NK’s Next Moves

[Anchor Lead]

At the 7th Workers' Party Congress last week, Pyongyang replaced its key diplomats. Looking ahead, the new officials are likely to strive toward helping the regime shake off sanctions and come out from isolation from the international community.

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Ri Su-yong, who can be seen in this footage applauding right behind Kim Jong-un, has been named as one of the North's Political Bureau members and designated as vice chairman of the Workers' Party's International Affairs.

[Soundbite] orean Central TV(N. Korea) : “The party's vice chairmen are Choe Ryong-hae, Kim Ki-nam, Choe Tae-bok, Ri Su-yong.”

Ri earned Kim Jong-un's trust by supporting him during his studies abroad while serving as North Korean ambassador to Switzerland. Recently, he has been representing the North Korean leader on the global arena by advocating the legitimacy of the North's nuclear development.

[Soundbite] Ri Su-yong(N. Korean Foreign Minister/Apr. 22) : “We have only one choice - to respond to nuclear threats with nuclear weapons.”

Ri will likely be replaced as foreign minister by Ri Yong-ho, who currently acts as the North Korean envoy to the six-party nuclear talks. The North's new diplomats will likely focus their efforts on helping the regime get rid of the sanctions and survive amid international pressure.

[Soundbite] Prof. Nam Sung-wook(Korea Univ.) : “The North Korean diplomats are expected to push the U.S. to sign a peace treaty while trying to distance South Korea from the U.S. and China from Russia.”

Choe Rong-hae, who visited China and Russia as Kim Jong-un's special envoy, has been restored to his Politburo Presidium position. Choe is expected to work toward improving Pyongyang's relations with China and Russia.

2. Missing Commander

[Anchor Lead]

South Korean intelligence authorities are taking note of a North Korean commander's disappearance from the public eye for more than a year. The commander had been in charge of North Korea’s missile arsenal.

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This footage, revealed by North Korean media on April 9, shows the engine launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile. Kim Jong-un was accompanied by Strategic Forces Commander General Kim Rak-gyom during his on-site inspection at the time. The strategic forces commander is a key position tasked with oversight of North Korea's various missile operations. But in the time that has followed, Kim Rak-gyom has disappeared from the public eye. Observers say that Kim would have been reprimanded for the successive failures of all three Musudan missile launches which the North conducted last month. A South Korean intelligence official said that attention is gathering on Kim Rak-gyom's disappearance from North Korea's media coverage, and predicted that North Korea will likely re-launch a Musudan missile to make up for its previous mistakes. In March, Kim Jong-un ordered the North Korean military to conduct tests of nuclear warhead detonation and launches of ballistic rockets capable of being armed with nuclear warheads as soon as possible.

[Soundbite] Moon Seung-muk(Researcher, Korea Research Inst. for Strategy) : “Because Kim Jong-un's order is above the constitution in North Korea, it must be followed unless he himself withdraws it.”

Experts forecast that Pyongyang will likely launch its Musudan missiles again in early June, when the effects of the UN sanctions on North Korea become clearer, or around August, when South Korea and the U.S. will conduct the joint Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise.

3. Hiroshima Survivors

[Anchor Lead]

The Japanese government has lauded U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to Hiroshima as historic. But the Koreans who survived U.S. atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in Japan as forced laborers at the time, are skeptical about the Abe administration's response.

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When atomic bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August 1945, 10 percent of the some 700,000 victims were Korean. At the time, more than 70,000 Koreans were in the areas where the bombs exploded. Of those, about 40,000 eventually died. One of the commemorative stones at this memorial park is dedicated to Korean victims of atomic bombs. The Japanese say that U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to Hiroshima will serve as a gesture of apology to Japan, but it doesn't strike a chord in the hearts of the Korean victims.

[Soundbite] Park Nam-ju(Korean Victims of Atomic Bombing Committee) : “Japan has committed many unforgivable acts against us. Before demanding an apology from the U.S. president, Japan must first apologize to Korea.”

The Japanese government has provided full coverage of healthcare costs to the Japanese victims of the atomic bombs, but gave only limited subsidies to the Korean victims. Last year Japan's highest court ordered the government to abolish this kind of discrimination.

[Soundbite] Sung Seon-ju(Atomic Bombing Korean Victim) : “The Japanese government will be no longer responsible because ten years from now none of the Korean victims of atomic bombing will be alive.”

Tokyo insists that the issue of atomic bomb victims was settled by signing the Korea-Japan Claims Settlement Agreement. But many see Japan still avoiding its legal responsibility and refusing to provide compensation to Korean victims.

4. UNESCO Listing

[Anchor Lead]

Japan strongly opposed the inclusion of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre on UNESCO's Memory of the World International Register last year. It even threatened to cut off funding to the world cultural and education body. Here’s the latest.

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Japan's minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology met with the UNESCO director-general in charge of the world heritage listings. The intent was to demand systematic improvement, based on a claim that the 1937 Nanjing Massacre was only included in the Memory of the World International Register last year due to China's political influence.

[Soundbite] Hiroshi Hase(Japan's Minister of Education and Culture) : “We have confirmed that actions are being taken to improve the system.”

Japan has been pressuring UNESCO since last year by threatening to halt its nearly 34 million dollar contribution, which is the second largest behind the U.S. Tokyo has also decided to dispatch three representatives to the general meeting of the Asia-Pacific regional committee for the Memory of the World Program, which is to be held in Vietnam on May 18.

[Soundbite] Yoshihide Suga(Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary) : “We want to actively participate in the reviews as a responsible member nation of UNESCO.”

In response, Director-General Irina Bokova explained that she has already obtained member nations' agreement for improvement of the system. With her bid to run for the next term of the UN secretary-general's office, Bokova will likely be very conscious of Japan's influence.

5. Crime in Korea

[Anchor Lead]

While a recent government report showed that the crime rate among foreigners in South Korea is actually lower than that of Korean citizens, the overall number of crimes committed by foreigners is on the rise. Let’s take a look at this troubling trend.

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A group of foreigners enters a restaurant and starts talking to the customers. One of them steals a bag while the other one blocks the customer's view with a map. When police apprehended one of the suspects, a Mexican national, all of his accomplices had already left the country. They capitalized on Koreans' hospitality toward foreign nationals. Two Romanian nationals who knew how to duplicate bank cards entered Korea deliberately and stole around 85,000 U.S. dollars. They were able to enter Korea and avoid surveillance easily by using tourist visas.

[Soundbite] Supt. Lee Kang-seok(Nat'l Police Agency) : “It takes a while to identify foreign suspects by checking their fingerprints and places of residence.”

Most of the foreign criminals are identified belatedly after they had already left the country.

[Soundbite] Prof. Bae Sang-hoon(Seoul Digital Univ.) : “We must prepare by cooperating with the criminals' home countries.”

The number of foreign nationals who faced criminal charges in Korea surpassed 30,000 in 2014, surging about 35 percent over the past five years. Experts call for building a system that will connect Korea's immigration control with international criminal databases in order to prevent foreigners from visiting Korea deliberately to commit crimes.

6. Smartphone Addiction

[Anchor Lead]

A recent study shows that the rate of addiction to smartphones among young students is growing serious. In particular, youngsters are vulnerable to addiction to social networking services such as Facebook.

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On their way home from school, elementary school students each hold a smartphone in their hands. They are asked what they mainly do with the device.

[Soundbite] Elementary School Student(Voice altered) : “I'm on Facebook. I am really happy when I receive many 'likes.'”

The number of "likes" the students receive in virtual space is a yardstick of popularity among them.

[Soundbite] Elementary School Student(Voice altered) : “Popular kids receive more than 100 likes. The number of 'likes' or 'shares' determines popularity.”

A study found that students use smartphones most often to access social networking services, ahead of playing games or listening to music. They freely become friends with strangers in order to receive more "likes." If the number of "likes" or followers is small, they feel stress or lingering depression.

[Soundbite] Prof. Cho Hyun-seop(Chongshin Univ.) : “If they don't receive many 'likes' as feedback, they feel distressed, thinking that they are unpopular or ostracized.”

In order to help students overcome their obsession with receiving recognition in online spaces, it is necessary to offer them more opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities with their friends.

7. Compassionate Shops

[Anchor Lead]

In shops and stores throughout the country, there are many conscientious merchants who do their part to save lives. A growing number of stores are taking payments in blood donation cards instead of cash to help those in need.

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This college student always drops by this store after donating blood.

[Soundbite] “I'll pay with my blood donor card.”

Because the store exchanges the donor cards with toast and rice balls.

[Soundbite] Woo Sang-hyeon(College Student) : “I donated my platelets because I heard they are given to leukemia patients.”

The store owner started this charity project three years ago after getting acquainted with a child suffering from cancer.

[Soundbite] Choi Seong-won(Owner, Toast and Rice Balls) : “I can't close my store to do volunteer work or make donations. So I was looking for something I could do while running this business.”

This small bakery also gives a loaf of bread to anyone bringing in blood donation receipts. The cards collected by these stores are given out to those in need completely free of charge.

[Soundbite] Family of a Donation Card Recipient : “I was very grateful when we received help from strangers. It made me see the world differently.”

An increasing number of people came to know about the blood donation card event, and now more than 40 coffee shops and restaurants participate in the goodwill project.

8. Historic Cross Reborn

[Anchor Lead]

The first Christian Cross discovered in Korea was not kept in a Catholic church but in Daeheungsa Temple. Unfortunately, the relic was stolen in 1974, but the temple has decided to make a new cross as a symbol of interfaith cooperation.

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The history of Daeheungsa Temple stretches 1,500 years back. One of the relics kept at this Buddhist temple was a Catholic cross made of pure gold. Measuring six centimeters long, it was engraved with the Roman letters "SV." The letters were apparently the initials of the cross's owner. The Vatican said that the relic belonged to Father Gregorio de Cespedes, a Catholic priest who visited Joseon while it was fighting a Japanese invasion. This information helped the Catholic church confirm that the gold cross was Korea's first Christian cross. However, after being kept at Daeheungsa Temple for nearly 400 years, the cross was stolen in 1974.

[Soundbite] Park Chung-bae(Director, Seosan Daesa Museum) : “I think the cross was stolen, because there was no museum at the time and the cross was kept under loose security in a warehouse.”

Now Daeheungsa Temple has decided to make new gold crosses. Three replicas will be made. One will be kept at Daeheungsa Temple, another at Bohyeonsa Temple in North Korea, and the last donated to the Catholic Church.

[Soundbite] Monk Wolwoo(Chief Monk, Daeheungsa Temple) : “We are going to make it no matter what to represent the interfaith power that can bring Koreans together.”

Korea's first Christian cross will be reborn as a symbol of interfaith friendship.

9. Food in a Bottle

[Anchor Lead]

In today's edition of our Yum Yum TV series we have prepared a report about the use of bottles in the kitchen. Putting food in a glass bottle makes it more visually attractive and helps keep it juicy. Here's more.

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Here we see a display full of mouth-watering desserts. Cakes sold in glass bottles are a hit item these days.

[Soundbite] Lee Eun-jung(Patissier) : “Bottled cakes originated from the French bottled dessert called "verrine." Desserts sold in transparent bottles are popular these days, as they stimulate the eyes and palate.”

Bitter-sweet tiramisu cakes made of mashed chocolate and topped with loads of cream are also sold in bottles these days. You can even find Mille-Feuille, which means "a thousand leaves" sold in bottles as well. The bright yellow color of a mango pudding seasoned with coconut sauce can make you feel refreshed just looking at it. Desserts sold in glass bottles taste the best when you eat them with a spoon, scooping them from the bottom-up.

[Soundbite] Yoon Ye-eun(Seoul Resident) : “Pudding sold in bottles is easy to carry around. It also tastes good, and the bottle is cute.”

Bottled food goes far beyond desserts. In fact it includes all kinds of dishes.

[Soundbite] Kim Rika (Culinary Expert) : “I use glass bottles often because they contain zero environmental hormones and you can keep food fresh for a long time because they have low heat conductivity.”

Here's how to make bottled pasta. First, cook the pasta. Then stir-fry the vegetables and mix them with tomato sauce. Spread the sauce at the bottom of the bottle, then put in the pasta, salmon and shrimp. This bottled pasta is ideal for picnics. Shake it like a cocktail right before eating. And here's how to make bottled bibimbap, or rice with vegetables and spicy sauce. Briefly stir-fried the bracken, mushrooms and carrot with oil over low heat. Blanch the bean sprouts and spinach, and season with salt and soy sauce. Use a wide-neck bottle for bibimbap because you will need to mix it and eat with a spoon. Now add some soy sauce mixed with green plum extract and mix evenly. Easy to carry around and looking attractive as well, bottled food is ideal for picnics. Try it this year!