Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

On the occasion of Kim Jong Il's birthday on Feb. 16, various celebratory events were held at the Pyongyang Grand Theater and the People's Palace of Culture, among others, while the Army, Navy and Air Force held a wide array of rallies in each county, city and province.

Kim Jong Il attended a performance by the Moiseyev State Academy Folk Dance Troupe of Russia visiting North Korea (place unreported), and met with Elena Scherbakova, the head of the dance troupe. He was accompanied by Kim Yong Chun, member of the NDC of DPRK and chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, Yon Hyong Muk, vice-chairman of the NDC of the DPRK, and Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov, among others.

A national meeting was held at the April 25 House of Culture on Feb. 18 to mark the 30th anniversary of the proclamation (Feb. 19, 1974) of the program for modeling all of society according to the principle of Juche. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Pak Pong Ju, Choe Thae Bok, secretary of the Central Committee of the WPK, Kim Il Chol, minister of the People's Armed Forces, and other senior officials of the party, the state and the army.

The Pyongyang Broadcasting Station asserted, "The United States has come up with a plan to mount a preemptive nuclear attack against the DPRK by devising 'New Operation Plan 5026', and has already examined the possibility of putting the plan into action. If the U.S. continues its attempt to stifle the DPRK with force, we will strengthen our defense capability even further to protect our sovereignty."

In a KCNA briefing, a foreign ministry spokesperson urged Israel to put an immediate stop to the construction of a "security barrier" in the self-governing area of Palestine in the West Bank.

Rodong Sinmun said on Feb. 20, "Recently, the Japanese House of Representatives passed an 'amendment to the Law on Foreign Exchange' seeking to impose economic sanctions against the DPRK. In so doing, Tokyo publicly disclosed its hostility toward and opposition to the DPRK on economic, political and military fronts as well as its intention to pursue a hostile policy of isolating and stifling the DPRK."

A spokesperson for the Panmunjon Mission of the (North) Korean People's Army claimed in a KCNA briefing on Feb. 20, "In the DPRK-US talks on the issue of remains of US soldiers, held in Bangkok on Feb. 11, we agreed to overland transport of excavation equipment and remains of US soldiers via Panmunjon, and there was no discussion whatsoever of the issue of American survivors."

The Central Broadcasting Station propagandized, quoting a statement issued by the so-called National Democratic Front of South Korea (Feb. 20), "the South Korean National Assembly's passing of the motion for troop dispatches to Iraq is a crime against the nation and goes against the principle of peace. People from all walks of life are urged to conduct a more dynamic anti-US, anti-war struggle to stymie the pro-US traitors' outrageous attempt to offer young Koreans as cannon fodder for US Forces."