InfoAnda - Love, not war, and mystery in Pyongyang

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My Profile Live Election Coverage Breaking news, state-by-state map and more... Election News You are here: Home > News > International > Article Home Business & Finance News U.S. Politics International Technology Entertainment Sports Lifestyle Oddly Enough Environment Health Science Special Coverage Video Pictures You Witness The Great Debate Blogs Reader Feedback Do More With Reuters RSS Widgets Mobile Podcasts Newsletters You Witness News Make Reuters My Homepage Partner Services CareerBuilder Affiliate Network Professional Products Support (Customer Zone) Reuters Media Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Love, not war, and mystery in Pyongyang Tue Nov 4, 2008 7:39pm EST Email | Print | Share | Reprints | Single Page [-] Text [+] By Yoo Choonsik PYONGYANG (Reuters) - Gone are the signs extolling nuclear weapons and readiness for war. These days, the slogans in North Korea's capital have turned to cuddlier exhortations such as "Let's love our leader more!." There is also, suddenly, money. Cranes are at work on construction sites, roads are newly paved and buildings freshly painted. Street lights illuminate a city that used to fall into darkness after sunset. Even locals in the secretive state, which human rights groups say has put tens of thousands of political prisoners in jail, look more relaxed and are, for one of the world's poorest societies, relatively fashionably dressed. Where does the money come from in a country that by one count has a per capita income of no more than $400 a year and is constantly on the verge of plunging back into famine? "I believe you know how very well," Han, an official assigned to guide a recent group of South Korean visitors, said with an enigmatic smile that made clear he was not inclined to go into detail. But Han, who gave only his family name, did acknowledge that North Korea would benefit from last month's move by the United States to remove it from the list of states that sponsor terrorism, a position that had made it all but untouchable in the world of international commerce. "The removal from the list will help ... because many countries had complained about troubles in doing business with us because of the sanctions," he added. North Korea, often described abroad as a Stalinist state and feudal dynasty, still remains under United Nations sanctions linked to its attempts to build a nuclear arsenal. Some analysts have said that the North would have profited from a global surge in prices of metals that it mines and sells, mostly to neighboring China. Some also speculate the government may not be handing over so much as it once did to the powerful military, which with one million troops is one of the world's largest standing armies, even though the population is just 23 million. The mining industry generates more than 10 percent of the annual output of North Korea's economy, which contracted throughout the 1990s because of repeated floods and sanctions. The country has also been receiving aid shipments of oil under a deal with regional powers to disable its nuclear facilities. MYSTERY But one major mystery -- the whereabouts and health of Dear Leader Kim Jong-il -- was not up for discussion. The officials with the tour group, whose job was also to keep their visitors from talking to ordinary locals, made no comment on the prolonged absence from public view of Kim, leader of the world's first communist dynasty and whose dead father Kim Il-sung is officially president for eternity. Continued... View article on single page Share: Del.icio.us Digg Mixx My Web Facebook LinkedIn Next Article: Colombian rebels still keen for talks on hostages Also on Reuters Election Coverage 2008: Tracking the lastest news The Great Debate: Discussing the big issues of the day Blog: Peering through funnels at interfaith problems Editor's Choice Pictures Video Articles Slideshow A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow penguins Kenya, Obama Robot surgery Health: Surgeon of the future in theatres now Top News: Hope in Obama's ancestral Kenya village Lifestyle: Young king to wear Bhutan's crown Most Popular on Reuters Articles Video Recommended SCENARIOS: How Obama, McCain are faring in key states Networks may call election before some polls close Obama mourns grandmother on election eve Obama leads McCain in 5 of 8 key states | Video Frozen mice cloned - are woolly mammoths next? 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