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North Korea Weekly (July 7-13, 2008)

ROK National Intelligence Service

【Inside North Korea】

o On July 7, North Korean media lauded the leadership and feats of Kim Il-seong on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of his demise, and at the same time stressed, “Let us render devoted service to Chairman Kim Jeong-il, who is ruling [the country] as per the instructions of Comrade Kim Il-seong, who lives on forever.”

o On July 7, the Chosun Sinbo, or the People’s Korea, the organ of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), reported, “The water from Okryu Yaksu, a mineral water spring near Okryu Gwan, a restaurant famous for its Pyongyang naengmyeon [Pyongyang-style cold noodles], not only tastes good but also contains a range of healthy substances that make it a beverage for health and longevity.”

o On July 8, the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) reported, “On the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the demise of Kim Il-seong, Kim Jeong-il paid his respects to the body of Kim Il-seong enshrined at Kumsusan Memorial Palace. He was accompanied by military officers, including chief of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) General Staff Kim Kyok-sik; Minister of the People's Armed Forces Kim Il-chol; and first vice-director of the KPA General Political Department Kim Jong-gak.”

o On July 10, the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, “Kim Jeong-il inspected KPA Unit 895, honored with the title of O Jung-hup’s Seventh Regiment, and expressed his satisfaction with the soldiers’ growing into fighters with the ability to defeat enemies that outnumber them by one hundred times. He also asked them to focus on strengthening training, emphasizing, ‘The foremost revolutionary task of an armed soldier is to train well.’”

【Outside North Korea】

o On July 10, the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, “The US’s conservative hardliners are seriously distorting our sincere efforts [toward the resolution of the nuclear issue as demonstrated in], for example, the detonation of the cooling tower,” and threatened, “What we decide to do will depend on how the US acts.”

o On July 13, the KCNA reported, “In accordance with our [North Korea’s] principle of ‘action for action,’ in parallel with the other five parties [to the six party talks] delivering the economic reward of providing one million tonnes of heavy oil by October, [we] have decided to make efforts to complete the disabling of [our] nuclear programs.”

­ The KCNA also alleged, “At the talks, the execution status of the agreement reached on October 3, 2007 was evaluated, another agreement was reached for the successful conclusion of [the execution of the previous agreement], and a press release was adopted,” and added, “According to the joint statement made on September 19, 2005, aimed at denuclearization of the entire Korean peninsula, an agreement was arrived at to form an organization to validate each party’s execution of its obligations within the framework of the six-party talks.”

【Inter-Korean Issues】

o On July 9, the North Korean cabinet organ Minju Joson argued, “Given that action is the only indicator that confirms the inner intent and attitude of each party to the six party talks, if the US truly hopes for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, it needs to earn our trust through action.”

- The newspaper threatened, “The US’s plan to sell weapons to South Korea is a two-faced subterfuge of talking nicely but acting to the contrary, which will not work with us [North Korea], and is only driving the course of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula to rupture.”