Korean Friendship Association

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
KFA Logo
KFA Logo

The Korean Friendship Association is an organization working with the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), as well as an organ of promotion/public relations for the Juche movement. The Committee for Cultural Relations is the official government cultural liaison agency for North Korea and fulfills a similar role to that of the British Council or the Alliance française. The KFA was established in Spain in November 2000.

Contents

[edit] The official line of the KFA

The KFA official line is closely linked to that of the DPRK. Members who ask questions usually receive an answer from a 'neutral' viewpoint (official DPRK stance), rather than the 'American' viewpoint (anything else). On the KFA Forum[1], any mention or discussion of critical articles is strongly discouraged while references to DPRK/KCNA articles is strongly encouraged. The KFA denies allegations that violations of human rights in North Korea are taking place and disputes the existence of North Korean concentration camps. The KFA line about the controversial 2006 North Korean nuclear test is that "it will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the area around it" and that "it has been confirmed that there was no such danger as radioactive emission in the course of the nuclear test as it was carried out under a scientific consideration and careful calculation" (whereas China authorities have reported finding radioactive traces in air samples taken from the region in the week following the test).

The KFA lists two conditions for becoming a member[2]:

  • Respect for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and its leaders.
  • Respect for the other members in the KFA and the goals of the KFA.

These are necessary but not quite sufficient conditions for becoming and staying a member, however, as even Forum contributions with basically pro-DPRK intent and content might be forcefully deleted, and even basically pro-DPRK members might easily be banned from the KFA, if their postings stray from the narrow KFA-defined path.

The cumulative archives of messages (those not deleted by the Forum administrators, in accordance with a deletion policy similar to that of wikipedia), since the site's inception in 2002, are kept open to the public. There is a large amount of DPRK related material, and it is possible to hear views from a DPRK point of view. The genuine information content about the DPRK and its inhabitants is rather meager, though, regarding many basic issues. The KFA Forum site is hosted and administered in Europe and the Forum does not appear to have a single North Korean member. It is claimed the members of the international committee speak the Korean language. The Forum site gives links to Korean language teaching sites, though.

Membership is done by logging into the website and putting in the password of the user, e.g. "QDzDPy1234", these passwords can't be changed as they are logged in to the forum's server. The passwords are given by e-mail to the user after they had applied to join. A reply is given in around a week.

[edit] Structure

The Korean Friendship Association has members spread across many countries with an "Official Delegate" (OD) responsible for the activities in his/her country and a "Zone Delegate" (ZD) responsible for that region/country/state/part of the country. Above the Official Delegates, the "International Organization Committee" consisting of the President, the International Counselor and an International Organization Secretary who control and direct the activities of the KFA worldwide.

[edit] The KFA in reality

There are conflicting views on how to describe the Korean Friendship Association:

The KFA's founder and president, Alejandro Cao de Benos de Les y Perez, formerly a Barcelona-based IT consultant and since 2004 working full-time for the DPRK government, believes that his web site, although limited, is better than no site at all. Mr Cao de Benos is a citizen of Spain and is a "Special Delegate" of the DPRK government.

Kim Yong Nam, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, described the KFA as follows: "KFA is the main engine of the train of solidarity and friendship with Korea that pulls together the rest of the world and groups. Not only is it making a great contribution for the understanding of DPRK, but also for the building and defense of our socialist system." [3]

The Asia Times offers this description of the KFA [4]: "The KFA indicates clearly that they enjoy the 'support and endorsement' of the Northern regime - Kim Jong-il certified. The group's activities include 'information' seminars where the enlightened benevolence of Kim's rule is championed, all part of its 'alternative' view of the North. The ragged wretched displays of poverty and starvation are edited out and the voice of North Koreans not in the direct employ of Kim Jong-il are conspicuously absent. In place of uncomfortable reality, the KFA offers vacation photos of 'their' North Korea taken during recent, state supported visits, complete with bowling, golf, amusement parks and karaoke with young female party members. Members write glowing pieces, oblations celebrating Kim Jong-il's wise rule. No starving people, torture, summary execution, penury or despair in the Korean Friendship Association's North Korea. Just golf, great meals and evenings in the company of Kim Jong-il's beauties."

[edit] Organized trips

The Korean Friendship Association arranges delegations to North Korea for its members and other interested persons. The first of these trips was launched in 2002. Specialized "solidarity trips" have also been organized starting in the summer of 2004. Foreigners who volunteer for these visits appear prominently on North Korean newscasts, and have to participate in all activities which range from helping farmers, doing construction work, dancing and singing traditional folk songs, and attending various performances and political gatherings.

Everyone who travels to North Korea has to hand over their passports and return air tickets to North Korean officials for the duration of the trip. Visitors to the DPRK are regarded as aliens and will be held under close scrutiny at all times. Visitors may ask any question, provided that the question is sincere and not intentionally critical against the country or its leaders. Anyone who offends the country or leaders are either warned or even deported out of the country, depending on the level of offence. Filming with video cameras in the delegation is not allowed because of past incidents where people filmed things that the KFA didn't want filmed, resulting in the confiscation of video tapes and threats.

[edit] Controversy

[edit] Andrew Morse incident, 2004

During the 2004 Reunification March, ABC News journalist Andrew Morse was said to have filmed "military targets" and other things that caused offence. He ignored several warnings for the first 10 days of the trip. His room was searched by police under national security regulations and 30 videos were confiscated.

When this incident was reported to Mr Cao de Benos, it led to a confrontation on the bus the delegation was travelling in, where Mr. Cao de Benos took Mr. Morse's camera and warned him not to violate again. Mr. Morse alleges that Mr Cao de Benos threatened to have Mr. Morse "hunted down" by his KFA members in China.

After this confrontation, Mr. Cao de Benos went to Pyongyang in a separate government car and searched Mr Morse's hotel room, breaking his laptop. Another American participant's room was also raided by officers accompanied my Mr. Cao de Benos and his laptop damaged. He was not charged with breaking any rule and was eventually compensated for the damage.

Mr. Cao de Benos said about the incident, "Mr. Morse broke almost every rule specified beforehand, including the DPRK law. So after several warnings that he completely ignored, appropriate measures were taken." Mr Morse claims that the charges were as ridiculous and baseless as the official letter of apology he was forced to sign in order to be allowed to leave the country. The KFA's former Communications Secretary Kristian Carter was originally suspended from the KFA after he supported Mr. Morse's attempt to seek asylum in the Swedish embassy, as a result of being threatened by Mr. Cao de Benos. After being suspended Mr. Carter resigned his position in protest and ended up getting into a physical altercation with Mr. Cao de Benos.

[edit] Fmr. KFA Communications Sec. Kristian Carter

The KFA's former Communications Secretary Kristian Carter was originally suspended from the KFA after he supported Mr Morse's disallowed request to seek asylum in the Swedish embassy as a result Mr Cao de Benos' threats.

Sometime after the 2004 Reunification March, former KFA Communications Secretary Kristian Carter sent an e-mail to KFA International Counselor Bjornar Simonsen, wikipedia user User:Bjornar accusing the group of slander[5]. Simonsen answered that it was not the policy of the KFA to engage in any slander.

[edit] December 2006 Japanese Television Report on KFA in Europe

The KFA and its supporters take the line that on December 17, 2006, "Fuji TV of Japan aired a short documentary/expose on the group's activities in Europe, particularly in Switzerland. A Japanese investigative journalist team, led by a female reporter violated many laws of Switzerland. Those people seemed to be criminals. The video was manipulated against the KFA in Switzerland and slander the reputation of the country. The Swiss police opened an investigation. The Japanese journalists won't have the authorization to enter in Switzerland again."

On the other hand, the more generally accepted view is that a Japanese investigative journalist team, led by a female reporter, came to the conclusion that two members of KFA's leadership in Switzerland in particular were most likely involved in intelligence-related activity in Switzerland on behalf on the DPRK government and the North Korean Embassy there, and perhaps in connection with the DPRK's well-known tactic of kidnapping foreigners to buttress the ranks of its intelligence trainees in Pyongyang. Fuji TV captured video of such KPA representatives, through long lenses and hidden cameras and then confronted both men with accusations on camera--each separate interview was abruptly cancelled and in one case the Japanese journalists' car was hit and kicked as they left the interview.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Interviews with the KFA

This article or section may contain spam.
Wikipedia spam consists of external links mainly intended to promote a website. Wikipedia spam also consists of external links to websites which primarily exist to sell goods or services, use objectionable amounts of advertising, or require payment to view the relevant content. If you are familiar with the content of the external links, please help by removing promotional links in accordance with Wikipedia:External links. (You can help!)

[edit] Articles on the KFA

This article or section may contain spam.
Wikipedia spam consists of external links mainly intended to promote a website. Wikipedia spam also consists of external links to websites which primarily exist to sell goods or services, use objectionable amounts of advertising, or require payment to view the relevant content. If you are familiar with the content of the external links, please help by removing promotional links in accordance with Wikipedia:External links. (You can help!)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../k/o/r/Korean_Friendship_Association_2e7d.html"
In other languages