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North Korea Weekly (April 7-13, 2008)

ROK National Intelligence Service

【Inside North Korea】

o On April 9, North Korea’s Central TV said, “Under the Songun [military-first] leadership of the Workers’ Party of [North] Korea (WPK), the great undertaking of building a great and powerful nation has reached a new historic stage. At this dynamic time, the sixth session of the 11th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) convened at Mansudae Assembly Hall.” The Central TV added, “At the meeting, attended by officials of the party, the army, state bodies and social organizations, cabinet tasks were reported, state budget execution for Juche year 96 (A.D. 2007) was reviewed, and the state budget for Juche year 97 (A.D. 2008) was unanimously approved.”

o On April 9, the North’s Pyongyang Broadcasting Service (PBS) reported, “Officials and workers at the Yonbaek Saltern have begun to churn out this year’s first batches of fresh salt to please the palates of many people.” The PBS said, “In this meaningful year of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the republic [the DPRK], since beginning the year with dedication to producing more salt, workers at the salt works have pressed ahead with exemplary efforts to prepare for production.”

o On April 10, the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) said, “Today Pyongyang saw the grand opening of the first National Art Festival of the Day of the Sun, which represents the [people’s] desire to eternally enshrine and exalt Comrade Kim Il-seong.” The KCBS went on, “Posted in front of the People’s Palace of Culture, where the opening ceremony took place, were numerous messages, prints of the festival’s logo, and propagandist pictures, and festival flags were hoisted high.”

【Outside North Korea】

o On April 7, the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) stated, “It was recently discovered that the US had shipped nuclear warhead fuses to Taiwan.” The KCBS claimed, “The shipment was not a mistake, but was intentional on the part of the US, which hopes to arm Taiwan with nuclear components to keep China in check and thereby ultimately secure a military advantage and a hegemonic position in the Asia-Pacific region.”

o On April 10, North Korea’s Central TV said, “On April 9, a DPRK-US meeting was held in Singapore,” adding, “Issues regarding the implementation of the October 3 Agreement of the six party talks were discussed, and agreements were reached on the issue of the disclosure of the DPRK’s nuclear programs as well as the US’s political compensation, which are critical to the complete implementation of the Agreement.” The Central TV contended, “We [North Korea] will keep a close eye on how the other countries participating in the six party talks will implement their obligations.”

【Inter-Korean Issues】

o On April 7, North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun stated, “The South Korean government’s position that we [North Korea] should abandon our nuclear ambitions first is tantamount to a declaration of confrontation and war and has created an obstacle in North-South relations and to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” blasting, “The unwise remark of the South Korean government that North Korea should first abandon its nuclear program is an expression of the South Korean government’s malevolent desire to use the nuclear issue to break all agreements made between North and South Korea and revert North-South relations to a fascist dictatorship era.” The newspaper threatened, “Destruction is all that is in store for those who turn a cold shoulder to their own nation and dance to the beat of foreign forces.”