Civil unrest in North Korea, South officials notify US : Wikileaks

There are credible reports of civil unrest in North Korea, security officials of South Korea told the United States in a recent conversation.

U.S. State Department cables leaked by whistle blower site Wikileaks point out to a discussion between South Korea's National Security Adviser Kim Sung-hwan and Assistant Secretary of Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Kurt M. Campbell suggesting the possibility of armed resistance to the Kim-Jong-il regime. The cable dated Monday, February 22, 2010, also mentions that the North Korean police found a bomb on a passenger train en route from Pyongyang to Beijing.

The situation inside North Korea, he (Kim) added, appeared increasingly unstable, the document read.

The discussion also suggested that the antagonism was due to the lack of food supplies in the country. It added that the currency replacement also created strong resentment through North Korea.

The PRC (People's Republic of China) was in the process of delivering a portion of the food aid promised during Premier Wen's (Wen Jiabao) visit to the DPRK last fall; approximately 6,000 metric tons (MT) of rice and 20,000 MT of soybeans has been delivered, but the DPRK needed a lot more, Kim said in the discussion.

Meanwhile, Campbell stated that paying the North Koreans cash to help recover remains of U.S. MIA (soldiers missing in action during 1950-53 Korean War) was distasteful. He also noted that similar payments have been made to the Burmese (Myanmar) and Vietnamese governments.

Speaking of the North-South summit, the national security advisor of South maintained that last fall, the South had contacted the North. But, North Korea had demanded that Seoul should provide a certain amount of economic aid prior to any summit, he said.

That precondition was unacceptable, Kim stressed, noting that the Blue House had emphasized to the ROK press this week that President Lee would never buy a summit with the North, the document stated.