Weekly Report on North Korea (No. 703)
ROK Ministry of Unification
1. Internal Affairs
o North Korea exhorted the nation to emulate the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance demonstrated by "the Ten Party Members of Nakwon" in line with the demands of the information industry era, according to the Rodong Sinmun July 19.
- The Ten Party Members of Nakwon refers to a group of 10 members of Korean Workers Party who unconditionally executed the instructions of the late leader Kim Il-sung. They were the employees of the Nakwon Machinery Factory that used to produce military supplies in the 1950s.
o North Korea held a central report session at the People's Palace of Culture July 21 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the publication of Kim Jong-il's work, "Concerning Further Development of Educational Programs."
o On the occasion of the 110th birthday of the late Kim Hyeong-jik (grandfather of Kim Jong-il), North Korea reopened the Bonghwa-ri Revolution Museum in Gangdong county of Pyongyang July 20 after refurbishing it.
o North Korea successfully completed land reallocation work over 94,400 Jeongbo of land in Pyongyang and South Pyong -an province. The work started in February 2002. (One Jeongbo is equal to 9,917 square meters)
o A state-run goat pasture was completed in the Yonpung area in Chosan County, Jagang Province, according to Radio Pyongyang July 18. The pasture was equipped with 18 indoor pens for goats, 21 outdoor pens, tens of modern residential houses with convenience facilities, and a milk-processing factory.
o North Korea set up a center to foster experts in coastal area management at the Kim Il-sung University with the assistance from the International Maritime Organization.
o An international marching band, led by Alejandro Benos, marched between Pyongyang and Panmunjom July 20-22, according to North Korean broadcasting services.
o North Korea designated eight sites of historic or revolutionary significance as Military-First Sites, symbolizing the achievements of "military-first politics."
2. Relations with South Korea
o North Korea repeatedly condemned the South Korean government for having banned a visit to Pyongyang by a private-sector delegation, which tried to pay homage to the late Kim Il-sung on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his death and urged Seoul to apologize for it. The condemnation and call for apology came July 17 in the form of an "open letter of inquiry" in the names of the DPRK Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland and the Research Institute for the Unification of the Fatherland. Earlier on July 8, Pyongyang issued a similar gesture in the form of a statement by the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland.
o North Korea , through a report July 16 of its People's Armed Forces Naval Command, denounced the announcement on July 14 by the Headquarters of the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding intrusions of the Northern Limit Line by its patrol boats as a complete fabrication and a deceptive story.
- It said the move would be utterly destructive to the cause of development and relaxation of military tensions between the two Koreas .
3. External Relations
o Pak Kil-yon and Han Seong-ryeol, each ambassador and alternate ambassador of North Korea's permanent mission to the United Nations, attended a forum of peace and security on the Korean peninsula held at a hall of the U.S. Senate July 20.
- North Korea reiterated Pyongyang 's positions presented during the third round of six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear program and in the statement issued June 28 by the spokesman of the North Korean foreign ministry.
Through the Joseon Sinbo, the organ of the pro-Pyongyang Korean residents association based in Tokyo , North Korea denounced Beijing for its recent attempt to incorporate Goguryeo history into China 's on July 16.
The newspaper said the Chinese actions constituted flagrant distortions of history. The Chinese deleted the Goguryeo portion from the Korean history section posted on the Chinese foreign ministry's Internet homepage. China 's official news agency Xinhua reported that "Goguryeo was a Chinese local regime," and the People’s Daily reported the next day that "Goguryeo was an ancient China 's minority ethinic."
o North Korea appointed Kim Tae-jong to be ambassador to Laos and Li Byong-gap ambassador to the Czech Republic , according to broadcasting services on July 15 and 23. It also said that Choi Taek-san, ambassador to Italy , presented his credentials to the Greek president to concurrently serve as Pyongyang ’s envoy to Greece .
o Trade between North Korea and Thailand amounted to $124.98 million in the first five months of 2004, up 31.7 percent from a year earlier.
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