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North Korea Weekly (Apr. 16 - 22, 2007)

ROK National Intelligence Service

o Inside North Korea

(Apr. 17) The North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, “Theaters in Pyongyang, including the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre, Pyongyang Grand Theatre and Pyongyang Circus Theatre, hosted a joint performance of the 25th April Spring Friendship Art Festival on April 16, with executives and officers of the Party, Cabinet and Army attending, among others.

(Apr. 18) The North’s KCNA said, “With Kim Yong-il, premier of the [DPRK] Cabinet, and other cabinet members present, an expanded meeting of the Cabinet plenary session was held [date N/A] in order to: 1) review the results of 2006 budget execution, and discuss this year’s state budget execution plans that were adopted as an ordinance in the 5th session of the 11th Supreme People’s Assembly [of the DPRK]; and 2) review the Q1 implementation results of the People’s Economic Plans and discuss how to implement the People’s Economic Plans in Q2, both of which aim at the thorough performance of the combatant tasks put forward in this year’s joint editorial [published by leading DPRK newspapers, including Rodong Shinmun, at the start of the year].

(Apr. 21) The KCNA reported, “Kim Jeong-il, accompanied by Kim Kyok-sik, chief of general staff of the Korean People’s Army, as well as Generals Kim Yun-shim, Ri Myong-su and Hyun Chol-hae and First Vice Department Directors of the WPK Central Committee Ri Yong-chol and Ri Jae-il, inspected KPA Navy Unit 790 and KPA Unit 1637 and ordered the strengthening of their combat capacity.

(Apr. 21) The North Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported, “As a blast [powerful enough to clear] 40,000 m3 [of earth and rock] was successfully carried out at the construction site of the Orangchon Power Station on April 20, construction of the power plant is expected to be completed ahead of schedule.”

o Outside North Korea

(Apr. 17) The North Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) said, “On April 16, Kim Jeong-il sent a congratulatory telegram to Syrian President [Bashar] Al-Assad on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of [Syrian] independence.”

(Apr. 19) The North’s KCBS reported, “A Foreign Ministry delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il departed from Pyongyang on April 19.”

(Apr. 19) North Korea’s Rodong Shinmun contended in a commentary, “The reason Japan is tenaciously raising such issues as kidnappings that have no bearing on the six-party talks is that it harbors a secret intention to obstruct the implementation of the February 13 Agreement, and further, to thwart the six-party talks.”

(Apr. 21) The North Korean media, including the Korean Central News Agency, reported, “The delegation from the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China (chief delegate: Vice Minister Liu Hongcai; arrived in the DPRK on April 17) returned home, and a delegation from the Syrian Foreign Ministry (chief delegate: Deputy Minister Ahmad Arnous) arrived in Pyongyang on April 21.”

o Inter-Korean Issues

(Apr. 18) The North’s Pyongyang Broadcasting Service made the inflammatory comment, “The US should put an end to its anachronistic forceful occupation of South Korea and withdraw its invading troops, and until the day the criminal US troops pull out, [we] will press ahead with an intense anti-US struggle.”

(Apr. 18) North Korea’s Rodong Shinmun propagandized, “Kim Jeong-il’s five-point policy of great unity for the entire nation has been giving vitality to transforming the North-South relations of distrust and confrontation into a relationship of reconciliation and unification as well as to the entire nation joining forces to pave the way for unification.”

(Apr. 22) North Korea’s Central Broadcasting Station reported, “As per the agreement reached at the 20th North-South ministerial talks, the 13th meeting of the North-South Committee for the Promotion of Economic Cooperation was held in Pyongyang from April 18 to 22, at which [the two parties] agreed to proceed with the pilot operation of trains on the railway lines linking the North and South along the eastern and western coastlines (May 17), among other items.”