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Weekly on North Korea (August 5~11, 2005)

ROK Ministry of Unification

Internal Affairs

In commemoration of the Party establishment and the 60 th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the permanent council of the Supreme People’s Assembly issued two sets of memorial coins and decided on pardoning people in order to create a celebrative atmosphere, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on August 10 and 12. In addition, various other events were held such as the National Art Exhibition, the nationwide Seongun women’s fashion show, labor class’ and members’ of labor unions celebration meetings, the discussions on research in social sciences and others, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on August 10 and 12.

North Korea is currently emphasizing that the party’s leading ideology is the idea of Seongun (military-first) and further stressed the leading role of the party and the inextricable relationship between the party and the army, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on August 8.

It was reported that the construction of the waterway has reached the level of completion. The news was delivered along with other main news related to the waterway construction from Baekma to Cheolsan, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on August 6 and 7.

In compliance with ‘Two Month Campaign on the Love and Protection of National and Social Property during August and September,’ citizens were urged to repair the sewerage and water supply facilities, and to save the goods, such as raw materials according to the Democratic Chosun on August 2.

Inter-Korean Affairs

On August 5, the two Koreas effectuated nine agreements on Inter-Korean economic cooperation, including the ‘The Basic Agreements on Operation of Railroads between the South and the North’ by exchanging the ratification documents through South-North liaison officers in Panmunjon.

The 5 th contact of inter-Korean working-level maritime cooperation was held in Munsan (a city northeast of Seoul) during August 8 and 10 where both Koreas selected a 6-point joint statement and reached a complementary agreement on ‘the Supplementary Agreement on the Implementation and Observation of the Agreement on Inter-Korean Maritime Transportation.’

In accordance to the Agreements made at the 3 rd working-level meeting for inter-Korean general-level military talks, both Koreas opened the telecommunication liaison office on August 13 to prevent accidental clashes in the West Sea.

It was reported that the permanent council of the Supreme People’s Assembly selected the ‘Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Article 27’ according to the Democratic Chosun on July 29.

North Korea made efforts to instigate the public through reports by the secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, claiming that North Korea will strengthen the anti-American movement for the removal of the American troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula this year, which marks the 60 th anniversary of the U.S army’s forceful occupation of South Korea.

External Affairs

The 4 th round of the 6-party talks was held in Beijing between July 26 and August 7 but entered into a recess without successful negotiations. The talks will resume on the week beginning on August 29.

On August 7, Kim Gye-gwan, top representative from North Korea emphasized the legitimacy of North Korea’s peaceful use of nuclear activities and stated that the denuclearization on the Korean peninsula will come true only when North Korea’s abandonment of nuclear weapons runs parallel with the fulfillment of duties on the sides of the U.S and South Korea. .

It was reported that if the truce is converted into a peace treaty, most of America’s hostile foreign policies towards North Korea and their nuclear threats will be eliminated, which will naturally lead to the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, according to the Rodong Daily on August 9.

North Korea reemphasized the importance of strengthening the ties between North Korea and Russia in celebration of the 4th anniversary of North Korean Kim Jong-il’s first visit to Russia during July 26- August 18 in 2001, according to the Pyongyang Broadcasting Service on August 4.

North Korea urged Japan to apologize for its past wrongdoings at the earliest date, claiming that it is a prerequisite for reconciling relations between North Korea and Japan and a crux of the ‘North Korea-Japan Pyongyang Declaration’, according to the Pyongyang Broadcasting Service on August 10.