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North Korea Weekly (December 22-December 28, 2008)

ROK National Intelligence Service

【Inside North Korea】

o On December 21, North Korea’s Central Broadcasting Station reported, “This year, iron ore production increased 73% from the previous year and steel production rose 29% compared to the same period of the preceding year.”

- According to the broadcasting company, "The rise in iron ore production is attributed to the maximum increase in the plant utilization rate at Musan Mining United Enterprise as well as development of potentially rich stopes and consistent improvement of production at Eunryul and Jaeryong Mines.”

o On December 23, North Korea held a celebration at the Pyongyang April 25 Cultural Hall to mark the 17th anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s nomination as the supreme commander, with the attendance of major cadres of the Workers’ Party, administration, and military, representatives of each sector of society, as well as workers.

o On December 25, North Korea’s Central Broadcasting Station reported that Chairman Kim Jong-il of the National Defense Commission toured the Cheolima Steelmaking United Enterprise in South Pyeongan Province on the same date, following his visit to Heecheon Pottery Factory in Jagang Province on December 21.

【Outside North Korea】

o On December 22, the Rodong Sinmun contended, "The U.S. is steadily modernizing its nuclear weapons while requesting other nations not to maintain nuclear arsenals." The newspaper declared, "This is raising our people’s alertness."

【Inter-Korean Issues】

o On December 20, Unification News, a weekly North Korean journal, argued that "Conservatives in South Korea are clamoring for re-designation of North Korea as a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ for the purpose of confrontation against and annihilation of North Korea.”

o On December 28, a North Korean website called By Our Nation Itself, or Uriminzokkiri, maintained that "Inter-Korean relations might further deteriorate next year because the South Korean government is in pursuit of a policy of confrontation with North Korea.”

- Uriminzokkiri reported the South Korean Deputy Minister of Unification’s statement at various functions that, “South Korea will strive to smoothly manage inter-Korean ties and flexibly respond to North Korea according to set principles” and argued that the remarks represented "obvious evidence that South Korea will continue anti-unification policies next year.”