Mick Hartley

A tale of two North Koreas.

For the masses, any association with South Korea is strictly forbidden:

A pair of artists from Pyongyang has been sentenced to life in prison following a defection attempt to South Korea, sources in the North Korean capital report.

“In early November, a public trial was held at the May Day Stadium to determine the fate of two female artists in their 20s or 30s who attempted to defect to South Korea,” a source in Pyongyang reported to Daily NK, noting that the affiliation of the two subjects was not revealed.

“The women, who were handcuffed and kept their heads bowed for the duration of the trial, were escorted by police into a crowded stadium. The judge announced the sentence through a microphone.”…

To protect the capital, citizens of Pyongyang who travel to the border area without specific cause are placed under increased surveillance by the country’s political security apparatus.

The intensified surveillance determined that the two women frequently watched foreign media, and were particularly infatuated with South korean singers and music. The women hoped to follow in the footsteps of a friend who had resettled in the South and found work as a singer.

During the trial, the prosecutors and judge condemned the women for “imitating and spreading the degenerate culture of capitalism” due to their affinity for and emulation of South Korean songs and dance.

Despite the increasing flow of information, a growing K-pop fanbase and warming ties between the two Koreas has led to further suppression of the North Korean people, marked by strengthened crackdowns and punishments inside the country. The regime sees such external information and influence as a threat to its survival.

“The women will serve their sentence out in Camp No. 25 (Susong political prison camp). Everyone heard about it and is scared to watch TV or movies from South Korea.”

It's a different story for the Pyongyang elite, though:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has given the families of senior Workers Party officials New Year's gifts of South Korean cosmetics, according to a source on Tuesday.

The source said staff from the Workers Party's Finance and Accounting Department bought 1,000 South Korean cosmetics sets with dollars in the Chinese region of Yanbian in mid-November. They were given to the families of senior officials in the party's Central Committee on New Year's Day. Many of them then sold them in the markets.

The regime regularly showers senior officials with gifts to buy their loyalty. Gifts normally included liquor and meat, as well as Swiss watches, home electronics and cars in special cases.

But South Korean goods are normally avoided. "There seems to be a craze for South Korean cosmetics in Pyongyang," the source added, "and the regime is easing controls on South Korean goods to some extent amid the current détente."

South Korean cosmetics are two to three times more expensive than Chinese or North Korean products but are in high demand in the markets.

"South Korean cosmetics are one of the most popular wedding gifts a groom can give his bride in Pyongyang," said a defector who used to live in the city.