A top-ranking envoy from North Korea delivered a letter from regime leader Kim Jong Un to China’s President Xi Jinping Friday as part of efforts to clear the air between the two neighbors following months of Pyongyang’s ignoring calls from Beijing to tone down on its threats of war.

Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula after months of fiery rhetoric by Pyongyang directed against South Korea, Japan and the United States, including threats of an imminent nuclear conflict.

North Korean Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae handed the communiqué to Xi during an afternoon meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the official Chinese Xinhua news agency reported, though it did not provide details about the letter’s contents.

During the meeting Choe told Xi that North Korea is ready accept China’s proposal that it return to the table for multiparty talks on nuclear disarmament, following a series of rocket launches and a nuclear test it carried out in recent months which drew Beijing’s ire and raised tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Xi had stressed that denuclearization and stability on the peninsula are of the utmost importance to the region and called on all parties concerned to “remain calm and with restraint, ease the situation and restart the process of the six-party talks” between the two Koreas, Russia, China, the U.S. and Japan, Xinhua said.

“China has a very clear position concerning the issue that all the parties involved should stick to the objective of denuclearization, safeguard the peace and stability on the peninsula, and resolve disputes through dialogue and consultation,” Xi said.

Xinhua said that Choe expressed “the sincere wish of [North Korea] to create a peaceful external environment to develop its economy and improve people's livelihood.”

He said that the North is ready to work with concerned parties to solve relevant issues through dialogue, including the six-party talks, and willing to adopt “active moves to safeguard peace and stability” on the peninsula.

The meeting between Xi and Choe followed nearly a half year of no high-level contacts between China and North Korea, during which Pyongyang angered Beijing by launching a long-range rocket in December and conducting a nuclear test in February—raising tensions with South Korea and the U.S.

The North had also snubbed an invitation by Beijing to high-level meetings and angered the Chinese public by detaining a Chinese fishing crew this month.

Choe’s three-day visit to Beijing comes ahead of a trip to California by Xi to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in early June and a trip to Beijing by South Korean President Park Geun-hye late next month. Choe had arrived in Beijing on Wednesday.

Tenuous relations

China is impoverished North Korea's main diplomatic and economic ally but has shown growing irritation with Pyongyang's war threats, and in March backed tough U.N. sanctions against the hardline communist neighbor for its weapons tests.

It also cut off dealings with North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank.

It is believed that China agreed to a visit by Choe only after it was decided ahead of time that the envoy would publicly state North Korea’s willingness to return to negotiations.

Earlier on Friday, Xinhua quoted top Chinese General Fan Changlong as telling Choe that the threat of nuclear war in the region had “intensified strategic conflicts among involved parties and jeopardized the peace and stability of the peninsula.

Choe responded that there was “no guarantee of peace” but that North Korea was “willing to work with all sides to search for a method of solving the problems through dialogue.”

On Thursday, Choe told the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s fifth-ranked official Liu Yunshan that the North “is willing to accept the suggestion of the Chinese side and launch dialogue with all relevant parties.”

On the heels of the long-range rocket launch  in December last year and a nuclear test in February this year, North Korea fired multiple short-range missiles this week, raising tensions with the United States, South Korea, and the rest of the international community. Six-party talks on North Korea’s denuclearization have been stalled for nearly four years, and efforts by the Obama administration to engage North Korea in meaningful dialogue have been countered with defiant provocations, including the recent missile launches, nuclear test, and threats of war.  Changsop Pyon of RFA’s Korean Service interviews Gary Samore—former White House Coordinator for Arms Control and the Weapons of Mass Destruction, Proliferation, and Terrorism and current director of Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs—on the current situation on the Korean peninsula and possibilities for a breakthrough in the stalled nuclear talks.

Q: North Korea conducted several short-range missile launches from May 18 to 20. What do you make of their motivation behind such a belligerent action at this time?

A: The short-range missile tests are a way for Pyongyang to show that it is not submissive and weak even if it does not test longer-range missiles.

Q: Some say Pyongyang fired the missiles to draw attention from the United States. Do you agree?

A: No, I don’t think the short-range missile launches get much attention in Washington because they are so routine.

Q: I don’t think the missile launch would have happened without North Korean leader Kim Jung Un’s orders. As you know, it’s been almost a year and a half since Kim Jong Un assumed the supreme leadership of North Korea. There were some expectations that the new young leader might take a different course from his late father Kim Jong Il in dealing with the outside world. However, we still see the same pattern of North Korea’s belligerent behavior as evidenced by its long-range rocket launch last December and nuclear test in February. What do you make of Kim Jong Un, compared with his late father? Is he a more dangerous leader?

A: I don’t think we know yet. I think one of the big question marks about Kim Jong Un’s policy is whether he will follow the pattern his father established, which was basically a cycle of provocation and tension followed by a cycle of diplomacy, and whether Kim Jong Un is prepared to take more chances and engage in additional provocations and even limited attacks against South Korea. My guess is Kim Jong Un will be restrained by a combination of factors including China, the United States, and the ROK [South Korea].  So, my best guess is that when the U.S. and ROK exercises wind down, we’ll see that North Korea will indicate a willingness to return to the bargaining table, and then the question will shift to what are the conditions and preconditions for resumption of the negotiations. So, my guess is in the coming weeks and months the North Koreans will stake out their conditions and the U.S., ROK, and Japan will stake out their preconditions. And then the issue will be whether or not the two sides can come to an agreement on the conditions for resuming the negotiations.

Q: Let me turn to North Korea’s nuclear issue, our main topic for this interview.  There are many explanations as to why North Korea has chosen to take the road to nuclear development.  Some say it’s for their own security, while others say it’s for some sort of deterrent against the U.S. What’s your take?

Fear.  I think North Korea is afraid of all of its neighbors: China, ROK, Japan, the United States. And I think North Koreans have always seen nuclear development primarily as a means to deter external pressure and attack.  Secondarily, they have tried to use their nuclear program as a bargaining chip to extract foreign assistance from their neighbors.  But I think the primary motivation has been to create deterrent, deterrent not just against the United States. I don’t think North Korea trusts anybody. They don’t trust Chinese, they don’t trust South Koreans, they don’t trust Japanese, and to the extent North Koreans can hold the threat of using military force to create conflict and instability on the Korean peninsula, they can blackmail China to leave them alone, to give them special treatment. They can deter the United States and South Korea.  So, for all of these reasons I think Pyongyang has seen the development of nuclear weapons as an important part of their foreign policy and their defense policy.

Q: What’s the price that North Korea had to pay for continuing its nuclear program?

A: Well, it’s come with a very heavy price.  If you look at North Korea, you see a really desperately poor, isolated, backward dictatorship. And that has basically been the price of North Korea’s nuclear program. So, somewhere along the way whether it was Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il, North Korea had a choice to make: do we go down the path of nuclear development or do we decide to accept limits on our nuclear program in exchange for better relations with the United States and the rest of the world.  And they made the wrong choice.

Q: I guess the North Korean leadership might have known a better alternative without going nuclear. In other words, without nuclear development, North Korea could have developed a successful economy with the necessary foreign assistance and economic aid, in addition to better political relations with the United States and the rest of the world. Why do you think North Korea has given up such a golden opportunity to build a better nation without nuclear weapons?

A: Very good question. I don’t know how much of it was the personality of the leaders; I don’t know how much of it was the system in North Korea that has a very suspicious and paranoid view of the outside world.  It’s very difficult for me to explain their decisions because we don’t have good understanding. All I can say is that they were faced with their critical choice, you know, back in the 1990s, and they made the wrong choice.  And I think the result of this is that North Korea has nuclear weapons and not much else. And ultimately I think it’ll mean the end of the system.  I’m not sure when that will happen. Ultimately I think North Korea’s strategic choice will result in the collapse of the country, of the government.

Q: It seems Pyongyang thinks it can still expect better relations with the U.S. while keeping its nuclear program. As a former U.S. government official directly involved in North Korea policy, what do you make of that?

A: I don’t think it’s true that North Korea can have it both ways. North Korea can’t keep its nuclear programs and expect good relations with the United States. The two objectives are completely incompatible.  So, Kim Jong Un has to make a choice.  If he wants to have good relations with the United States, including the benefits that would come from economic and political opening with the United States and the rest of the world, including the big international institutions, the North Koreans have to be willing to limit and ultimately give up their nuclear weapons.

Q: As you know, North Korea has demanded that the United States recognize it as a nuclear power. Is there any possibility for the current or future U.S. administration to do so?

A: I don’t think so.  If the United States did that, it would put tremendous pressure on Korea and Japan to leave NPT and build nuclear weapons.  And I don’t think the United States wants to see further proliferations of nuclear weapons in East Asia.  So, the U.S. has very strong national security interests in opposing, not accepting the North as a nuclear power.  And in doing everything we can to limit North Korea’s nuclear capacity, (a) it doesn’t threaten the United States with long-range missiles, and (b) so it doesn’t threaten our allies, Korea and Japan, and put pressure on them to build their own nuclear forces.

Q: Do you think the U.S. can respond at all to the North Koreans’ demands for nuclear reduction talks instead of denuclearization?

A: I don’t think so.  The U.S. will insist on the talks being about denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. I think that Pyongyang will very likely agree to that, even though they are not sincere, that they’ll say they accept the talks are about denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Q: You served as the White House czar on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and terror during the Obama administration’s first term.  What were your biggest headaches while serving that position?

A: Well, I would say that the biggest headaches were the limits on America’s ability to persuade or put pressure on North Korea to give up or to significantly limit their missile and nuclear activities.  The U.S. has limited options.  The use of military forces is very unattractive because it’s likely to trigger a broader conflict on the Korean peninsula that would be very costly in terms of human lives and in terms of economic costs. And sanctions are very difficult to be very effective because China has not been willing to fully support the kind of economic pressure that could jeopardize the stability of the North Korean regime. And diplomacy is very limited as a tool because the North Koreans lie and cheat. So, at the end of the day, the U.S. has very limited capacity to affect the nuclear and missile program.

Q: Hearing what you say, I feel it seems impossible for the United States to make a breakthrough in the stalled nuclear talks.

A: I don’t think it’s possible to have a breakthrough. I think we can limit the nuclear and missile program, but ultimately the only solution is when the North Korean government changes.

Q: You just said, “when the North Korean government changes.” By that do you mean the end of the current North Korean regime?

A: Yes, but I don’t know when that’s going to happen. I do think it will happen. Obviously I can’t predict with any accuracy when that might take place.

Counterfeit Chinese yuan bills are spreading fast in North Korea, flooding local marketplaces and causing headaches for traders and merchants who have no way to get the fakes out of circulation, sources in the country said this week.

The fake bills have been changing hands at local markets near the border with China in recent weeks, posing problems for North Koreans who are barred from using the foreign currency in the first place.

Despite being illegal, the Chinese yuan is widely accepted alongside North Korea’s unstable won both in official marketplaces and on the black market in the isolated country, which has a thriving cross-border trade with China.

In the northwestern city of Sinuiju, across the border from China’s Dandong city, one resident said the fake bills have become so common that traders like him have begun to take precautions when accepting payments in yuan.

“Since fake Chinese yuan bills are widespread, when someone pays with a high-denomination bill, I take down the bill’s serial number and the signature of the person paying in case the bills turn out to be forged,” he told RFA’s Korean Service, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He said the extra steps annoy people making purchases but are necessary to ensure he can recoup any losses from fake bills.

Another man in Sinuiju who conducts trade with Dandong said he has started taking similar measures.

“I copy down all the 100 yuan bills I receive from North Korean traders and then ask the messenger to sign,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“If there were only a few fake bills, I wouldn’t have to do this anymore,” he said.

'Fake bill nations'

In the northeast, one resident in Yanggang province said fake 100-yuan notes are circulating there as well.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said he had heard the notes had entered the country “via Chinese drug smugglers,” while other rumors going around suggested that the bills had been spread by South Korea as a strategic ploy to undermine the North’s economy.

Counterfeit currency is not new to North Korea’s marketplaces—which have earned the local nickname of “fake bill nations”—but sources said that recently the notes have been spreading fast and complained there is no way to get them out of circulation.

North Korea, which has in the past been accused by the U.S. of running its own counterfeiting operation, has no government bureau to collect phony currency.

Whereas in other countries banks detect counterfeit currency in cash that is deposited with them, North Koreans do not deposit Chinese currency in the bank, leaving the fake notes in circulation.

Those who realize they have received fake Chinese yuan bills are passing them off to others pretending they do not notice the fakes, the sources said.

In the mid-2000s, the U.S. accused the North Korean government of conducting one of the most sophisticated counterfeiting operations in the world by using a multimillion-dollar printing press to print U.S. $100 bills that were nearly indistinguishable from real ones.

North Korea rejected the claims.

Reported by Joon Ho Kim for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Goeun Yu. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.

A veteran Chinese democracy campaigner and founding member of a banned opposition party has warned the new administration of president Xi Jinping that it risks a brutal end to its hold on power in the absence of political reform.

Wuhan-based activist Qin Yongmin, who served a lengthy jail term for subversion after he helped found the banned China Democracy Party (CDP), called on the new generation of leaders under Xi to enter into "peaceful dialogue" with Chinese citizens, or risk the fall of the regime in a manner similar to that of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu.

"As the last dictatorial regime, if China is unwilling to learn lessons from the rest of the world, and persists in taking its own path, then those in power will pay an extremely cruel price for it," Qin said in an interview on Tuesday.

"They should learn a lesson from the mistakes made by Romania, Libya, and Syria," he said.

Qin said China's human rights situation is in a state of "unprecedented brutality," with reports of violent, forced evictions emerging around the country every day.

"Taking as our starting point the need for constitutional government in China, we must stand up and demand that [the leadership] begin a process of dialogue [with the people]," he said.

"Only then will it be able to guarantee a peaceful transition of power ... or a violent transformation may ensue," said Qin who was released from prison on Nov. 29, 2010 after serving a 12-year term for "incitement to subvert state power."

'Universal values'

Hainan-based rights activist Liu Xinglian agreed with Qin's assessment.

"We should think about all the conflict that is going on in Chinese society at the moment ... we are trying to ensure that our basic rights are respected," Liu said.

"The international momentum is towards universal values at the moment, and such a world view requires the leadership to realize that ... huge social upheaval will result from the intensification of conflicts [we see currently]," he said.

"This should encourage the leadership to sit down with the people and enter into a peaceful dialogue to address the issue," Liu added.

Veteran dissident

The 57-year-old Qin is a veteran dissident who was initially sentenced to eight years in prison for "counterrevolutionary propaganda and subversion" in the wake of the Democracy Wall movement in 1981.

A contemporary of exiled dissident Wei Jingsheng, Qin served a further two years' "re-education through labor" in 1993 after he penned a controversial document titled "Peace Charter."

By 1998, Qin was the editor of the China Human Rights Observer newsletter, and one of a number of political activists who attempted to register the China Democracy Party (CDP).

Aside from Qin, Hangzhou-based CDP founder Wang Youcai and Beijing-based Xu Wenli received 11-year and 13-year jail terms respectively for being linked to the opposition party. Both were later exiled to the United States on medical parole.

The warnings from democracy campaigners come ahead of a state visit to the United States by President Xi Jinping, who will meet President Barack Obama for two days of bilateral talks in early June, the first between the two leaders since Xi took over as China's president in March.

Aggressive rhetoric and missile launches from North Korea, concerns over China-based cyberattacks on U.S. companies and agencies, and  appreciation of China's currency the yuan are likely to be on the table, analysts said. Washington may also raise the issue of tensions in the South China Sea.

Reported by Fang Yuan for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

Religious freedom continued to decline in China this year, while Vietnam showed slight signs of improvement despite ongoing abuses, the U.S. State Department said in an annual report to American lawmakers.

Meanwhile, in Myanmar, also known as Burma, violations of religious freedoms continued unchanged in spite of progress made in political reforms, the report said.

In China, the State Department’s 2012 Religious Freedom Report said, “the government’s respect for religious freedom declined during the year, particularly in Tibetan areas and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Republic.”

In general, China’s government emphasized state control over religion, the report said, adding that the religious activities of religious adherents were restricted “when these were perceived, even potentially, to threaten state or Chinese Communist Party interests, including the Party’s concept of social stability.”

Protestants and Catholics practicing outside of state-controlled churches came in for particular scrutiny, said the report, as did members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement and smaller groups called “evil cults” by China’s government.

“Government repression, including crackdowns at monasteries and nunneries, resulted in the loss of life, arbitrary detentions, and torture,” said the report.

The U.S. Secretary of State has designated China as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) since 1999, with the designation most recently renewed in August 2011.

Countries of Particular Concern

Countries of Particular Concern are countries “that are considered to commit ‘particularly severe violations of religious freedom,’ and whose records call for the U.S. government to take certain actions under the terms of the [International Religious Freedom] Act,” said the report.

Burma, or Myanmar, also designated a CPC since 1999 with that status renewed in 2011, saw “considerable” movement in political reform during 2012, “but the trend in the government’s respect for religious freedom did not change significantly during the year,” the State Department report said.

The report noted especially that local officials in the country’s Rakhine state took part in ethnic violence targeting Rakhine’s Muslim community last year.

Overall, Myanmar authorities “subjected religious activities and organizations to restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and assembly,” the report said, adding that the government  promoted Theravada Buddhism over other religions, “particularly among certain ethnic minority populations.”

In Vietnam, though abuses of religious freedom—involving arrests, detentions, and convictions—were  reported during the year, “the government also showed signs of progress,” said the report.

“It registered new congregations, permitted the expansion of charitable activities, and allowed large-scale worship services with more than 100,000 participants.”

Problems remain

“Other problems remained, [though], especially at the provincial and village levels, including slow or denied approval of registration for some groups. Some Christian groups also reported harassment or administrative obstacles when they tried to hold Christmas services,” the report said.

The State Department included Vietnam on its list of Countries of Particular Concern in 2004 but removed it from the blacklist two years later and has since ignored repeated calls by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedoms (USCIRF) to reinstate the country’s designation.

“The Vietnamese government is still using vague national security laws to suppress independent Buddhists, Protestants, Hoa Hao, and Cao Dai activities,” USCIRF chair Katrina Lantos Swett told RFA in April.

“And they are definitely working to stop the growth of ethnic minority Protestantism and Catholicism through discrimination, instances of violence, and repeated episodes of forced renunciations of faith.”

“It’s still a very concerning situation, and one that we believe does merit CPC designation,” Swett said.

Lax enforcement

In Laos, “the trend in the government’s respect for religious freedom did not change significantly during the year,” the State Department’s report said.

“Officials respected the constitutional rights of members of most religious groups to worship, albeit within constraints imposed by the government.”

But local officials were sometimes lax in their enforcement of laws protecting religious freedom, said the report.

“District and local authorities in some of the country’s 17 provinces continued to be suspicious of non-Buddhist religious groups and occasionally displayed intolerance for minority religious groups.”

This was especially true in the case of Protestant congregations, “whether or not officially recognized,” the report said.

Contrasting cases

Meanwhile, in Cambodia, “there were few reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice,” though Buddhism is the country’s state religion, said the report.

“[Cambodia’s] constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom and, in practice, the government generally respected religious freedom.”

By contrast, the government of North Korea “severely restricted religious activity, except for some officially recognized groups it tightly supervised,” according to the State Department report.

“Reports by refugees, defectors, missionaries, and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) indicated that the authorities arrested and subjected to harsh penalties persons engaged in religious proselytizing and those in unauthorized contact with foreigners or missionaries.”

Reports of arrests and punishments  during 2012 were difficult to verify, though, “[D]ue to the country’s inaccessibility and the inability of foreigners to gain timely information,” the report said.

North Korea fired two projectiles into the ocean Monday, according to South Korean officials, defying warnings from the United Nations to refrain from escalating regional tensions after a series of launches over the weekend.

The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed the firings from two locations on North Korea’s east coast, Agence France-Presse reported, adding that it was unclear whether the tests involved guided missiles or rockets from multiple launchers.

“North Korea launched two projectiles on Monday—one in the morning and the other in the afternoon," a JCS spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Monday’s launches were the sixth by North Korea in three days, after firing three missiles on Saturday and one on Sunday, all of which fell into the Sea of Japan—also known as the East Sea.

Some reports referred to the launched projectiles as missiles.

The two projectiles fired on Monday followed similar trajectories as the four previous launches over the weekend, officials at both the JCS and South Korean Defense Ministry said.

The weekend launches had drawn condemnation from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who warned Sunday of a “dangerous escalation” on the Korean Peninsula and urged Pyongyang to refrain from further actions.

Ban called for North Korea to return to negotiations in order to lower tensions in the region, which he said had heightened the risk of dangerous miscalculation.

South’s reaction

South Korea on Monday urged North Korea to stop firing missiles, saying that the launchings were raising tensions, regardless of whether they were intended to test new weapons or to demonstrate Pyongyang’s firepower.

The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday quoted an information bulletin by Pyongyang’s Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea which angrily responded to criticism of what it called a “regular military exercise to bolster up the country's defense capability.”

It dismissed calls to end its launches as “another unpardonable challenge to [North Korea] and an undisguised provocation driving the situation on the Korean Peninsula to an extreme phase.”

North Korea has accused South Korea and the U.S. of escalating tensions on the peninsula following a series of small- and large-scale joint military drills in recent months which have featured nuclear-capable B2 stealth bombers and the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.

Routine launch?

Test launches of short-range missiles by North Korea are fairly routine. The North last launched two such missiles into the sea in March.

Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Kookmin University in Seoul, told RFA’s Korean Service that the recent launches were “nothing unusual.”

“The North Koreans have done it many times in the past, and are likely to do it again and again,” he said.

“Like any military force, the North Korean armed forces need to test their weapons and train their soldiers.”

He said that short-range missiles with conventional warheads “do not constitute any significant threat” and that the tests were likely not an attempt to draw attention from Washington or Seoul.

“If they need more tension, they are likely to resort to their old tactics of tension-building: bellicose rhetoric and, perhaps, long-range missile launches and nuclear tests,” Lankov said.

“Frankly, this seems to be much ado about nothing.”

Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket in December and conducted its third nuclear test in February.

Both tests were in violation of international sanctions that ban North Korea from developing missile or nuclear technology, prompting the U.N. Security Council to adopt even tougher measures against the country in March.

Pyongyang began issuing vitriolic war rhetoric after the new sanctions were imposed, raising ominous prospects of a nuclear conflict on the Korean peninsula.

Earlier launches

North Korea has launched five long-range missiles or rockets over the past seven years and last December placed a satellite in orbit.

Pyongyang claimed the satellite was part of peaceful research, but critics said the launch amounted to a banned ballistic missile test that marked a major advance for the North's illicit nuclear weapons program.

Following Monday’s launches, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei called for the full implementation of relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions against its ally North Korea and called for dialogue in order to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference on Monday that North Korea had not “formally” breached any U.N. Security Council resolutions by test-firing short-range missiles over the last few days.

But he urged calm for the region and called for the resumption of aid-for-disarmament talks between the two Koreas, United States, China, Russia and Japan.

North Korea on Saturday launched three short-range guided missiles into the sea, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Defense, in defiance of international sanctions and efforts to bring the rogue nation to the table for talks.

The ministry detected two launches in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The missiles launched may be a modified anti-ship missile or the KN-02 surface-to-surface missile derived from the Soviet era SS-21 that has a range of about 120 kilometers (75 miles)," the Seoul official said.

He said that judging by the trajectory and distance traveled, the missiles were neither medium- or long-range, adding that they were fired in a northeasterly direction, away from South Korean waters.

In April, North Korea deployed two intermediate-range missiles along its east coast in what was seen as a response to joint South Korean-U.S. military exercises, but they were recalled earlier this month after the operations ended.

The intermediate-range missiles, known as Musudan, are believed to have a range of up to 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) and may be capable of striking the U.S. Pacific island of Guam.

"All missiles launched fell into the sea," the South Korean Defense Ministry official said of Saturday’s firing, adding that it was likely part of a military exercise or a missile test.

The launches could also be a show of force for the U.S., which last week docked the nuclear-powered USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in South Korea’s port city of Busan. The North had referred to the carrier’s port call as “a fresh tinderbox to escalate the tension and ignite a nuclear war.”

Routine launch?

Test launches of short-range missiles by North Korea are fairly routine. The North last launched two such missiles into the sea in March.

But tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula since Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket in December and conducted its third nuclear test in February.

Both tests were in violation of international sanctions that ban North Korea from developing missile or nuclear technology, prompting the U.N. Security Council to adopt even tougher measures against the country in March.

Pyongyang began issuing vitriolic war rhetoric after the new sanctions were imposed, raising ominous prospects of a nuclear conflict on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea has launched five long-range missiles or rockets over the past seven years and last December placed a satellite in orbit.

Pyongyang claimed the satellite was part of peaceful research, but critics said the launch amounted to a banned ballistic missile test that marked a major advance for the North's illicit nuclear weapons program.

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies this week completed a trip to South Korea, China, and Japan, where he discussed plans to deal with the North Korean nuclear threat.

Activity at local markets in North Korea has picked up in recent weeks since Pyongyang toned down threats of war against South Korea and the U.S., according to traders along the Chinese border.

Both black and authorized markets had quieted down during weeks of rising tensions on the Korean peninsula in March and April, with border restrictions tightened and many North Koreans busy with war drills and other preparations, sources said.

But this month, with Pyongyang’s war rhetoric dying down, the marketplaces have started bustling again, according to traders who bring goods to North Korea from neighboring China—the isolated country’s main trading partner and source of goods.

“Business is going well because North Korea’s markets are recovered, and they hadn’t until May,” an ethnic Chinese North Korean who runs a small trading business between China and Pyongyang told RFA’s Korean Service, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another North Korean of Chinese descent who conducts trade between China and Chongjin in North Hamgyong province, and who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said some traders and merchants are doing so well they are running out of inventory.

“Since the situation in North Korean markets is good, Chinese products are in short supply,” he told RFA, adding that he would be picking up extra inventory on his next trip because business was booming.

“I planned to buy 50,000 yuan [about U.S. $8,000] worth of products, but actually I’ll be buying another 20,000 to 30,000 yuan [U.S. $3,000 to $5,000] worth of extra products.”

Returning to normal

Pyongyang began issuing vitriolic war rhetoric after the United Nations in March imposed a new regimen of sanctions in response to the North’s third nuclear test on February 12, raising ominous prospects of a nuclear conflict on the Korean peninsula.

North and South Korea are still in a standoff over negotiations about the suspension of the Kaesong industrial park, a key cooperation project.

But daily life is returning to normal for North Koreans, with the markets along with it, while smuggling activities along the Chinese border that fuel the country's thriving black market trade are also picking up, traders said.

“Recently, smuggling has been very active along both sides of the river [border],” a source from Dandong in northeastern China said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“A large amount of herbs and vegetables grown in North Korea are illegally traded for Chinese rice and fertilizer.”

“Vigorous smuggling between China and North Korea shows that the North has regained its stability,” he added.

However, business could slow down again once the rice planting season begins, with local marketplaces open for shorter hours, sources said.

At least three quarters of North Korea’s imports come from China—Pyongyang’s main diplomatic and economic ally—and the U.N. has said the success of the new sanctions depends largely on Beijing.

Annual trade between the two countries is worth some U.S. $6 billion, but in the first quarter of this year it dropped more than 7 percent, with China's exports to North Korea down 13.8 percent to U.S. $720 million, according to the Reuters news agency.

Reported by Joon Ho Kim for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Goeun Yu. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.

China is providing large amounts of fertilizer to its ally North Korea and plans to send food aid to the impoverished nation, according to sources inside the country, despite backing international sanctions meant to punish the regime for pursuing its nuclear weapons program.

North Korean sources told RFA’s Korean Service that Beijing had delivered fertilizer to assist in collective farm production even earlier this year than it had in years past—and in larger quantities.

The aid follows Chinese support for tighter restrictions on the North's financial activities as part of stiff sanctions levied by the United Nations against Pyongyang in March for conducting its third illicit nuclear test a month earlier.

“The Chinese government gave fertilizer much earlier than last time,” a source who works for the agricultural department of North Hamgyong province said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Based on the amount of distributions to each collective farm, I think the overall amount of the fertilizer exceeds 200,000 tons,” he said.

The source did not provide details of when China delivered fertilizer last year or the amount it had donated.

But a farmer from Yanggang province told RFA that this year Beijing had sent fertilizer to North Korea, which faces chronic food shortages, more than a month earlier than it had in 2012.

“Last year, I was provided with fertilizer that came from China around June 10,” the farmer said.

“[At that time] each collective farm only received 10 tons of the fertilizer, which was a really tiny amount.”

The farmer said that this year China had begun delivering fertilizer as early as April 26.

An official of the trading department in North Pyongan province told RFA that all fertilizer deliveries from China had been processed through the customs department in the provincial capital Sinuiju, which lies across the border from Dandong city in China’s Liaoning province.

He said that all of the shipments were designated as free aid from the Chinese government and had arrived at the border via train and container truck.

“Our trade department doesn’t normally import such a large amount of fertilizer at once, but the trade department of each province has been ordered to stock up to 200 tons of fertilizer,” he said.

“I was informed that China will also send food aid soon. Since Pyongyang already knew the aid would be coming, the government has already begun distributing food held in storage to the North Korean people,” he added.

Two-pronged approach

The sources RFA spoke to in North Korea said they found it hard to believe recent reports they had heard from South Korean media about Beijing supporting international sanctions against Pyongyang because of the ongoing trade.

The sanctions do not bar other countries from sending food and other forms of aid to North Korea, but prohibit financial interactions with North Korea in a bid to further isolate the country and pressure it to give up its nuclear weapons program.

China is impoverished North Korea's main diplomatic and economic ally but has shown growing irritation with Pyongyang's war threats, and in March backed tough U.N. sanctions against the hardline communist neighbor for its defiant nuclear and missile tests.

Reports that China is providing large-scale aid to North Korea suggest that Beijing may be taking a two-pronged approach to reining in its bellicose southern neighbor—scolding Pyongyang on the international stage, while supporting the North bilaterally.

“Trade between North Korea and China is very much active,” the farmer from Yanggang province said.

“They have even built a new customs house in Yanggang’s Samjiyon district,” he said.

The farmer added that smuggling across the Yalu River, which lies along the border between the two countries, “is still carried out extensively.”

“Farmers had traded 2 kilograms [4.4 pounds] of corn for 1 kilogram [2.2 pounds] of Chinese fertilizer until few days ago,” he said.

“But since the new fertilizer has arrived from the Chinese government, they now trade them one to one.”

Pressing China

Last week, the state-run Bank of China Ltd.—which Washington has accused of financing Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear programs—said it had halted business with North Korea’s Chosun Trade Bank.

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies on Monday called the decision a “very hopeful sign” in efforts to end the North’s nuclear ambitions, but added it is not yet clear whether the move signifies a real shift in Beijing’s approach to dealing with Pyongyang.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, on a visit to the region, said last month that it was up to China to “put some teeth” into efforts to press North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.

Reported by Sung Hui Moon for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Goeun Yu. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

The newly appointed governor of Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh has vowed to re-examine two bitter land disputes that rocked the city under his predecessor’s term after meeting activists involved in the cases, his spokesman said Wednesday.

But Governor Pa Socheatvong, who took office on Monday, will not intervene on behalf of a jailed campaigner, Yorm Bopha, who had vigorously championed the evictees' right to housing.

Pa Socheatvong will review the cases of residents locked in disputes in the Boeung Kak Lake and Borei Keila area by next week, spokesman Long Dyman said.

"He will begin the work of leading the city for a week first and then he will examine the villagers’ documents,” he told RFA’s Khmer Service.

The new governor met on Tuesday with representatives from the two communities, who said he promised them a swift solution to the disputes, the local newspaper The Phnom Penh Post reported.

The meeting marked a departure from the policies of his predecessor Kep Chuketma, who refused to meet in recent years with the activists, who have staged countless demonstrations in the city on behalf of residents evicted to make way for luxury developments.

Long Dyman said Pa Socheatvong will not be intervening in the case of Yorm Bopha, a leading Boeung Kak activist who was jailed last year in a case critics have said was “manufactured” to target her for speaking out.

Her case is beyond the governor’s authority and only the courts can decide what happens to her, he said.

Yorm Bopha, 29, who has been held since early September, was convicted by the Phnom Penh municipal court in December for committing “intentional violence" in connection with the beating of a suspected thief, and in March the Supreme Court rejected her bail plea.

She has been named an Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience and local rights groups have said her case smacks of political interference and should be thrown out.

Stepped up protests

Borei Keila and Boeung Kak activists have stepped up their protests in recent weeks, calling for Yorm Bopha’s release and demanding the city issue land titles for 64 Boeung Kak families excluded from a resettlement deal.

On Wednesday the activists staged a demonstration in front of the South Korean embassy and presented petitions to embassy officials, who did not give any assurance that they will raise the issue with the Cambodian government.

Boeng Kak community representative Tep Vanny said the residents have turned to ask foreign embassies for support because they are disappointed with the government and Prime Minister Hun Sen for delaying an resolution to the disputes.

"South Korea is a democratic country, so we think they have a duty to intervene our case," she told RFA.

Reported by Morm Moniroth for RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.