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THE OFFICIAL LINE OF THE KFA The KFA official line is closely linked to that of the are taking place and disputes the existence of North Korean Concentration Camps . The KFA lists two conditions for becoming a member {Link without Title} :
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), since the site's inception in 2002, are kept open to the public. The cumulative amount of real DPRK-related information is meager, however. The KFA Forum site is hosted and administered in Europe, and it is not clear if any of its delegates, administrators, counselors or contributors know the Korean language. 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. PERCEPTIONS OF THE KFA 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." {Link without Title} The ''Asia Times'' offers this description of the KFA {Link without Title} : "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." 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. CONTROVERSY 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 allegedly ignored several warnings for the first 10 days of the trip. His room was searched and 30 videos were confiscated. According to the KFA President Mr. Cao de Benos, the controversy began with Mr. Morse's use of "sensational" language during a news report at the Kochang cooperative farm. The "sensational" sentence was: "North Korea is on the brink of disaster and the situation is so desperate that people have been ordered to grow food even on the hillsides". The KFA was appalled to hear Mr. Morse describe a "disaster" while at the Kochang cooperative farm which is spread around hillside slopes. Mr. Morse claimed that the "sensational" language was the same language used by the UN and other humanitarian groups working to alleviate the food shortage in the DPRK, but was interrupted by a KFA official during his video commentary and was told to replace the word "disaster" with "hardship", which Mr. Morse did. When this incident was reported to Mr Cao de Benos, it led to a confrontation on the bus the delegation were travelling in, where Mr. Cao de Benos took Mr. Morse's camera and threatened him. According to Mr. Morse, 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 ransacked Mr Morse's hotel room, breaking his laptop. Another American participant's room was also ransacked and his laptop damaged. He was not charged with breaking any rule and was eventually compensated for the damage. Others note the North Koreans were troubled by the incident which was solely the responsibility of Mr. Cao de Benos. 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. 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 accusing the group of slander {Link without Title} . Simonsen answered that it was not the policy of the KFA to engage in any slander. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS Interviews with the KFA
Articles on the KFA
http://www.nkzone.org/nkzone/entry/2004/09/unofficial_ac.php Unofficial Account of the 2004 KFA trip |
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