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North Korea Weekly (December 1-December 7, 2008)

ROK National Intelligence Service

【Inside North Korea】

o On November 30, the International Broadcasting Service maintained, “Koguryo made Pyongyang its capital because it was a city with a long history that fully met the economic and cultural requirements for a capital.” It also reported, “The city is a meaningful place that witnessed the adoption of the June 15 Inter-Korean Joint Declaration, which will shine brightly forever in the history of the movement for the unification of the fatherland, as well as the Pyongyang Declaration, which represents a great moment in the history of socialist movement.”

o On December 1, the North Korean Central News Agency reported, “At the Central Zoo located on a roughly one-million square meter lot at the foot of beautiful Mount Daeseong, Comrade Kim Jong-il expressed his great satisfaction with the renovation of the zoo carried out over the last few years after fully surveying its condition and operational status based on a birds-eye view of it.”

o On December 2, the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station said, “Workers, laborers and technicians at the February 8 Vinalon United Enterprise are enthusiastically pushing for its second stage of reconstruction.” It went on to say, “The United Enterprise completed 80% of the reconstruction project in the short period of several months by drawing on the collective knowledge of workers and technicians in related units and is now fully pressing ahead with the installation of facilities and equipment.”

o On December 4, the North Korean Central News Agency reported, “Kimchi, a Korean traditional food, contains a large amount of polysaccharides and lignin and is therefore very effective at preventing and treating high blood pressure, hyperlipemia, heart disease and obesity.” According to the agency, “Bioactive materials in red peppers and garlic, ingredients of kimchi, delay the aging of cells, kill off harmful bacteria, relieve pain and enhance immunity.”

【Outside North Korea】

o On December 3, the North Korean Central News Agency reported, “The governments of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Singapore signed an agreement on the promotion and protection of investments in Singapore on December 2.” It said, “On hand at the signing ceremony were the North Korean government’s economic delegation headed by Minister of Foreign Trade Rhee Yong-nam and its Singaporean counterpart, including Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang.”