Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

The Reporters' Union of North Korea held its 8th convention from November 19 to 20. At the convention, reporters and journalists were urged to "arm themselves with the 'red-banner' spirit of socialism; sound the trumpets for military-first policies; and serve as a 'mosquito net' guarding against the penetration of imperialist ideas and culture."        

Rodong Sinmun ran an editorial November 22 which said that, "All the parties, military forces and the people should follow the torchlight of Ranam to quickly solidify the national economy and build a self-reliant and powerful nation." Kim Jong Il had recently praised the revolutionary spirit of the workers of the Ranam Coal Mining Machinery Complex.  

On November 19, Rodong Sinmun argued, "The U.S. imperialists describe the occupational forces in South Korea as a deterrence to the North Korean threat. This is a foolish attempt to justify their war schemes and legitimize the forceful occupation of South Korea."

On November 22, Rodong Sinmun asserted, "Japan feigns deep interest in peace, but it is preparing for war behind the scenes. The Asian people must wage a struggle to frustrate Japan's ambition to become a military power and re-invade Asia in order to preserve regional peace and stability."

Central Broadcasting propagandized (Nov. 24), "The South Korean National Defense Ministry has characterized us as its principal enemy in its defense white paper for next year, revealing its raw ambition to invade us by stirring up inter-Korean confrontation and mongering for war."

The Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland blamed South Korea in its statement No. 813 (Nov. 24) for the breakdown of the sixth inter-Korean ministerial talks. It blamed the failure on the lack of sincerity on the part of the authorities and the senseless confrontational attitude of its chief delegate Hong Soon Young.

On November 24, the Democratic National United Front broadcast, a malicious anti-South Korea propaganda media outlet, denounced South Korea for the test-firing of missiles: "The missiles are the latest models of offensive weapons capable of striking against North Korea and major offensive tools for pre-emptive attacks. The missiles could be the spark that starts a fresh arms race and escalates tensions between the two Koreas."