1. Domestic Affairs
Chairman of the National Defense Commission Kim Jong-il is
actively working in economic & military sectors. He inspected Unit 823 on
June 1 and Unit 156 on June 6, hosted the delegation of the Far Eastern Military
District of the Russian Federal Armed Forces on June 2 and a Korean Russian
Chong Ilsim on June 3. The Chairman Kim also visited Temple Yangchon, an ancient
shila temple in Kowon County, South Hamkyong Province, on June 4, and went to
cooperative farms and mines in the province June 4 and 5. The Chairman also made
on-the-spot instructions at Yongsong Machine Complex and the Hamheung branch of
the Academy of Sciences on June 7.
Central TV aired recordings of the World Cup matches
including the opener between France and Senegal for several days, but did not
disclose the names of its co-hosts South Korea and Japan. It called the World
Cup the 17th world championship.
School children in Pyongyang were admitted to the North
Korean Children's Union marking the 56th anniversary of the union, June 6, on
Mansu Hill.
North Korea seeks to strengthen its cooperation with the
West in the high-tech field, while maintaining its traditional relationship with
Russia and China. It also tries to get more involved in international
communities to grasp the trend of advanced technology, and shows interest in
international industrial standards.
Railway systems have been computerized and normalized,
Pyongyang Broadcasting Station reported June 3, adding that it was a high
priority IT project of North Korea.
2. South Korean Relations
North and South Korea reached agreements on programs of the
June 15 Grand Festival for the National Reunification in their civilian working
contacts from May 31 to June 2. They agreed to hold opening and closing
ceremonies, a joint art performance, traditional Dano folkgames, 6.15 km
marathon, various meetings, and a joint mountain hiking in Mt. Geumgang with 200
delegates each from the South, the North, and overseas. Central Broadcasting Station denounced the South Korean
government's arrest of the chairman of Hanchongryon, a pro-Pyongyang dissident
group, on June 4. "It is an act of betrayal of the Inter-Korean June 15 Joint
Declaration and also a plat against the self-reliant national reunification,"
the station said.
3. External affairs
Germany and Russia offered food in humanitarian aid to North
Korea, Central Broadcasting Station reported June 27. North Korea received 7,000
tons of Russian beef in Nampo port on June 1, while Russian foods and food
materials arrived in the Sopho Youth Railway at Pyongyang on June 6.
The delegation of the Far Eastern Military District of
the Russian Federal Armed Forces (led by Col. Gen. Yuri Yakubov) visited
Pyongyang on May 31. Chairman Kim Jong-il hosted a luncheon reception for them
on June 2. The delegation also met Vice Marshal Kim Il-chul, Minister of
People's Armed Forces, June 1 to 3, Central and Pyongyang broadcasting stations
reported.
Central Broadcasting Station strongly criticized the
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda on Jun 4 of remarking on May 31
that Japan is not legally prohibited from possessing nuclear arms. "His remark
shows the Japanese counter-reactionaries' intention to arm the nation with
nuclear weapons in a bid to become a military power," the station
said. |
