Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

North Korea's government continues to emphasize ideology and unity, one of the `three main pillars for the construction of a superpower', as called for in the Joint New Year's Editorial, calling for `all members of the party and workers must set their hearts aflame with passion for glory of the party's 55th anniversary, in all they do and every waking moment', despite the fact that Kim Jong-il has been conspicuous by his absence from public functions and activities for the new year

Hard-line policies as called for by US presidential candidate George W. Bush were met by equally hard-line rhetoric from North Korea, taking Bush's comments to be `an expression of warlike tendencies of warmongers in an attempt to start a second Korean War', which will be met by `extremely firm and resolute response'. In addition, North Korea's Flood Damage Management Committee claimed that `Southern authorities and other hostile forces are attempting to scuttle our international project and efforts at cooperation'.

North Korea's response to President Kim Daejung's proposals for the establishment of a South-North Economic Commonwealth in his New Year's Address were explicitly negative, stating that the proposal `is the height of irresponsibility that completely ignores issues pertinent to unification and a step backward from economic cooperation already agreed upon'. Moreover, the North mobilized its propaganda machine in a verbal attack concerning ROK's 16th General Elections, saying that `the increase in numbers of independent candidates will result in ugly political struggles and a cesspit of corruption'.