1. Domestic Affairs
1. Domestic Affairs
- Chairman Kim Jong-il urged the military and economic sectors to do their
part during on-site guidance visits to the Army Unit 323 and its subordinate
squad on December 18, the waterway between Gaecheon and Taeseongho, the Naenam
Collective Farm, and a cattle-breeding farm in the Ungok area.
- North Korea attempted to inspire allegiance to Kim Jong-il and his mother,
Kim Jeong-sook, by staging a "vowing rally" by members of the General
Federation of Trade Unions and other events. The occasion was to mark the 11th
anniversary of Kim Jong-il's inauguration as the republic's commander-in-chief
and the 85th birthday of Kim Jeong-sook, as well.
- The Ministry of the People's Armed Forces held on December 18 a research-debate
meeting on "Kim Jong-il's achievement in leading the military-first drive."
- Each North Korean province held a meeting of "youth pioneers in good
morals in the military-first era" to urge the people to exhibit the "spirit
of guns-bombs" and the "spirit of self-explosion" and to stand
as the vanguard for the construction of socialism.
- North Korea held the first national exhibition and presentation of agricultural
science technology performance and introduced seed improvement, mechanization
and performance in the livestock sector.
- The army also mobilized soldiers to construct a modern eel cultivating
farm.
2. Relations with South Korea
- North and South Korea laid the foundation for the construction of the Gaeseong
Industrial Complex and overland route to Mt. Geumgang, when officials from the
two sides agreed on the South's provision of materials and equipment for the
Seoul-Sinuiju and East Sea railway and road connection works and on opening
to traffic temporary roads running along the two trans-border railways. The
agreement was made December 15-17 at Mt. Geumgang during the third meeting of
officials concerned with the cross-border traffic.
- The two Koreas held their second Red Cross meeting in Mt. Geumgang December
15-17 to discuss further reunion of separated families and establishment of
permanent reunion centers for the displaced kin. As the North side was resistant
to the South side's demand for further reunions, though eager to establish reunion
centers, the two sides will handle the reunion matter at the next meeting, which
has not yet been scheduled.
- In the name of an economic delegation, North Korea issued statements, one
after another, instigating an "anti-U.S. holy war," as it ascribed
lack of progress in the first inter-Korean working-level consultative meeting
on an economic cooperation system to the pressure allegedly applied by the United
States.
- North Korea apparently hoped for a reduced opposition inside South Korea
to its December 12 foreign ministry statement on its lifting of the nuclear
development freeze with a comment three days later by the spokesman of its Committee
for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland that the move posed no threat
to the South.
3. External Affairs
- North Korea strengthened pressure on the United States to agree to reopening
dialogue with it by showing its will to restart its nuclear installations when
its director in charge of atomic energy wrote to the director general of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), demanding that seals and surveillance
cameras be removed from the facilities.
- In connection with the capture by the United States of the North Korean
freighter So San, North Korea, through its media organizations, accused the
United States of breaching the international law and practices and demanded
apologies and compensation.
- North Korea's ruling Workers Party organ, Rodong Sinmun, made an issue
on December 19 out of the recent joint Korea-U.S. statement issued after the
Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting and maintained that Pyongyang had no
intention of begging dialogue with the United States.
- North Korea made it plain it rejects "politically-motivated"
humanitarian support, saying the United States was trying to gain concessions
from it by providing conditional food support. The statement, made by the spokesman
of the foreign ministry, was carried by the Korean Central News Agency on December
16.
- Cambodia's foreign minister and an economic delegation from the Iranian
government visited North Korea, respectively.
