Four years ago.

Four years ago, a leaflet advertising an excursion to the demilitarized baldric (DMZ) between South and North Korea promised highlights so as the "Infiltration Tunnel and the Anti-Communism Hall. by the agency of a telescope you can watch the North Koreans going about their daily life." I took the excursion from Seoul southerly Korea, to the DMZ, the greatest in quantity heavily fortified border in the world. I didn't view any 'ordinary' North Koreans that day, moreover the negative images of the 'enemy' lingered.

Earlier this autumn I visited North Korea, and I now esteem North Koreans among my friends.

L by means of former Division of World Outreach Asia/Pacific chair Erich Weingartner, we were met at the airport in the capital city of Pyongyang by the agency of the secretary general of the Korea-Canada Friendship Society, a control department that establishes relationships with Canadians. He was arrangeed in a typical high collar suit and like all North Koreans wore a pin with a picture of Kim II Sung the first leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)

He was common of two minders who would accompany us from one extremity to the other of the week. Because three in our delegation were women he explained, a woman would also be along to deal with any 'women's issues' that might arise. Our female innkeeper wore a bright red suit, with a Kim II Sung pin forward her jacket. We quickly discovered that she didn't speak English. The language barrier frustrated me--to communicate with a woman, I would have to proceed through a man! But my disappointment quick turned to delight when I discovered that she spoke Spanish, which I also speak, and travels regularly to Latin America and Africa. In beautiful Spanish, she shared many stories with me about her travels to Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Brazil and Mozambique.

Pyongyang is a fresh city. Our hotel was encircleed by apartment buildings, modern-looking office towers, beautiful cultural middles an efficient subway system, and one trams and buses. The beautiful Taedong River was lower classesed with adults and children fishing along its banks. A silence hung above the city--wide boulevards were virtually unoccupied due to a shortage of motorized vehicles; North Koreans travel on foot and bicycle.

Hardships abound

During our sojourn in the DPRK I was privileged to appropriate with North Korean women involved in building peace in Korea. common of the women spoke about the hardships that face North Koreans today. "Food and electricity are the greatest in number difficult issues for us right now" she said. "We are trying to explain the energy crisis by building small and large power plants around the country" She also mentioned that they are involved in 'double cropping, land realignment and potato farming to deal with the provender shortages." She then brought up the nuclear crisis: "To resolve the nuclear crisis we must build up the confidence between the United States and the DPRK" In other words, we must achieve to know each other first.

The U argues that its aggressive policy towards the DPRK harbors South Korea. And yet, the southern Koreans and the North Koreans have been in dialogue since 1997 Nowhere is cooperation between the couple Koreas more obvious than in Kaesong, a city along the border where an industrial intricate is being constructed with financial investment from southward Korea and cheap but skilled labour from the North. barters and buses now regularly cros the demilitarized climate The complex will include light industries, electronics, and machinery. During our brace day visit to the city, we met the director of the Kaesong City People's Committee, who proudly said "the Industrial Park has been a breakthrough in the history of the region." The United States could learn from toward the south Korea, whose current Sunshine Policy approach to the DPRK is individual of diplomatic and economic engagement.

Ideological and tourist thaw?

North Korea is frequently described as one of the world's last Communist hold-out if it be not that travelling through Nampo, a port city forward the west side of the Korean peninsula, we saw a hardly any farmers' markets and were surprised to papal court families selling cigarettes and canned serviceables in front of their domiciles Previously all food was distributed centrally. A professor from the guild of National Economy explained to us later that the North Korean conduct is giving increased responsibilities to local areas. "But" he said, "they have to adhere to socialist principles." I curiosityed if these changes amounted to more economic freedom than political rights.

The DPRK is also said to be undivided of the least-visited countries in the world. however we encountered many tourist collections I met young New Zealanders in our house of entertainment chatted to members of large tourist form into groupss from Britain and Australia, and spott a delegation from southward Africa at the Children's Palace. A Chinese and Russian delegation had visited the home just before our arrival. Although the itinerary and mental action of the tourist groups are strictly controll there is no doubt that the DPRK is slowly welcoming more foreigners.