The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)—North Korea—has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. The North Korean government has not made any public statements on the landmine issue since 1998, when a representative indicated that the government supported the “humanitarian purposes and the nature of” the Mine Ban Treaty, but could not accede to it “for security reasons” given the circumstances on the Korean peninsula.[1]
On 1 February 2006, the manager of the Implementation Support Unit for the Mine Ban Treaty met in Geneva with two representatives of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The officials stated that North Korea supports the aims and objectives of the treaty, but is not ready to accede given its complex security situation.[2]
North Korea has never attended a major international or regional meeting on the landmine issue, including any meetings related to the Mine Ban Treaty. Since 1997, North Korea has been absent from every vote on the annual UN General Assembly resolution supporting the Mine Ban Treaty, including UNGA Resolution 60/80 on 8 December 2005.
North Korea has produced antipersonnel mines, but no information is available regarding on-going production.[3] North Korean mines have been found in Angola and Sudan, but there are no reports of recent transfers.[4] The size of North Korea’s stockpile of antipersonnel mines is not known, but it is probably substantial.
In 1998, North Korea admitted using mines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea;[5] US sources estimated the number laid there at “hundreds of thousands.”[6] Officials stated in February 2006 that North Korea had only placed landmines along the DMZ, and that these are fenced and monitored. They were not aware of any civilian mine casualties.[7]
However, it has been thought likely that North Korea also laid mines on sections of its east and west coast against the possibility of invasion from the sea.[8] There is also an unknown quantity of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from the war in the 1950s.[9]
Some UXO clearance took place in North Korea in the course of operations to find US soldiers not accounted for following the war on the peninsula in the 1950s. Operations were conducted jointly by US and North Korean forces. North Korea and the US agreed to conduct five recovery operations in 2005 but these were “temporarily” suspended by the US in May 2005 after completing the first operation, apparently as a result of rising tensions over nuclear weapons.[10]
It is not known if there were landmine casualties in 2005 and in 2006 as of 1 May. The number of mine casualties in previous years is also not known. However, it may be expected that some mine/UXO incidents have occurred at Korean War battle sites and in or near the DMZ.
The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) provides some medical supplies to targeted provincial, city and county hospitals. In 2005, IFRC distributed orthopedic kits to hospitals with special surgical facilities to treat emergency and traumatic injuries.[11]
There are two international organizations that assist people with disabilities in North Korea. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) assists the Songrim Physical Rehabilitation Center, 30 kilometers south of Pyongyang, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and DPRK Red Cross Society. In May 2006, it finished installing machinery in the newly constructed Rakrang Physical Rehabilitation Center in Pyongyang; the center started operating in May, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, to treat disabled civilians and military personnel. In 2005, a total of 548 patients received services at the Songrim center, including 345 new patients fitted with prostheses and eight new patients fitted with orthoses. A total of 494 prostheses (10 for mine/UXO survivors) and 10 orthoses, as well as 1,347 crutches and 84 wheelchairs, were distributed by the center. ICRC continued to conduct training sessions in prosthetics and physiotherapy for the staff of both centers. During construction of the Rakrang center, eight technicians and three assistants received on-the-job training. In addition, five technicians (three from the Ministry of Defense and two from the Ministry of Public Health) were sponsored to attend a three-year course at the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics in Phnom Penh.[12]
Handicap International (HI) supported the Hamhung Physical Rehabilitation Center and Hamhung Orthopedic Hospital on the east coast, as well as the Suung Lake Rehabilitation Center and Wonsan Deaf School.[13] In Hamhung, HI provided technical training and supplies for the production of above and below knee prostheses. In 2005, the center assisted 671 people, produced 726 prostheses, and distributed 955 crutches and 450 wheelchairs. It is not known how many were for mine survivors. HI continued working closely with a local partner, the Korean Association for Supporting the Disabled. In 2006, Health Unit 7 of the European Union Programme Support continued the work of HI in North Korea[14]
The government reportedly provides assistance for disabled soldiers by setting up special factories.[15]
North Korea has a comprehensive system for assisting persons with disabilities; however, this system is limited by the general economic situation of the country.[16] The Law on the Protection of Disabled People protects the rights of persons with disabilities in North Korea.[17] The government passed a law in 2003 ensuring equal access for persons with disabilities to public services; however, implementing legislation has not been passed.[18]
[1] Statement by Counselor Kim Sam Jong, Permanent Mission of DPRK to the UN, New York, 4 December 1998, Official Records of the UN General Assembly, Fifty-Third session, 79th plenary meeting (A/53/pv79), pp. 8-9.
[2] Email from Kerry Brinkert, Manager, Implementation Support Unit, 1 February 2006.
[3] North Korea has produced Model 15 fragmentation mines and APP M-57 blast mines. See Eddie Banks, Brassey’s Essential Guide to Anti-personnel Mines (London: Brassey’s, 1997), p. 164, and Jane’s Mines and Mine Clearance, 2004-2005, p. 211.
[4] Jane’s Mines and Mine Clearance, 2004-2005, p. 211. In addition, a Guyana Defense Force official who requested anonymity told Landmine Monitor in 2002 that Guyana stockpiled “PMB-2” mines made by North Korea. This has not been confirmed. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 485-486.
[5] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1018.
[6] Bill Gertz, “In Korea’s Misnamed DMZ, U.S. Defenders Rely on Mines,” Washington Times, 23 January 1998.
[7] Email from Kerry Brinkert, Implementation Support Unit, 1 February 2006.
[8] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1018.
[9] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 771.
[10] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 772.
[11] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 772.
[12] Email from Martin Unternahrer, Regional Delegation for East Asia, ICRC, Beijing, 11 May 2006.
[13] HI, project fact sheet (internal document), Brussels, February 2006.
[14] Emails from Vincent Slypen, Asia Coordinator, HI, 5 May and 9 June 2006; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 773.
[15] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1019.
[16] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 773.
[17] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1020.
[18] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2005: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Washington DC, 8 March 2006.