North Korea Weekly (February 16 - February 22, 2009)
ROK National Intelligence Service
[Inside North Korea]
o On February 16, North Korea held a central report rally marking Kim Jong-il’s birthday and hosted a variety of celebratory events around the nation including performances and dancing parties.
o On February19, Kim Jong-il appointed Oh Keuk-ryol (a general of the Korean People’s Army) as the vice chairman of the National Defense Commission in a written decision issued in the name of the chairman of the Commission and the chairman of the Workers’ Party Central Military Committee.
[Outside North Korea]
o On February 16, the Korean Central News Agency reported that "some countries including the US argue that we (North Korea) are preparing to launch a long-range missile. This constitutes a grave provocation against us, and they will have to wait and see what is launched into the sky.”
[Inter-Korean Issues]
o On February 18, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the North Korean People’s Army stated, "South Korea is attempting to find a way out of its current crisis, groundlessly raising an issue with our (North Korean) non-existent nuclear and missile threats and military provocations." He threatened that "the harder the South tries to inspire hostility toward our republic, the harsher it will be punished. The South should not forget that our military is already in an all-out confrontational posture.”
o On February 19, North Korea blamed South Korea and the US for engaging in an annual military drill, claiming that they were "bent on pursuing a military build-up and waging a war of aggression against North Korea.” It also said that "the political and military confrontation between the South and North has reached an extreme and their physical clash is only a matter of time now.”
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