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North Korea Weekly (Feb. 25-Mar. 2, 2008)

ROK National Intelligence Service

【Inside North Korea】

o On February 27, the North Korean News Service (KNS) reported, “The [North] Korean Central History Museum is hosting a traditional handicrafts exhibition featuring a variety of arts and crafts from the Joseon Dynasty [a dynasty of the Korean peninsula from 1392–1910], that began on February 12 and will run until March 15.” The KNS explained, “During the Joseon dynasty, the Korean nation produced numerous cultural treasures in a range of areas, including the sciences, technology and culture, for example, Hunminjeongeum [more often called Hangeul, the Korean writing system] and Cheugugi [a rain gauge], to name a few. Among these, Baekja [the dynasty’s unique style of white ceramics] is of outstanding beauty and heavily influenced neighboring countries.”

o On February 28, the North Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said, “A technology for using a reactive additive in the cultivation of tree oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) is spreading widely in North Korea.” The KCNA added, “In growing tree oyster mushrooms, co-op farms inoculate in a cold bed of rice straw mushroom hyphae produced through fermentation.”

【Outside North Korea】

o On February 25, North Korea’s Central TV reported, “The New York Philharmonic Orchestra of the US arrived in Pyongyang today,” adding, “At the airport, the orchestra was welcomed by Vice Minister of Culture and Chair of the Korean Association for Art Exchange Song Sok-hwan and Chief of the State Symphony Orchestra Kim Yon-gyu.”

o On February 25, the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, “The US fired a missile into the sky over the Northern Pacific to shoot down a spy satellite on February 20,” adding, “Observers labelled the missile launch an [anti-satellite] test that rounded off a stage in the development of a missile defence system.” The KCNA denounced the interception, saying, “This bold move on the part of the US amounts to an abandonment of the Outer Space Treaty stemming from its outdated Cold War era mindset.”

o On February 26, Central TV aired a 105-minute live broadcast of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance taking place at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater. Central TV also reported that in a press conference at Yanggakdo International Hotel, President Zarin Mehta of the US orchestra said that he was pleased the orchestra’s visit to Pyongyang was a success and he hoped the performance would help develop relations between the two countries.

o On February 27, the North’s Pyongyang Broadcasting Service (PBS) stated, “On February 27, 1876, or the same day 132 years ago, Japanese intruders forged the Ganghwado Treaty by threatening and intimidating corrupt and incompetent feudalistic politicians of the Joseon Dynasty.” The PBS criticized Japan’s aggressiveness by arguing, “The treaty was a robbery-like intrusive treaty entered into by putting pressure on the feudal government of the Joseon Dynasty with the intent to infringe on the sovereignty of the Korean nation and thereby force it into slavery by means of armed threats and menacing.”

o On February 28, the PBS contended, “The anti-DPRK policy of the US, which has been rampaging, obsessed with its ambition to govern the Korean peninsula and wielding the baton of nuclear weapons for more than half a century since it first brought them into South Korea, persists today in the June 15 Reunification Era.” The PBS went on to blast the US by saying, “As war mongers of the US, South Korea and Japan join forces to execute joint military drills under a variety names such as Foal Eagle and Ulchi Focus Lens every year, fiery clouds of nuclear war are looming larger over the Korean peninsula each passing year.”

【Inter-Korean Issues】

o On February 26, the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) quoted a press release from the North Korea Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland as saying, “Warring forces in the US and South Korea exchanged a memorandum of understanding to rename the South Korea-US Combined Marine Forces Command (CMFC) the Combined Marine Forces Component Command (CMCC), bringing with it an upgraded role.” The KCBS added, “While the CMFC had a supportive and assistive role, the expanded functions of the CMCC will allow it to engage in operations and battles,” and condemned the move by alleging, “Their maneuvers to trigger a war on North Korea have reached a very dangerous stage.”