Weekly on North Korea
ROK Ministry of Unification
| Serial No. 693 (May 07 to May 13, 2004) |
Internal Affairs
o Chairman Kim Jong-il visited a company under the direct command of
military unit 833, according to North Korean broadcasting services on May 8.
* Normally North Korea does not reveal the date of his visit, but this time even the names of the people who accompanied him were not disclosed.
o North Korea held a report session on May 6 at the People's Palace of Culture to mark the 30th anniversary of the publication of Kim Jong-il's work, which North Korea maintains clarified the basic mission and the duty of the media of Korea Workers Party
- Party Secretary Jeong Ha-Cheol was the reporter in the session, which
was attended by officials from the publication sector and journalists.
o As part of its policy priority of integrating areas of economy and science and technology, North Korea highlighted the achievements of science and technology shock brigades at the industrial site.
o To increase production of concrete crossties for railways, North Korea is
actively promoting the expansion and modernization of Seunghori
Concrete Crossties Manufacturing Factory.
o North Korea held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the
Samsu Power Plant at the site in Yanggang Province on May 7. The ceremony was attended by Premier of the Cabinet Pak Bong-Ju and Party Secretary Jeong Ha-cheol.
o North Korea held the fourth National Festival of Medical Science at the
Grand People's Study Hall in Pyongyang on May 10-12.
- The festival was inaugurated in April 1994 with a mission to carry out duties proposed in Kim Jong-il's work "Concerning Further Promotion of People's Health Program" of April 1985.
Relations with South Korea
o In a joint letter of appeal by the Democratic Front for the Unification of
the Fatherland and DPRK's Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the
Fatherland on May 13, North Korea maintained that the year 2005 should be the starting year for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Korea
- It also called for replacing ROK-U.S. cooperation with national cooperation between the South and the North as well as forming a front against the United States.
o Following consultations with officials of the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, the National Economic Cooperation Federation, and the General Bureau for Development and Supervision of the Central Special Zones on reactivating the Mt. Geumgang tourism project as well as working-level talks on the construction of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, Chairwoman Hyeon Jeong-eun of the Hyundai Group and her party left Pyongyang on May 13
External Affairs
o North Korea denounced U.S. attempt to deploy two battalions of Patriot missiles and an Aegis-equipped destroyer in the Korean theater, as a grave military provocation that would disrupt peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. The denunciation came from a statement by the spokesman of the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland on May 7.
- On the same day, North Korea's Central News Agency and broadcasting service urged the South Korean authorities to join the path of keeping aggressive foreign forces from launching a nuclear war and the South Koreans to join a sacred war against the United States based on national cooperation under the banner of Korean people-first principle
o Recently, North Korea used various media outlets to strengthen its criticism of Japan in connection with the possibility of its nuclear armament, its past history with Korea, the issue of Jocheongryeon, the pro-Pyongyang Korean residents' association in Japan, and Japan-U.S. mutual cooperation
o North Korea named Li Won-seo, 60, as ambassador to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. Li is a career diplomat who has
served as Director General of the Foreign Ministry since 2003.
o North Korea established ambassador-level diplomatic ties with the
Republic of San Marino on May 13.
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