North Korea Steps Up Export of Workers to Russia to Boost Foreign Exchange

 

Cash-starved North Korea has rapidly increased the number of workers it dispatches to Russia and widened the scope of jobs they could take up in the neighboring country in a bid to diversify away from its traditional key market China, according to sources.But the selection process has been tightened to prevent North Korean defections, the sources said, adding that some officials were accepting bribes from desperate prospective workers to cash in on the new procedures.

Until recently, North Korea has been sending its workers mostly to its key ally neighbor China to draw foreign exchange to support its impoverished economy. But of late Pyongyang has stepped up its dispatch of labor to Russia, where wages are higher, according to the sources, citing the hard-line communist regime’s attempt to diversify its sources of foreign revenue.A resident of North Hamgyong province who recently visited China told RFA’s Korean Service that going by the current pace, "dispatched workers are recruited more for Russia than for China.”

"In the past, the dispatched workers for Russia were mostly loggers,” the source said. “However, in recent years, the occupation pool for the dispatched workers has become very diverse." The pool of workers has widened to include construction workers, seamstresses, and farming sector workers, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. The source said that higher wages and a three-year duration of dispatch were among factors attracting North Koreans to travel to Russia to work.

'Rigorous' selection

However, according to the source, the North Korean authorities are conducting a “very rigorous” process for selection of workers to prevent defections.“It appears to be very difficult to become a dispatched worker to Russia,” the source said.Among those not eligible to apply to work in Russia are bachelors and spinsters, married couples without children, those with relatives in South Korea, China or Japan, and those whose relatives have defected, sources said, identifying them as among potential defectors. One woman who wanted to become a seamstress had her application rejected because her loyalty was in question, a source living in North Pyongan province said.

"During the interview, the interviewer asked her why she wanted to go to Russia, and she answered innocently by saying that she [wanted] to visit a foreign country just once,” the source said. "She failed because it seemed she lacks loyalty to the party and the country.”Yet the source said that another woman, who heard that the seamstresses can earn U.S. $50 per month, offered to surrender nearly her whole anticipated annual salary to the authorities for a three-year work contract in Russia.

"The corruption of the executives in the selection process of workers is very serious" the source said.  It is believed that among workers dispatched to Russia, construction technicians earn the highest salaries, sources said.According to recently released figures, Chinese authorities granted 93,300 work visas to North Koreans in 2013—a roughly 17 percent gain from the prior year.

Easing restrictions

Last month, Russia and North Korea agreed to ease visa procedures as part of an agreement to boost bilateral trade, which also includes settling payments in Russian rubles as well providing for Russian access to proposed special economic zones in North Korea, Russia's Far East Development Ministry said.The move came following a visit of a Russian delegation to North Korea for talks in conjunction with the 65th anniversary of a bilateral cooperation agreement.

Nuclear-armed North Korea has been relying traditionally on foreign exchange from logging operations in Siberia, in the central and eastern portion of Russia. A significant part of the salaries of North Korean loggers goes into cash-starved Pyongyang's coffers.At least 10,000 North Koreans are believed to be working as loggers in Siberia, according to 2010 figures.

At that time, it was reported that most loggers receive less than 10 percent of the money Russian logging companies provide their North Korean handlers as salary.

Dutch national murdered in Phnom Penh home

 

A DUTCH woman working for the United Nations was found stabbed to death on Monday morning in an attack that also left her 19-month-old baby daughter in critical condition.

Daphna Beerdsen was found by the family’s babysitter lying alongside her child in their rented house in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district shortly before 9am.

Police at the scene said Beerdsen, whose LinkedIn profile says she worked as a consultant on climate change projects for UN Habitat, died from several stab wounds. Her child is in a critical condition after being stabbed multiple times with what appeared to be the same weapon, which has not been recovered.

“The baby was badly stabbed in the head, back and waist and was sent to Kantha Bopha Children’s hospital,” said Chan Sahuth, an officer with the Ministry of Interior’s Criminal Investigation Department.“[The child] is in a bad condition with a blood clot in the brain and is being prepared to be forwarded to Thailand,” he said.Police are still investigating at the scene of the murder in Tonle Bassac commune and have not ruled out robbery as a motive. However, police said they found no evidence of forced entry.Beerdsen’s husband, Joris Oele, 34, returned home at about 1pm and was escorted into the courtyard of his house by a British embassy official.Oele, who also works for UN Habitat, left the capital on a work trip to Preah Sihanouk province on Sunday, according to neighbours.

Railway official suspended for his words

The railway official, Mr. Nguyen Huu Thang, was said to have made an “irresponsible statement” on the increase of over $300 million for the project, impugning the reputation of the transportation industry.Minister Thang asked the administration head to review his personal liability in making the statements and to explain the increase of investment capital in the project before May 7.

Minister Thang assigned Deputy Chief of the Vietnam Railway Administration, Mr. Tran Phi Thuong, to temporarily replace Nguyen Huu Thang during the suspension.

Earlier, in an interview with the Tien Phong (Pioneer) Newspaper on the Cat Linh-Ha Dong railway project, Nguyen Huu Thang said: "We’ve done our best. Look at other projects, such as the Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station route, which is still idle. We’ve done a lot of good things, but nobody has paid us a compliment. Just when the project was adjusted a little, they have made a lot of noise about it”.Thang’s statement stirred up the public, who don’t accept that the increase of over $300 million for the Cat Linh-Ha Dong railway route is “a little adjustment” as Thang claimed.

Russia vows 'painful' response to new U.S. sanctions over Ukraine

 

The United States expanded its sanctions against Russia on Monday, targeting members of President Vladimir Putin's "inner circle" and technology that could be useful to Russia's military.

President Barack Obama said the "targeted" sanctions are in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine.

"The United States has taken further action today in response to Russia's continued illegal intervention in Ukraine and provocative acts that undermine Ukraine's democracy and threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," the White House said in a statement. Since a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 17, Russia "has done nothing" to meet its commitments "and in fact has further escalated the crisis," the White House said in a statement.

"The Department of the Treasury is imposing sanctions on seven Russian government officials, including two members of President Putin's inner circle, who will be subject to an asset freeze and a U.S. visa ban, and 17 companies linked to Putin's inner circle, which will be subject to an asset freeze.

"In addition, the Department of Commerce has imposed additional restrictions on 13 of those companies by imposing a license requirement with a presumption of denial for the export, re-export or other foreign transfer of U.S.-origin items to the companies."Also, the departments of Commerce and State are tightening their "policy to deny export license applications for any high-technology items that could contribute to Russia's military capabilities. Those Departments also will revoke any existing export licenses that meet these conditions," the White House said. 

Russia: The U.S. won't 'impress its cronies'

Sergey Ryabkov, Russia's deputy minister for foreign relations, called the sanctions "meaningless, shameful, and disgusting.""It will only intensify all the processes in Ukraine which it intends to change or stop," Ryabkov told CNN, speaking English. "It is yet another sign of a reckless behavior of the U.S. administration. No lessons are learned from the past. The U.S. does literally nothing to impress its cronies and clients in Kiev on whom there is full responsibility for constant deterioration of the situation in Ukraine. This is what needs to be changed and not the policy of Russia.

"A response of Moscow will follow, and it will be painfully felt in Washington D.C."

A senior Ukrainian government official called the new sanctions "a very good step, but we hope it's not the final step. Sector sanctions would be the really painful measure."

The sanctioned include a Putin 'trusted ally'

The seven officials named are:

-- Oleg Belavantsev, Russia's envoy to Crimea.

-- Sergei Chemezov, who oversees Russia's high-tech sector as head of state-owned corporation Rostec and is "a trusted ally of Putin," according to the White House.

-- Dmitry Kozak, deputy prime minister.

-- Evgeniy Murov, director of Russia's Federal Protective Service.

-- Aleksei Pushkov, deputy of the State Duma.

-- Igor Sechin, president of Russia's leading petroleum company, Rosneft.

-- Vyacheslav Volodin, Putin's first deputy chief of staff, one of the advisers who encouraged Putin to move into Crimea, according to the White House.

Obama: This isn't personal

Earlier, speaking to reporters in Manila, Philippines, Obama praised the Ukrainian government for abiding by its agreements made in Geneva and operating "in good faith."The goal of the new sanctions, he said, is not to go after Putin personally, but "to change his calculus with respect to how the current actions that he's engaging in in Ukraine could have an adverse impact on the Russian economy over the long haul -- and to encourage him to actually walk the walk and not just talk the talk when it comes to diplomatically resolving the crisis.""There are specific steps that Russia can take. And if it takes those steps, then you can see an election taking place in Ukraine; you can see the rights of all people inside of Ukraine respected."If the latest round of sanctions don't work, the next phase could target sectors such as banking, Obama said. 

EU sanctions coming

The European Union also is expected to impose sanctions Monday on about 15 Russian officials who are believed to be undermining democracy and creating chaos in Ukraine, according to Western diplomats.The sanctions will include asset freezes and travel bans.The EU is not expected to impose sanctions on Putin associates in part because the European judiciary system has a much higher bar in terms of applying the law, the diplomats said.Judges are not able to look at intelligence to sign off on the sanctions, they said. One Western diplomat said there was also some division within the EU as to whether sanctions against Putin's cronies should be imposed.

Several European countries are also concerned that their economic interests would be greatly affected by such sanctions. Additionally, some countries feel more space should be given to diplomacy before such measures are considered, the diplomat said.Neither the United States nor EU is ready to impose sanctions on Russian industries, like the energy sector, both U.S. officials and Western diplomats said."Today's targeted actions, taken in close coordination with the EU, will increase the impact we have already begun to see on Russia's own economy as a result of Russia's actions in Ukraine and from U.S. and international sanctions," U.S.Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement. "Russian economic growth forecasts have dropped sharply, capital flight has accelerated and higher borrowing costs reflect declining confidence in the market outlook."

CNRP plans election rallies

 

After weeks abroad in Europe and the United States, respectively, Cambodia National Rescue Party leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha are returning this week ahead of the council election campaign, which kicks off on Friday.Though the election is not a universal vote and instead sees sitting commune councillors cast ballots – typically along party lines – for municipal, district and provincial councillors, a two-week campaign will run May 2-16 before the May 18 poll. 

Meach Sovannara, director of the information department at the CNRP, said yesterday that Sokha would be arriving today, after a short stop in South Korea, while Rainsy will arrive on Tuesday.

He said the CNRP was planning on holding large election rallies in the streets of Phnom Penh during the two-week campaign period and that political negotiations with the Cambodian People’s Party could not resume until after the campaign.

“We are thinking of the election campaign and demanding an early election. How can we negotiate?” Sovannara said, adding that his party planned to attract huge crowds for a march on May 2.

“Our political message is related to the current political situation,” he said.

Senior CPP official Ork Kim Han, who is in charge of the election campaign, criticised the CNRP’s plan to marchas “illegal”.“I know that the Cambodian People’s Party will not march. But in case it changes and the supporters march, I cannot stop it. But whatever we do will be according to the Election Law,” he said.“Election rallies are different from protest marches. At election rallies we propagandise about the political platform of the party. But if we hold demonstrations, it means we demand something. So itis illegal.”At a meeting last week hosted by the National Election Committee, political parties were told they were not banned from marching during the campaign, but that their election rallies could not turn into demonstrations, must not insult other candidates and could not permanently occupy public places.

His passion still stands tall

 

Raising their voices in unison, friends, relatives and former colleagues of slain environmental activist Chut Wutty chanted his name as they approached the place along the road where his life ended two years ago to the day.On April 26, 2012, Wutty, the director of the National Resource Protection Group and tireless advocate for Cambodia’s forests, was gunned down in bizarre circumstances during an investigation into illegal logging in Koh Kong province’s Mondul Seima district.

The shooting, by a military police officer, was the most high-profile killing of an activist since unionist Chea Vichea was shot dead outside a newsstand in Phnom Penh in 2004, and it sent shockwaves throughout the country’s activist community.Two years later, during the first ceremony at the site to mark the anniversary of Wutty’s death, emotions were still running high.“He told us that losing our forest is like losing our life force,” said 58-year-old Tun Lam, an activist from Stung Treng province who met Wutty in 2008. “Even though we were afraid after he was killed, we can’t stop our activities, or it will all be for nothing.”

The event on Saturday, which occurred alongside a stretch of road in Mondul Seima district called Veal Bei point, attracted about 100 people who travelled in vans and the same truck that Wutty was driving when he was shot. The group gathered around an effigy of the activist fashioned out of tree branches, as the Venerable Luon Savath, an activist monk, led a Buddhist ceremony to commemorate Wutty’s spirit.His son Chheuy Oddom Rasmey, 21, remembered the last time he heard his father’s voice, in a phone conversation about an hour before he was killed.

“He wanted me to become a lawyer, but I don’t want this job, because the court system in Cambodia is neither independent nor just,” he said, adding that he was committed to ending illegal logging on a grassroots level.

Three monitors sporting the powder blue vests of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) placed a wreath alongside Wutty’s shrine, paid for by staff members of the OHCHR Cambodia office.The crime scene is typically guarded by at least two men, according to Neang Boratino, provincial coordinator for Adhoc, which worked closely with Wutty.“They made an exception for this day, because they know how large we are in number,” he said.Provincial Forestry Administration director Oum Makary said yesterday, however, that the site was near a public road, and access was never blocked.

People attach a photo of environmental activist Chut Wutty to an effigy on Saturday at the site where he was fatally shot in Koh Kong. Scott Howes“No one is allowed to log that area, because [environmental NGO] Wildlife Alliance and military police officers patrol the area on foot and with a helicopter,” Makary said.Rights monitors say the circumstances leading to Wutty’s death haven’t been properly investigated. What’s known is a standoff turned ugly, ending with Wutty and a military police officer both dead.

 

Rattana had allegedly tried to confiscate the memory card of a camera Wutty, who was in the company of two journalists, had been using to document stockpiles of yellow vine.

As the official narrative goes, after arguing, Rattana shot and killed Wutty before being shot dead by Ran Borath, a security guard for a logging firm. The two journalists were unharmed in the incident.

When the case finally came to trial, the provincial court focused on the unintentional murder of Rattana, the man supposedly responsible for Wutty’s death. Key witnesses were never called to testify, and Borath, the security guard who was accused of the “accidental killing” of Rattana, only served six months of his two-year sentence.

“Two years on, Chut Wutty’s family and friends are still demanding justice for Cambodia’s premier defender of the forest. But those pleas are falling on deaf ears in the government,” Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, said on Sunday.In a press release issued on Saturday, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights characterised the official version of what happened as “ludicrous”.But violence and intimidation of environmental activists will continue, along with the depletion of Cambodian forests, if Wutty’s work is abandoned, said Chhim Savuth, the current executive director of the National Resource Protection Group.Sitting in a small clearing during the ceremony as a means of escaping the crowd, Savuth said logging had only accelerated since July’s national elections.

“The only way for this to change is if the government stops issuing licences to export timber abroad and reinforces the forest law,” Savuth said, adding that as each year passed, the forest’s supply of rosewood was coming dangerously close to the brink of extinction.As the burning incense began to wane and the light dimmed, the crowd slowly returned to nearby vans, ending an event that was sombre but far from hopeless.Wutty’s effigy was left leaning along a shrine constructed in his honour, surrounded by sticks of incense.“In Cambodia, justice is like salt in the water or a pin at the bottom of the ocean that is nearly impossible to find,” said monk Luon Sovath to the kneeling participants. “But if you kill one Chut Wutty - 10,000 more Chut Wutty’s will stand up and continue his work.”