Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

North Korea Weekly (May 25 - 31, 2009)

ROK National Intelligence Service

[ Inside North Korea ]

o On May 25, North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency reported, “Another underground nuclear test was successfully implemented.”

[ Outside North Korea ]

o On May 26, North Korea underscored the legitimacy of its nuclear tests and its position in favor of Pyongyang-Washington dialogue in a Chosun Shinbo commentary on its second nuclear test. In a statement issued by the spokesperson of its Foreign Ministry, North Korea threatened that it would take self-defense actions and scrap the Armistice Agreement in the event of sanctions by the US Security Council.

[ Inter-Korean Issues ]

o On May 25, North Korea sent South Korea a telegraphic condolence in the name of Kim Jong-il in connection with the death of former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.

o On May 27, North Korea lashed out at South Korea’s declaration to fully participate in the PSI, in a statement by its military representative to the truce village of Panmunjeom, denouncing it as a declaration of war. North Korea said that it would respond militarily to South Korea’s crackdown on North Korean vessels, posing a threat to safety on South Korea’s five islands near the western sea border.