Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

The sixth session of the 10th Supreme People's Assembly was held at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on March 26. The assembly unanimously approved the following: accounts settlement report for the 2002 national budget, the 2003 national budget, and the law governing military service. Kim Jong Il was not present at the session.

The cabinet announced the issuance of ``People's Life Bonds.'' These 10-year bonds, which are due to mature in April 30, 2013, come in three types: 500-Won bond, 1,000-Won bond, and 5,000-Won bond.

The North Korean Central Broadcasting Station maintained on March 27 that ¡°the comments from the political and military circles in the U.S. regarding the possibility of waging two separate wars simultaneously is tantamount to an expression of the U.S. position that it will initiate a second war against North Korea, in addition to its war with the Iraqis¡± and ¡°we are fully prepared to win in whatever kind of confrontation vis-à-vis the U.S.¡±  

The spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry claimed, in response to a question raised by a reporter for Korean Central News Agency, that ¡°as Japan¡¯s launching of a spy satellite on March 28 is in contravention to Pyongyang Declaration between the DPRK and Japan, Japan is no longer qualified or justified in commenting on our launching of missiles.¡±

On March 29, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson denounced the U.S. war in Iraq, in response to a question posed by a reporter from Korean Central News Agency, saying that ¡°while the U.S. has proclaimed that the goal of the war in Iraq is the elimination of Iraqi leadership, no one has given the U.S. the authority to undertake the task of replacing regimes¡± and ¡°such brazen-faced act of terror against peace, security, and life of the people of another country will unfailingly be subjected to severe judgment of history.¡±

Pyongyang Broadcasting Station asserted on March 26 that ¡°the chief delegate of the Korean People¡¯s Army side to the DPRK-U.S. general-level talks sent a telephone message to his U.S. counterpart in which it said that, insofar as the U.S. remains arrogant, it would not send its liaison officer to the regular contacts of liaison officers at Panmunjom.¡±

Rodong Shinmun released baseless condemnations against the South Korean government on March 30, saying that ¡°anti-Americanism and anti-war campaigns held in South Korea are righteous struggles through which efforts are being made to preserve peace, human life and dignity¡± and ¡°¡®the troops dispatch game¡¯ or the decision by the South Korean authorities to send Korean soldiers to Iraq is a criminal act in that it will lead to a U.S. invasion of the DPRK.¡±