Weekly on North Korea (Nov. 18-24, 2005)

ROK Ministry of Unification

Internal Affairs

Chairman Kim Jong-il inspected a ?Three Revolutionary Red Flag’ company under the army unit 2023, the army unit 338 and a second infantry division, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Nov. 20 and 24.

The Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly renamed the ?Institute of Science’ the ?National Institute of Science’ on Nov. 23, announcing a government order to call on the Cabinet and related organizations to set up practical follow-up measures, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Nov. 24.

The North Korean ?National Veterinary Epidemic Control Committee’ drew up the regulations on avian influenza epidemic control, standards on activities for emergencies, and efficient and preventive strategies, putting measures for epidemic control into action, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Nov. 18.

North Korea’s third nationwide meeting of mothers was held at the People’s Palace of Culture on Nov. 22 with the participation of Kim Yong-nam, Kim Joong-rin, Park Soon-hui, and a female delegation from Overseas Koreans, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Nov. 22.

The training course on international environments was held where the discussions took place regarding the use of ecological resources and the environments, the purification of water and the use of renewable energy in Pyongyang from Nov. 23 to 24, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Nov. 25.

The nationwide meeting of national prosecutors and judges was held at the People’s Palace of Culture on Nov. 18 with the participation of the related people to the central and local prosecutors and judges, such as Kim Yong-nam, Yang Hyung-seop and Choi Tae-bok, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Nov. 19.

A reporting session on the 60 th anniversary of the establishment of Kim Jong-tae Electronic Locomotive Factory was held with the participation of Ri Yong-sung, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Railways and related figures, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Nov. 22.

Inter-Korean Affairs

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland on Nov. 19, the Chosun (North Korean) Christian Religion Union on Nov. 20, the Chosun Religious Men Association on Nov. 21 and North Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation on Nov. 23, through their spokesmen’s commentaries, denounced the events related to human rights situations in North Korea which the Christian Council of Korea and the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights had plans to hold, criticizing the Grand National Party, the opposition party in South Korea for posing questions on human rights in North Korea, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Nov.20 and Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on Nov. 23.

The investigation into an illegal wiretapping scandal in South Korea was denounced through the statement by a spokesperson from the National Front on Nov. 20, the report by the secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland on Nov. 22 and the commentary by the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on Nov. 23, according to the Central Broadcasting Station and Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on Nov. 20 and 23.

The (North Korean) Union of Agricultural Working People, through its statement on Nov. 21 denounced the opening up of a rice market by the South Korean authorities as a deed to subjugate itself to foreign forces and an anti-national act to make a sacrifice of farmers, according to the Central Broadcasting Station and Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on Nov. 21.

The second video reunion of separated family members was held between two Koreas from Nov. 24 to 25, with a total of 80 families from the two sides participating in the reunion.

The two Koreas held the second working-level contact for joint excavation and return of the remains of Ahn Joong-geun, anti-Japan patriot who had assassinated Ito Hirobumi, the first Japanese resident general and agreed to make a variety of measures to locate the exact burial site of his remains.

Foreign Affairs

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Nov. 21 released a statement condemning the adoption of the resolution on North Korea’s human rights in the third committee of the 60 th general assembly meeting of the U.N on Nov. 17, according to the Central Broadcasting Station and Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on Nov. 21.

Rodong Sinmun, through its comment on Nov. 22, criticized the U.S Department of State for re-designating North Korea as a country of special concern for religious freedom in its report on international religious freedom released on Nov. 8.

The Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on Nov. 20 insisted that the U.S. Treasury Department’s freezing assets of enterprises related to weapons of mass destruction was a violation of the international laws as part of its hostile policy toward North Korea, mentioning that the sanction or blockade on North Korea would be regarded as an act to declare war on North Korea.

The Software Industry General Bureau headed by director general Han Woo-cheol, a delegation from the Earthquake Bureau headed by director general Kang Shin-dong, visited Russia and China respectively on Nov. 24, according to the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station on Nov. 24.

An economic delegation led by Lim Kyung-man, Minister of Foreign Trade toured countries in Latin America such as Cuba, Venezuela and Brazil, retuning to North Korea on Nov. 22, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on Nov. 22.