Is the "Jasmine Revolution" spreading to North Korea?
From AsiaNews.it
Seoul (AsiaNews) – The wave of protests that began in the Mideast appears to have reached even North Korea. For the first time in the history of the Stalinist regime, groups of ordinary citizens have protested in three cities demanding food and electricity, sources say. The event is exceptional and confirms the economic difficulties, especially concerning food supplies, people have to face under the Communist government.
Additionally, helium balloons to be floated to North Korea will carry propaganda leaflets with news of the popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East. The military, along with North Korean Defectors and activists will also attach clothes and medicine to the balloons, a practice discontinued in April 2000.
While a populist uprising similar to events happening throughout the Middle East is unlikely to foment in a similar manner due to the stranglehold the regime exerts on the populace, could there be cracks in the foundation of control?
As always, news from North Korea must be taken with a salt lick's worth, but it is interesting to hear not only that there are protests, but news of said protests are leaking through.
These protests happened in the cities of Jongju, Yongchon and Sonchon, not far from the border of China, and while the incidents were investigated by the State Security Department, they were met with a wall of silence, an unusual response.
However, these protests seem to be sparked by more immediate, material concerns, such as food shortages and lack of services, rather than a desire to overthrow the regime.
Nonetheless, such occurrences seem to be happening with greater frequency and greater public support due to several factors:
From Chosunilbo
◆ Easier Access to Information
Many North Koreans now have almost real-time access to outside information. "As North Koreans have more contact with information about the outside world, they are becoming bolder," said Prof. Yoo Ho-yeol of Korea University. "This doesn't mean the regime has softened but that North Koreans have been woken up by information."
Kim Heung-kwang of defector group North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity told a hearing at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea on Wednesday that in October 2009, about 18,000 students of the elite Kim Il Sung University had their personal belongings examined and some 2,000 of them were found to have CDs and USB memory sticks with anti-North Korean propaganda videos."
◆ Chinese Influence
Whether popular protests will spread in the North depends on developments in China, observers speculate. North Koreans in the border area will hear immediately about anti-government protests in major Chinese cities, and could take their cue from them.
"There's a lively exchange of information in the open-air markets and traders want information ahead of others," Jang Jin-song, a defector and poet, told the hearing. "In recent days, people's top priority has shifted from loyalty to the leader to money. There is no absolute obedience to the regime now."
The quicker people obtain information, the better their potential economic position. Those who receive money from outside are no longer hiding their wealth but showing it off.
It remains to be seen how these intrinsic changes will be addressed by Kim Jong-un as he gets ready to succeed his father on the throne in Pyongyang. Some see him as bloodthirsty and mad, and generally feared by the populace. He is believed to be behind the recent military attacks against the ROKS Cheonan, and the shelling of Yeonpyeong island in November, 2010.
In addition, the South Korean military, along with North Korean defectors and activists have reinstated a program discontinued a decade ago, of floating balloons across the border with baskets of food and supplies, along with leaflets with news of the uprisings in the Middle East.