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Weekly on North Korea (Oct 21-27,2005)

ROK Ministry of Unification

Internal Affairs

Chairman Kim Jong-il, accompanied by Chief of the General Staff Kim Young-chun, generals Lee Myung-soo, Hyun Cheol-hae, and Park Jae-kyung gave on-site inspections at the Large Combined Unit 526, according to the Central Broadcasting Station and the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on October 21.

According to the Central Broadcasting Station on October 23, Yon Hyung-muk aged 73 died on October 22 around 12:10 . The national funeral committee headed by Jo Myung-rok was composed of 49 people including Kim Yong-nam, chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly. Chairman Kim Jong-il paid a visit to the bier of Yon on October 23, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on October 24. A state funeral was held for Yon who was buried at the Mausoleum for Patriots and Martyrs (Cemetery), according to the Central Broadcasting Station and the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on October 24.

A memorial concert to commemorate the 10 th anniversary of the death of Yoon I-sang, a South Korean-German composer, was held with the attendance of Shin Gye-ryoon, president of the Yoon I-sang Peace Foundation in South Korea, his family members, German special ambassador to North Korea, and Choi Ik-gyu Minister of the (North Korean) Ministry of Culture at the Yoon I-Sang Musical Hall, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on October 27.

‘The First Pyongyang Autumn International Products Exhibition’ was held with the participation of 100 companies from ten countries including China , Russia , Italy , and Thailand from October 24 to 27 at the Three Revolutionary Exhibition Hall, according to the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on October 24.

Glass produced at the Daean Friendly Glass Factory was supplied to enterprises under the Pyongyang City Transportation Vehicle Association, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on October 23.

Inter-Korean Affairs

The spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland, through his commentary on October 22, called on the U.S. to scrap all war scenarios, claiming that as long as there was a scenario for the U.S. to wage war against North Korea, such as the war plan between U.S. and South Korea called ‘OPLAN 5027-04’, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the guarantee of peace will not be realized, according to the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on October 22.

The spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland, through his commentary on October 25, condemned the 37 th Security Consultative Meeting between South Korea and the U.S. as a military war game to deepen the South’s military subordination to the U.S. , according to the Central Broadcasting Station on October 26.

The Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on October 25 denounced the South Korean authorities, claiming that the South’s purchase of F-15 fighters was an act to strengthen its armed forces in preparation to invade the North and was a criminal act to pose an anti-peace and anti-unification stance against the spirit of the June 15 Joint Declaration.

The spokesman for the Central Committee of the National Front, criticized the Grand National Party, a South Korean opposition party, claiming that the incident regarding South Korean professor Kang Jeong-ku was a manifestation of confrontations between pro-unification forces and anti-unification forces in South Korea , according to the Central Broadcasting Station on October 22. Professor Kang recently expressed his views on the Korean War, which stirred controversies in South Korea .

Foreign Affairs

China ’s President Hu Jintao, at the invitation of Chairman Kim Jong-il, paid an official visit to North Korea from October 28 to 30, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on October 28.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry’s spokesman expressed its discontents concerning the U.S.’ order to abandon North Korea’s nuclear programs based on the principle of the complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement, and the U.S.’ pressure on North Korea’s human rights abuses. However North Korea stated that they would participate in the fifth round of the Six-Party Talks slated for early November, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on October 25.

Around the 55 th anniversary of Chinese army’s participation in the Korean War on October 25, 2005, the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on October 25 reported that the Chinese army’s participation in the Korean War was a sign of friendly relations between North Korea and China, and that the Daean Friendly Glass Factory was a symbol of the relations, emphasizing the continuous development of the relations.

The Central Broadcasting Station on October 26 denounced the Japanese government officials’ visits to the Yasukuni Shrine as an act to commit profanity to the Asian people who are against the revival of Japanese militarism, and as an act to push Japan into a quagmire. The Yasukuni Shrine honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including several Class-A World War II criminals.

North Korea , with regard to women’s issues in the third committee of the 60 th U.N. General Assembly, criticized Japan for the issues of Korean comfort women during Japanese colonial rule and expressed its position against Japan ’s bid to secure a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, according to the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on October 22.