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Major Weekly Developments in North Korea (Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2005)

ROK National Intelligence Service

Inside North Korea

The Central Broadcasting Station (Oct. 20) and Central TV (Oct. 21) reported, “Kim Jeong-il, accompanied by KPA Generals Lee Myeong-su, Hyeon Cheol-hae and Pak Jae-gyeong, inspected a women’s unit of the KPA (date unreported), and the command of the KPA’s Large Combined Unit 526 (date unreported).”


The Central Broadcasting Station reported (Oct. 23) in the name of the Central Command of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the DPRK National Defense Commission, “Yeon Hyeong-mook, vice-chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission, died of an incurable disease at 12:10 on Oct. 22 at the age of 73.”


The Pyongyang Broadcasting Service reported (Oct. 23), “With regard to the avian flu sweeping across the Southeast Asian region, projects to prevent the disease are forcefully being carried out on a national scale.”

Outside North Korea

The Central Broadcasting Station reported (Oct. 17), “Bill Richardson, governor of the US state of New Mexico, and his entourage arrived in Pyongyang on Oct. 17.”


In a press interview with the Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 18, a spokesperson for the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs contended, “The US sanctions against North Korea, which are means for exerting pressure on North Korea to accept the abandonment of its nuclear arsenal first, will be regarded as a declaration of war, and in the event the United States continues to cling to its hostile behavior, North Korea will have no choice but to take self-defensive actions.”


The Central Broadcasting Station reported (Oct. 21), “Hu Jintao, president of the People’s Republic of China, will pay an official goodwill visit to the DPRK from Oct. 28-30 by the invitation of Kim Jeong-il.”

Inter-Korean Issues

In an interview with the spokesperson of North Korea’s Asia-Pacific Peace Committee on Oct. 20, he said, “Hyundai’s dismissal of its former chairman Kim Yoon-gyu is a betrayal of trust with North Korea as well as an act of ingratitude toward Kim Jeong-il. We have no choice but to review and amend all joint projects with Hyundai.” (Central Broadcasting Station)


The Pyongyang Broadcasting Service contended (Oct. 22), “If South Korea indeed has the will to implement the June 15 Joint Declaration, it must cease the tour of the underground tunnel, which would represent a severe obstacle to the development of inter-Korean relations, and fill the tunnel itself.”