Inside North Korea: Relations With Russia and a Rare Glimpse of Their Joint Border

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• published: 25 May 2015
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un never completed plans to travel to Moscow for an event to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Despite the cancellation, there was still important symbolic meaning behind the young leader’s choice of Russia for his first overseas trip as head of state. FTV’s Anne Hu takes a closer look at the warm relations between the two states. The Tumen River stretches more than 500 kilometers, though only the last 15 kilometers before the mouth serves as a border between Russia and North Korea. Along this section are two coasts, two countries and two very different places.Su C. F.FTV ReporterOn my right is Russia. If you look further down to the right you can see North Korea’s Tumengang.Anne HuFTV News ChiefWe are at the North Korea-Russia border in the North Korean village of Chosal. Across the Tumen River is the Russian town of Khasan.Heading upstream from near the river mouth at the bank of the Tumen River at Chosal Village, we reach Tumengang neighborhood. There are close to 1,000 homes, each with gray roof tiles and blue window shutters.Tumengang Neighborhood GuideEverybody lives his or her own life. Doctors treat patients and teachers teach students.North Korean GuideThe first time I visited, my uncle was alone at home. I asked what he did. He said he managed, cleaned and served as a guide. As a youth I was curious, so I went to see the victory platform and use the binoculars.Farmers grow potatoes and corn along the border each year, but sowing of seeds will have to wait for rainy season. Life isn’t tense or busy like many other border towns, but the tranquility is broken each Tuesday and Friday when the Korea-Russia cross-border train arrives and undergoes customs inspections. Anne HuFTV News ChiefFrom Tumengang neighborhood you can see the Korea-Russia Bridge, which passes over the border. In the past, Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il’s father, crossed this bridge by train.North Korea founder Kim Il-sung’s fear of flying led him to choose rail transit when visiting the Soviet Union. These journeys from Pyongyang to Moscow contributed to the close historical connection between the countries and paved the way for desperately needed assistance.When North Korea was still a colony of Japan during World War II, Kim Il-sung relied on the Soviet Union for support in his fight of resistance. The Soviet Union provided assistance again in 1945, when the Workers’ Party of North Korea was founded, and on Sept. 9, 1948, when Kim Il-sung founded the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In the 1950s and 60s, support from the Soviet Union led North Korea to have a rate of industrial development that was second only to Japan in Asia. When the Soviet Union dissolved, this generosity abruptly ended. Desperate for support in the face of international sanctions, as North Korea began to drift away from the Soviet Union, it turned to China. While Russia is still North Korea’s third largest exporter, proportionally it is far behind China, which places first in terms of both exports and imports. The discrepancy is apparent by looking at flight schedules. There is one daily direct round trip flight between Pyongyang and Beijing and no regular direct flights between Pyongyang and Moscow. In terms of the most widely spoken foreign languages in North Korea, Russian trails English and Mandarin.Former StudentKim Il-sung UniversityOf course English is the official language of the world. But in our country, China and Russia are so nearby. So we must study English first, after that we need to study Chinese and Russian as a second foreign language.North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, had chosen Russia as his first foreign state to visit since taking power. While the trip was later cancelled, it still carried important symbolic meaning. Recently, Russia has proposed building a railway that cut across North Korea from north to south and links to the Trans-Siberian Railway. This would provide easy transport of coal, iron, petroleum and natural gas. Early interest from North Korea points toward more opportunity for cooperation in the future.This is FTV’s Anne Hu, Su C. F. and Yeh Chun-hao with an exclusive report from China, North Korea and Russia.