Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

The Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) announced a decree on June 2 placing Kaepung and Jangpung counties under the jurisdiction of Northern Hwanghae Province.

Accompanied by Kim Yong Chun, Kim Il Chol and Yon Hyong Mook, Kim Jong Il, gave on-site instructions and guidance during a field inspection of a farm and goat-breeding center operated by the Korean People's Army (KPA) unit 534 on June 4.

The Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) announced on June 3 that "pursuant to Article 90 of the Socialist Constitution of the DPRK, the 11th election of the SPA will be held on August 3." This was followed by another announcement on June 8 in which North Korea declared that "a central election committee shall be organized to carry out preparatory work for the upcoming election." Yang Hyong Sop, vice chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, was appointed as chairman of the committee, Kim Jung Rin, secretary of the ruling Workers' Party, and Kim Yu Hyok, secretary-general of the Presidium, vice chairman and secretary-general of the committee, respectively.

The spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, in response to a question posed by a reporter from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) regarding the proliferation security initiative (PSI), which was recently proposed by the U.S. to thwart exports of missiles and other weapons of mass destruction, during a press conference on June 8, stressed that "if the government of the DPRK, in any way, feels that its sovereignty has been infringed upon, it will immediately retaliate by utilizing all physical means."

In a statement issued on June 8, the spokesperson for the "Compensation Committee for the Korean Comfort Women Mobilized for the Japanese Army and for the Korean Victims of Japan's Forced Drafting," denounced Taro Aso, chief policymaker for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan, for his groundless and absurd remarks about the policy pursued by the Japanese imperialists during their military occupation of Korea during which they forced the Koreans to change their names into Japanese ones. The North Korean spokesperson condemned the Japanese policymaker's remarks as evidence for "Japan's attempt to avoid the responsibility for its past crimes and to realize its long-cherished ambition to reinvade Korea."

In a statement issued by the "Korean Support Committee for Overseas Koreans" on June 7, North Korea argued that "Japan's suspension of service to the freighter Mangyongbong-92 is in direct contravention to the Pyongyang Declaration signed between the DPRK and Japan" and "should such a move lead to an imposition of sanctions vis-a-vis North Korea, unpredictable events will unfold which will eventually result in catastrophe."

In a statement issued on June 2, the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland claimed that "the South Korean authorities must realize that vilification of the North Korean system will not serve their interests" and "the South Korean government must find a way to apologize to the North for its actions and to guarantee that such acts of slandering will not occur again."  

The spokesperson for the navy command of the KPA, in response to a question posed by a reporter for Korean Central News Agency made groundless claims on June 2, saying that "the South Korean military is fueling inter-Korean tension by invading our territorial waters" and that "any kind of military confrontation between the two Koreas could easily evolve into a major war."