DPRK State Security Department Arrests Party Secretary Kim Yong-sun Last March
01 Aug 01 pp 160-167
by reporter Ch'oe Won-ki
Seoul Wolgan Chungang in Korean
[FBIS Translated Text]Conservative-Reformist Conflict Over South Korea Policy Corning to Surface, DPRK Workers Party of Korea [WPK] Secretary Kim Yong-sun was Arrested in March, but Released After Some 10 Days Under Kim Chong-il's Special Instruction
The two figures who have decisively contributed to the creation of last year's historic inter-Korean summit talks are Seoul's Unification Minister Yim Tong-won and North Korea's Kim Yong-sun, WPK secretary. A diplomatic source conversant with North Korea's situation has confirmed that Secretary Kim was suddenly taken to the North Korean authorities and put through an investigation in March 2001.
Secretary Kim was released under Chairman Kim Choung-il's special instruction, but he has yet to recover his full authority. Secretary Kim's arrest is interpreted as a signal that the grave conflict over South Korea policy between conservatives and reformists within North Korea is corning to the surface. Ahead of Kim Chong-il's reciprocal visit to Seoul, how will inter-Korean relations develop?
At 2000 on 14 March 2001, in northern P'yongyang, two Mercedes-Benz 300s were speeding with their headlights on in Amisan Street, which was shrouded in darkness because of a power shortage. The black sedans with 216-5810 license plate numbers passed Kim ll-song University and the State Security Department building on the right, and turned toward the Arch of Triumph. Then they passed the Arch of Triumph and Ch'ilsongmun Street. As they entered Mansu Steet, suddenly the streets became bright. That is because the North Korean authorities allot special electricity from P'yongyang Thermal Power Plant only to the Chung District of P'yongyang, the venue of Kim ll-song Plaza, Koryo Hotel, and embassy row with a large number of foreign residents. In particular, the German Embassy in embassy row operates its own generator, so the area around it looked brighter.
The Mercedes' made another left turn at Ch'anggwang Street, and stopped at a cylindrical apartment building at Pot'ungmun-tong. This 30-story apartment building across from the Russian Embassy is where a majority of WPK cadres above the vice-director level reside. Four men stepped out of the cars and took the elevator. It stopped on the 23rd floor. They probably had already figured out the apartment number because these young men, dressed in dark navy blue people's suits, approached an apartment with quick steps. A man knocked on the door in a rough manner.
After a brief rustle inside, a tall middle-aged man opened the door. He was in his sleepwear. Out of the four men, the one who looked like a senior stepped up and said tersely, "We are from the Security Department. Please come with us now. Please change your clothes." On his left chest was a Kim ll-song pin in the shape of the party flag, which only guidance officials and above in the WPK Central Committee are allowed to wear. Although the duration was short, the middle-aged man grasped the situation in a flash. His expression seemed to betray a thought that "it has finally come." The middle-aged man said, "All right," before he went and changed into a people's suit and came out. His wife followed with a concerned expression, but the man said in a reassuring tone, "It is nothing special. I will be back soon."
Then he left. Shortly after, with the headlights on, the two Mercedes, with the middle-aged man inside, raced at breakneck speed north. The middle-aged man, who sat with a serious face in the back seat of a Mercedes-Benz, was Secretary Kim Yong-sun, who was in charge of united front affairs for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Kim Yong-sun was Arrested
North Korea's Kim Yong-sun, secretary for South Korean affairs, was arrested. A diplomatic source conversant with the P'yongyang situation disclosed to me:"Secretary Kim Yong-sun was arrested in March and put under investigation." According to this source, Kim Yong-sun was arrested while he was resting in the cylindrical apartment at Pot'ongmun-tong, Chung District of P'yongyang on 14 March.
The State Security Department, which arrested Kim Yong-sun, reportedly took him to a certain location, and for a week examined his ideology and the South Korea policy that he has carried out. It is not known whether he was cruelly treated, such as with torture, during this investigation's process.
Although "several suspicious points" regarding Kim Yong-sun have been revealed during the investigation process, he was released under the special instruction from National Defense Commission [NDC] Chairman Kim Chong-il. Around 24 March, Kim Yong-sun managed to return to his current duties. However, he is still repenting, and he does not accompany NDC Chairman Kim Chong-il on his on-the-spot guidance appearance. The beginning part of this article is a dramatization of Kim Yong-sun's arrest.
P'yongyangology
The conflict between conservatives and reformists within P'yongyang, symbolized by Secretary Kim Yong-sun's arrest, is one of the most interesting and secret issues, along with North Korea's nuclear development. Kim Yong-sun's arrest may be an introduction, not a conclusion to the ongoing conflict between conservatives and reformists in P'yongyang. Therefore, the news of Kim Yong sun's arrest does not satisfy our curiosity; rather it amplifies a series of questions. Did Kim Yong-sun's arrest happen as a result of personal corruption or was it the result of an internal conflict over policy among the P'yongyang power elite? What is the force or who is the person that initiated Kim Yong-sun's arrest? What stance did Kim Chong-il take in response to the arrest of Kim Yong-sun, his secretary for South Korean affairs? To what degree is Kim Chong-il currently keeping his distance from Kim Yong-sun? How much room to maneuver has Kim Yong-sun secured by now? When did the ROK Government learn about Kim Yong-sun's arrest and what measures did it take? Does Kim Yong-sun's arrest mean the end of the inter-Korean reconciliation situation and North Korea's opening to the outside world?
Such questions about Kim Yong-sun's arrest falls under the dilemma of "big questions, little information," always facing North Korea observers. To put it simply, there is an enormous amount of questions, but the quantity of concrete information to clearly answer them is extremely meager. I would like to fill in such information gaps by utilizing P'yongyangology. Between the 1960s and 1980s when the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was at its peak, Soviet analysts in Washington, including those at the CIA, devised what is called Kremlinology. It is a method to trace the movement of the power structure within the Kremlin by carefully analyzing the angle, the size, and the frequency of pictures of Communist Party cadres appearing in newspapers, not to mention the articles published in the official Soviet media, such as the Pravda, the lzvestia, and the TASS. P'yongyangology is a similar method.
Kim Yong-sun fell to the bottom of power. Secretary Kim Yong-sun's face became familiar in Seoul through the inter-Korean summit talks. He was at the apex of power around Ch'usok [Harvest Moon Festival] in 2000. On 11 September, three months after the P'yongyang summit talks, he flew to Kimp'o Airport on a special Air Koryo plane. Accompanied by Pak Chae-kyong, general of the Korean People's Army [KPA], Kim Yong-sun delivered 3 tons of songi mushrooms from Mt. Ch'ilbo, a Ch'usok gift for 300 persons, at Hotel Silla.
At Hotel Shilla, Kim Yong-sun met Yim Tong-won, the then director general of the National lntelligence Service and the architect of the ROK's "sunshine policy." The two men discussed overall inter-Korean pressing issues, including NDC Chairman Kim Chong-il's reciprocal visit to Seoul. Through this two-hour meeting, Secretary Kim and Director Gineral Yim reached an agreement to schedule Chairman Kim's reciprocal visit to Seoul in the following spring (2001). Also, the two men agreed to push for Defense ministers' talks, where measures to build military confidence such as the installation of hotlines would be discussed, before the third-round ministerial talks (27-30 September). In addition, in connection with the issue of separated families, they decided to hold the second-round of Red Cross talks at Mt. Kumgang to discuss the installation and the operation of a meeting place, the exchange visit of separated families, and the exchange of letters.
At the same time, the North and the South decided to promote the points agreed in the first-and second-round ministerial talks and to push for the agenda of working-level contact, including the reconnection of the Kyongui [Seoul-Sinuiju] Railway Lines and the preparation for a systematic mechanism for economic cooperation, before the third-round ministerial talks. After the meeting with Director General Yim Tong-won, Kim Yong-sun toured Mt. Halla of Cheju Island, Pohang Steel Corporation, and Kyongju historical sites in a special Air Force helicopter on 12 and 13 September. On the evening of 13 September, he returned to the Hotel Shilla, where he stayed, and on 14 September, he made a courtesy call to Ch'ongwadae [presidential palaces] and delivered Chairman Kim Chong-il's message to President Kim Tae-chung. In a word, during these few days Kim Yong-sun was in his prime.
Ten months later, Kim Yong-sun has now fallen to the bottom of North Korea's power. An important yardstick to measure North Korean figures' power is their participation in Kim Chong-il's on-the-spot guidance trips and their appearance at official functions. In particular, the most important political activity constitutes how close they are to Kim Chong-il, a self-claimed "head [sunoe]of revolution" to reflect the "Comrade Leader's" words on policy.
Until the end of last year, Kim Yong-sun was very close to Kim Chong-il. On 14 June, before the second-round summit talks between President Kim Tae-chung and Chairman Kim at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse, the two leaders exchanged a pleasant chat. In this setting, Secretary Kim Yong-sun was the only North Korean official sitting next to Chairman Kim. Also he was the only North Korean official present when the two leaders signed the 15 June Joint Declaration. Chairman Kim showed off special affection for Kim Yong-sun; after he took a picture with President Kim and his wife, he called out for Kim Yong-sun in an affectionate tone, "Secretary Yong-sun, where are you?" as he was getting ready to pose for a picture with the members of the entourages. On 1 September, only Kim Yong-sun was present when Chairman Kim met Unification Minister Pak Chae-kyu, the chief of the South delegation for the second-round inter-Korean ministerial talks, at an East Coast guesthouse in South Hamgyong Province. Some months before, in June, he was also present when Chairman Kim met Hyundai Honorary Chairman Chong Chu-yong and also Mun Myong-cha, a Korean journalist based in the United States, as well as he met Chong Mong-hon, chairman of the board of directors of Hyundai Asan Corporation, in August.
Furthermore, in May 2000, when Chairman Kim Chong-il visited China, Kim Yong-sun made a reciprocal speech on behalf of chairman Kim during a welcoming feast hosted by Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao. However, beginning this year, not to mention the frequency of Kim Yong-sun's participation in Kim Chong-il's entourage, the number of his public activities is few. On 14 June, since he attended the report meeting for P'yongyang municipality to commemorate the first anniversary of announcing the North-South Joint Declaration held at P'yongyang People's Palace of Culture, he has disappeared out of sight.
Based on the data of the Unification Ministry Information Analysis Office, the following officials' frequency in accompanying Kim Chong-il has decreased: WPK Secretary Kim Yong-sun(16 last year vs. 1 this year), WPK Vice Director Ch'oe Ch'un-hwang (9 vs. 0), KPA Chief of General Staff Kim Yong-ch'un (11 vs. 8), and Kim ll-ch'ol, minister of the People's Armed Forces (10 vs.7). Out of these five [as published] officials, the decrease in frequency for Kim Yong-ch'un and Kim ll-ch'ol is not big. Also, the decrease in Ch'oe Ch'un-hwang's attendance is a natural phenomenon stemming from a personnel reshuffle. However, it is difficult to understand why Kim Yong-sun's attendance frequency has dropped so suddenly.
In particular, many people wondered why Kim Yong-sun did not make the list of Kim Chong-il's entourage when he paid his respects at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace on 8 July on the occasion of President Kim Il-song's 7th death anniversary. The fact that Kim Yong-sun, and no one else, did not make the list on the 7th anniversary of President Kim's death hints at a considerable change in his position. Dr. Yi Chong-sok of Sejong Research Institute said, "It is certain that Chairman Kim Chong-il's confidence in Secretary Kim Yong-sun has dwindled."
Conflict Between Conservatives and Reformists in P'yongyang
In connection with the background of Kim Yong-sun's arrest, what should be taken into consideration is the incident's timing. The day of Kim Yong-sun's arrest, 14 March, was when the worst situation for P'yongyang's negotiators with the outside world, centered on Secretary Kim, was created. For starters, on 7 March, a week before Kim Yong-sun's arrest, the ROK-US summit talks took place in Washington between ROK President Kim Dae-Jung and US President Bush in the White House. However, the results of the summit talks were very unsatisfactory to P'yongyang.
To begin with, it was proven that President Bush strongly distrusted and was skeptical about Kim Chong-il and the North Korean system, revealed through his famous "skepticism" remark. Furthermore, President Kim repeatedly emphasized "verification and reciprocity" in Washington; P'yongyang's disappointment must have been amplified because it had expectations for an "independent Kim Dae-Jung." Kim Tal-sul, who has handled North Korea issues for over 30 years and a former adviser to the Office of the South -North Dialogue [of the Unification Ministry], said, "It is like that the issue of responsibility for policy failure, including the DPRK-US relationship and the inter-Korean relationship, could have broken out in P'yongyang." The tip of the spear to find the responsible party could have been directed at Kim Yong-sun, the leader of the negotiators with the outside world.
A characteristic of ROK politics is that conflict over policy often develops into competition between individuals or ministries. During the Kim Yong-sam government, between 1993 and 1997, there was a case in which a conflict over North Korea policy spread into an individual friction between Han Wan-sang (Unification Minister) and Yi Tong-pok (special aide to the Director of the Agency for National Security Planning) over the question of manipulated instructions. If we apply this ROK politics characteristic to P'yongyang, it is likely that Kim Yong-sun's arrest could have developed from an internal conflict over South Korea policy within the offices of South Korean affairs of South Korean affairs or between Kim Yong-sun, head of the negotiators with the external world, and the military power. In this context, the more likely scenario is a conflict between Kim Yong-sun and Kag Kwan-chu (director or the WPK External Liaison Department).
Kim Yong-sun Vs. Kang Kwan-chu
Kang Kwan-chu worked under the pseudonym of Kang Chu-il for a long time. He is a seasoned expert on South Korean affairs, who rose through the ranks of the United Front Department, from guidance official, to vice division chief, to division chief, and finally to the first vice director. In particular, he is in charge of Choch'ongnyon [General Association of Korean Residents in Japan] as a channel that connects Choch'ongnyon and P'yongyang. The problem is that in the eyes of Kang Kwan-chu, a die-hard conservative who carried out infiltrations into the South as well as United Front projects to revolutionize the South, Kim Yong-sun's way of approaching the South is likely to be unpalatable. In particular, since the P'yongyang summit talks President Kim has repeatedly said, "North Korea conceded on this issues of the US Forces in Korea, the National Security Law, and the WPK rules." Dr. Yi Chong-sok of the Sejong Research Institute points out, "For North Korea, this point must have been very unpleasant."
Furthermore, Kim Yong-sun is not originally from the offices of South Korean affairs, but the WPK International Department. In April 1993, he became the chairman of the Reunification Policy Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly [SPA], and since then he has supervised South Korean affairs in three sectors: the party, the parliament, and the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Fatherland (vice chairman). In case of the ROK, it would be equivalent to working for the Foreign Ministry, becoming the chairman of the National Assembly Committee for Unification, Foreign Affairs, and Trade, and finally the director general of the National Intelligence Service.
Therefore, the relationship between the core experts of South Korean affairs, including Kang Kwan-chu, and Kim Yong-sun is likely to be that of "water and oil"
Kim Yong-sun is North Korea's Tycoon
Therefore, it is possible that the hawks in the South Korean affairs offices, including Kang Kwan-chu, who secretly frowned on Kim Yong-sun's South Korea policy, might have tripped Kim Yong-sun's foot on the occasion of ROK-US summit talks.
"Money" could have been an excuse for arresting Kim Yong-sun. Thanks to Mt. Kumgang tourism, which bean in 1998, Kim Yong-sun was like a tycoon in North Korea, earning the largest amount of foreign currencies. Hyundai transmitted the money for Mt. Kumgang tourism to Kim Yong-sun's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee. Hyundai's regular transfer of $12 million a month was the largest source of dollars for North Korea. Before, North Korea's largest source of foreign currency income was textiles. In 1999, North Korea's export of textiles stood at $130 million.
However, according to the estimate of the North Korean Office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the amount North Korea actually earned from textile export stood at $5-6 million because profitability and export margins are negligible. By contrast, Mt. Kumgang tourism is no different from "a goose laying golden eggs."Without the cost of raw material, North Korea could make $144 million annually. Therefore, Kim Yong-sun's opponents might have come forward with "irregularities" implicating him.
It is only conjecture, but Kim Yong-sun seems to have successfully avoided his opponents' attack using the weapon of "irregularities." It is because he has sometimes carried out public activities, although he has not accompanied Kim Chong-il on his on-the-spot guidance. For example, Kim Yong-sun attended the "report meeting for P'yongyang municipality to commemorate the first anniversary of announcing the North-South Joint Declaration." This means that Kim Yong-sun's arrest and investigation took place during a relatively short period, and that he has at least avoided the "revolutionization" punishment. An official from the US Embassy in the ROK also said, "It is clear that Kim Yong-sun was not sent to prison."
It is also possible that hawks from the No. 3 Office, including Kang Kwan-chu, director of the South Korea Liaison Department [as published], and the military might have joined forces and orchestrated Kim Yong-sun's downfall. This year, the frequency of military general officers' attendance in Kim Chong-il's on-the-spot guidance trips has increased a great deal. The following are those whose frequency has increased: General Hyon Ch'ol-hae (13 last year vs. 32 this year); General Pak Chae-kyong (12 vs. 30); General Yi Myong-su (7 vs. 20); Chu Kyu-ch'ang, first vice director of the WPK Munitions Industry Department (0 vs. 12); WPK First Vice Director Yi Yang-ch'ol (4 vs. 23) and Chang Song-t'aek, first Vice Director of WPK Organization and Guidance Department (15 vs. 22). However, conspicuously, the frequency of Vice Marshal Cho Myong-nok (director of the KPA General Political Bureau) has decreased (13 vs. 8). In particular, Cho Myong-nok missed the list of those who paid their respects to President Kim Il-song's grave on 8 July, where all North Korean military leaders were present.
Cho Myong-nok is an influential figure in the military, who visited the White House in October 2000 and met President Clinton. Therefore, we should mull over the fact that, despite the general strengthening of the military's status, the stature of Cho Myong-nok, who sympathized with Kim Yong-sun's line of negotiating with the outside world, is on the decline.
Mystery of Kim Chong-il's Disappearance for 35 Days
Another yardstick that measures the magnitude of conservative-reformist conflict suffered by the North Korean power elite, including Kim Yong-sun's arrest, is none other than Kim Chong-il's move. Chairman Kim disappeared from the public eye for 35 days from 14 March to 21 April. This period exactly coincides with Kim Yong-sun's arrest (14 March). If we may use a bit of imagination, during this period Kim Chong-il might have watched on the sidelines not only Kim Yong-sun's arrest but also the policy reexamination project, carried out by all sectors: the WPK, the military, and offices for South Korean affairs. At a point where the reexamination process was over, Kim Chong-il might have summed up the discussion and given a "programmatic guiding principle." In addition, Kim Chong-il might have granted "partial amnesty" to Kim Yong-sun.
Kim Yong-sun, Yim Tong-won in the Same Boat
Kim Tal-sul, who has witnesses all sorts of troubles in inter-Korean relations for the past 30 years, pointed out: "The person who must have watched Kim Yong-sun's downfall with greatest regret must be Unification Minister Yim Tong-won." Probably he is right. Seoul's Minister Yim Tong-won and Secretary Kim Yong-sun went through many difficulties together for the past three years and successfully presented the historic event called the inter-Korean summit talks in June 2000.
The relationship between these two figures is like that of the catcher and the pitcher in baseball. When Kim Yong-sun sent a signal of "ping" from P'yongyang, Minister Yim responded with "pong" from Seoul. The inter-Korean relationship begins now. But Kim Yong-sun, who is in the same boat as Minister Yim, has fallen from power. Minister Yim must have missed Kim Yong-sun a lot.
Minister Yim's efforts to rescue Kim Yong-sun, his counterpart in P'yongyang, go beyond the level of enthusiasm, reaching the point of desperation. Minister Yim provided fertilizer aid to North Korea last month by taking out 68 billion won from the North-South Cooperation Fund. The ROK completed the delivery of 200,000 tons in urea fertilizer and compound fertilizer after 24 nautical trips. In addition, despite tremendous protest by public opinion and the National Assembly, Minister Yim has decided to provide assistance to the Korea National Tourism Organization, which was made to take over Mt. Kumgang tourism, by withdrawing 90 billion won from the North-South Cooperation Fund. Will Minister Yim Tong-won be able to rescue P'yongyang's Kim Yong-sun, his counterpart?
[box article] Who is Kim Yong-sun? Kim Chong-il's Closest Confidant, who Supervised South Korean Affairs
North Korea's Secretary Kim Yong-sun is a familiar face to South Koreans; he was right next to NDC Chairman Kim Chong-il during the inter-Korean summit talks in June 2000. His title is long: chairman of the DPRK Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and simultaneously the WPK Central Committee secretary. As the chief supervisor of South Korean affairs, Kim Yong-sun is one of the closest confidants of Kim Chong-il.
Kim Yong-sun was born in July 1934 in P'yongwon County, South P'yongan Province (there is another theory that he was born in Hoeryong), and studied at the International Affairs Department of the Kim Il-song University Law Division. In 1960, the year he graduated, the International Affairs Department spun off to become the current University of International Affairs. He became a member of the first graduating class of this school. Some people assert that he is a distant relative of General Secretary Kim Chong-il or he graduated from Mangyongdae Revolutionary School and studied in Moscow, but these rumors seem to be unfounded. It is said that he was suddenly selected as the vice director of the International Department in 1974, leaving behind many competent talents in the international affairs sector (he became the WPK Central Committee member in October 1980) and he rapidly rose to the secretary for international affairs and the director of the International Department in 1984 thanks to the influence of Kim Chong-il and his sister Kim Kyong-hui.
Around 1972, Kim Yong-nam (currently President of the SPA Presidium) moved Kim Yong-sun to a division chief post of the WPK International Department. There, he was acquainted with Kim Kyong-hui, Kim Chong-il's younger sister, who, at the time, was a guidance official of the WPK International Department, and he began to work in earnest as a party bureaucrat dealing with international affairs. In 1974, he was appointed to be a vice director of the International Department, and kept working with Kim Kyong-hui (the then division chief of the International Department) for she was directly under him. Kim Yong-sun was promoted to the director of the WPK International Department in 1980 and the WPK secretary for international affairs in January 1984. He was also chosen to be an alternate member of the WPK Central Committee (June 1979) and a member (October 1980). In August 1985, he was demoted to be the first director of the WPK International Department, but rebounded to the director in December 1988.
In November 1989, he became vice chairman of the SPA Foreign Affairs Committee (concurrent position), and in May 1990 he retook the position of the WPK secretary for international affairs in a promotion. In April 1992, he was chosen the chairman of the SPA Foreign Affairs Committee, the post that had remained empty after the death of Ho Tam (May 1991), and since then he has layed a leading role in North Korea's diplomacy, together with Kim Yong-nam, a veteran diplomatic technocrat. In September 1990, he played the role of a midwife in drawing out a joint communique on DPRK-Japan relations along with Shin Kanemaru from the Japan's Liberal Democratic Party. In February 1991, he visited Japan officially, putting the DPRK-Japan normalization talks on the right track. He began to ride the wave of fame from this point.
His negotiation ability and diplomatic capability are also confirmed by the discussion of DPRK-US normalization with Arnold Kanter, under secretary of state for political affairs, during his visit to the United States in January 1992. He attracted attention with his refined manner and conversational skills, very rare among North Korean leaders. In December 1992, he was appointed to be an alternate member of the WPK Political Bureau, entering the highest echelon of power, but he soon disappeared from the list of alternate members of the Political Bureau (observed in early 1993). His movement was rarely captured after he took charge of South Korean affairs, but in April 1993, he became the chairman of the SPA Reunification Policy Committee, thus beginning to supervise South Korean affairs in the three sectors of the party, the parliament, and the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Fatherland (vicechairman).
In July 1994, Kim Yong-sun became the chairman of the suddenly organized Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, and began to supervise North Korea's relations with the South, Japan, and the United States. Thus, his responsibility has grown further. Under him, the vice presidents of the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee are Song Ho-Kyong, his direct junior in the WPK International Department; Yi Chong-hyok, main character in diplomacy with Japan; and Chon Kum-ch'ol, expert of South Korean affairs, who came forward for rice negotiations.
On 28 June 1994, as the chief representative of the North's delegation for the preliminary talks toward inter-Korean summit, Kim Yong-sun had a negotiation with Deputy Prime Minister Yi Hong-ku at P'anmunjom and showed off persistency befitting a good negotiator. According to North Korean defectors, among the P'yongyang elite, Kim Yong-sun is known to enjoy singing, dancing, and drinking.
[Source: Seoul Wolgan Chungang in Korean, a monthly newsmagazine published by Chungang Ilbo]