be returned, meaning that some if not most will require escorts, which could also mean return transportation costs. If the average cost of returning the children alone was US$1,000 each, the total would be $3 million. There is a good chance that the funds required were simply not available on such short notice.
Original post: If accurate, this could indicate serious fissure in Kim Jong-il’s grip on power (h/t Bodhi):
North Korean diplomats and officials stationed overseas have refused a recent government order to send their children home, a news report said Tuesday, marking an unprecedented backlash against the communist leadership.
About 4,000 children were supposed to return home by the end of last month, South Korea ’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unnamed person well-versed in North Korean affairs. The North has delayed the deadline by a month.
Each official was allowed to keep one child at their overseas post, the report said.
North Korean diplomats are opposed to the order mainly because of educational reasons, said Yonhap.
Pyongyang’s move could result in defections by North Korean diplomats and officials, said Yonhap, adding that the refusals mark unimaginable acts of disobedience in the tightly controlled country.
Disloyalty to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is a serious crime that can result in detention in the country’s harsh political prison camps.
North Korean diplomats and officials stationed overseas have refused a recent government order to send their children home, a news report said Tuesday, marking an unprecedented backlash against the communist leadership.
About 4,000 children were supposed to return home by the end of last month, South Korea ’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unnamed person well-versed in North Korean affairs. The North has delayed the deadline by a month.
Each official was allowed to keep one child at their overseas post, the report said.
North Korean diplomats are opposed to the order mainly because of educational reasons, said Yonhap.
Pyongyang’s move could result in defections by North Korean diplomats and officials, said Yonhap, adding that the refusals mark unimaginable acts of disobedience in the tightly controlled country.
Disloyalty to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is a serious crime that can result in detention in the country’s harsh political prison camps.
More as facts become available.
April 3rd, 2007 at 3:51 pm
If the news was true just about the government ordering kids home, it is a possible significant sign — that the government expects trouble or feels trouble is already there. Couple this tiny tid bit with the claim awhile back that Kim Jong Il was being held under house arrest, though nothing came of that rumor, and things might be started to turn worse internally.
As you and all the regulars know, I thought the nuke test coming quickly on the heels of ICBM test was a sign of desperation and I predicted NK would not live to see 2009.
The Bush administration has pretty much ruined the slight hopes I had that I was right — but it’s still not too late - we haven’t given them the kitchen sink yet…
I also keep in the back of my mind that perhaps one of the reasons the administration has been doing what it has been doing the last few months is intel they are getting on the North that hasn’t become known to the public — maybe they see cracks starting to widen…
If so, then I can see at least two ideas behind the recent moves — taking a breath of pause to wait for the crumbling to really get under way before adding pressure to tip Pyongyang over the edge — with a possible idea that by holding back right now or seeming to ease pressure might convince some leadership in NK not to follow orders and strike outward if collapse rapidly approaches…
….or………the US has decided China and SK had the right idea and the change in pressure is designed to try to prevent the cracks from getting deeper and leading to collpase…
We shall see….
April 3rd, 2007 at 5:41 pm
It’s too soon to tell, but I hope the report is true. As you say, the cracks are widening.
As for the recent U.S. approach to NK, I continue to assess that it’s just giving Kim enough rope.
April 4th, 2007 at 7:21 am
[…] to a reader for sending, and I see that Richardson has a fine post up on the subject with a plausible alternative explanation. Recall that North Korean consular […]
April 4th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Interesting news indeed… BBC News have good on-line article which points Beijing embassy as the main concern on this matter. In this case, transportation means a bus ticket to the airport a single Air Koryo ticket. Most flights leave nearly empty and tickets could be free of charge to diplomats…? (Off-topic: Air Koryo had a tyre fire upon landing at Beijing last week on one of their Tupolev-154).
Embassies have had to gain knowledge on self-funding since credits from Pyongyang have diminished over the last two decades. It might not be expected from Pyongyang to pay for the journeys at all.
In the mid-90’s, when several diplomats were caught smuggling drugs abroad and news spread that embassies did not receive sufficient funding, many observers were expecting defections. Do not forget how prestigious these positions are within NK political corpuses; even today diplomatic assignments are well sought after. Moreover, the way Pyongyang dealt with previous attempts of defection from NK diplomats may well discourage many. Also, when looking to defect towards SK, the greeting to be expected from gvt authorities is nowhere as good as it was in the 90’s (various recent examples corroborate this tendency). Finally, diplomats still hold key functions – eg: in relation to foreign aid since 1995 as they are supposed to cherish contacts with multilateral agencies as well as bilateral donor countries.
NB: Here in Geneva, a pretty villa harbours NK perm mission to the UN. Several kids playing badminton in the garden is still a common sight when passing by! Last month Fuji TV aired a documentary on NK Swiss Embassy & Geneva mission. They flew a crew over which filmed diplomats & KFA members through a long-view lens. Upon this material, they seem to hold accusation of abducting asian youngster…
April 4th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
[…] children back to North Korea as virtual hostages is turning out to be quite interesting. OFK and DPRK Studies have great postings on the possible reasons and ramifications for […]
April 4th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Gregor,
Here is a link to the BBC News article on this issue. It does not say that the, “Beijing embassy as the main concern on this matter,” nor does it imply that that is the location of most of the children to be returned. In regard to China it said, “Yonhap’s source said opposition to the move was particularly strong among North Koreans living in China, the North’s closest ally.”
The BBC report also spoke of “hundred” of children, while other reports indicate 3,000-4,000. While most posts are in SE Asia, the DPRK has posts all over the world, including Europe, the ME, and Africa, from which travel can be very expensive.
As you point out, there is a great degree of self-funding for these posts, which is why I suggest that they may not be able to pay the costs of returning the children on such short notice. That of course, also as you point out, would not be an issue for those in China or some SE Asian nations. But a ticket from Africa could be $2,000 or more, and then they might require an escort to go and return.
But it’s all speculation at this point.
April 5th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Brave diplomats…
As interesting as this news is and speculation around it, I don’t see Kim Jong-Il being any closer to falling from power. We can only hope it isn’t too far in the future….
April 5th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Hostage in reverse. In the old Korean dynasties, Heir to the Throne were sent to Chinese Dynaty capital to be “raised” by the Chinese royal family. (Mostly as hostage.)
May 9th, 2007 at 5:23 am
A month has passed since we first heard this story. Any news or clarifications, from some sources? The story has “unprecedented” written into it in two dimensions (as I see it): the drastic bureaucratic decision to split families (and where would all the returning children live?), and the apparent decision of many dprk officials living abroad to say “no, thank you”. Taken at face value there is even a third dimension of “unprecedented” here: that the hundreds or maybe even thousands of DPRK officials abroad display *internal communication and networking*?
May 9th, 2007 at 9:43 am
No substantial updates to this story.
It could be “unprecedented,” if true, in that similar events could have taken place but not been reported.
That a recall was issued seems likely. Reasons for rumored non-compliance are not clear, however. Again, it could be rebellious behavior, economic hardship (the missions or even individual parents would likely be responsible for the cost of returning their children), some combination of both, or something else not yet considered here.
Perhaps a defector will shed some light on the subject.