Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

The North Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported on June 30 that Kim Jong Il watched a performance on June 29 by the "army merit chorus." Following the performance, Kim reportedly expressed his hope that "the chorus would fulfill its mission of propagating allegiance and military-first ideology in the military-first era." Accompanying Kim at the performance were Kim Yong Chun, chief of the general staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA), Kim Il Chol, minister of the People's Armed Forces, and Kim Kook Tae and Chung Ha Chul, secretaries of the Worker's Party.

On the occasion of the 53rd anniversary of the breakout of the Korean War, mass rallies and anti-U.S. protests were held in different parts of Pyongyang including the Kim Il Sung Square on June 24. Attending the rally in the Kim Il Sung Square were Prime Minister of the Cabinet Hong Song Nam, Chairman of the Pyongyang City People's Committee Yang Man Gil and a million Pyongyangites from all walks of life.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson, in response to a question posed by a reporter for the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), criticized the U.S., saying that "the U.S. State Department's mention of our human rights situation or our state of democratization in its human rights report is an attempt by the U.S. to isolate and stifle us by debasing our institutions and forming a coordinated international effort to apply pressure on us."  

Foreign Minister Baek Nam Soon sent a letter on June 26 to the president of the UN Security Council regarding the U.S. attempt to get the council to issue a "presidential statement" on the North Korean nuclear issue. In the letter, North Korea stated that "it is our hope that the UN Security Council will maintain a fair attitude on this matter" and "our position is that all forms of dialogue be held in an appropriate and orderly way."

The North Korean Central Broadcasting Station criticized Japan, saying that "under the pretext of putting a stop to the illegal trafficking of missiles and weapons of mass destruction, Japan has recently placed an embargo on civilian trade, thereby attempting to implement more sanctions against North Korea."

On the occasion of 53rd anniversary of the Korean War, Pyongyang Broadcasting Station made groundless claims that "in June 25, 1950, the U.S. imperialists started a war of aggression in our land in wee hours of the morning" and "the U.S. is maneuvering to start another war on the Korean Peninsula by carrying out a psychological war against us in the form of deceit and vilification."

In its report on the holding of "the 7th round of inter-Korean family reunion," the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station propagandized that "we avidly appealed to our family members from the South to rise and join in our struggle to throw out the U.S. imperialists, the enemy of our people, from our land."