theSun | MONDAY JUNE 22 2009
news without borders
Uncovered –
N. Korea’s
palaces and
labour camps
LONDON: US researchers are using the internet to reveal
what life is really like behind the closed borders of the
world’s last Stalinist dictatorship
The most comprehensive picture of what goes on inside
the secret state of North Korea has emerged from an in-
novative US project.
The location of extraordinary palaces, labour camps and
the mass graves of famine victims have all been identified.
The online operation that has penetrated the world’s last
remaining iron curtain is called North Korea Uncovered.
Founded by Curtis Melvin, a postgraduate student at
George Mason University, Virginia, it uses Google Earth,
photographs, academic and specialist reports and a global
network of contributors who have visited or studied the
country.
Melvin says the collaborative project is an example of
“democratised intelligence”. He is the first to emphasise
that the picture is far from complete, but it is, until the
country opens up, the best we have.
The palatial residences of the political elite are easy
to identify as they are in sharp contrast to the majority of
housing in the deeply impoverished state. Though details
about many palaces’ names, occupants and uses are hard
to verify, it is known that such buildings are the exclusive
domain of Kim Jong-Il, his family and his top political aides.
Kim Jong-Il is believed to have between 10 and 17 palaces,
many of which have been spotted on Google Earth:
This lies about 18 miles north-east of Pyongyang and
has an elaborate garden, set around many lakes. There are
numerous guest houses, and a banqueting hall, within the
security-fenced perimeter. Kenji Fujimoto, who served as
Kim Jong-Il’s cook from 1988 until 2001, said entertainment
at Kangdong included bowling, shooting and roller-skating.
There is also a racetrack next to the complex and Kangdong
airfield is just 2.5 miles away.
North Korean prison camps are split into two main types.
Firstly the kwan li-so, translated as “political penal-labour
colonies”. These camps contain the political prisoners,
and often their families, who are imprisoned without trial,
usually for life. Sentences involve slave labour within the
camps.
The other type of camp, the kyo-hwa-so, are smaller
penal-labour camps. These usually hold criminal offenders
who are subject to a judicial process and fixed sentencing,
after which they can be released. Kyo-hwa-so prisoners
are also forced to do hard labour in mining, logging, textile
manufacturing and more.
North Korea was hit by a famine in the 1990s that killed
a huge number of its people. Estimates of the death toll
between 1995 and 1998 vary from 600,000 to 3.5 million
from a population of 22 million.
Google Earth images have revealed mass graves on the
hills around the city of Hamhung. One can see a multitude
of distinctive mounds packed on to the slopes.
The graves begin within a well-organised cem-
etery then spread. The small mounds consume the
entire hill, the hills around it and nearly all the
unoccupied land surrounding the city.
One North Korea Uncovered researcher,
Joshua Stanton, believes the number of
graves exceeds 100,000, and if the
smaller and less dense burial ar-
eas are included, the total could
be twice that figure. – The
Independent
9
EARTHREPORT
Week Ending June 19
Climate change now
THE most comprehensive US government report on climate
change to date says global warming has already altered the
climate in parts of the country, with far worse consequences
likely if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed soon. The
report pegs man-made pollution as the primary cause of the
environmental changes. It points to higher average tempera-
tures in the Midwest in recent decades, especially in winter.
Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States says
temperatures in the US will rise slightly faster than the rest
of the world at between 4 and 11 degrees Fahrenheit by the
year 2100. The rate will depend on how quickly and how much
greenhouse gas emissions are curbed.
Swine flu mutation
BRAZILIAN researchers say they have identified a new strain
of the H1N1 swine flu virus in samples taken from a patient in
Sao Paulo. The mutated strain shows changes in the hemag-
glutinin protein, which allows the virus to infect new hosts, the
Adolfo Lutz Bacteriological Institute said. But it was unclear if
the mutation makes the new strain more aggressive than the
current H1N1 virus, which has spread to at least 76 countries
around the world, causing more than 160 deaths.The young
Sao Paulo man who provided the sample has made a full
recovery.
Pacific cyclone
AN area of disturbed weather that passed over the Philip-
pines collected into Tropical Storm Linfa late in the week.
Maximum winds were predicted to reach over 50 mph late
in the week.
Earthquake
A wide area around Peru’s second-largest city of Arequipa
was jolted by a 5.1 magnitude quake that kicked up clouds of
dust and sent people dashing from their homes. – Universal
Press Syndicate
World’s oldest man dies
LONDON:Tomoji Tanabe, the world’s oldest man, died in his
sleep at his home in southern Japan on Saturday, a city official
said. He was 113.
“He died peacefully. His family members were with him,” said
Junko Nakao, a city official in Miyakonojo on Japan’s southern
island of Kyushu. Tanabe died of heart failure, she said. Tanabe,
who was born on 18 Sept, 1895, had eight children – five sons
and three daughters. The former city land surveyor also had
25 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-
grandchildren, according to a statement from the Miyakonojo
city. He was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as
the world’s oldest man when he was 111 years old. His favourite
meals were fried shrimp and Japanese miso soup with clams,
the statement said. Great War veteran Henry Allingham is now
believed to be the world’s oldest man following the death. – The
Independent
Spain launches ‘Spanish language day’
MADRID: Spain on Saturday launched the first international
day to celebrate the Spanish language, spoken by 450
million people around the world, with events planned in
43 countries.
The Cervantes Institute, which promotes Spanish lan-
guage and culture, said it held open days at its 73 branches
“to increase the visibility of the Spanish language in the
world.”
At the institute’s headquarters in Madrid, the day was
officially launched when a compressed air cannon blasted
out thousands of bits of coloured paper into the street with
Spanish words on them.
In addition, concerts, films, storytelling and children’s
workshops were held throughout the day. – AFP