| THE NORTH KOREA REPORT: OCTOBER 14, 2002 NEWS TWELVE MORE REFUGEES REACH SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA FLOWN FROM ROK EMBASSY IN BEIJING; THREE STILL IN GERMAN EMBASSY SCHOOL THERE A dozen more North Korean refugees in Communist China have been flown to freedom in the Republic of Korea (South Korea�s official name) over the weekend. The refugees entered the ROK Embassy in Beijing, following a pattern of over 100 other refugees who have escaped via democratic embassies in Communist China. Two more entered the ROK Embassy on Thursday. Report: BBC Communist China, an ally of the Stalinist North for over 50 years, sends back any refugee it finds. This forces hundreds of thousands of them to hide, and to seek safe passage to South Korea via the embassies. The severe repression and famine in the North have killed over 2 million � possibly as many as three � so far. Three more refugees are still in a Beijing school run by the German Embassy (see last NK Report). FIVE ABDUCTEES TO MEET FAMILIES IN JAPAN; CHILDREN TO BE LEFT BEHIND IN NK The five abductees that North Korea admits are still alive will be visiting their families in Japan this week. The CNN and BBC reports did not say whether any would be staying. The BBC did note that �the survivors' children would not be allowed to accompany them.� One relative caught on to that quickly: �Leaving behind the kids - my grandchildren - is like leaving behind hostages.� Bingo. All five have said they were �reluctant� to leave North Korea � but it should be noted they were still in North Korea at the time. As for the rest, the Stalinists claim one killed herself while in a mental hospital for �depression� (!), and the other seven died of �natural causes or natural disasters,� and that their graves were washed away by a flood. For obvious reasons, the families aren�t buying that story either. SOUTH KOREAN OPPOSITION ACCUSES PRESIDENT KIM OF PAYING NK FOR SUMMIT The opposition Grand National Party � which won control of the legislature earlier this year � has accused President Kim Dae-jung of sending $400 million to North Korea �in order to smooth the way for the staging of the inter-Korean summit meeting in June 2000� (CNN). Kim�s aides immediately denied the charges based on parliamentary testimony by a bank official. The 2000 summit between Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-Il was the high point for the former�s �sunshine policy,� which has since failed to provide any further warming of ties and is coming under heavy scrutiny from the South Korea people. This charge, if true, would cast that summit in an entirely different light. NORTH KOREA AXES HEAD OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE AFTER PRC ARREST According to CNN (10/9/02), Yang Bin, recently appointed head of North Korea�s Sinuiju special economic zone, has been fired. Last week, Communist China placed Yang under house arrest for tax evasion and illegal real estate development (see last NK report). The arrest led to some quick work through �diplomatic channels� between the PRC and its Stalinist ally to end Yang�s brief reign. Meanwhile, the CNN report noted that Yang�s firm � Euro Asia � has had its shares suspended after reports of �allegedly inflating sales figures by 21 times over four years.� Moreover, �accountants Arthur Andersen (emphasis added) failed to spot any irregularities.� Look for Euro Asia to become the literal Chinese translation for �Enron.� NORTH KOREA MAKES LIST OF WORST RELIGIOUS REPRESSORS Stalinist North Korea was one of the six regimes were singled out as the worst for religious freedom in the State Department�s annual report on the subject. The BBC, citing the State report, noted the following North Korean practices: �There have been numerous reports that members of underground churches have been arrested, attacked or killed.� Also reporting: Washington Times Stop the Nuclear Power Deal: The United States is still building two nuclear power plants in North Korea, which refuses to allow inspections of its nuclear weapons program, one of the conditions to which it agreed to get those plants. Use this China e-Lobby fact sheet and tell the President to cancel the deal. SOUTH KOREA SENDS CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT TO NORTH AS PART OF LINK DEAL Now we know why the Stalinists were suddenly so keen to establish inter-Korean rail and road links (see 9/16/02 and 9/23/02 NK Reports). South Korea is sending �tens of millions of dollars worth of construction materials and equipment to North Korea� (BBC) as part of the deal. The North has pledged �not to use the equipment for military purposes.� Sure they have. COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS KIDNAPPINGS, BLACKMAIL, AND TERRORISM: THE NORTH KOREAN SPY NETWORK IN JAPAN Doug Struck (Washington Post) examines the recent revelations of a massive North Korean spy network in Japan. The espionage operations included everything from kidnapping Japanese citizens (see above), to forcing ethnic Koreans with relatives trapped in the Stalinist North to help them, to at least one act of terrorism � in this case, exploding a bomb on a plane and killing 115 people � in 1987. DANIEL PIPES RIPS �SUNSHINE POLICY� Daniel Pipes, who usually focuses on Iran and Iraq in his role as director of the Middle East Forum, swivels around to the Korean peninsula, and gives the South Korean �sunshine� policy a well-deserved black eye in the New York Post. NORTH KOREAN ASIA GAMES DELEGATION ALWAYS SEPARATED BY �SECURITY� Sohn Jia-Ae (CNN) had this report on Stalinist North Korea�s fans at the Asian Games in South Korea, particularly the nearly 200 young women the North sent down (gee, anyone wonder why they did that?). One aspect that comes through, however, is the extent to which the North is determined to keep its citizens from interacting with the hosts too much. �Security� is always there during the events, and after them the cheering section returns to �the boat on which they are staying.� They�re staying on a boat?! Sign the Boycott Petition: In reaction to the 2008 Olympic Games being awarded to Beijing, the China e-Lobby has begun a petition for an American boycott of those games. Miss an Update, Weekly Links, or a North Korea Report? Find it on our web site. Check out the latest on Communist China and the Terrorist War. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving it. 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