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North Korean Postal Service
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The North Korean Postal Service (Korean: 조선의 체신체계) or Korean Post (Korean: 조선 우편) is operated by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and Communication Maintenance Bureau, which oversees postal communications, telegrams, telephone services, TV broadcasts, newspapers and other related matters.[1]
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Background and history
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Perspective
As with much of North Korea, internal information regarding the Postal Service is difficult to come by and what is learned usually comes from stories of North Korean defectors, the limited number of international business activities and a handful of North Korean research institutes.[2]
Prior to the famine in the 1990s, the telegram service usually took less than a week and the government provided bicycles to the offices to ensure delivery. However, during the famine (also called the "Arduous March"), postal delivery became more and more sporadic due to food, electricity and fuel shortages. In some cases it took over a month for a letter to be sent from the north of the country to Pyongyang, which is only a few hundred kilometres away[3] and, at times, it is rumoured that postal train employees would burn the letters in order to keep warm.[4]
In 1992, all higher-level officials were fired, with the minister and vice-minister and their families being arrested and sent to prison camps for embezzlement, and wasting funds buying worn out fibre optic-producing equipment from the UK.[1]
Since 1993, there has been a fibre optic telephone service available in places, which residents call the "light telephone". This has reduced the reliance of citizens on telegrams and letters.[1]
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Postal system
Each province has a branch of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and each "Ri" (village) has a postal service office to deliver letters, packages and telegrams.[1] Agents of the North Korean Ministry of State Security are stationed at the Ministry's office to inspect mail and monitor residents.[1]
Despite having a postal system and other state-run communications organizations, word of mouth remains the most common way information is spread throughout the country.[5]
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International
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North Korea & China
- On December 18, 1947, the Postal and Telecommunications Bureau of the North Korean People's Committee and the General Administration of Posts and Telecommunications of the Northeast Administrative Committee of the Republic of China signed the Interim Agreement on Postal and Telecommunications between the Northeast Liberated Area of the Republic of China and North Korea and its Implementation Rules, which shall become invalid on the date when the following "Postal Agreement" comes into effect.[6]
- Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the People's Republic of China signed the "Postal Agreement" in Beijing on December 25, 1949, opening up the exchange of ordinary (Chinese: 普通) and special (Chinese: 特种) mail, which was scheduled to take effect on February 1, 1950, and shall become invalid on the date when the new "Postal Agreement" on 1957 comes into effect. The treaty consists of 20 articles, stipulating that:
The two countries' mail exchanges are designated to be exchanged by the post offices of Tumen and Namyang, Ji'an and Manpo, plus Andong and Sinuiju, with each party sending staff to the other post office every other day. The time for exchanging mail is set from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. every day. [6]
- Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the People's Republic of China signed the "Agreement for the exchange of Postal Packages" on March 30, 1954, opening up the exchange of ordinary postal packages, which was scheduled to take effect on May 1, 1954, and shall become invalid on the date when the new "Postal Agreement" on 1957 comes into effect. [7]
- Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the People's Republic of China signed a new "Postal Agreement" in Pyongyang on June 7, 1957, indicates various rates on postal exchange than the older version, which was scheduled to take effect on July 1, 1957. [8]
- Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and State Post Bureau of the People’s Republic of China signed the "Agreement on Strengthening Cooperation in the Postal Field" in Beijing on May 26, 2000, which came into effect on the same day. The two sides agreed to:
Handle the mail exchange business between the two countries in accordance with the Beijing Universal Postal Convention of 1999 and its letter and parcel regulations; to set up additional exchange offices in Hunchun and 元正 (DPRK side, English name unknown); to open postal remittance business; to use special drawing rights for settlement; and to study the feasibility of launching international express mail service (EMS). [9]
North Korea & South Korea
Postal services between North and South Korea do not exist. North Korea is under multiple economic sanctions which severely limit what can legally be sent to the country. In the United States, any mail is regulated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and limits mail to first-class letters/postcards and matter for the blind. All merchandise, currency, precious metals, jewellery, chemical/biological/radioactive materials and others are prohibited.[10]
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See also
References
External links
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