Weekly on North Korea (Aug.12 - Aug.18, 2005)
ROK Ministry of Unification
Internal Affairs
In celebration of the 60 th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule,
Chairman Kim Jong-il met the representative from the Russian Far East Federation District and the Russia Veterans Congressmen delegation and watched a Russian folk dance performance , according to the Central Broadcasting Station and the Pyongyang Broadcasting Services on Aug. 15 and 17.
Around the Party establishment date and the 60 th anniversary of Korea’s liberation, Chairman Kim Jong-il and high-ranking officials from the Party, the government and the military attended the ‘grand gymnastics and the art performance Arirang.’ at the ‘5.1 Stadium.’ on Aug. 16, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Aug. 17.
North Korea, in commemoration of the 60 th anniversary of Korea’s liberation, focused on promoting citizens’ loyalty and strengthening national solidarity by holding commemorative and celebrative events, according to the Central Broadcasting Station and the Chosun Central TV.
North Korea held a worldwide convention aiming at supporting Chosun (North Korea)’s independent unification, mobilizing pro-North Korean domestic and overseas organizations, according to the Central Broadcasting Station and the Pyongyang Broadcasting Services on Aug. 14.
Inter-Korean Affairs
The August 15 Grand National Festival was held in Seoul from Aug. 14 to 17 with 820 representatives from two Koreas and overseas Koreans attending.
This North Korean delegation paid a visit to the monument at the National Memorial and the National Assembly. The visits have been the first since the division of two Koreas.
In addition, the North Korean delegation paid a visit to former President, Kim Dae-jung who has been hospitalized and also paid a courtesy call on President Roh Mu-hyun.
South Korea and North Korea held the 4 th round of the working-level representative meeting to fulfill the agreement from the inter-Korean general-level military talks at the Tong-il Gak, a North Korean building at Panmunjom, on Aug. 12.
On the occasion of Korea’s Liberation Day on Aug. 15, the first video reunion between separate families was held. Twenty families each from North and South Korea participated in two sessions, one in the morning and another in the afternoon for two hours.
The spokesperson for a North Korean army’s commission at Panmunjom denounced the so-called ‘Ulchi Focus Lense’ which is a joint military exercise between the U.S and South Korea, claiming that it was a war game against North Korea, that breaches the cease-fire agreement.
External Affairs
North Korea, through the editorial at the Rodong Daily on Aug. 18, insisted that the nuclear issue between North Korea and the United States was a by-product of the U.S’s hostile policy towards North Korea and therefore, the issue will not be resolved as long as the U.S does not have the will for co-existence and does not want to see unification on the Korean peninsula.
The Pyongyang Central Broadcasting Station criticized the Japan Defense Agency for writing down the Dokdo Island as Japan’s territory in its Defense of Japan 2005 White Paper, saying that the act infringed on North Korea’s sovereignty and the dignity of the Korean people.
Haeyang 1-ho, a regular container ship, which belongs to the Kooksabong marine corporation, restarted its services from Dandung in China to Nampo airport in North Korea from Aug. 3.
North Korea became an official member of the East Asian Hydrographic Committee under the International Hydrographic Organization.
Im Kyung-man, the Minister from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, paid a visit to Russia on Aug. 13, according to the Central Broadcasting Service.
The North Korean women’s boxing representative team recorded good performances in the third round of Asia Women’s Boxing Cup, which was held in Taiwan from Aug. 6 to 11, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Aug. 17.
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