Perhaps it is what we have all speculated (for the worst) so I’ll say it, remembering Kang Chol-hwan’s report of an eyewitness testimony of what happened in 1987 re: political prisoners protesting against excessive torture (this may have been on a much larger scale):
“Over 200 inmates who were at the scene also beat to death another SS official and attacked their quarters across a hill. Political prisoners who all but gave up on their lives joined the riot to boost their forces to over 5,000.
When the situation got out of control, Concentration Camp No. 12, reinforced by the guards and equipment of a nearby concentration camp and armed with machine guns, encircled the camp, fired at rioters at random, and eradicated all the 5,000 rioters, according to the sources.
With the riot suppressed, rioters’ bodies were.. burned… while those of guards and their families were buried in the nearby Sawol-ri cemetery.”
Our intel assets should have the story (or horrifying details) behind this as well as China’s complicity in not covering it (the question is, are they doing something about the continuing atrocities) – looking for any word from the recent defectors, Open Radio, Radio Free Chosun, Good friends, PSCORE, or Daily NK.
Or it could be people burning the forest to clear land to farm for spring planting. I’d call that the most likely explanation.
I’m with Joshua here; Good Friends reports give plenty of indication that in spite of the state trying to prevent private plots and moves to control state forests, people are still moving into higher elevations and more remote areas, especially in Ryanggang-do, to cultivate what little they can.
I think the fact that Daily NK has yet to report on these fires in either English or Chinese indicates the limits of their sources. Either they have no one currently willing to talk in Ryanggang or that part of North Hamgyong or somehow the DPRK cell phone ban in Sinuiju is implemented and working all along the border. (I think the former is more likely than the latter.)
Incidentally, today’s Daily NK headline story “Battle Propaganda All Lies!” is also slightly revealing and a bit feeble. (Having spent some time today oscillating between Chinese communist propaganda and Falun Gong counter-propaganda in San Francisco, headlines like this make it fairly clear that for the English language audience, the Daily NK sometimes acts as propaganda rather than news.) The Chinese version of the story is titled in a slightly more measured way: “Did the Hyesan Mine Really Achieve 140% of its Production Plan?”
However, at the end of the day, it’s still one of the best sources we have under these circumstances. I very much hope they will report something, as the most flawed Daily NK kernel may at at least give some direction as to the origins of what appears to be a slightly catastrophic situation.
I found this in my morning news troll and was surprised how few news agencies reported it, though I included it in my news links anyway.
Maybe if the wind were going in the other direction we’d hear something from the Chinese about it, but anyone who lives in South Korea or Japan knows, come Yellow Dust season, that the winds tend to blow east.
The air in central Japan has to be pretty hazy about now. Just look at the plume.
One point I’ll note is that the fires are burning in places that are reported to be hungry this year, so I’m going to stick with my guess that people are slashing and burning forest land for growing crops. After all, if these were just fires started by lightning or cigarette butts, you’d expect them to have happened in July and August.
Those poor wretches are going to find poor soil and a slightly shorter growing season up there, but they might be pretty desperate. It’s just sad.
Perhaps it is a mask for Chinese forces coming across the border like in 1950…
Chinese press isn’t covering the story. WTF. Great find, by the way.
Perhaps it is what we have all speculated (for the worst) so I’ll say it, remembering Kang Chol-hwan’s report of an eyewitness testimony of what happened in 1987 re: political prisoners protesting against excessive torture (this may have been on a much larger scale):
“Over 200 inmates who were at the scene also beat to death another SS official and attacked their quarters across a hill. Political prisoners who all but gave up on their lives joined the riot to boost their forces to over 5,000.
When the situation got out of control, Concentration Camp No. 12, reinforced by the guards and equipment of a nearby concentration camp and armed with machine guns, encircled the camp, fired at rioters at random, and eradicated all the 5,000 rioters, according to the sources.
With the riot suppressed, rioters’ bodies were.. burned… while those of guards and their families were buried in the nearby Sawol-ri cemetery.”
Our intel assets should have the story (or horrifying details) behind this as well as China’s complicity in not covering it (the question is, are they doing something about the continuing atrocities) – looking for any word from the recent defectors, Open Radio, Radio Free Chosun, Good friends, PSCORE, or Daily NK.
Or it could be people burning the forest to clear land to farm for spring planting. I’d call that the most likely explanation.
I’m with Joshua here; Good Friends reports give plenty of indication that in spite of the state trying to prevent private plots and moves to control state forests, people are still moving into higher elevations and more remote areas, especially in Ryanggang-do, to cultivate what little they can.
I think the fact that Daily NK has yet to report on these fires in either English or Chinese indicates the limits of their sources. Either they have no one currently willing to talk in Ryanggang or that part of North Hamgyong or somehow the DPRK cell phone ban in Sinuiju is implemented and working all along the border. (I think the former is more likely than the latter.)
Incidentally, today’s Daily NK headline story “Battle Propaganda All Lies!” is also slightly revealing and a bit feeble. (Having spent some time today oscillating between Chinese communist propaganda and Falun Gong counter-propaganda in San Francisco, headlines like this make it fairly clear that for the English language audience, the Daily NK sometimes acts as propaganda rather than news.) The Chinese version of the story is titled in a slightly more measured way: “Did the Hyesan Mine Really Achieve 140% of its Production Plan?”
However, at the end of the day, it’s still one of the best sources we have under these circumstances. I very much hope they will report something, as the most flawed Daily NK kernel may at at least give some direction as to the origins of what appears to be a slightly catastrophic situation.
I found this in my morning news troll and was surprised how few news agencies reported it, though I included it in my news links anyway.
These are some pretty big fires, from the looks of it. Compare this type of satellite imagery with a satellite picture of the massive fires in Southern California two years ago. Seems something’s up, that’s for sure.
Maybe if the wind were going in the other direction we’d hear something from the Chinese about it, but anyone who lives in South Korea or Japan knows, come Yellow Dust season, that the winds tend to blow east.
The air in central Japan has to be pretty hazy about now. Just look at the plume.
One point I’ll note is that the fires are burning in places that are reported to be hungry this year, so I’m going to stick with my guess that people are slashing and burning forest land for growing crops. After all, if these were just fires started by lightning or cigarette butts, you’d expect them to have happened in July and August.
Those poor wretches are going to find poor soil and a slightly shorter growing season up there, but they might be pretty desperate. It’s just sad.
The Chinese press did cover it after all.