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Across University from Blocker behind Taco Bell SEOUL, South Korea (AP) He fooled North Korean border guards into thinking he was a poor Chinese peddler, risking ar rest — and possible death — as a suspected spy. Lee Chan-sam, a Korean- American reporter for South Ko rea’s Jbongang Daily News, came back from a clandestine visit with one of the most detailed ac counts available of life today in the reclusive Communist nation. In a 10-part series running over the past two weeks, Lee re ports desperate food shortages in the countryside, poverty so deep that shoeless peasants wrap their feet with rags to ward off winter’s bitter cold. But he says he found a re markable improvement in liv ing standards in the cities, where people crowd restau rants and amusement parks. He describes government ef forts to build a personality cult around Kim dong II, the de-fac- to leader who still hasn’t offi cially taken power six months after the death of his father. President Kim II Sung. Lee sounds a compassionate tone toward North Koreans in his reports, which are getting much attention in a country accustomed to decades of harsh propaganda blasts against the rival North. “South Koreans can’t do any thing to change North Korea’s terrible government,” Lee, the fa ther of four, said in an interview. “But we can reach out to our fel low Korean people.” Lee, a soft-spoken American citizen who lives with his fami ly in Chicago, where he edits a U.S. edition of his paper, said he crossed China’s border into North Korea in December with a forged Chinese passport. He disguised himself as a Chi- nese-Korean peddler and hired a Chinese woman to act as his wife to reduce suspicion. Before going, he had drilled for eight years on North Korean customs, geogra phy and language patterns. Lee visited North Korea twice with permission as a re porter, in 1988 and 1990. Both times he was closely super vised by government guides and could only visit tourist at tractions and model cities such as Pyongyang, the capital. After those visits. North Ko rean officials warned he would be killed if he returned because he had criticized the govern ment in his stories, Lee said. During the secret trip, Lee said he was able to travel unde tected and unhindered. The shortages of food and other ne cessities in the countryside, he said, were “beyond description.” The trains he rode had no glass in their windows. Travelers carried their own food and kept it close at hand to guard against theft, he writes. In stark contrast, Lee said he was astonished to see the im provement in living conditions in Pyongyang since his last visit. Large crowds filled an amuse ment park, and many people were buying goods. He said the military’s power had grown dramatically since Kim II Sung’s death, often sur passing local civilian authority He said businessmen connected to companies owned by the mili tary told him that it has mucli more leverage these days. Throughout the country, ra dio broadcasts, newspapers and political study sessions were devoted almost complete ly to praises of Kim Jong II, in an effort to enhance his repu tation and prepare for his for mal rise to power, Lee said. People in rural areas, he said, knew almost nothing about the outside world. They blamed their hunger on North Korea’s needle build a strong military to counter outside threats, not on their own leaders, Lee writes. But mid-level officials, he said, had become much more desirous of foreign currency, especially the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen. Lee said many North Koreas were aware that their country had signed a nuclear agree ment in October with the Unit ed States, but worried about whether Washington could be trusted. CC V (u Also Available: Soft Tacos Burritos Nachos Gumbo Frito Pies Chile Chile Con Queso Rice Beans Mon-Sat. 11a.m.-9p.m. Open late on weekends 12a.m.-2a.m. Phone: (409) 691-2247 Through this month get our Famous Tamale Plate or 1/2 dozen Tamales for j Prime Minister urges resolution j as Russian attack in Grozny stalls Come by or phone in your order today! *Aggi e Owned and Operated IT tmT?T T A 1A+U JTst ijOU'l j-o't onCij TfcjO. ^1/extent ins. (Lnour fzotv ucrLtfr an ad on ( ddaCs.ntin£. i T&au! ifxzciaC tbs. Q/aCsntins Udoos -J2ins± vaiCL (je. jxu&tii&zd Ln tfxs. Lldatt aCion on TJu£±daij, slj'Luaxtj { TJo fxCc -/doos J2l A ljout -J—oos; -J-Lns. corns. toom OTfj in hits