- [Narrator] America brands
this the axis of evil. This is the million man
North Korean military. Kim Jong Il is the
absolute ruler. If he gives the orders,
North Korean missiles could devastate Seoul,
Tokyo, and Kyoto with nuclear weapons. And this is North Korea as it
has rarely been seen before. (singing in foreign language) South Koreans talk business
with the North Korean elite. Former implacable enemies are discussing multi-billion
dollar investments into this sealed
off communist state. This could be the initial
budding of revolutionary change. Why this change now? Is North Korea desperate because of a failed economy,
poverty, and starvation? Or is North Korea
deceptive, playing for time while becoming a
major nuclear power, threatening East Asia
and the world economy? The demilitarized
zone separating South
and North Korea. We approach from the North, surprised South Korean
soldiers monitor our movements. I was given
unprecedented access from the North Korean authorities, despite the fact they
did restrict my shooting. This is not just a separation
between one people, it's a separation of culture,
a separation of ideologies, a separation of
economic systems. Why does North Korea
need a million soldiers if it wants peace
to build an economy? (speaking in foreign language) Major Phack Myog-Chol
answers our question. The North Korean military
rarely talks to Western media. - [Woman] That is
the American post. - [Narrator] Part of that
answer lies in history. A sizeable American
force still remains here, more than 50 years after
fighting with North Korea. - [Woman] So this is the
place where we had this um, Armistice talk with
the Americans, during
the Korean war. - [Narrator] That war
cost millions of lives. At Armistice signed here split
the Korean Peninsula into the communist North and
the capitalist South. There is still no peace
treaty with the United States, and North Korea still
views America as a threat. - [Male Translator] We do not
hide the fact that our nation does not have a good standard
of living as other nations. Since the early 20th century
and the Japanese occupation, we know what it
means to be occupied. We can never again
allow our country to be deprived of its freedom. And this is why we are
tightening our economic belts to be militarily strong. We cannot resist
the United States with imaginary military power. We have to build up our defense, be strong, and resist. - [Narrator] To
make their point, local officials take
visitors to the USS Pueblo. North Korea claims this was
an American reconnaissance vessel spying on the country. In 1968, North Korean naval
forces captured the ship. - [Translator] These guys heard
our secrets day and night. (speaking foreign language) The Pueblo say the North
Koreans is a reminder of the need to be on guard
against American plans. - [Translator] They
had seven antennae, and they monitored our
secret communications, and passed the information
to the United States. (speaking foreign language) - [Woman] And that is the flag, the ship flag, the mark,
and the military uniform. (speaking foreign language) - [Translator] Our soldiers, boarded the ship
in three groups. One unit took the bridge, they arrested an officer, and demanded to know
who is the captain. At first he denied
he was the commander, but after they aimed
their guns at him, he finally admitted
he was the captain. - [Narrator] The crew was
freed nearly a year later, after the United States
issued a letter admitting they ship was on a spy mission. - [Male Translator] We saw how the United States
attacked Serbia in 1999. We have learned from
the American aggression against Serbia, and Iraq. (speaking foreign language) If Iraq had a powerful military, the US would not have been
able to wage war against it. America's Bush initiated
a policy against us. He branded us as part
of the axis of evil. Bush put us on a list of
targets to be attacked. He wants to attack us
with nuclear weapons, but we have our
nuclear deterrence. We do not hide this. On the Korean Peninsula, why
is there peace and armistice? We have the ability to
reduce these dangers because we have this power. - [Narrator] Seoul,
South Korea's capital, is just 60 vulnerable
kilometers from North Korea's powerful military. Impoverished North
Korea is capable of destroying this economic giant. - I think first and
foremost, is security. - I think first and
foremost, is security. I think North Korea
has to demobilize a substantial part
of its a military. What is it doing with over
a million troops in arms when it's in such dire straits
economically and politically? Reduce their troops, remove
their long-range artillery, which threatens Seoul, start serious arms control
discussions with the South, I think it has to come
clean on nuclear weapons. Unless it does that, it's
not going to fundamentally change its relationship
with the U.S., or the rest of the world. - [Narrator] North Korea's
founding father Kim IL-Sung, launched the Korean War. He viewed the offensive as an
act of liberating the South. The American counter-offensive, nearly destroyed Kim's regime. (cheers) Kim established a
strict communist state. When Kim died in 1994, the reaction was as if a
collective father had died. He was known as,
"The Great Leader." He also imprisoned tens
of thousands of his people on merely the suspicion
of opposing his regime. His son General Kim Jong-IL
took the reins of power, and he is known as,
"The Dear Leader." Even though starvation
gripped the country, Kim invested scarce resources
to produce plutonium, the essential material
for nuclear weapons. To stop plutonium production, the Clinton administration
promised aid, and two light water
reactors to North Korea. The reactors were never built. North Korea embarked on a secret
uranium enrichment project. When it was discovered, the
Bush administration cut aid, and pressed for
economic sanctions. But it did not stop North Korea from developing nuclear bombs. The Americans say, the North Koreans renounced
in their agreements. The North Koreans say, the Americans renounced
in their agreements. From the position of analysis, Who's right? Who's wrong? - Actually, I think you know,
as far as the implementation of the framework is concerned, North Korea did not
make many mistakes, it I guess, has
kept it's promise. Clinton administration
officially confirmed until the last hour of
his day that North Korean never ever violated the
with framework itself. Many American
high-ranking officials, they would not expect
North Korea to survive by the target date of 2003. By that date North Korea
was to receive you know, By that date North Korea
was to receive you know, light water reactors
from the United States, and so North Korea
was really betrayed. and so North Korea
was really betrayed. - We have a course strategy
to deal with North Korea's proliferation of missiles
and nuclear weapons. Many of these issues are
undefined at this juncture. The North Korean government
is a truly terrible entity. It still has its people
in shackles, literally. The conditions in North
Korea are still terrible. Pyongyang is a city of facades. This was supposed to be the
world's tallest building, it's only a shell, there are no funds to
complete construction. There are wide
boulevards, but no traffic Few citizens can afford cars. Most visitors see
victory monuments. This is what they
almost never see, Pyongyang Central Hospital. It lacks the basics of
any modern hospital. Patients are crowded into rooms with beds sandwiched
in wall to wall. Old film strips serve
as bandage covers. With unprecedented access, we were allowed to meet eye
specialist Dr. Tang Chol So. When a train exploded
in Ryongchon, leveling much of the town, he
was sent to treat patients. (speaking foreign language) - [Male Translator]
I had an opportunity to help at the Ryongchon
train disaster. It was a collective disaster. It was very frustrating,
and I tried to help. The hospitals do not
have adequate facilities. If I had just had some
equipment, medicines, I could've cured them. I could have opened their eyes. - [Narrator] North
Korea's Medicare system has fundamentally collapsed. Antiquated machines
grind intraocular lenses. Apart from an outdated
ultrasound machine, there are no computers or
digital equipment here. The North Koreans
say this is because the country is economically
isolated with sanctions. Foreign critics claim the
disastrous medical situation stems from the disproportional
investment made into the military, and
not into hospitals. (speaks foreign language) - [Male Translator]
Currently we are stuck in a problem of trade. We cannot train on
advanced equipment because of the problem
with the system, and the sanctions
against our country. Imports cannot come in,
and we cannot go abroad. Scientific skills have
advanced, but we cannot study. Advanced American books
do not reaches us. This is our problem. (speaks foreign language) - One of the most serious ways the Koreans feel the sanctions, is when it comes
to medical care. There are not enough hospitals, there are not enough facilities, and there are not
enough medicines to
take care of people. They blame the United States. Glaringly absent in
the operating theaters are the tools of modern surgery. The surgeons do not even
have basic sterile gloves. For the Chief of Ophthalmology, the reasons for the
sanctions is not as important as the results. Professor Rim shows us equipment that should have been
junked years ago, but it's repackaged
and reinvented. The medical results are
less than satisfactory. (speaks foreign language) - [Male Translator] We have
20,000 patients per year in need of treatment. They cannot see, they
are effectively blind. To treat the cataract
they need an operation. We have to transplant
intraocular lenses. There are only few hospitals
capable of such an operation, including our hospital. At the moment we can
serve only 5,000 patients. That means 15,000 cannot
be treated properly. We can only provide limited
old standard techniques and they cannot see well
even after the treatment. - [Narrator] Across the
border in South Korea doctors who escaped from the
North described a
much more frightening picture of the state
of medical care. In this Seoul suburb are
the offices of Bukumaru an information agency
focusing on North Korea. Dr. song cannot practice
medicine in the south. She escaped from North
Korea two years ago. Song paid $9,000 to
Chinese smugglers, a massive sum of money, to be
spirited out of North Korea. If she was caught in China, she would have been sent
back certainly to prison. Now she uses the
same Chinese services to send money back home to her seven-year-old son and sister. Song risked everything
to feed them. We will not reveal her true name so as not to expose her family. (speaking foreign language) - [Female Translator] When
I see children crying, that could be my son crying. (speaks foreign language) When I see other
mothers like myself, cursing or hitting
their children, I want to tell them
not to be so harsh. (speaks foreign language) Not to hit them. (speaks foreign language) (speaks foreign language) I did not have drugs to treat
children, the children died. I am a doctor. If I cannot treat my patients, how can I be a
responsible doctor? What could I do
for the children? It was very hard. (speaks foreign language) We don't even have
medicines for diarrhea. We don't have basic
bandages for wounds. We have nothing basic
in the hospitals. If a doctor cannot conduct
even basic treatment, then what good is a doctor? (cheers) - [Narrator] This
is the ideological
facade of North Korea. Collective willpower.
Collective discipline. What is never seen, are
people just being themselves. These hotel workers are
preparing for a ceremony. They poke fun when this manager
comes out with his slogans. And then someone else
forgets his lines. (speaks foreign language) Once discovered, the
camera must go off. North Koreans also
have fun with enemies. In this theatrical spoof, a Japanese merchant wants
to buy an illegal Buddha. Two friends conspire
to trick him. North Korea feels Japan robbed the country during
the occupation. This is a little bit of revenge. (crowd laughs) But when it comes to
discussing culture and arts, the rigid rhetoric re-emerges. (speaks foreign language) - [Male Translator]
In our country, cultural activity and
creativity is entertainment. It is vital for the
spirit especially in these difficult times. The United States is using a
policy of economic hardship. With courage we can
overcome this hardship. We're in a difficult
situation, but we can smile. (speaks foreign language) We have talent, and ability. And with the guidance
of the dear leader, General Kim Jong IL, we have the optimism
to reach a better life. - [Narrator] Soul has
become a magnet for North Korean artists frustrated
by a lack of opportunity, and daring enough to risk
the escape to South Korea. But when they arrived, they
hit a cultural roadblock. Kim came here because
she had no chance to progress in the North. She came from a lower social
class far from Pyongyang. Kim has established a troop of North Korean
singers and dancers. They are rehearsing
traditional folk songs. (Kim sings) A local politician
sponsors their efforts, but in South Korea
western-style music, not old folk songs are popular. (speaks foreign language) - [Female Translator] I was
very shocked. It was very hard. In the first year, I had
to get used to everything. This is a different culture. The South Korean
language is different. It is full of foreign words. South Korea is so advanced. Here is an interesting example. Ripped jeans is
what people wear. People move around
with mobile phones, they have private cars, and
each house has a computer. All what I saw had been
unimaginable for me. After I began to live here, I had to start learning from
the beginning like a child. Actually, a child would
know more than I understood. I have to remember so
much, and it's very hard. At first it was very
hard not to understand, now I have gotten used to the
fact that I do not understand. 50 years we have been separated
and so I suffer from that. I will get used to it
here, at least I think so. - [Narrator] Thousands of
school children flocked to Mangyondae to
see the peasant huts that served as Kim IL-sung's
home during his youth. Just as American
children are taught about the revolution that
brought independence, these children are
taught about conforming to collective will. (speaks foreign language) - [Female Translator] Mangyondae
is the source of the Sun. The great leader Kim IL-sung
rose up like the Sun. We love to visit here because we worship our allegiance
to our great leader. - Education is very
important in Korea, just like in any other country. It's considered the
future for its citizens. At Pyongyang medium school
they face unusual challenges. At this orphanage school, the great leader
and the dear leader, are considered the
protectors of orphans. The school is desperate
for assistance, but there is deception. The blame is placed on
American economic pressure. Not on the bankrupt economic
policies of the regime. In this grade 7 chemistry
class there are no labs, no computers, paper is
scarce, the quality is poor. (speaks foreign language) - [Female Translator]
This is closely related to the student's eye problems, so I hope we will be
provided with good paper. - [Narrator] Even if
the paper is provided, North Korea does not
have the resources to deliver the product
to the schools. - [Female Translator]
We receive assistance from many countries. The problem is transportation. So what we really
need is a 10-ton truck to transport the paper. What's most important
is that 10-ton truck. - [Narrator] Students were
allowed to talk to us as kids, without the slogans. That's revolutionary
for this country. - [Child Translator]
I love novels. I want to be a famous musician
so people will love me. In the evening we relax. My
favorite class is literature. We also go camping. We go to
the field and snap pictures. We think of our teachers
and principal as our fathers and mothers. - What can we do to protect
our Earth? Protect our Earth? - [Narrator] North Koreans
are very proud people, So we were taken to
a prestigious school
for the internet. - My name is Jack Anthony. - My name is Andy. - My name's Linda. - My name is Sue.
She's my mommy. - And she's my wife. - Tomorrow is a holiday,
we're going on a picnic. - Oh Great!
- We have to get up early. - That's great! - Please get ready
for a picnic tomorrow. - Bye
- Bye - I'm gonna have
a picnic in Italy. - [Girl] In Italy?
Its very nice. - The landscape in Italy
is very beautiful indeed. - [Girl] That's very nice. - [Narrator] The finest students continue to the Pyongyang
college for languages. This boardroom commemorates
a visit from Kim IL-sung. Kim sat here. The best student is given his
chair as a place of honor. Ma Gun Hui has
received that honor. In another rare
sign of openness, she was allowed to talk to us. - [Interviewer] What's
your dream about what you'd like to
do in the future? - Well at this stage I can't
quite tell you exactly, because it's still
right in my heart, and um I have this habit
of not telling anybody before I do anything because
I wanted to be a surprise. - [Narrator] Ma has
the wondrous naivete of someone who has not
touched the outside world. - [Ma Gun Hui] While I've
been studying English, I'm come to learn more
about an English culture, and specifically speaking
the British and American. I've come to learn the culture
and traditions they have. And when we greet each other
we don't normally shake hands with others we just
like lower our heads, and show our respect to elders. And on days like the Luna
moon that's our festival, we put on our
traditional jeogoris and go to our elders to
show our respect to them. I realized that in
America they just like well the way of saying hello, is just like a friendly
wave sometimes, and um that is that's
a bit different, but it does show that they
still do care for each other, and those kind of things
and so um and food. Food is completely different, and well in the matter of
culture that's all I can say. - [Narrator] Cha Young
Sikh is a deputy director in the powerful trade ministry. As part of the
North Korean elite, he pins hopes on
students like Ma Gun Hui to develop the country's future. - What we are seeing
by reading your lips, by seeing the shapes
of your movement. - [Narrator] But to compete
in the global village, students like Ma need free
exposure to the outside world. That issue has not been resolved
in this isolated country. - [Interviewer] If you
had a chance to meet a 20 year old from
Canada or America, what would you like to tell them and what would you like
to discuss with them? - Well um there would
be too many things that I'd like to ask them, and too many things that
I would like to tell them, but I would like to know
what kind of life she leads. I mean the way they think
the views they take on like certain subjects
might be different to mine. And there would be lots of
things that I'd like to tell the person like I'm about the, well what should I say? The great sceneries in our
country like Mount Paektu. People from other countries
they were very interested in our politics our
system of politics and there'll be Songun politics and lots of people
are very interested in our unique politics
which has been created by our great leader and so I
would tell them all that they would like to
know about that. And of course, well just
make friends with each other so we can and widened
our relationship
throughout the world. - [Narrator] Trade officials
like Cha Young Sikh, realize that apart from
investing into students like Ma, North Korea must also
invest into breaking out of its isolation to
develop and prosper. China's colleagues
try to network with
foreign business men. Especially executives
from powerful South Korea. When the South
Koreans visit here, they often join in songs
of her reunification. It's a half century old dream,
once laced with bloodshed. It's now personified
in unprecedented joint business projects. - The song means, every song
means, that our nation is one. Its our people, our
parents, our sister, Its our people, our
parents, our sister, you know this our family. Recently they have how can say, Recently they have how can say, to promote the economic projects
between South and North. - [Narrator] This is
why Cha and North Korea need investment from
affluent South Korea. This is the North
Korean countryside. Folk songs romanticize
about the hard work, but there is nothing romantic
going on in these fields. That is why Cha only
allowed me to film from a passing distance. There are hardly no
tractors, no harvesters, it's back-breaking work, and plowing is still
done with oxen. The highways in the countryside
are virtually empty. There are very few trucks
available to transport the products to
cities and towns. North Korea is
desperate for food. Starvation has dropped only
because world food organizations have filled the 400,000 tons
deficit in rice and grains. This is the image North
Koreans want to portray. A powerful collective
working force. Since the inception of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea it has seen itself at the
frontline of communism. Backed by the former
USSR and Mao's China inspired by Lenin and Marx,
carried forward by Kim IL-sung. But it is collapsing in
the changing 21st century. The state stores are empty. The only source of electric
power is a dinosaur generator plant from the Soviet Union. There are no spare
parts to keep it going. And because of the
lack of electricity, heavy industry is crippled. At night only the
tower commemorating Kim IL-sung's Juche
philosophy shines. His subjects live in
relative darkness. Desperate for help North
Korea is now allowing the once unthinkable. South Korean
capitalists businesses are building factories just
across this imposing border. - Coming a lot of economic
campaigns from South Korea, - Coming a lot of economic
campaigns from South Korea, and we are all together
some joint Economic and we are all together
some joint Economic June only on a straightaway
on the demarcation line. - [Narrator] The South
Korean motor giant Hyundai is building 16 factories
across the DMZ here in Kaesong. There is hardly a vehicle
moving in this city. But within a decade
250,000 North Koreans could be working in
Hyundai related industries. It would pry open the country. Kaesong will emerge
as an internationally competitive industrial,
tourism, and cultural city. And will play a pivotal
role for exchanges, and cooperation between
the North and South. For international business, it represents a unique
and exciting opportunity. - [Narrator] While
this is the dream, this is their nightmare. When the Berlin Wall came down, powerful East Germany
almost instantly collapsed. If the North Korean regime falls
apart in a similar fashion, then South Korea will suddenly
have to support 26 million poverty-stricken North Koreans. It would be a tough
economic burden. - [Male Translator]
We saw reunification from West and East Germany, but we don't want a
sudden reunification. - [Narrator] To avoid
economic collapse North Korea is being forced to
open up to the outside world. This Pyongyang exhibition tries to attract
foreign investment. The Chinese Communist survived because they opened the
country in this way. Kim Jong-il is trying
a similar strategy. - [Male Translator]
Now North Korea cannot change like China. It must happen
progressively, slowly, our nation will support
this progressive policy. - [Narrator] Go slow
however may not work. Food distribution has
collapsed in North Korea. And so newly sanctioned
private markets like Tong-Il are evolving. Emerging local merchants
demand high prices for food and appliances. - [Man] One or two, or a
score of these little markets do not fundamentally change
the picture in North Korea. I think once North
Korean people are free to move about anywhere in
the country they want to go. I think once the
North Koreans are able to access external markets, travel overseas
freely, speak freely, all of those things
that we take for granted in democratic societies, once we started seeing
those changes happen then yes I'll agree that
fundamental changes are taking place in North Korea. What I think has been positive
about the last 10 years is that steadily and
incrementally of course, is that steadily and
incrementally of course, our businessmen, our
government officials, our scholars, our newspaperman, who have traveled
to North Korea have, I think all of them together, I think all of them together, have left the mark on how
different life can be. - [Narrator] That's not
enough to instill change says Khang Chol-Hwan. Kang spent almost a decade
in North Korean prison camps. He escaped from the country. Khang wants South Korea to
stop economic appeasement of the North and work
to topple the regime. - [Male Translator]
The political situation
in North Korea is how to make people bleed. We have to help these victims. To save them. Those who advocate
a go slow policy and ignore the human rights
situation, act irresponsibly. - [Narrator] Khang
was just as old as these North Korean children when he was sent to a
prison camp with his family. Khan had also believed Kim
Il-sung loved children. Imprisoned in a
mountain forest camp, Khang learned how to
hunt anything that moved in order to eat. Finding food was the
only way to survive. Many died. - [Male Translator]
In the camps you only live like animals
not human beings. You only think about
how to get food. To find and eat like animals.
They are not humans. Animals. - [Narrator ] Khang
wrote about his ordeal. The family was
imprisoned simply because they were ethnic
Korean communists who had emigrated from Japan. - [Male Translator] If
someone has the will, he survives, but if not, he dies. he dies. I don't know how we
cope with the suffering. We know of 200,000
political prisons and camps. Many North Koreans who have fled the country to China were
forced back and then imprisoned. We have no accurate
figures of how many of them are lost in the gulag, but we know where these
camps are located. A lot of people have
managed to escape and that is how we
know where they are. - [Narrator] The
arches of reunification embody the North's dream of
unifying the Korean Peninsula. It's almost a messianic
reunification of workers. For those who have
escaped the South, reunification is the only
hope to see families again. Kim sing songs of loved
ones reuniting one day. It would ring well in the North, but in the South
there are other tunes. Seoul University is the
premier college in South Korea. Students here look to
the West not the North for the latest
trends and styles. The United States and rock
culture is much closer to these students than
North Korea or Pyongyang. For Jean Oh, reunification
is a dream that has died. - I think in time
that these dreams - I think in time
that these dreams are no longer what
they used to be. That people are thinking
instead of reunification, first North Korea has to
improve its economic conditions, and then they may
consider two governments, but one country as a
potential better way to handle the situation. Both South Koreans are afraid
that if unification occurs, the economy will be affected
by North Korea's economy. - [Narrator] Ma Gun Hui is
the same age as Jean Oh. They live only 250
kilometers from each other, but they reside in
different worlds. - People feel afraid of things - People feel afraid of things because they don't
understand it. If they understand and well as understanding comes from
seeing and experiencing. And people do not
know us very well. - People are becoming
aware of just how, what a terrible situation
North Korea is in. There's no electricity,
people are starving, now black markets are occurring. - If people come and like
spend some time with us, and like get to know
our culture more better, and get to know our
people more better, they'll know that we we
can be very friendly. - When people actually meet, the language is
already so different, and the culture is
already so different, that it would be hard
to say that in reality we are still one people. - The people would just come
in like spend time with us, and like exchange
our different views, and come to an understanding
then I would say that that would create relationships. Friendly relationships. Well just make friends
with each other so we can widen our relationship
throughout the world. - [Narrator] Friendships.
Understanding. It's a different
North Korean tune. But along with those
pleasant words, there is also nuclear armaments
and totalitarian rule. Only time will tell
if North Korea is slowly opening to the world or just buying time and aid
to ultimately develop into a dominant
force in East Asia.
