Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

The National Meeting of Active Members of the Songun Young Vanguard was held at People's Palace of Culture on Oct. 6-7, attended by Choe Thae Bok, Kim Jung Rin, other cadres and officials of the youth league. At the meeting, the nation's young people were urged to uphold the Songun leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea.

On the occasion of the 6^th anniversary of Kim Jong Il's election as General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Rodong Sinmun said in its editorial dated Oct. 8, "the military should be given the first priority in all state affairs: strengthening the KPA and addressing military affairs should take precedence over everything in all sectors and units of the nation."

A spokesperson for the foreign ministry issued a statement on Oct. 7, urging Japan not to meddle in any negotiations to solve nuclear issue, by saying, "Japan is nothing but an obstacle to a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue. It has lost its qualification as a trustworthy dialogue partner. Therefore, the DPRK will not allow Japan to participate in any form of negotiations for the settlement of the nuclear issue in the future."

Pyongyang Broadcasting Station said on Oct. 9, "it is meaningless to talk about denuclearization of the Korean peninsula when there is no security assurance for the DPRK while the U.S.' threat of nuclear attack against the DPRK is on the rise. Therefore, the U.S. should immediately put an end to its nuclear threat against the DPRK."

Central Broadcasting Station denounced Seoul on Oct. 6 for its moves to dispatch additional troops to Iraq, by saying, "the South Korean authorities should seriously consider the grave consequences of dispatching combat troops to Iraq, which is an unpardonable act against the nation. Seoul must immediately stop the anti-national act of sacrificing young people, bowing to the U.S. pressure."

Pyongyang Broadcasting Station made a comment on Oct. 8, titled "Crazy witch-hunting," saying "South Korea's Grand National Party is currently conducting a repressive offensive against an expatriate who recently visits South Korea, claiming that he is connected with the DPRK. The claim, made by GNP which is anti-DPRK in everything, is absurd and unreasonable."