PYONGYANG: The minute I stepped on board the plane, I instantly felt transported into another world. North Korean music concerts played out from the in-flight…
PYONGYANG: The minute I stepped on board the plane, I instantly felt transported into another world.
North Korean music concerts played out from the in-flight entertainment screens and then an air stewardess thrust her hand in front of our camera to stop us from taking pictures.
This was not allowed, we were told with a firm smile.
We were en-route from Beijing to Pyongyang on North Korea’s national carrier Air Koryo, previously rated the world’s worst airline (its fleet dates back to the Soviet era).
The flight was full with members of the media, foreign delegations and many others like us, invited by the North Korean authorities to witness the country’s 70th founding anniversary celebrations, expected to be on a massive scale.
For in-flight reading, we were handed newsletters – all in English – detailing the North’s achievements over the last 70 years.
They talked about international sanctions: The challenges, but also overcoming them through the country’s own strength and resources.
But what the colourful newsletters did not show was a country hit hard by such sanctions.
North Korea’s economy has paid the price as its leader pressed ahead with 23 missile launches and its sixth nuclear test last year, including the first intercontinental ballistic missile which it claimed was capable of hitting the United States.
Data tracked by South Korea showed that its neighbour’s economy shrank by 3.5 per cent in 2017, from a growth rate of 3.9 per cent the year before.
And yet, things have started to change. Over the last few months, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has done things which, a year ago, would have seemed impossible.
He has held summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-In and even done what many thought was unthinkable – meeting a sitting United States president face-to-face in a historic summit in Singapore.
As Channel NewsAsia’s correspondent based in Beijing, I have had the chance to learn about the reclusive state from speaking with investors, businessmen and many others living on the China-North Korea border.
There has been optimism that North Korea may be ready to open up. But just like the rest of the world, I was doubtful about such a prospect.
So, when I learnt I was to make the trip into North Korea on assignment, I was looking forward to the chance to see and understand for myself first hand the changes that were taking place.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
We arrived at the Pyongyang International Airport to a buzzing arrival hall full of people – giving off a sense of, possibly, a different North Korea.
What a remarkable turnaround in the country’s image in just a few short months, I thought: From one that sparked fears of a nuclear war, to one that tourists I met hoped to visit for a holiday.
Security checks were also surprisingly brisk.
No examining our cameras or the files on our laptops, which is what others who have traveled to the country previously experienced.
We only had our mobile phones and equipment list checked.
But despite a seeming about-turn in attitude and a thaw in relations, there were things that reminded you that the North still marches to its own tune.
We were given a 10-page rule book for foreign journalists.
Camera-mounted drones or satellite communication equipment were not allowed, and the rule book said we should promote the development of friendship and cooperation between North Korea and other countries.
Acts of distorting the realities of North Korea, or violating the interests of the country and its citizens, were also prohibited.
There were also consequences if these rules were not followed, with some violations landing a journalist in a labour camp for five or even 10 years.
Then there was the connectivity issue.
A local SIM card with just 80 megabytes of data set us back a whopping US$300.
The only other way to get online, we would later find out, was at the media centre at our hotel – where your seat and the Internet were all chargeable.
But perhaps the most obvious sign we had arrived in North Korea was Mr Ri from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He was one of those rare, well-travelled North Koreans, having lived in Singapore and Malaysia. He would be our guide, translator and source of information through this trip.
MODEL PYONGYANG FACILITIES?
In North Korea, journalists do not get to choose what they want to cover, but are shown what the authorities want them to see.
For us, that meant a visit to a cosmetics factory and a vegetable farm, the day before the North’s 70th founding anniversary.
The factory, we were told, was evidence of modernisation in spite of international sanctions.
The farm was equally impeccable, with living quarters affixed with locally made solar panels for electricity, places for recreation and happy children from a kindergarten attached to the farm performing for us.
