{"id":5805,"date":"2022-05-09T10:11:22","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T01:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=5805"},"modified":"2022-05-25T16:27:23","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T07:27:23","slug":"int-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2022\/05\/military\/int-parade\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInterview with Two N.Koreans\uff1e What do people think about the military parade, missile launches, and controls on information?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kim Jong-un in a white military uniform during the military parade held the evening of April 25. The country boasted that the parade was the largest in history. (Rodong Sinmun)<\/p><\/div>\n

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In April, North Korea continued to launch missiles as it had since the beginning of the year and conducted a massive military parade to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People\u2019s Army. The country faces international sanctions, and its borders are still on lockdown as part of more than two years of overreaching efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These measures have led to the incapacitation of the economy and plunged its people\u2019s lives into desperate straits. What do people think about their government spending enormous amounts of money to put on a military parade? ASIAPRESS interviewed two North Koreans in the northern region of the country to find out more. (KANG Ji-won, ISHIMARU Jiro<\/em>)<\/p>\n

\u25c6 People aren\u2019t thinking because of information controls and grinding poverty<\/h2>\n

The two North Koreans who spoke with ASIAPRESS live in an area near the border with China. ASIAPRESS used Chinese cell phones smuggled into the country to communicate with them. \u201cA\u201d is a businessman in his 40s.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014Did you see the military parade?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:\u3000<\/strong>Yes, we were all ordered to watch the military parade on TV, so I saw it. Has there really been any major changes? I don\u2019t really care. It\u2019s just hard making a living right now.<\/p>\n


\n\u2014\u2014The Pyongyangites in the video of the military parade looked healthy. Are there differences between the lives of people in the provinces and those in Pyongyang?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:\u3000<\/strong>Pyongyang is the country\u2019s capital so people there receive rations from the government. I\u2019ve heard that all the supplies coming in from China through Sinuiju go to Pyongyang. That being said, I\u2019ve also heard there are a lot of people having hard times in the capital city.<\/p>\n

\u203b North Korea restarted international train service in January of this year, two years after the service was suspended due to COVID-19. Sinuiju is the only official route of trade with China.<\/p>\n


\n\u2014\u2014North Korea is facing economic sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic is putting even more strain on the economy. What is the reason the regime has spent so much money launching missiles and holding a massive military parade?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:\u3000<\/strong>The reason is to show the world that now matter how much pressure our enemies can put on us, we can survive, and that we can win if we fight back. All those things are to show that we are still alive and well.<\/p>\n


\n\u2014\u2014What do you think about North Korea\u2019s efforts in that regard?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:\u3000<\/strong>The government said during the military parade that it will strengthen its independent defense capabilities even further, but that doesn\u2019t mean that we will be able to receive rice and other supplies from other countries or the UN. I know what\u2019s going on outside of North Korea, and I know that the (military parade and missile launches) do not help anyone in the provinces. They are meaningless.<\/p>\n


\n\u2014\u2014 What do people around you think about what\u2019s happening?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:\u3000<\/strong>There are people here who say that Kim Jong-un is a great leader and that he is bravely going up against the US and the superpowers. They also praise him for his ability to see into the future despite his young age. They just don\u2019t know the truth. I doubt these things every time I hear them.<\/p>\n

The government claims that our lives are desperate and difficult because of the American imperialists, but people who only hear propaganda without getting information from the outside world end up praising Kim Jong-un.<\/p>\n


\n\u2014\u2014So, your saying that the controls on information allow people to just believe what the government is saying?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:\u3000<\/strong>The government claims that we have nuclear weapons and missiles so we can win a war, but there are people who talk among their friends about when the country\u2019s food shortages will end.<\/p>\n


\n\u2014\u2014In March, North Korea claimed to have succeeded in launching a ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:\u3000<\/strong>There were people who doubted that happened. The government has long claimed that it has the ability to strike the American mainland, so why are they saying now that they have succeeded?<\/p>\n

If the US threatens us, we must prepare for the possibility of war. I get that. However, the important thing right now is for the people\u2019s lives to get better, but the government isn\u2019t doing anything about that. I don\u2019t expect that it will.
\n<\/p>\n

\u25c6 Most people don\u2019t care about nuclear weapons or missiles<\/h2>\n

\u201cB\u201d is a housewife in her 30s. She sells goods in a local market.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014How did people respond to the military parade?<\/strong><\/p>\n

B:\u3000<\/strong>People didn\u2019t react in a special way. The government must\u2019ve spent a lot of money, but a lot of people don\u2019t really understand what\u2019s going on. I exchange information with ASIAPRESS, so I get what\u2019s going on, but many people don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

I watched the parade just because I was ordered to do so. I don\u2019t really care because I\u2019m more worried about putting food on the table. I don\u2019t know the situation in Pyongyang, but out here in the provinces we are in a battle to survive.<\/p>\n


\n\u2014\u2014Is anyone interested in nuclear weapons and missiles?<\/strong><\/p>\n

B:\u3000<\/strong>The US held talks with us because we conducted nuclear weapons tests. I think that people think that the country needs to strengthen its independent defense capabilities.<\/p>\n

On April 30\u2019s Saturday study session (which was held after the military parade), a cadre from the municipal branch of the Workers\u2019 Party propaganda department repeated the following over the course of an hour: \u201cWe have acquired defense capabilities so that no one can touch us. We must focus all our efforts on economic development along with agriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\u2014\u2014Are there many people who know about what\u2019s happening in the outside world?<\/strong><\/p>\n

B:\u3000<\/strong>Those that do are people involved in trade. I heard one person say: \u201cWe are facing sanctions because of nuclear weapons and missiles, so we should just keep them without doing any tests.\u201d He also said that, \u201cIt would be better to shoot off our nukes onto a deserted island rather than spending money on military parades.\u201d He added that, \u201cContinuing to show off weapons is aimed at jumpstarting negotiations.\u201d Regular people, however, don\u2019t have any interest in this kind of thing.<\/p>\n

\u203b Kim Il-sung participated in the creation of an anti-Japanese guerilla force made up of Chinese and Koreans in China\u2019s northeastern region, but it is not true that he formed the Korean People\u2019s Army in 1932.<\/p>\n

\u203b ASIAPRESS smuggles Chinese cell phones into North Korea to communicate with its reporting partners.<\/p>\n

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