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Weekly Report on North Korea( No. 717)

ROK Ministry of Unification

1. Internal Affairs

o Accompanied by Lee Myeong-su, Hyeon Cheol-hae, Park Jae-gyeong and others, Chairman Kim Jeong-il visited the military base of the 754 th battalion, which won the title of the “Oh Jung-heup 7 th Regiment (Nov. 17, Central Broadcasting Station).”

o The Nodong Shinmun reported on November 10 that the “February 17 Scientists & Engineers Battalion,” members of which are dispatched around North Korea, have achieved great accomplishments in the first half of this year.

o On the 20 th anniversary of Chairman Kim Jeong-il’s publication of his work titled, On the Improvement & Strengthening of National Land Management Projects, a commemoratory report session was held on November 18 (Nov. 19, Central Broadcasting Station).

o North Korea emphasized the importance of the Juche Ideology as the guiding force of the nation, and once again urged that the Juche Ideology be the standard for all areas including the economy, diplomacy, etc. (Nov. 12, Central Broadcasting Station).

o An art exhibition commemorating the 45 th anniversary of the Mansduae Art Studio took place on November 17 at the “Kim Il-seong & Kim Jeong-il Portrait Exhibition Hall” (Nov. 17, Central Broadcasting Station).

o In November, North Korea continued to report on coal production and efforts to boost production, and urged the achievement of this year’s production goals.

 

2. Inter-Korean Relations

o North Korea criticized the extreme right wing faction of South Korea for their “opposition to the abolition of the National Security Law,” and urged further efforts for the abolition of the National Security Law, stating, “inter-Korean dialogue, cooperation and unification are impossible” if the National Security Law is not nullified.

o Regarding the reported scenario: “the emergency use of 30 nuclear weapons,” the North censured the US for trying to stage a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula .

- At the same time, the North urged that the time has come for all Korean people to act as one in staging an anti-American, anti-war campaign based on “confrontation between the people of Joseon (the Korean people) and the US” (Nov. 17, Pyeongyang Broadcasting Service).

3. External Affairs

o Since the Kyoto News Agency reported on November 7 that “the US devised a war scenario to use 30 nuclear weapons in the North under an emergency situation on the Korean Peninsula , and has carried out warhead delivery maneuvers,”

- North Korea has made ceaseless efforts on a number of fronts: i) condemned the US for its “anti-Republic nuclear war maneuvers;” ii) stressed the rationale behind “hardening nuclear deterrence;” and iii) waged a propaganda campaign directed at South Korea for “anti-American, anti-war campaigns” and “independence and cooperation between the Korean people.”

o Regarding prospects for reopening the six-party talks, the Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson reiterated in a press conference with the Joseon Central News Agency on November 13,

 

• “If the US abandons its hosti le policy aimed at overthrowing our regime, and adopts coexistence policies, problems can sufficiently be resolved (Nov. 13, Central Broadcasting Station & Pyeongyang Broadcasting Service).”

 

o The EU troika delegation (a total of 10 members including Vollenhoven, the Dutch Ambassador to South Korea ) visited North Korea from November 13 to 16, and opened the 7 th DPRK-EU Political Dialogue.

o North Korea signed the “Trade & Economic Cooperation Treaty” with Turkey on November 12 at Ankara , Turkey (Nov. 19, Central Broadcasting Station).

o The Russian forestry delegation (headed by the deputy governor of the Amur Regional Administration, Aleksandr Gorzeyev) visited North Korea on November 16 to participate in the 7th meeting of the “Forestry Subcommittee of the DPRK-Russia Trade, Economic, Science & Technology Cooperation Committee” (Nov. 17, Central Broadcasting Station & Pyeongyang Broadcasting Service).

o Delegations from China , Russia , Mongolia , and Vietnam arrived at Pyeongyang on November 14 to participate in the conference of the Organization for Railway Cooperation (Nov. 15, Central Broadcasting Station).