North Koreans Leave Simply to Eat and Be Free

There is a new movie about North Korea that I'm eager to see. Apparently it's tough to watch, because it is about defectors who have made the crossing over the Tumen River into China in search of food and a better life. Melanie Kirkpatrick wrote about a new film called "The Crossing" in yesterday's WSJ. She described scenes of child beggars in the local marketplace, who stand at a distance from the peddlars and shoppers, proferring open plastic bags that they hope someone will toss a bread crust or the poured remains of a bowl of noodles.

These are the scenes that the Dear Leader, Kim Sung Il, desperately wants nobody to see. That's why every story about North Korea includes tales of guides who emphatically prohibit any photographs of people on the streets, keeping the few tourist's cameras trained on the monuments to the Great Leader instead.

"Food is so scarce that his wife scavenges wild vegetables and the beloved family dog is eventually eaten to provide protein. Neighbors disappear one night when police discover bibles hidden in their ceiling." The film's scenes are culled from the chilling tales of a hundred former North Koreans now living in the south. When female river crossers get over to China, they are often sold as 'brides to Chinese-Korean men or made to work in brothels. Men usually hide in the forests or work in logging camps, hoping to make it to South Korea overland.

China refuses to let the UN help these refugees, since that would mean admitting that there is a big problem on their North Korea border. The worst fate of all for the refugees is to be repatriated back home--since this means hard labor in a prison camp or execution.

He Thought They'd Send Him Back--But Was He Ever Wrong!

To Charles Robert Jenkins, five decades of his life were all a mistake. That's because when at age 20 as a sergeant serving in Korea, he thought if he could just jump over to the North Korean side, they would pick him up and send him back home to North Carolina. But instead, Jenkins has emerged as the world's longest-held captive, and finally tells his bittersweet story in a new book written with Jim Frederick.

Titled "The Reluctant Communist" the book, that was reviewed in yesterday's WSJ by Gabriel Schoenfeld, is the story of a man who just didn't know what he was getting into when he crossed that mine-laden border. "A giant, demented prison," is how he describes North Korea, where "once someone goes there, they almost never get out."

The communists thought that they'd make life better for Jenkins and two other Americans by forcing young kidnapped Japanese girls to watch over them and give them comfort by offering sexual favors. Though the woman were thought of as a way to boost the prisoner's morale, Jenkins treated his forced Japanese companion with kindness and respect. They fell in love and had three children who grew up Korean.

Dear Leader's Dreary Country Comes to Life

Richard Read wrote a piece for Newhouse News service about a trip to North Korea. Here at the end, he finally breaks away, and it's the best part of the story.

"The ceaseless propaganda had gripped me, but not in the intended manner: I found myself fighting an impulse to regard all North Koreans as programmed as the corps of "traffic girls" who performed robotic maneuvers at sparsely trafficked intersections.

But two hours later, our bus broke down. A substitute bus also quit. Taking unofficial pity on us, our handlers impulsively let three of us go for a stroll of up to three kilometers.

Three kilometers!

Giddy with freedom, our trio hit the country road.

Before long, an old woman approached, a bundle of sticks on her head. Seeing us - three tall, white, Western men - she bolted into the undergrowth, ignoring our smiles and waves.

Next, we saw a man cradling a toddler in his arms. We walked up to admire the napping girl, clad in holiday pink with matching hair ties. The man smiled. He spoke Korean; we spoke English.

But it didn't matter. I felt jubilant. I was making unscripted contact with another human being. He was showing tenderness, even genuine delight.

We gestured. We laughed. I raised my eyebrows and pointed to my camera, asking his permission for a photograph. He beamed. I clicked. At last, I felt a sense of possibility for this tyrannized land. For an instant, a man's love for a little girl had swept away the fog."

Kim Meets Roh: Doesn't Say Much But Loves the DVDs

In am embarrassment of riches, I now am getting two copies of my beloved WSJ delivered, so more chances to read fascinating stuff. Evan Ramstad and SungHa Park reported today about a rare meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea.

There were some tidbits worthy of note: Mr Roh presented Kim with a DVD Collection of South Korean movies and TV shows. Possession of these items by ordinary North Koreans is a crime.

The two leaders during their time in Pyongyang traveled around in different types of cars: Kim in vintage Mercedes, and Roh in large, new Ford SUVs.

At one point Kim suggested that Roh delay his return to Seoul by a day so they could talk more. When Roh told Kim he had to run it by his aides, Kim replied, "The president can't make a decision?"

The South Koreans brought all their own food, computers, office equipment and even vehicle fuel for their trip up north, taking care of their 300-person delegation. Roh said he felt 'an uneasy wall' while talking to Kim. He spent just four hours of the 2-day summit with the elusive dear leader, and said he didn't expect to accomplish much during the meetings.