ID :
174796
Tue, 04/12/2011 - 10:06
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/174796
The shortlink copeid
N. Korean defector casts fresh light on communist state's military might
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean regime has in place a sprawling civilian defense network to back up its 1.2 million-strong military, a fact that many experts in South Korea have failed to notice, said a North Korean defector who recently earned a doctorate in North Korea studies.
Nine years after fleeing his impoverished nation, Kim Byeong-uk, 49, in February became the first North Korean defector in the South to earn a doctorate after studying his homeland at Seoul's Dongguk University. The achievement did not come easy, he said, but it brought him a step closer to including the "voice" of defectors in North Korea research.
"Defectors have mostly been used as sources of information in research. Many scholars here analyze the material they receive according to conventional wisdom or their own fixed ideas," Kim said in a phone interview with Yonhap News Agency. "Defectors themselves are often unable to give objective information because of their ties (to North Korea), emotional or otherwise. Now, I would like to do joint research with South Koreans on North Korea, but on a team that is led by a North Korean defector."
Kim's contributions to North Korea studies started almost as soon as he arrived here with his wife and two sons in 2002. The couple started studying side by side until Kim received his master's degree from Kyungnam University in southeast Korea in August 2006.
"My professor told me I'm the best in my field. But he said no one will believe my arguments unless they are verified," Kim said, explaining his reason for pursuing a doctorate. "He told me the only way to do that would be to have my work published in academic journals."
Encouraged by the advice, Kim set out to publish his articles in several defense and academic journals after passing rigorous screenings. His knowledge of North Korea's military machine could not be backed up by any existing research, so he struggled to describe what he knew in a way that South Koreans would understand. After three years of hard work, his work is now providing insights into the North's reclusive regime.
"As socialism started collapsing in the early 1990s with the fall of the Soviet Union, North Korea was left on its own to defend itself," Kim said as he explained the main points of his thesis. "That was when Kim Jong-il started actively operating civilian-based defense systems in each of the country's regions."
Within these regional defense organs, civilians are mobilized to build weapons by first receiving systematic training. Most munitions plants in North Korea are stuck deep in the mountains, making it difficult to efficiently transport military supplies when war breaks out, Kim said. With advances in modern warfare that favored air strikes to ground attacks, the North Korean leader was alerted to the need for stronger defense throughout the country and not just within the armed forces.
"Kim Jong-il ordered each province to prepare itself independently because he realized that there were no front lines in modern warfare," Kim, the researcher, said. "But people in the South didn't know that. They were just focused on defending against nuclear missiles."
Despite his contributions to academia, Kim has never had a full-time job here. His wife found employment early on, but he feels that there are certain social factors here that prevent him from gaining a permanent post. North Korean defectors are known to have a difficult time adjusting to life in the South, not least because many here still view them with prejudice about their communist past. South Korea has received some 20,000 defectors from the North since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
"My children know that I work hard. My wife tells them that if I were working at a company I could lose my job anytime, but a doctorate is a family treasure."
hague@yna.co.kr
SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean regime has in place a sprawling civilian defense network to back up its 1.2 million-strong military, a fact that many experts in South Korea have failed to notice, said a North Korean defector who recently earned a doctorate in North Korea studies.
Nine years after fleeing his impoverished nation, Kim Byeong-uk, 49, in February became the first North Korean defector in the South to earn a doctorate after studying his homeland at Seoul's Dongguk University. The achievement did not come easy, he said, but it brought him a step closer to including the "voice" of defectors in North Korea research.
"Defectors have mostly been used as sources of information in research. Many scholars here analyze the material they receive according to conventional wisdom or their own fixed ideas," Kim said in a phone interview with Yonhap News Agency. "Defectors themselves are often unable to give objective information because of their ties (to North Korea), emotional or otherwise. Now, I would like to do joint research with South Koreans on North Korea, but on a team that is led by a North Korean defector."
Kim's contributions to North Korea studies started almost as soon as he arrived here with his wife and two sons in 2002. The couple started studying side by side until Kim received his master's degree from Kyungnam University in southeast Korea in August 2006.
"My professor told me I'm the best in my field. But he said no one will believe my arguments unless they are verified," Kim said, explaining his reason for pursuing a doctorate. "He told me the only way to do that would be to have my work published in academic journals."
Encouraged by the advice, Kim set out to publish his articles in several defense and academic journals after passing rigorous screenings. His knowledge of North Korea's military machine could not be backed up by any existing research, so he struggled to describe what he knew in a way that South Koreans would understand. After three years of hard work, his work is now providing insights into the North's reclusive regime.
"As socialism started collapsing in the early 1990s with the fall of the Soviet Union, North Korea was left on its own to defend itself," Kim said as he explained the main points of his thesis. "That was when Kim Jong-il started actively operating civilian-based defense systems in each of the country's regions."
Within these regional defense organs, civilians are mobilized to build weapons by first receiving systematic training. Most munitions plants in North Korea are stuck deep in the mountains, making it difficult to efficiently transport military supplies when war breaks out, Kim said. With advances in modern warfare that favored air strikes to ground attacks, the North Korean leader was alerted to the need for stronger defense throughout the country and not just within the armed forces.
"Kim Jong-il ordered each province to prepare itself independently because he realized that there were no front lines in modern warfare," Kim, the researcher, said. "But people in the South didn't know that. They were just focused on defending against nuclear missiles."
Despite his contributions to academia, Kim has never had a full-time job here. His wife found employment early on, but he feels that there are certain social factors here that prevent him from gaining a permanent post. North Korean defectors are known to have a difficult time adjusting to life in the South, not least because many here still view them with prejudice about their communist past. South Korea has received some 20,000 defectors from the North since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
"My children know that I work hard. My wife tells them that if I were working at a company I could lose my job anytime, but a doctorate is a family treasure."
hague@yna.co.kr
