Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

On November 12, Kim Jong Il inspected Korean People's Army Unit No. 397, honored with the title of "Commander O Jung Hup 7th Regiment," and gave instructions to strengthen the combat capability of the unit. Accompanying him were KPA Generals Ri Myong Su, Hyun Chol Hae, and Pak Jae Kyong.

The regime asserted through Central Broadcasting (Nov. 17) that "To apply the "seed theory" to the field of science and technology is to identify and then focus on the basic fundamentals of a given problem, and produce maximized results."

Rodong Sinmun ran a commentary on November 12 asserting, "If the U.S. has the will to resume a dialogue with us, it must first adopt sincere goodwill and create atmosphere conducive to building trust."

On November 14, North Korea's Korea-Japan Friendship Association assailed Japanese prosecutors for the forced search (Nov. 8) of credit cooperatives of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan on charges of mismanagement of bad loans. It asserted, "The Japanese authorities are cracking down on the co-ops under the pretext of investigating bad loans."

The KCNA propagandized through its November 13 commentary that, "The decision of Pyongyang to formally sign international anti-terrorism conventions clearly demonstrates its opposition to any form of terror and support thereof."

Central Broadcasting provided detailed coverage of the war in Afghanistan, quoting foreign reports. It commented "The Taliban has adamantly declared it would fight the U.S. even if it takes a hundred years, and Bin Laden has threatened that he has the right to use nuclear bombs and chemical weapons."

On November 14, the North Korean delegation to the ministerial talks issued a statement asserting, "The breakdown of the senior-level talks has been caused by the insincerity of South Korea, and the abusive and disingenuous attitude of its chief delegate. We must consider the wisdom of continued engagement with the chief delegate."

On November 17, Rodong Sinmun ran a commentary arguing, "The breakdown of the talks is the fault of the South Korean chief delegate, who upturned every major agreement at the last minute. South Korea must hold its chief delegate responsible, as he was the one who broke down the talks with his abusive, self-righteous words and deeds."