Exclusive: North Korea would use nukes if ‘forced,’ official says
By Will Ripley and Tim Schwarz, CNN
Updated
11:23 AM EDT, Thu May 7, 2015
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Story highlights
CNN was granted extremely rare access to a senior North Korean official
He spoke candidly about rights abuses, North Korea's nuclear program and its economy
Said North Korea would strike United States if provoked
(CNN) —
When officials informed us that we’d be granted a sit-down interview with a high-ranking member of North Korea’s inner circle with no preconditions, it was a real surprise.
Senior figures in Pyongyang don’t do interviews, especially not with the international press.
“I do not like talking to foreign media,” Park Yong Chol said frankly as we shook hands ahead of our meeting. He said that we report rumor and fabrication about his country.
Park is the deputy director of the DPRK Institute for Research into National Reunification – a think tank with links to the highest levels of North Korea’s government.
CNN's Will Ripley sits down with Park Yong Chol
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brad olson/CNN
In spite of his misgivings, he sat down to talk with us beneath the ubiquitous portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Our conversation lasted nearly two hours and no topic was off limits.
The only instruction we were given was to break from our traditional CNN interview format of two chairs facing each other, so that we could sit across a large conference table, and so that the two portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il could be seen directly over Park. We agreed to do this, as our government guides explained the symbolism of the Great Leaders appearing overhead was very important to their country.
We quickly got onto a touchy subject: the recent reports from South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency that Kim Jong Un had personally ordered the execution of about 15 officials so far this year.
“Malicious slander!” he replied. “Especially as they try to link the allegations against to the august name of our Supreme Leader Marshall Kim Jong Un.”
Photos: CNN goes inside an upscale North Korean apartment
CNN's Will Ripley was given rare access to an upscale area of Pyongyang near Kim Il Sung University, where he was allowed to see the inside of a faculty apartment.
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will ripley/cnn
Photos: CNN goes inside an upscale North Korean apartment
This is the master bedroom of a faculty apartment near Kim Il Sung University. The unit has three bedrooms and houses a professor and his adult children. It is 200 square meters (about 2,150 square feet) -- large for an apartment in Pyongyang.
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will ripley/cnn
Photos: CNN goes inside an upscale North Korean apartment
The apartment has modern electronics including a new flat screen television.
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will ripley/cnn
Photos: CNN goes inside an upscale North Korean apartment
Every home in North Korea displays portraits of late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Housing is assigned by the government and is free. Those who want to move have to sign up to exchange spaces with other citizens.
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will ripley/cnn
Photos: CNN goes inside an upscale North Korean apartment
The living room of the apartment has hardwood floors and crown molding. The professor who lives here says it is much nicer and bigger than the homes of his friends and family.
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will ripley/cnn
Photos: CNN goes inside an upscale North Korean apartment
Books are neatly lined up above a desk in the study. There's a lamp for reading and a large padded chair. Above the desk hangs a portrait of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.
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will ripley/cnn
Photos: CNN goes inside an upscale North Korean apartment
The kitchen features a double sink and brushed metal counter tops. Beyond the shelving, the dining area is full of natural light.
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will ripley/cnn
Photos: CNN goes inside an upscale North Korean apartment
The kitchen is equipped with a Haier two-burner gas hob. Haier, based in Qingdao, China, is one of the world's biggest home appliance companies.
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will ripley/cnn
Photos: CNN goes inside an upscale North Korean apartment
The outside of the faculty apartment tower is clean and modern.
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will ripley/cnn
Photos: CNN goes inside an upscale North Korean apartment
Students bow before a statue of late leader Kim Jong Il, who graduated from the university named after his late father Kim Il Sung, the founder and Eternal President of North Korea.
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will ripley/cnn
But he did not deny that executions take place here of those who try to overthrow the government or subvert the system. “It is very normal for any country to go after hostile elements and punish them and execute them.”
Rights abuses
And even though a recent United Nations report has alleged large-scale human rights abuses – murder, starvation and torture of inmates in a network of brutal prison camps – Park denied that such camps exist. He said although there were correction reform centers for ordinary criminals, political prison camps simply did not exist. “Our society is a society without political strife or factions or political divisions – as a result we don’t have the term ‘political prisoner,’” he added.
According to Park, these allegations come from defectors who are enticed or forced into defecting by the U.S. and South Korea. “Some of the so-called defectors are criminals who ran away from their homes. They committed crimes against the state here. Because of that they ran away.
“And now they are in South Korea denouncing our government because they have no other choice.”
In his view, there is no single yardstick for human rights applicable to every country.
“If you talk about human rights in my country, I will talk about human rights in the United States,” he said. “You have racial riots taking place in the wake of the killing of so many black people by the police. You have prisons full of inmates and new techniques of torture being used.
“The U.S. President and other high-ranking administration officials have acknowledged really severe forms of punishment on inmates in detention. If you talk about human rights in the DPRK, we will talk about human rights in the U.S.”
Nuclear option
In spite of all the sanctions, the DPRK sees no option but to pursue its nuclear weapons program. Park maintained that his country does indeed have the missile capability to strike mainland United States and would do so if the U.S. “forced their hand.”
It has been a costly strategy, but a necessary one, he admitted. “We invested a lot of money in our nuclear defense to counter the U.S. threat – huge sums that could have been spent in other sectors to improve our national economy. But this strategic decision was the right one.”
But to do that North Korea would have to improve ties with the international community.
With mutual distrust and Pyongyang’s refusal to disarm its nuclear arsenal, there seems to be no clear path to moving forward.
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
CNN correspondent Will Ripley and photojournalist Brad Olson traveled to North Korea after the regime offered them a surprise invitation to return to one of the most mysterious countries on earth. They aren't sure why the invitation was offered, what to expect, or even how long they'd be there. Check out the pictures they've taken to document their journey. HERE: Junior Lt. Colonel Nam Dong Ho speaks with Will Ripley, who was granted rare access to the DMZ on Monday, May 4, 2015.
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CNN/Will Ripley
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
Junior Lt. Colonel Nam Dong Ho is part of North Korea's standing army of more than one million. An estimated three quarters are based near the heavily fortified border, which has been a flashpoint for violence at times.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
The view from the North Korean side of the DMZ, with armed DPRK soldiers standing guard.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
North Korea displays the armistice agreement that ended the brutal fighting of the Korean War in 1953.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
Two women share a bicycle as they head south on a highway leading from Pyongyang to the DMZ.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
Rebar rises from a building under construction in Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea, on Sunday, May 3.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
The Pyongyang Gold Lane, a bowling alley in the North Korean capital, is popular among young people.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
A life-size statue of late leader Kim Jong Il stands at the entrance to a new water park in Pyongyang. Visitors bow to pay their respects.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
Pyongyang residents play table tennis at a water park in the North Korean capital.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
Kim Jong Un personally inspected the plans for this new water park 113 times and had his top officials safety test the water slides.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
Pyongyang women wear their Sunday best, including ornate umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
Twin statues honor the late leaders of North Korea Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Visitors are routinely taken here to pay their respects and lay flowers at the statue, Saturday, May 2, 2015.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
CNN correspondent Will Ripley and photojournalist Brad Olson take a selfie shortly after landing in Pyongyang on May 2.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
The modern new terminal at the Pyongyang airport is nearly complete after an extended period of construction. Kim recently conducted a field inspection of the terminal.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
Air Koryo has an aging fleet, although it has purchased some newer aircraft in recent years.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
The flight attendants on Air Koryo serve refreshments as monitors show a North Korean televised concert mainly featuring patriotic songs about the military.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
The in-flight magazine on North Korea's only airline, Air Koryo, features multiple pages of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Photos: Invited back to North Korea
The in-flight meal on Air Koryo is a burger and a glass of North Korean beer.