North Korea toughens laws on dissenters

The revised penal code upgrades punishment for those who lead uprisings to life imprisonment or death; previously, it was at least 10 years' imprisonment or death. For those who engage in violent demonstrations, a minimum five-year term will be imposed, compared with the previous 5-to-10-year prison term.

One expert cited signs of internal instability for the harsher punishment. "We have heard from defectors of antiregime activities, particularly since last year," said Kim Hyun Uk of the Peace Forum for Foreign Policy and National Security. "And 'Kim's Kingdom' seems be suffering from a power struggle among the family of Kim Jong Il."

Many North Korean defectors in Seoul say that Kim Jong Il lacks the respect that was accorded his father, Kim Il Sung, the nation's founder. Those who flee the North with the intention of betraying their country face harsher sentences; however, the changes reduced punishment for those who flee the country for economic reasons; the sentence has been cut from three years' imprisonment to two years.

"Those who flee to China usually make some money, so they may be trying to improve their balance of payments by bringing them back," said Reverend Douglas Shin, a Los Angeles-based human rights advocate with good contacts among defectors. A record number of North Koreans - more than 1,600 - have fled to South Korea this year.

When 468 defectors arrived in the South in August, Pyongyang accused the South of kidnapping them and took the unprecedented step of asking them to return.

Changes were also seen in commercial law. New clauses invoke punishment for those who violate private property, trademarks and other intellectual property with two years in prison.

"I think the idea behind these changes is twofold," said Jean Jacques Grauhar, who heads the European Union Chamber of Commerce offices here, with branches in both Seoul and Pyongyang. "I think there has been a decision to clean up the markets, which are full of cheap, Chinese, poor-quality and often fake goods, and they are also looking at attracting foreign direct investment, and so have been studying labor and intellectual property laws."

North Korea is seeking foreign investment and has allowed the establishment of markets since summer 2002. However, while a number of foreign investment missions have gone in, mainly from China, South East Asian and European countries, there is little foreign business presence in the North due to the Communist state's lack of hard currency and power outages.

New sanctions against tax evasion were also imposed. A source familiar with the business scene in North Korea said that he believed these moves were designed to halt the smuggling of goods from China.

Source: International Herald Tribune