InternalAffairs
Internal Affairs
o Chairman Kim Jong-il was among the audience of "The Road of a Long March to Military-First," a chorus piece performed by the meritorious armed chorus band. Kim Young-choon and other leaders of the armed forces and the ruling party joined him on the June 29 performance. Chairman Kim praised the efforts of the artists for playing the role of boosting the ideology and indoctrination of military-first politics.
o North Korea held electors' meetings in Pyongyang and at each army, navy and air force units to recommend Kim Jong-il as the candidate for an 11th-term deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly, highlighting the creation of an electoral atmosphere from July.
- North Korea's Central Broadcast reported June 29 the start of organizing election committees at the ward and county levels and Radio Pyongyang reported on the production of posters urging participation in the elections.
o North Korea dismissed Baik Hak-rim from his post as the People's Security minister and appointed Choi Yong-soo to the post July 1. The measure follows recent reshuffle of the chiefs of people's committees in Nampo and Gaeseong with new figures like Li Ho-yeon and Kim Il-geun, respectively.
o On the occasion of the anniversary (June 25, 1950) of the outbreak of the Korean War and the "Month of Anti-U.S. Struggles," North Korea whipped up the population into a frenzy of anti-American rallies. A mass rally by 1 million Pyongyang citizens was followed by similar gatherings in South Pyeong-an, North Hwanghae and Gangwon provinces and at municipal and county levels.
- In addition, a large number of people were mobilized for visits to halls symbolizing anti-Americanism, as well as for anti-U.S. discussions and film presentations.
o North Korea said that factories and enterprises at each sector had completed their plans for the first-half of this year. It said increases were posted in the energy and light industry sectors over a year earlier and decreases in the heavy industry sector.
Relations with South Korea
o North Korea reported in detail about the ground-breaking ceremony June 30 for the construction of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the seventh round reunion of separated families living in North and South Korea. Emphasis placed on the events seemed to show off the resolve to unify the divided country. It also expressed the will to continue inter-Korean cooperative projects on a sustained basis.
- The third meeting of working-level consultations on the connection of the inter-Korean railways and roads discussed ways for a steady implementation of the connection work in Munsan July 2-4. Throughout the meeting period, the participants, especially the Southern delegates, were able to commute by bus everyday, which was never tried before.
o North Korea disclosed a set of regulations concerning the development of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the Mt. Geumgang Tour Zone, as well as those concerning the creation of enterprises in the two areas on June 28. By codifying business procedures, the regulations will serve to enhance the stability of the inter-Korean cooperative projects.
o South Korea's special prosecutor announced on June 25 the result of his investigation into illicit remittances to North Korea. In response, the spokesmen of North Korea's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and the General Federation of Korean Trade Unions, on July 1 and July 3 respectively, expressed concerns about possible damage to the significance of the June 2000 inter-Korean summit meeting and demanded the release from arraignment of the officials responsible for the remittances.
External Affairs
o In a letter to the president of the United Nations Security Council June 26, North Korea's foreign minister Baik Nam-soon tried to highlight the hostile policy of the United States, which he said was aimed at pressuring North Korea. At the same time, he hinted at the possibility of accepting a multilateral forum for talks on the nuclear issue and expressed concern over the possible nullification of the Korean Armistice Agreement.
- In a statement issued by its People's Army's Panmunjom mission July 1, North Korea threatened to retaliate if UN initiated sanctions against it. Alluding to a catastrophe for the South Korean people in case of war, it said it was hardly possible to maintain the Korean Armistice Agreement by the efforts of its forces alone.
* However, North Korea made it clear that it would respond to the U.S. proposal for a meeting concerning the excavation of the remains of American soldiers who died during the Korean War. This move left room for an expanded North Korea-U.S. contact. The move came in an interview the North Korean Central News Agency conducted with the spokesman of the People's Army's Panmunjom mission on July 2.
