Riiiiiiiiight...

An American visitor to North Korea says the situation really isn't that bad. Pyongyang looked pretty vibrant, after all:

An unofficial U.S. delegation to North Korea last week saw a vibrant and thriving capital, with the main market in Pyongyang selling clothes, vegetables, meat and electronics, according to a former State Department official who was part of the delegation.

"I was stunned by the activity," Charles L. Pritchard said at a briefing organized by the Brookings Institution. He said there were many vehicles on the street, compared with almost none a few years ago.

Pritchard said the visit indicated that change is occurring in one of the world's most closed societies, even during a crisis over its nuclear ambitions, and that North Korea is far from economic collapse.

Pritchard resigned as senior North Korea specialist from the State Department in August after failing to persuade Washington to engage in direct talks with Pyongyang.

Pritchard also downplays reports that the DPRK has an active nuclear program. Of course.

I'm absolutely astonished that anyone with more than a passing interest in foreign affairs doesn't know Pyongyang is a massive Potemkin Village, where everything is made to like shiny and prosperous for foreign "guests". The BBC - the freakin' BBC, people! - noted this several years ago:

The windows of the department stores and groceries are piled high with inviting displays of colour-coordinated boxes and jars. But they're all empty, and inside the shops there's almost nothing to buy.

On the top floor of Pyongyang's No 1 Department Store there are stuffed and mounted eagles or bears for sale. But downstairs, it's virtually impossible to buy even a pair of chopsticks.

In Pyongyang, there's little sign of poverty. People are neatly but simply dressed, the children look well-fed. But a system of strict controls on people's movements allows the authorities to create -- and sustain -- an enclave of urban elite in the capital.

There are checkpoints on roads into Pyongyang; the starving don't make it into the capital.

During his notorious 1994 mission to North Korea, Jimmy Carter called Pyongyang a "bustling city" with department stores that reminded him of Wal-Mart. Really. I didn't think anyone else on earth could be as naive as Jimmah, but it looks like I was wrong.

Posted by damian at January 22, 2004 09:15 AM