Word: pyongyang
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...dubious honor, even for the most hard-line of Communist nations. But after months of negotiations, North Korea, the xenophobic workers' state run by Communist Leader Kim Il Sung, was publicly declared by capitalist bankers to be in default on its foreign debt. Reason: the Pyongyang government's failure to make payments on $770 million in obligations to two syndicates representing 140 banks. Other countries in the past have halted payment of debt but struck deals with foreign lenders, earning more favorable terms and fresh credits. In North Korea's case, says one European banker, "nobody in their right minds...
...grain and heavy equipment and to build bridges and roads, since the early 1970s. The country has never repaid any principal; indeed, on several occasions, it also suspended debt repayments, only to work out more favorable terms with Japanese and Western creditors. But for the past three years, Pyongyang has refused even to meet interest charges. For a time it looked as if the banks and the North Koreans might work out another agreement. The deal fell apart, however, when Pyongyang's negotiators demanded $200 million in new credits and the banks broke off the talks...
...Seoul there will be another thorny consideration: North Korea. The $ Communist government in Pyongyang has insisted that it should be host to fully half the 1988 Olympic events on its soil -- and keep 50% of any profits from the Games. Its failure to get anywhere with such demands has caused Pyongyang to hint frequently that it will boycott the Games, perhaps pulling the Soviet Union and other East bloc countries along in sympathy. The I.O.C. position is that the Olympics are awarded to a city, not a nation, and that the athletic events cannot therefore be shared. When Munich...
That position is not fixed, however. I.O.C. President Juan Antonio Samaranch, with a nod from Seoul organizers, has tendered Pyongyang a small piece of the Olympics action with an offer to have North Korea act as host to table-tennis and soccer competitions (both popular sports in Asia), as well as archery events and the 50-km bicycle race. In return Samaranch has demanded that North Korea open its heavily militarized border to the "Olympic family," including some 7,000 members of the press who are expected to attend the Games. So far, the North has refused the offer...
South Korea fears a Pyongyang boycott because it would increase the chances for violent incidents at the Olympics. Shortly before the start of last year's Asian Games, which North Korea refused to attend, a bomb that authorities believe was the work of North Korean agents exploded at Seoul's Kimpo Airport, killing five people and injuring more than 30. The hope is that if the Soviets and other Communist nations attend the Seoul Games, Pyongyang will avoid causing similar bloody disruptions...