Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

The Central Broadcasting Station reported on March 6 that ¡°the 6th session of the 10th Supreme People¡¯s Assembly (SPA) will convene in Pyongyang on March 26, following a decision reached by the Presidium of the SPA to convene its session in accordance with Article 92 of the Socialist Constitution of the DPRK.¡±

The Central Broadcasting Station claimed on March 9 that ¡°the Party is in need of loyal and competent individuals with great intellect, as we live in an era in which we witness ¡®wars of the mental power¡¯ or ¡®wars of the mind¡¯¡± and ¡°passion and willpower will no longer be enough to accomplish a mission.¡±  

The CNN and other foreign news agencies reported on March 3 that ¡°in the morning of March 2, as many as four North Korean MIG fighters intercepted a U.S. RC-135S plane which was on a regular surveillance mission in international air space about 150 miles off the North Korean coast in the East Sea.¡±

Pyongyang Broadcasting Station criticized Japan on March 5, asserting that ¡°the Defense Ministry of Japan is in a frenzied state of alert against the DPRK, as manifested in its recent deployment of dozens of P-3C aircrafts, P-Patrol aircrafts and missile-detecting destroyers such as Aegis destroyers near the Korean Peninsula.¡±  

Rodong Shinmun maintained on March 4 that ¡°there is no guarantee that the ¡®Foal Eagle¡¯ exercise, which involves over 200,000-strong forces including the U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, the South Korean army, and U.S. reinforcements from overseas, will not suddenly evolve into a war situation in which a preemptive strike may be launched against the DPRK¡± and ¡°if the ¡®Foal Eagle¡¯ exercise does lead to a war against the DPRK, a nuclear war will break out and all the Korean people living in the northern and southern parts of the peninsula will not escape a nuclear holocaust.¡±

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland made groundless claims on March 4 that ¡°the Grand National Party¡¯s recent actions such as making accusations that normal economic exchanges between non-governmental organizations in the north and the south are criminal acts and passing the bill to appoint an independent council for the money transfer to the North without taking the required procedures will force inter-Korean relations to return to a state of confrontation.¡±

Democratic National United Front Broadcasting, a malicious anti-South propaganda media outlet, propagandized on march 9 that ¡°the U.S. plans for the aircraft carrier Calvinson to participate in the ¡®Foal Eagle¡¯ exercise is a serious act of military provocation¡± and ¡°a collective struggle put up by Koreans from various sectors of the society can counteract the Bush Administration¡¯s war moves.¡±