Mark Magnier of the L.A. Times is one of the best American correspondents in Asia. I used to work with him at the Journal of Commerce, where he was the paper’s Tokyo correspondent and trade editor. He recently spent four days roaming around North Korea, and his report is full of interesting detail. Highlights:
- “Our nuclear weapons are a source of great pride in our country, and if anyone insults us now they won’t survive,” said Son, an ideologically vetted worker at the International Friendship Museum north of the capital. “Now that we have our pride, our great political and military power and nuclear weapons, the economic problems can be solved. The first aim of the Dear Leader is to improve the living standards of average people.”
- At this year’s Arirang “mass games,” held periodically to glorify the regime using tens of thousands of performers, the “Army First” policy was featured. But the tenor seemed softer than in 2005. This year’s included a chapter titled “Our Country Is Prosperous,” in which thousands of people dressed as goats and rabbits danced as a giant message board proclaimed: “There’s a lot of grass. If we use it in an efficient way, we can all have meat.”
- “Even if we starve, as long as Dear Leader Kim Jong Il is healthy, that is paramount,” (a guide) said. “Now we will focus on living standards. As long as we follow the Dear Leader, everything will be fine.”
To read on, and view his photographs, click here.
