North Korea Weekly (January 14-20, 2008)
ROK National Intelligence Service
【Inside North Korea】
□ On January 14, the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, “All reporters and editors should produce more news reports, articles and the like that can challenge the era and awaken the people to creativity and great deeds as a way to help press ahead with the all-out crusade to build a powerful economy,” and underlined the importance of the “production of revolutionary publications.”
□ On January 15, the North’s Pyongyang Broadcasting Service (PBS) stated, “January 15 is the anniversary of the creation of Hunminjeongeum, or Hangeul, which is the Korean alphabet that demonstrates the excellence of our nation,” and described how Hunminjeongeum is outstanding, explaining, “Being a scientific writing system created based on an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of each sound as well as its sound-producing organs’ movements, Hunminjeongeum occupies the most distinguished place in the world history of letters.”
□ On January 17, the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) said, “This year marks both the 60th anniversary of the founding of the republic [DPRK] and the 62nd anniversary of the launch of the Kim Il-seong Socialist Youth League.” The KCBS emphasized, “As mentioned in the New Year joint editorial, young adults are the steadfast successors of the party’s feats in the Songun [military-first] revolution as well as the most dynamic battle unit for the building of a socialist nation.”
【Outside North Korea】
□ On January 16, North Korea’s Pyongyang Broadcasting Service (PBS) alleged, “Japan’s pushing ahead with its plan for missile interception tests is an intense expression of its ambition to become a military power and invade foreign nations.” The PBS condemned the move as a “wicked plan to build its own missile defence system, seize military hegemony in Asia, and thereby realize its ambition to reinvade [Asian nations] by actively joining and fully cooperating with the US’s scheme to establish a missile defence system.”
□ On January 16, the North’s Rodong Sinmun ran an editorial titled “Jettison Twisted Ways of Thinking” in which the newspaper claimed that although North Korea is doing all “that it ought to do as per the agreements reached at the six-party talks, (…) the political and economic rewards the US is supposed to provide in accordance with the principle of action for action are significantly delayed.” The editorial accused the US in particular of its dragging feet “even in delisting the DPRK as a sponsor of terrorism and terminating the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act with respect to the Republic.”
□ On January 17, the PBS contended, “The US’s war against terrorism has been serving as a basic strategy to fulfil the current US administration’s anachronistic ambition to conquer the world, but in 2007, the US got bogged down deeper in an inescapable mire as it repeatedly failed in the very war against terrorism.”
□ On January 19, Rondong Sinmun featured an editorial titled “Promise for Nuclear Umbrella Aimed at What?” in which it claimed, “The US tables the issue of the provision of a nuclear umbrella and military support in order to hamper the execution of the October 4 Declaration and to keep the South Korean military authorities on the course laid out by the US.” The editorial went on to criticize, “It is nothing other than the US’s aggressive factions that create tensions and escalate the risk of war on the Korean peninsula.”
【Inter-Korean Issues】
□ On January 14, North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun said, “What is important in developing North-South relations and opening the way to national peace and prosperity is terminating the militarily confrontational relationship between North and South Korea,” and urged, “Let us do away with confrontational mindsets and develop projects for reconciliation, unity and co-prosperity, producing practical gains and from the perspective and position of uriuriminzokkiri, or ‘by our nation itself.’”
□ On January 15, the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) said, “To thoroughly implement the October 4 Declaration in keeping with the spirit of the June 15 Joint Declaration is the most fundamental issue today in achieving the great feat of national reunification,” adding, “Inter-Korean economic cooperation projects should be pursued based on the principles of ensuring mutual interests and co-prosperity as well as of meeting each other’s needs.” The KCBS asserted that such projects “should not be about one party giving special favors or gifts out of kindness, but projects for the balanced development of the national economy as well as co-prosperity and reunification.”
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