InternalAffairs
Internal Affairs
o Chairman Kim Jong-il, accompanied by generals Li Myeong-su, Hyeon Cheol-hae and Pak Jae-kyeong and Li Yong-cheol, the first vice director of the party's central committee, visited military unit 131, which was honored with Oh Jung Heup's Seventh Regiment Title, according to the North Korean broadcast service on February 25.
- So far this year, Kim's military-related activities numbered nine, or 75 percent of his total public activities. There were three other activities related to the economy and foreign affairs.
o North Korea held an "All Party Ideological Workers' Rally" February 26 at the April 25 House of Culture in the presence of Kim Young-nam, chairman of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly; Yeon Hyeong-muk, vice chairman of the National Defense Commission and Choe Tae-bok, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly.
- Themes of the rally discussed were "Putting the Entire Society under Juche (self-reliance) Ideology" and "Revolutionary Conversion" of the party's ideological projects of the military-first era.
o North Korea held a central report session marking the 40th anniversary of Kim il-sung's announcement of a "theme on agricultural problems of Socialist North Korea" in the presence of Kim Young-nam and party secretary Jeong Ha-cheol on February 24.
o In an interview with monthly Joguk ("fatherland"- March 2004), an organ of Jocheongryeon (the pro-North Korean association of Korean residents in Japan), Li Seong-wook, vice superintendent of North Korea's Academy of Sciences, said North Korea will concentrate on developing sophisticated scientific technologies during the second five-year plan (2003-2007).
o North Korea reported that the 42nd graduation ceremony of Kim Il-sung Broadcasting College was held February 20, where dean Yang Hyeong-seop, who serves as vice chairman of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, made a report, and Seong Ja-rip, president of Kim Il-sung University, delivered a congratulatory speech.
- The report confirmed that Seong had taken up the presidency of the school succeeding Pak Gwan-o, 72.
Relations with South Korea
o With regard to an emergency evacuation exercise for American civilians in South Korea, North Korea described it as a training designed to invade North Korea in a broadcast February 23. It also claimed "Operations Plans 5030 and 5026" were intended to wage a nuclear war of invasion.
o Commenting on the passage February 13 by the South Korean National Assembly of a bill on the additional dispatch of troops to Iraq, North Korean broadcasting stations repeatedly described it as a treasonous act by flunkey quislings and urged South Koreans to wage anti-troop dispatch and anti-American struggles.
External Affairs
o North Korea sent a delegation, led by vice foreign minister Kim Gye-gwan, to the second round six-party talks on its nuclear issue opened in Beijing February 25.
- As of February 26, North Korea's media only reported the delegation's departure briefly without elaborating its position on the meeting and the nuclear issue.
o Through the spokesman of its People's Army's Panmunjom component, North Korea denounced the United States February 20 for misleading public opinions as if America had won a one-sided demand in connection with the North Korea-U.S. meeting on U.S. military remains held in Bangkok February 11-13.
o A four-member European Union parliamentary delegation, headed by Jacques Santer, former president o the European Commission, visited North Korea February 21-24 and met with Prime Minister Pak Bong-ju and Foreign Minister Baik Nam-soon. Ford, one of the delegation members, has visited North Korea eight times, including trips in February and October in 2003.
o A North Korean economic delegation, led by Kim Gwang-rin, chairman of the State Planning Commission, left Pyongyang February 21 for Tripoli to attend the 15th North Korean-Libyan Joint Committee meeting.
