N. Koreans seem to dislike Chinese: British diplomat

By Cecilia Park

A former British diplomat has said that North Korean residents seem to dislike the Chinese more than Americans.

"North Korean residents dislike the Chinese every much", John Everard said at a party marking the publication of his new book, "Only Beautiful, Please", at the Brookings Institution, an American nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., Monday.

"I did not massage Chinese although I did it for German and Russian tourists", a massage woman was quoted as saying. "They (Chinese) smell bad", she said, as if looking down on them, according to Everard.

Everard viewed anti-Chinese attitude comes from their deeply-rooted independence spirit and intentional negligence of China which has been ahead of their country economically.

"North Korean citizens never tell of their hardship", the former British ambassador said, adding that they have great pride.

He added that North Koreans hate Americans less than the latter imagine, though there are some anti-American signs here and there. "Many of them don't feel threatened by the U.S. and there are not many residents who believe the Americans would attack them".

The book contains what he experienced as the ambassador to the North from February 2006 to June 2008, during which North Korea's first nuclear weapons test was done and the fifth and sixth denuclearization talks were held. At that time, Everard took pictures, while touring all of the North on a bicycle.

He gave a cool-headed assessment about the North Korean regime. "North Korea will never give up its nuclear weapons program or exchange it for economic assistance, because they believe it's a weapon to protect themselves", he said. "Outside food aid could never lead North Korea to change as it has managed to keep its regime".

Earlier, Peter Hughes, another former British ambassador to Pyongyang, who succeeded Everard, said, "There's no possibility that North Korea would give up its nuclear weapons program".