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Major Weekly Developments in North Korea (Jan. 31 - Feb. 6, 2005)

ROK National Intelligence Service

Inside North Korea

At the “Military-First Revolution Grand Parade Rally” (Feb. 2 – 3) held at the April 25 Cultural Hall and attended by leading figures of the Worker’s Party of Korea, the state and the military, Kim Jeong-il, accompanied by Kim Yeong-nam, Cho Myeong-rok and Park Bong-ju, met with rally participants and offered them congratulations (date and venue not reported). (Feb. 2, Feb. 5, Central Broadcasting Station)

Quoting a Nodong Shinmun editorial titled “Let us March Forward with the Military-First Revolution With the Entire Party, Military and People United,” the Pyongyang Broadcasting Service urged (Feb. 2) the “creation of a brilliant history of victory for the military-first revolution by pursuing the single path of advancing the military-first revolution while all of us stand united under Kim Jeong-il.”

The Central Broadcasting Station reported (Feb. 5) that the Workers’ Conference for the Environmental Protection of the Fatherland was held on Feb. 2, with Prime Minister Park Bong-ju and Party Secretary Chung Ha-cheol in attendance, where the importance of protecting the nation’s land from flood damage was emphasized.

Outside North Korea

The Pyongyang Broadcasting Service lashed out at the US (Feb. 4), saying, “the fact that US President Bush, who uttered the words ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty’ over 40 times in his inaugural address, had the citizens who were shouting anti-Bush slogans removed as soon as he left the podium, is a prelude to the politics of freedom in the Bush style.”

The Pyongyang Broadcasting Service said, “We [the DPRK] will unearth all the crimes toward Joseon perpetuated by Japan in the past hundred years and expose them without reserve.” It further condemned Japanese imperialists, stating that “they illegally engaged in military occupation of the Korean peninsula by manipulating the Eulsa Treaty [which deprived Korea of diplomatic rights in 1905] and implemented harsh colonial fascist rule for over four decades.”

Quoting the Defense News, the US newsweekly focusing on defense, Nodong Shinmun reported that “the US is drawing up various anti-terrorism scenarios and scenarios for the collapse of governments possessing nuclear power, and the scenario fort the collapse of regimes having nuclear power specifically targets us [the DPRK].” (Feb. 2, Pyongyang Broadcasting Service)

Inter-Korean Issues

With regard to the annual “Military Unit Severe Cold Tactical Training” conducted by the Capital Defense Command of the Republic of Korea, the Pyongyang Broadcasting Service lashed out (Feb. 1), saying that the “pro-war inclined military powers of South Korea are inciting an atmosphere of confrontation and clinging to wartime maneuvers.”

The Pyongyang Broadcasting Service announced (Feb. 3) that “fostering national independence, reunification and patriotism and firmly realizing the anti-war peace strategy are important means for safeguarding the peace on the Korean peninsula.”

The Pyongyang Broadcasting Service asserted in an interview program (Feb. 6) that “the youths and students of South Korea, combining forces with Hanchongryeon [a left-wing student organization] will forcefully ignite the struggle for the dismantling of the Grand National Party [Hannara], the abolition of the Security Act and the withdrawal of US forces.”