Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

On May 13, Kim Jong Il visited the Guseul and the Bidan falls, which were newly discovered by the servicemen of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in Beopdong county, Gangwon province. Kim also watched a performance by the KPA navy band on the same day. During his visit to the KPA unit 841 on May 16, Kim ordered all the servicemen to strengthen their combat capabilities. On May 18, Kim watched performances given by family members of the KPA units 488 and 534 in a cultural competition held amongst family members of the servicemen.    

Rodong Shinmun, in its editorial on May 16, claimed that "as we live in an age in which faith in the revolutionary army and the people is highly valued, a nation that possesses a strong faith cannot be destroyed easily and a people with a strong faith cannot be easily conquered."

The North Korean Central Broadcasting Station made false claims on May 16 that "the U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice's remark ('while efforts will be made to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through diplomatic means, military options will be considered if diplomatic efforts prove to be of little effect') and White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer's loud-mouth remark ('U.S. policy does not rule out any option including a military one') are manifestations of the U.S. imperialists' evil designs to militarily stifle our republic."

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson criticized Japan, in a statement issued on May 17, saying that "as a result of passing the 'emergency law,' Japan will be able to extend its use of the military power of the Self Defense Forces" and "Japan's true intentions to launch aggressive war campaigns overseas have been explicitly exposed to the world as it has undertaken a shift in its military posture from being exclusively defensive to offensive."

On the occasion of the 23^rd anniversary of the "Kwangju Democratization Movement," which took place in May 18, 1980, the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station propagandized on May 18 that "as the imperialist-U.S. continues to pursue a fascist rule and subjugation policy vis-à-vis South Korea, we should all take part in an anti-U.S. struggle to achieve national sovereignty and reunification, thereby making the imperialists pay in blood -- a thousand times the amount shed by the people of Kwangju -- for their crimes committed in Kwangju."

Rodong Shinmun on May 18 condemned the South Korean government, saying that "the sentencing to a prison term by the South Korean authorities of the 10^th president of Hancheongryun or the Korean Federation of University Student Councils is tantamount to a challenge against us and betrays the spirit of the June 15 Joint Declaration"