L-R: John Everard, Jang Jin-sung, Shirley Lee and Peter French.

Everard started the discussion by asking Jang if he thought North Korea has changed since he left, to which Jang replied through his translator, Shirley Lee, who is also an academic and editor of New International Focus, that the biggest change was the death of Kim Jong-il and the succession of his son, Kim Jong-un. Now living in South Korea, Jang founded the defector’s magazine New International Focus, but before he left, he lived a life of privilege and was the older Kim’s favourite poet.

“The single most important change is that the young man came into that leadership rather than grew into it [like his father]. On the surface, it looks like a Kim was ruling then and a Kim is ruling now, but what also happened was the elite structure that supported Kim Jong-il’s leadership has remained unchanged. Kim Jong-un is the avatar, is the icon off Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-sun, he is not a person, he is an image that we see.”

Everard asked French to explain his claim in his book that suggests there is a logical consistency to the way North Korea is acting.  “This is a country that was threatened with nuclear annihilation,” French replied. Referring to their colonisation by Japan and the following Korean War, he added, “For all this theatrical victimhood of this period, [their behaviour] is sort of understandable. Kim Jong-sun is still considered by many who defected from the country as a great man. In the post-WWII period, he was a great nation builder. The idea in its totality is a compelling idea, but in its reality it becomes totally warped.”

An audience member asked the panel, “If the current regime collapses, who would be there to pick up the pieces?”

“The dirty little secret for all of us is reunification is not something we want,” said French. “Unfortunately because there are 22 million North Koreans, we can’t afford it. The division between North and the South has grown and grown and many young people in South Korea don’t want to take this on; they want to get a mortgage, buy a house and to do what everyone else does. Nobody needs this bill right now.”

When asked by an audience member, “What do you think North Koreans think about the outside?” Jang answered, “A lot of people rightly worry about the physical implications of collapse, and any change in the status quo in terms of economics, security and refugees. But I know how difficult it has been for me, a man who had full access to South Korean culture, and I still feel underage.”

“If we do not begin to think about the emotional cost of recovering the lost humanity of the North Korean people, no matter what happens at the top, no matter what leadership comes in, the people will not be ready to enjoy what they are entitled to.”

You can listen back or watch the event here:

Jang Jin-sung, a poet laureate for North Korea, led a privileged life unaware of the suffering of his fellow countrymen. He was a cadre in Section 5 (Literature), Division 19 (Poetry) of Office 101 and was personally endorsed by Kim Jong-il for a triumphalist poem he’d penned glorifying the Kim dynasty and the state.

It was only following a visit to his home town, where he witnessed suffering, starvation and unimaginable poverty, that he began to question the system in which he lived. What followed is an extraordinary story of awakening, terror and escape.

Jang Jin-sung will be joining us to share his story and give us an insight in to the circles of power and privilege in North Korea. We will also be joined by experts to reflect on Jang Jin-sung’s story and explore what it reveals about the inner workings of North Korea’s elite.

Chaired by John Everard, a retired British diplomat who served as British Ambassador to North Korea. He is author of Only Beautiful, Please: A British Diplomat in North Korea.

The panel:

Jang Jin-sung is a former court poet for North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il. Since leaving the country he has become a bestselling author and poet. He has been awarded the Rex Warner Literary Prize and read his poetry at London’s Cultural Olympiad in 2012. He now lives in South Korea and is editor-in-chief of New Focus International. He is author of Dear Leader.

Paul French is an author and a widely published analyst and commentator on Asia, Asian politics and current affairs. He is author of North Korea: State of Paranoia and the international bestseller Midnight in Peking. He has lived and worked in Shanghai for many years and has visited North Korea on a number of occasions.

A round up of world news in the week ahead from journalist resource ForesightNews.

Monday 17 December

Monday marks two years since Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation, an act of protest that that inspired millions to challenge the status quo across the Middle East. Two years on, despite regime change in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, the continuing unrest in countries such as Syria, Egypt and Bahrain suggests the region’s upheaval has some time to run yet.

In North Korea, they will be marking the first anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-Il. The successful satellite launch last week means there is considerably less pressure on his son Kim Jong-un as he completes his first year at the helm of the secretive communist state.

Meanwhile, a hearing is due to take place in Milan in Silvio Berlusconi’s trial over his alleged sexual exploits with Moroccan dancer Karima el Mahroug. Ruby, as she is also known, was supposed to be testifying at the hearing but is in Mexico with no plans to return until next month.

Gujarat in Western India holds the second and final phase of its assembly elections. The state is led by Narendra Modi of the BJP and his expected re-election would bolster his case for one day becoming India’s Prime Minister. Counting takes place on 20 December.

Finally, in Washington DC,  the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde is due to submit a report to member’s of the fund’s board on actions taken by Argentina to address serious concerns about the reliability of its official growth and inflation data. The fund has warned Kristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s government that failure to adequately address concerns could result in ‘additional measures’ being taken by the fund.

Tuesday 18 December

On Tuesday, imprisoned former Ukranian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is due back in court facing charges of embezzlement dating back to the 1990s. Convicted of abuse of power in October last year, she is currently awaiting the judgement of an appeal lodged with the European Court of Human Rights, which may be handed down as early as this month.

In The Hague, the International Criminal Court is scheduled to hand down its judgement in the case of Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, who stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Lastly, in the United States, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is due to speak at the National Press Club about challenges facing America’s military.

Wednesday 19 December

Wednesday is election day in South Korea. Leading candidates to replace Lee Myung-bak are Park Geun-hye of the incumbent New Frontier party, and Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic United party. Whether North Korea’s successful launch has an impact on the presidential poll remains to be seen; both figures have vowed to take a more conciliatory approach with Pyongyang than that taken under President Lee.

In France, an appeal court is due to decide whether or not pursue its investigation into suggestions that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF head and one-time French presidential contender, was involved in a prostitution ring. This follows last week’s settlement in New York of the civil case brought against Strauss-Kahn by Sofitel employee Nafissatou Diallo.

French President Francois Holland is due to begin an official a two-day visit to Algeria, where he is to meet his counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

In New York, the UN Security Council will have plenty to talk about at its regular monthly meeting on the Middle East.

Finally, there are further protests planned in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires against Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s policies.

Thursday 20 December

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to hold an annual press conference where is likely to face questions on a raft of issues, not least his position on Syria as Russia appears to be distancing itself from Bashar al Assad’s regime.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, still holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, is due to speak to supporters.

Friday 21 December

On Friday, US President Barack Obama is scheduled to head to Hawaii, where he plans to spend the holidays with the First Family. However, it remains to be seen whether the impasse over fiscal cliff negotiations ends up forcing the president to stay in DC. As the New Year deadline looms, partisanship in the US capital shows no sign of abating.

In Italy, Mario Monti is due to hold his end of year press conference. He has vowed to step down as Prime Minister once he has pushed through next year’s budget, with elections now expected in February. It remains to be seen whether Silvio Berlusconi’s announcement that he plans to seek to lead Italy once more is enough to change Mr Monti’s mind.

Finally, Vladimir Putin is due to travel to Brussels for the EU-Russia summit.

Saturday 22 December

On Saturday, Egyptians are due to vote in the second phase of a referendum on the country’s new constitution, with opponents of President Mohamed Morsi urging people to reject the new constitution. Regardless of the result, more unrest seems certain.

Sunday 23 December

Finally, Japan’s Emperor Akihito turns 79 on Sunday. He traditionally meets with reporters on his birthday, and may be asked about regional tensions.

Some images courtesy of fotostory / Shutterstock.com.

By Nicole Hunt

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has been ordered to appear before the Supreme Court again on Monday, this time to be indicted on charges of contempt of court over what prosecutors say is his refusal to ask Swiss authorities to re-open graft investigations against allies, including President Asif Ali Zardari. Whether Gilani actually appears or not depends on the outcome of his last-minute appeal against the order.

The beginning of the week is filled with little bits and pieces that will be closely watched as part of the ongoing EU debt saga. Short-term debt auctions in France and Germany get things started on Monday, followed by the release of Greece’s fourth quarter GDP estimate on Tuesday, the same day the OECD publishes its Economic Survey of Germany.

Tuesday also marks the one year anniversary of the beginning of ill-fated protests in Bahrain. Inspired by the toppling of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime in Tunisia a month earlier and Hosni Mubarak’s regime in Egypt just days before, protesters took to the streets and Manama’s Pearl Roundabout to demand political reform. The protests were later crushed as a state of emergency was imposed a month later, with the help of Saudi Arabian troops, and the Pearl Roundabout was demolished on 18 March.

As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces the prospect of having to appear before Parliament in the coming weeks to defend himself against allegations of economic mismanagement and shady friends, the country’s opposition Green Movement has called for demonstrations across the country to mark the one year anniversary of 2009 presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi being placed under house arrest for their support of Arab Spring protests.

Back to the EU on Wednesday as fourth quarter GDP estimates are released for the euro zone and Germany.

While recent Arab League meetings have been dominated by what’s happening in Syria and the state of the League’s observer mission there, a lower-profile meeting in Cairo shifts the focus briefly to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Members of the League’s Follow-Up Committee are set to discuss the next steps in Palestinian negotiations with Israel, following the passing of a 26 January deadline without any Israeli commitments for a settlement freeze.

On Thursday, North Koreans mark what would have been the 70th birthday of recently-deceased leader Kim Jong-Il. Expect extravagant celebrations and more public mourning, and perhaps another parading of Kim’s son and heir, Kim Jong-un.

Ministers from the 56 countries that make up the Paris Pact Partners meet in Vienna to discuss how to combat the trafficking of opium and heroin from Afghanistan. The UNODC’s most recent Afghanistan Opium Survey, published in January, showed that opium prices in the country soared by 133 per cent last year.

Big celebrations are expected in Libya on Friday to mark the one year anniversary of the beginning of protests against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. As the initial protests prompted a violent crackdown from Gaddafi forces, the situation in Libya quickly turned into the most global of the Arab Spring protests, with NATO forces beginning action there in March and international action continuing up until Gaddafi’s death on 20 October and the subsequent declaration of liberation by the National Transitional Council.

The Rwandan Supreme Court is expected to announce the fate of two journalists sentenced to prison after being convicted of denying the 1994 genocide, inciting civil disobedience and causing divisions. Agnes Uwimana Nkusi and Saidati Kukakibibi, sentenced to 17 and seven years, respectively, await the outcome of their appeal.

Voters in Latvia go to the polls on Saturday to decide whether to introduce Russian as the country’s second official language. Native Russian speakers account for approximately a third of the population in the former Soviet nation; over 50 per cent of the electorate must approve the measure for it to take effect.

In Cairo, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaa get together to iron out the details of a new unity government, which is expected to be announced at the end of their meeting. They’re also expected to confirm a date for elections, which are due to take place around 4 May, one year from the date they signed an agreement ending four years of internal conflict.

Saturday is also the beginning of Rio Carnival!

And on an otherwise fairly quiet Sunday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is back in the spotlight – not in front of the courts, but on TV screens as he makes his appearance on the 500th episode of The Simpsons.

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Hunter described how he began travelling as part of his job as a foreign correspondent for NIR-TV in Tehran.  Although not employed as a photographer he always carried his camera along.

Today his unique portfolio of photographs spans 35 years and 65 countries, and captures images of festivals and cultural ceremonies in some of the most remote regions of the planet.

As he introduced Hunter, moderator Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House warned:

“What he’s captured is dying… what we are going to see is endangered.”

Hunter added:

“I’ve now got an archive of material which I think is…historic because so many of the celebrations I’ve been to…will probably not continue in the near future.”

Hunter’s passion led him to North Korea, one of the world’s most inaccessible and secretive societies.  He arrived just before the death of Kim Jong-il for the August Arirang festival.

The slide show unveiled the largest stadium in the world which, he says, has a seating capacity of 150,000.  It also revealed “truly extraordinary mosaics” of flags, flowers and even the Pyongyang skyline – created by 50,000 teenagers holding up flipcharts.

The stark images that followed of Ethiopian tribal rituals, ceremonies and festivities – including those of women being whipped and mutilated – sparked a debate on the ethical considerations of paying natives to pose for these pictures.

Hunter admitted:

“The Mursi (tribe) are now become almost a sort of freak show… because people like me have been there, have photographed them and have their put their images on the website and as a result of that, tourism has absolutely grown to such a degree.  When I first went there there were only about 2,000 tourists a year, there are now an estimated 30,000.”

Commenting on an image in Ethiopia showing the words “Jesus will never let you down” scrawled across a galvanised door, Hunter said:

“Jesus has definitely arrived….  The missionaries are there, baptisms are taking place… and I think that very soon they will no longer be animist and they will be brought into the church, and at that point I think that some of these practices -particularly the circumcision of the girls and indeed the scarification and the cutting of the lower lip – is all likely to change.”

This encouraged other questions about Hunter’s motives for documenting these remote practices.

O’Connell asked:

“Do you hate the fact that you spoil a culture by photographing it…?”

In Hunter’s conclusion he said:

“The whole… archive of work is called ‘Let’s Celebrate: exploring the DNA of the world’s cultures through their festivals, rituals and celebrations’….  My role has been, in fact, to record these over a period of 35 years and I’m recording … what continues to happen.  So actually it’s a…piece of historical and archival material that I think will have a place in the future.”

www.jeremyhunter.com/

By Nicole Hunt

Monday looks to be the biggest day of what should be an interesting week internationally. Kicking off with the ongoing EU debt crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin to iron out amendments to the new EU fiscal stability treaty that was agreed last month.

Italian bank Unicredit opens its €7.5bn rights issue, having discounted shares by about 43 per cent in a bid to raise funds. Investors will be watching the sale closely to gauge market support for European banks.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak begins a three-day visit to China at the invitation of President Hu Jintao. Discussions are expected to focus heavily on regional security in the wake of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial, which has dragged on for nearly two years, finally comes to an end as the jury is scheduled to deliver its verdict in Kuala Lumpur. In addition to Ibrahim’s freedom – he faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty – the verdict will also determine who will run against Prime Minister Najib Razak in the country’s next elections, which are not due until June 2013 but look increasingly likely to be called this year.

Attentions turn Stateside on Tuesday as New Hampshire Republicans cast their ballots in the presidential primary. Following the 3 January Iowa Caucus, in which Mitt Romney beat Rick Santorum by just eight votes, Michelle Bachman announced that she was dropping out of the race.

In Washington, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announces whether to move the minute hand on the Doomsday Clock, which represents how close humanity is to ‘catastrophic destruction’. The last time the clock was moved, in January 2010, the BAS’ outlook was somewhat positive, moving the minute hand back one minute from five to six minutes before midnight.

Tuesday also marks the 10th anniversary of the arrival of the first detainees at the Guantánamo Bay detention centre.

The High Court in London is expected to rule on Wednesday whether the Occupy London protesters can remain in their camp outside of St Paul’s Cathedral. Despite legal action from the City of London Corporation, the camp has been in place since 15 October.

The World Economic Forum releases its annual Global Risk Report ahead of the Davos Forum, which opens on 25 January. Last year’s report found that the financial crisis had ‘drained’ the world’s ability to deal with shocks.

The European Central Bank’s Governing Council meets in Frankfurt on Thursday to decide whether to raise, lower, or maintain the euro area’s interest rate. After last month’s meeting, during which the interest rate was decreased to 1 per cent, ECB President Mario Draghi announced major refinancing operations to support bank lending and market activity.

Alleged al Qaeda member Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who pled guilty in October to attempting to set off an explosive device in his underwear on a Detroit flight on Christmas Day in 2009, is sentenced in Detroit.

India is hoping to celebrate a milestone anniversary on Friday. If no new cases of polio are reported between now and then, the country will mark its first-ever year without any new cases. The World Health Organisation considers a disease to be eradicated when no new cases are reported for three consecutive years. Apple is set for a massive sales boost as the iPhone 4S goes on sale in China and 21 other countries in South America, the Caribbean and Africa.

Apple is set for a massive sales boost as the iPhone 4S goes on sale in China and 21 other countries in South America, the Caribbean and Africa.

Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the resignation of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, whose 23-year rule was ended after nearly a month of protests dubbed the Jasmine Revolution. The success of protests in Tunisia spurred similar movements across the region, with widely varying results in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria, Morocco and Syria.

In Taiwan, voters go to the polls to elect a new President for a four year term. Incumbent Ma Ying-jeou faces challenges from China-sceptic Tsai Ing-wen and pro-Beijing James Soong.

Elections also take place in Kazakhstan on Sunday, following President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s snap decision to dissolve Parliament on 16 November. The vote is expected to see at least one opposition party enter Parliament, usually dominated by Nazarvbaeyev’s Nur Otan party, though that party is likely to be close ally Ak Zholl.

Little is known about Kim Jong-il’s youngest son Kim Jong Un but his promotion to North Korea’s powerful defence commission is being interpreted as a clear sign that he is being groomed to be his father’s heir.

If Kim Jong-il is paving the way for a handover of power to a third generation of his faimily, what does this mean for the future of the communist dynasty and its economic and foreign polices?

With so much of what goes on inside North Korea veiled in secrecy we will be discussing what recent developments mean for North Korea and its relationships with its neighbours and the world beyond.

With North Korea’s nuclear threat said to have reached an “alarming level” we will turn to the issue of nuclear proliferation and assess the dangers posed not only by North Korea, but also Libya Iran and the South Asia region. An opportunity to ask questions and discuss with experts.

With:

Aidan Foster-Carter, Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea at Leeds University;

Charles Scanlon, BBC correspondent in Japan and South Korea from 2000 to 2007, currently an editor at BBC World Service news;

Tim Tate, investigative journalist and film maker, director of Dirty Little Secrets;

Mark Fitzpatrick, director of Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Programme at International Institute for Strategic Studies;

More to be confirmed shortly.

Hosted by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House, October’s First Wednesday discussion will be another opportunity to join in a lively public meeting which brings together experts and commentators and mix their views with contributions from our audience.