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Man Gyong Bong 92
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Man Gyong Bong 92
Man Gyong Bong 92 is a cargo-passenger ferry, named after a hill near Pyongyang. The ferry was built in 1992 with funds from Chongryon, the pro-North Korean General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, and was used to transport passengers and cargo between North Korea and Japan. These voyages continued until 2006 when Japan banned North Korean ships from its waters. In 2011 the ship trialed a route between Rason and Mount Kumgang. In 2018, the ship carried a 140 person delegation, as well as an art troupe, for the 2018 Winter Olympics and docked in Mukho port.
The first Man Gyong Bong ship had its maiden voyage in September 1971, amidst Japan's easing restrictions on visits to North Korea by Zainichi Koreans. It was used to transport people between North Korea and Japan until it was replaced by the Man Gyong Bong 92 in 1992. The Man Gyong Bong 92 was constructed using a donation of 4 billion yen (approximately US $32 million) from the Japanese-based Chongryon (General Association of Korean Residents in Japan). The organisation gave the money to North Korea as a gift for Kim Il-sung's 80th birthday in 1992.
The ferry could carry 200 passengers and 1,000 tons of cargo. Before Japan banned all North Korean vessels from its waters in 2006, it made about one to two round trips per month between the Port of Niigata, Japan and Wonsan, North Korea, with a one-way trip lasting about 28 hours. Most of the passengers were North Korean Zainichi visiting relatives or students of a Chongryon school on a study trip. Cargo shipped from Japan was typically electronics, medical devices, and foreign-made manufactured goods. In August 1993, a first-class ticket on the Man Gyong Bong 92 would cost about US $1,500 each.
In September 2002, the North Korean government admitted to abducting several Japanese citizens throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. This admission caused people to believe the first Man Gyong Bong, operating since 1971, was used to transport these abductees to North Korea. This assumption sparked further suspicion surrounding the ferry's successor, the Man Gyong Bong 92, that was still in operation.
The main allegation against the Man Gyong Bong 92 was that it allowed the smuggling of illegal items to and from Japan. Specifically, it was believed that drugs and weapons were being smuggled into Japan, and cash, missile parts, and other potentially dangerous technology were secretly being taken to North Korea.
These suspicions were supported by several confessions made in 2003 by former North Korean citizens and allies. In late January 2003, Kim Sang-gyu, a former senior official of Chongryon, admitted to running an espionage network in Japan for North Korea until 2000. He confessed to receiving his orders from Pyongyang through various high-ranking crew members aboard the Man Gyong Bong 92.
On May 20, 2003, a former North Korean missile scientist testified at a U.S. Senate hearing that the Man Gyong Bong 92 transported 90% of the missile parts used by North Korea. These components were suspected of having been obtained from typical Japanese electronics such as game consoles and digital cameras, which would also make them easier to smuggle out of the country.
In August 2003, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that a North Korean defector confessed to smuggling drugs for North Korea into Japan through the Man Gyong Bong 92. He would deliver these drugs to a member of Chongryon, who would then deliver the drugs to the Japanese yakuza. This confession supported the U.S. State Department testimonies made in May of that year, that North Korea's methamphetamine market in Japan provided the government with a profit of up to US $7 billion.
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Man Gyong Bong 92
Man Gyong Bong 92 is a cargo-passenger ferry, named after a hill near Pyongyang. The ferry was built in 1992 with funds from Chongryon, the pro-North Korean General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, and was used to transport passengers and cargo between North Korea and Japan. These voyages continued until 2006 when Japan banned North Korean ships from its waters. In 2011 the ship trialed a route between Rason and Mount Kumgang. In 2018, the ship carried a 140 person delegation, as well as an art troupe, for the 2018 Winter Olympics and docked in Mukho port.
The first Man Gyong Bong ship had its maiden voyage in September 1971, amidst Japan's easing restrictions on visits to North Korea by Zainichi Koreans. It was used to transport people between North Korea and Japan until it was replaced by the Man Gyong Bong 92 in 1992. The Man Gyong Bong 92 was constructed using a donation of 4 billion yen (approximately US $32 million) from the Japanese-based Chongryon (General Association of Korean Residents in Japan). The organisation gave the money to North Korea as a gift for Kim Il-sung's 80th birthday in 1992.
The ferry could carry 200 passengers and 1,000 tons of cargo. Before Japan banned all North Korean vessels from its waters in 2006, it made about one to two round trips per month between the Port of Niigata, Japan and Wonsan, North Korea, with a one-way trip lasting about 28 hours. Most of the passengers were North Korean Zainichi visiting relatives or students of a Chongryon school on a study trip. Cargo shipped from Japan was typically electronics, medical devices, and foreign-made manufactured goods. In August 1993, a first-class ticket on the Man Gyong Bong 92 would cost about US $1,500 each.
In September 2002, the North Korean government admitted to abducting several Japanese citizens throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. This admission caused people to believe the first Man Gyong Bong, operating since 1971, was used to transport these abductees to North Korea. This assumption sparked further suspicion surrounding the ferry's successor, the Man Gyong Bong 92, that was still in operation.
The main allegation against the Man Gyong Bong 92 was that it allowed the smuggling of illegal items to and from Japan. Specifically, it was believed that drugs and weapons were being smuggled into Japan, and cash, missile parts, and other potentially dangerous technology were secretly being taken to North Korea.
These suspicions were supported by several confessions made in 2003 by former North Korean citizens and allies. In late January 2003, Kim Sang-gyu, a former senior official of Chongryon, admitted to running an espionage network in Japan for North Korea until 2000. He confessed to receiving his orders from Pyongyang through various high-ranking crew members aboard the Man Gyong Bong 92.
On May 20, 2003, a former North Korean missile scientist testified at a U.S. Senate hearing that the Man Gyong Bong 92 transported 90% of the missile parts used by North Korea. These components were suspected of having been obtained from typical Japanese electronics such as game consoles and digital cameras, which would also make them easier to smuggle out of the country.
In August 2003, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that a North Korean defector confessed to smuggling drugs for North Korea into Japan through the Man Gyong Bong 92. He would deliver these drugs to a member of Chongryon, who would then deliver the drugs to the Japanese yakuza. This confession supported the U.S. State Department testimonies made in May of that year, that North Korea's methamphetamine market in Japan provided the government with a profit of up to US $7 billion.
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