North Korea Rejects Capitalism, Experiments with Luddism

Even for North Korea, this idea sounds too strange to be true:

Therefore, Japanese cars are no where to be seen in North Korea. According to the source, Japanese cars are now supposed to be destroyed. Except, cars over 20 thousand tons, graters, and other weighty mechines will not be destroyed. These machines, however, willl only be operated at nights. [Open Radio]

No doubt, this would do wonders for that “great and powerful socialist economy” the North Koreans are on the precipice of plunging into. I don’t suppose North Korea really believes that the Japanese will feel wounded by this act of spite, although it has no doubt grated on North Korea for years that so many of their trucks and buses are re-badged Hinos, and that most North Koreans probably know it.

Now, for what it’s worth, the Daily NK published a similar report two years ago. How much of this is true? Hard to say, but this has the sound of one of those diktats that will be enforced within 50 miles of Pyongyang for a month and then duly forgotten. And the reported reason for the ban? Kim Jong Il, just as I predicted in the second-to-last paragraph here, approached Japan’s new Prime Minister to work an abductees-for-ransom reparations deal, but was rebuffed. The North Koreans don’t always phase their demands in terms of a quid-pro-quo, but it tend to raise demands for “reparations” whenever Japan demands the return of its citizens, or their remains.

President Bush removed North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism on October 11, 2008. Discuss among yourselves.

And in other news of the Great and Powerful Socialist Economy, Open Radio also prints a report that counterfeiting was one of the reasons for last year’s currency “reform.” Huh?

The source quoted a story of Mr. A, a Korean-Chinese trader who was kidnapped by the National Security Agency for circulating counterfeit North Korean bills. Mr. A manufatured North Korean bills worth 100 million dollars and circulated them in North Korea. The counterfeit bills were very well made, and officials could not tell the difference. Mr. A used the fact that adequate technology was not used by the North Korean officials for this purpose, and circulated counterfeit bills.

The National Security Agency dispatched three agents to China in order to kidnap Mr. A, without the permission of the Chinese government. Mr. A was sent to Heoryong and Pyongyang Security Agency and was interrogated and tortured. Mr. A confessed everything, but was still tortured with water and severely hit. His possession including one million dollars in cash was taken away from him and he was sent back to China. The Chinese government did not do anything while Mr. A was being interrogated. According to the source, Mr. A’s wife alerted the Chinese government, but Mr. A was not rescued. Upon return, Mr. A was arrested and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. [Open News]

I have several reasons to doubt this. First, this isn’t just hearsay, it’s hearsay within hearsay. Second, since when do North Korean “interrogations” produce true confessions anyway? Third, it still doesn’t explain the confiscatory exchange limits, which doesn’t eliminate this as a motive, but certainly makes anti-market motives seem much more plausible. Fourth and most importantly, who the hell would counterfeit North Korean currency? The only plausible answer is a conspiracy theory which part of me hopes is true.

Finally, don’t miss the observations of Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute here, in the Wall Street Journal. Long-time readers will recall my own interview with Eberstadt here, which was also published in the Daily NK.