Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

On October 8, North Korea held a celebratory national conference to mark the fourth anniversary of Kim Jong Il's inauguration as the General Secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea on October 8, 1997, and the 56th anniversary of the party's foundation on October 18, 1945. Present at the conference were senior officials of the party, state, and military, including Kim Young Nam, Hong Seong Nam, and Jo Myung Rok.

On October 13, the Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported, "On October 9-10, Kangwon Province and some areas in the South Hankyung Province were hit by stormy winds at 10-16 meters per second and 200-400 millimeters of torrential rains, which have left hundreds of hectares of farm lands flooded, and destroyed some 30,000 houses and buildings."  

On October 11, the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station ran a program entitled "Avoiding Responsibility for Past Wrongdoings and Introducing Hostile Policy is the Road to Destruction." The program stated that, "If Japan is serious about normalizing relations with North Korea, it must first atone for past wrongdoings and abandon its hostile policy toward North Korea."

On October 12, the Rodong Sinmun observed the 53rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Russia (October 12, 1948) by commenting, "The friendship between DPRK and Russia is moving into a new stage to accommodate changes in the international environment. The summit meeting between Kim Jong Il and Putin provided a dramatic breakthrough in improving the bilateral relations."

On October 9, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson told the KCNA, "War, the killing of innocent people and the instigation of regional destabilization cannot be justified as a means to combat terrorism. The war must not be the source of a vicious circle of terror and retaliation."

In its October 11 commentary on current issues titled "Shameless Schemes of Aggression," the Korean Central Broadcasting Station claimed, "The logistical support Japanese Self-Defense Forces are providing to U.S. retaliatory operations will result in grave consequences."

On October 8, the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station propagandized, "The imperialist invasion forces of the U.S. stationed in South Korea are invaders and dividers disguised as liberators. The South Korean people should drive them away as soon as possible and launch a struggle to reunify the nation."

On October 12, the spokesperson for the Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland issued a statement saying it would postpone the family reunions and exchanges of exhibition Taekwondo matches, blaming "the situation created by South Korea."