InternalAffairs
Internal Affairs
- As the nuclear tension mounted, North Korea continued to tighten "spiritual armament" of its populace by urging them to take part in "central symposiums" designed to reinforce class education. It also sought to buttress ideological indoctrination with the aid of revolutionary military songs.
- North Korea is trying to highlight the February 1932 Namhodu Meeting, which is said to be one of Kim il-sung's anti-Japanese activities. It is also planning to hold "enthusiasts meeting" to compete for the title of "Oh jung-heup's Seventh Regiment," which symbolizes the spirit to protect the Leader till death.
- In an effort to increase grain production, North Korea tried to promote the twice-a-year harvests by reporting that springtime barley planting was in full swing in South Hwanghae Province and other provincial areas.
- It tried to encourage production desires of the masses by highlighting the exemplary factories and enterprises when it awarded 202 factories and enterprises with the circulating "joint-winner flags."
- North Korea emphasized the importance of modernizing the information and technology industry and other sophisticated industrial sectors. It said that personnel were being trained and various computer programs were being developed at the Pyongyang Information Center and training institutes.
- It also said that a Nano-science and technology presentation will be held for the first time in March. It also added that the communications bureau of South Hamgyeong Province was actively pursuing construction of a cell-phone relay station.
- It exhorted the people to redouble the efforts, saying that production goals are being over-achieved in the forestry, coal, electricity and other economic sectors.
Relations with South Korea
- The Rodong Sinmun and other North Korean media organs carried brief factual reports on the inauguration of the 16th president of South Korea. The reports, made without commentaries, were unusual, and seemed to indicate North Korea's expectations toward the new South Korean government.
- The newspaper Joseon Sinbo said on February 27 that North Korea's reports on the presidential inauguration was significant in that North Koreans was expecting the promotion of mutual assistance between the peoples on either side of the border and South Korea's independent postures in the Seoul-Washington relationship.
- North Korea seemed to emphasize the creation of favorable conditions for the development of inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation when it reported instantly the visit of South Korea's advance party. The team made the trip to the North over a temporary road along the Seoul-Sinuiju Railway, to check out details for the development of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
- North Korea fired a short-range surface-to-ship missile on February 24. Attention is being drawn as to whether there will be additional firings.
External Affairs
- A foreign ministry spokesman in a statement dated February 25 criticized the recent South Korea-U.S. military exercises, saying that it constituted "war exercises aimed at honing preemptive attack on North Korea or for invasion." Pyongyang made its position clear, saying that it would strike back any attacks on it with even stronger counterattacks.
- North Korea reported without commentaries the US decision to provide it with 100,000 tons of grain. However, unlike the past practices of expressing gratitude for the assistance, it tried to imply that the assistance was the result of its own efforts vis-a-vis the United States.
- While attending the nonaligned summit Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Kim Young-nam explained the background of North Korea's withdrawal from the Non-nuclear Proliferation Treaty to Other participating nations, including Indonesia's.
