MORE BLEAK CONDITIONS IN NORTH KOREA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 006932 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR IO/EDA DRAGNICH, EAP/K, INR/EAP NSC FOR WILDER, TONG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON EAGR PGOV CH KN SUBJECT: MORE BLEAK CONDITIONS IN NORTH KOREA Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The agricultural situation in North Korea continues to deteriorate according to UN FAO experts briefing Beijing-based diplomats. Although the spring harvest was better than usual, food shortages are still expected. Three major agricultural disasters hit the DPRK in 2007, including a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, floods, and a pine caterpillar infestation. Local citizens are actively tending private gardens and expanding onto hillsides causing serious erosion while government co-operatives struggle with energy shortages. Senior officials given the opportunity to attend agricultural technical training in China (courtesy of FAO) return surprised to learn their own country is 20-30 years behind in development. An apparent decrease in Pyongyang's population is likely due to a rise in Kaesong employment and urban workers heading to the fields to harvest. End Summary. -------------- - Agricultural Production Hit By Three Disasters -------------- - ¶2. (SBU) North Korea has been hit by three disasters this year, according to FAO experts giving a recent briefing to Beijing-based diplomats: a foot-and-mouth outbreak resulting in the culling of large herds of emaciated cattle; the August floods; and a pine caterpillar infestation of over 100,000 hectares of forest. While there is no imminent damage to crops there is cause for concern that the entire pine forest protecting crops from slope runoff rains may be destroyed. An FAO expert surveying the damage reported that years of indiscriminate use of toxic broad-spectrum pesticides had killed off many natural predators (Note: In addition, the toxic pesticide was being applied without any human safety precautions. End note.) ¶3. (SBU) A test project using a pheromone based product has been conducted with the hopes of using this method next year. The North Koreans had frantically tried to eradicate the infestation by hand-picking and burning 300 tons of caterpillars (approximately 10 percent of the population). In an entrepreneurial twist, farmers asked FAO experts whether these specific caterpillars were edible. If they were not palatable to the North Koreans, they wanted to export them to neighboring countries. -------------- -------------- Energy Shortage, No Land Tenure Risks Erosion Disaster -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Many North Korean factories are idle because they lack sufficient energy, according to the FAO experts. In order to keep employment high, factory workers are heading out to the country to farm marginal lands on hillsides. The North Korean government considers these areas woodland that will be replenished. There are no signs that land tenuring is a current government priority, according to an FAO representative who has been living in Pyongyang for several years. People have no incentive to manage the slopes properly or engage in labor intensive terracing. Heavy rains are washing away much of the topsoil, and on a recent FAO field trip, extensive silting of waterways from hillside runoff was observed. -------------- -------------- Tending One's Garden While the Cooperatives Lie Idle -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) North Korean citizens are currently allowed a minimum of 100 square meters of private gardens. Based on casual observations, the gardens appear to be in much better shape than the cooperative farms, which do not have energy to fully maximize production. Workers often head out in the morning to "clock-in" at their mandatory co-op jobs only to while away the hours until they "clock-out" at the end of the day. On the weekends, they tend to their private gardens, growing corn, potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables that can be sold in the burgeoning food markets. -------------- -- Observations of Decreasing Pyongyang Population -------------- -- ¶6. (SBU) In response to a question from a Beijing based diplomat on reports that the population in Pyongyang has declined recently, an BEIJING 00006932 002 OF 002 FAO representative currently residing in Pyongyang gave two explanations. Part of the observed decline is likely due to expansion of employment in the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC). Factory workers are also heading out to the country to harvest plots of land cultivated during the lengthy periods of down-time due to the energy shortage. -------------- - Al-Jazeera and CCTV-English, When the TV Works -------------- - ¶7. (SBU) On a recent annual inspection visit by FAO personnel to Pyongyang the television in one of the hotel rooms featured two English stations: Al-Jazeera and China Central Television English Edition (CCTV-9). This was a marked improvement over previous visits. One FAO representative noted, however, that his television was inoperable during the entire stay. -------------- --- Some Success in FAO Agricultural Training Abroad -------------- --- ¶8. (SBU) The FAO Agricultural Rehabilitation and Recovery Program provides technical support for training opportunities and special emergency operations in the DPRK with an annual budget of approximately USD 3 million (proposed budget of USD 5.5 million in 2008). Sweden is the largest donor, contributing USD 3.4 million in ¶2006. To date, much of the training has been in China for cost reasons. These opportunities are mostly afforded to senior DPRK agricultural officials who are accompanied by less proficient "minders". Initially the North Koreans objected to this training location, saying that there was nothing to learn from the Chinese. After returning to the DPRK, they said they were 20-30 years behind China. Even this type of mind opening is a success, commented one FAO personnel. ¶9. (SBU) The FAO presence in North Korea has been transitioning from emergency relief to long-term recovery/rehabilitation. South Korea has been pushing for this shift in approach. Program support is focused on double cropping, soil fertility management, horticulture, school gardens, coastal fisheries and avian influenza prevention. Members of the FAO briefing team stressed the need for continued in-country presence to manage these efforts, emphasizing that with a significant reduction in Pyongyang-based NGO representative offices, many of which have relocated to Beijing, the UN FAO has one of the last remaining international presence offices in the country. Sweden, as primary donor, supports the continuation of this presence, they noted. Randt