Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 18 June 2018 | Page 74

NORTH KOREA diary
higher than the original in Paris. A Sunday
No Cottages in Korea
afternoon in the park on Mansudae hill
It was the beginning of autumn in North
is tranquil, with families having picnic
Korea, or more correctly, Democratic
lunches, children sprawled out in front of
People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), when
easels, a grandfather playing on his violin.
we moved there. The hills were auburn and
gold when I was driving back from a field
Never Enough Kimchi
trip. The drivers of our vehicles pulled to
UN Agencies like UNICEF, the World
the side of the road for a smoking break. I
GOPALAN
Food Programme and WHO were invited
got out to stretch my legs and pulled out my
BALAGOPAL
to the country following the major famine
camera to take a picture of a beautiful cot-
in the early 1990s that killed anywhere
tage in the valley below us. Multi-coloured
(The author was Unicef representative
in Pyongyang)
between 1.5 to 3 million people. Don’t say
melons on vines covered the roof of the
it out too loud in Pyongyang, but it’s the
cottage. But my government minder edged
inefficiencies of a centralised command system economy,
up to me and politely but firmly told me that I should not take
aggravated by repeated droughts and floods, that led to this
the photo. For the rest of the trip, I badgered him about why
famine. Raising funds for doing programmes in the country
I could not take that photo. At first, he was non-committal.
has always been a difficult task. It’s only when donors are
Finally, out of exasperation, he told me: “We do not want
convinced that their resources will not be diverted to other
pictures of poverty going out of our country”.
uses that they agree to consider funding programmes. The
layers of sanctions also make the delivery of assistance
A Country With No Inside
complicated as banks and shippers are unwilling to assist
North Korea was a black box for us, when my wife and
in moving material or funds even for payment of salaries
I flew in there from Beijing—the only place from where
for international staff in the country. A priority action that
the country was connected by air. The airport was a
was taken up was about rehabilitating water supply systems
concrete structure, grey and cold. We had to surrender our
that were lying defunct. An unforgettable experience for me
cellphones at the airport...we were told that we could collect
was while visiting a county town along with Murat Sahin,
them when we left the country! Greeted with hot tea in
our young Turkish water engineer, after a new scheme was
the lounge, we were driven to the compound where all for-
commissioned. We were taken aback to see a grey-haired
eigners are required to stay. The streets through which we
grandmother, breaking all protocol and rules, rushing to
drove were spotlessly clean and tree-lined. My apartment
embrace Murat and thank him for this gift of water.
was part of the office building blocks. We had the luxury of
internet connection and satellite TV—neither of which was
When a Cannon Meets a Ball
available to the people in the country. The telephone system
The upcoming meeting between Kim Jong Un and Donald
we used could not connect with those that were used by
Trump will have a momentous impact on North Korea—but
the nationals. Strict limits were put on contacts between
the delicious paradox is, of course, that all bets are off on
foreigners and locals. There’s of course no private sector in
that one, including on whether it takes place or not. Having
the country: the government is the only employer and sole
lived and worked in that country in the period that saw the
owner of all property and land.
first and second nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, it’s hard
Within the compound are the homes of a handful of NGOs
not to be sceptical about a positive outcome. In between
and embassies and residences of about 25 countries. The
the two nuclear tests, we also saw the
Chinese and Russian embassies were
excitement of the six-party talks that
the only ones that were located outside
included all the major world powers—
the compound. A few shops and a cou-
the US, China, South Korea, Japan and
ple of restaurants were located within
Russia—at which DPRK made a pledge
the compound so that the foreigners
to “shut down and seal” the Yongbyon
had little need to go outside.
nuclear facility. This period of hope
was extinguished a few short months
There’s Time in Pyongyang
later with the firing of short-range and
Life is generally on a slower pace in
anti-ship cruise missiles that put paid
Pyongyang, except when there is a
to the whole process. Sanctions have
military parade or when the mass gym-
come again and again—the price has
nastics called, Arirang, take place. On a
always been paid by the common people
holiday, we could drive our cars around
through starvation and deprivation.
the town passing the “Juche” tower
There’s little hope that this will change
and the replica of the Arc de Triomphe,
and if it does, it will be a miracle.
built so that it stands just a few metres
SAJITH KUMAR
74 OUTLOOK 18 June 2018