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1. Domestic Affairs
o Chairman Kim Jong-Il embarked on his tour of industrial facilities in the Far Eastern regions of Russia on August 20. He held a summit meeting with President Putin on August 23, discussing issues concerning economic cooperation and coordination of the two countries' respective positions towards the U.S.
- North Korean media painted the visit as a watershed point in the development of bilateral friendly relations, while extensively analyzing the ripple effects of the visit to emphasize single-hearted unity around Kim Jong-Il.
o A meeting was held to mark the 40th anniversary of Kim Jong-Il's provision of guidance to military campers at Oun-dong. To promote ideological armament of youth, North Korean media covered activities to commemorate the occasion, including the march of young people and students in Pyongyang and the visit of some 7.1 million people from home and abroad to the Oun-dong camp site.
o North Korean media underscored the success of the Pyongyang International Boxing Tournament (August 15-19), the seventh international tournament held in Pyongyang this year, to boost the morale of the people.
o To mark the first anniversary of Kim Jong-Il's provision of on-site guidance to the Ranam Coal Mining Machine Complex, a meeting was held at the factory site on August 18. During the meeting, workers were encouraged to wholeheartedly apply themselves to restoring production to a normal level through the implementation of the latest economic initiatives and scientific and technological advances.
o North Korean media reported on the progress made towards the construction of some 290 small and medium-sized power plants in South Hamgyong Province. Other regions were urged to double their efforts to increase the supply of power, which is indispensable to achieve the regional economic revitalization required in the latest economic initiatives of the state.
2. South Korean Relations
o In providing relatively prompt coverage of the August 15 National Unification Meeting held from August 15 to 16, North Korean media reported on the nine sectoral track meetings, and the development and the results of a forum on the disputed Dokdo Island, claimed both by the Japanese and the South Koreans. The overall tone of the reports was hope for acceleration of unification efforts.
o North Korea kept up its daily attack on the Ulji Focus Lens military training exercise (August 19-31) using diverse channels such as a press briefing by a Foreign Ministry spokesperson and the issuing of statements by the Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland. It was warned that the training exercise would adversely impact the implementation of the agreements of the recent inter-Korean ministerial talks.
- While the attacks have increased in number over the previous years, their intensity have been moderated somewhat, with lower levels of announcement channels used and greater focus on anti-U.S. criticism.
In a meeting held to mark the 10th anniversary of the unification-related efforts of Kim Il-Sung, the Ulji Focus Lens military training exercise was attacked, and the South urged to halt collaboration with foreign forces.
o In a highly unusual move, Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Korea Workers' Party, underscored the implementing of the agreements of the 7th round of inter-Korean ministerial talks on August 17, while calling on the South to renounce military training and seek collaboration with its compatriots.
- Meanwhile, working-level meetings for the Busan Asian Games and for a South-North football friendly were held from August 17 to 19.
3. External Affairs
o DPRK-Japan Red Cross talks were held in Pyongyang from August 18 to 19. The talks ended with the announcement of a 4-point Joint Press Release, which contained agreements on the fourth hometown visits of Japanese women married to North Korean men. In demonstration of their greater willingness to cooperate, North Korea announced the results of efforts to locate six missing Japanese persons to the Japanese authorities.
o The minutes of talks on agricultural and forestry cooperation between North Korea and the Amur regional administration of Russia were approved on August 16, shortly before Kim Jong-Il's scheduled visit to Russia, laying the groundwork for economic cooperation with the region.
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