Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

On February 10, Kim Jong Il visited a rear-area military officers' school and commented that ¡°an extended role of the teachers and instructors is needed in order to train the officers to become competent commanding officers.¡±  He also visited Shim Won Temple in Pakchon County, Northern Pyongyang Province (date unknown).  On February 12, he visited the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang and received the three horses sent as a gift by the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On the occasion of the Kim Jong Il¡¯s sixty-first birthday on February 16, public presentations were made on the illustrious activities of Kim Jong Il.  The presentations, which were made at the April 25 House of Culture, were attended by such figures as Kim Yong Nam, Cho Myong Rok, Hong Sung Nam and Chon Byong Ho.  During the event, the Secretary of the Labor Party Chon Byong Ho stressed that ¡°an attack by the imperialist U.S. will be met with our resolute stance and we will crack our enemies down with a mindset of ¡®we shall not die; only our enemy will.¡¯¡±

Rodong Shinmun criticized Japan on February 11, asserting that ¡°the claims made by the reactives in Japan that Mankyongbong-92 is a spy ship carrying out espionage activities vis-à-vis Japan is a vicious anti-DPRK campaign designed to discredit and tarnish the image of our nation and Chongryon, otherwise known as the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.¡±

The spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry criticized the U.S. in the press conference on February 12 by maintaining that ¡°the assigning of our nation as a terrorist regime by the U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on February 4 is a manifestation of the fact that the U.S. has internally designated the DPRK as the next target of attack in its war against terrorism.¡±

Korean Central Broadcasting Station made groundless claims on February 14 that ¡°since our nation is no longer legally bound to discuss anything with the IAEA as a result of its withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the remarks made by the IAEA regarding the nuclear issue of DPRK are tantamount to interference in internal affairs¡± and ¡°the IAEA should refer the U.S. to the UN for committing illegal actions, if it is to duly fulfill its mission as an organization of the UN,.¡±  

The North Korea Central Broadcasting Station reported on February 14 that ¡°the fourth meeting of the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee was held in Seoul from February 11 to 14¡± and ¡°the meeting closed with the announcement of a joint press release which included plans for the fifth round of talks to be held in Pyongyang in April.¡±

Korean Central News Agency reported on February 14 that ¡°Jong Mong Hon, president of Hyundai Asan, and Kim Yun Gyu, managing director of Hyundai Asan, has embarked on the overland excursion of Mt. Kumgang, scheduled to continue from February 14 to 16, together with 400 figures from various sectors of the South Korean society.¡±