InternalAffairs
Internal Affairs
o Chairman Kim Jong-il visited an army corps headquarters located on the western front, according to the Central Broadcasting Station on June 13 and watched a performance by Wangjaesan Light Music Troupe, according to the Central Broadcasting Station and its television service on June 20.
o On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong-il's first KWP activities (June 19, 1964), North Korea held a central report session at the April 15 House of Culture on June 19, which was attended by key figures from the party, military and the administration. The reporter was Choe Tae-bok.
- In the run-up to the anniversary, a variety of commemorative events, including rallies paying allegiance to Kim as well as showings of film, have taken place in and out of North Korea since May 21 to stir up a festive atmosphere.
o On the occasion of the 54th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, North Korea staged a mass rally attended by one million people as well as anti-American demonstrations in Pyongyang. Each organization including the General Federation of Korean Trade Unions held separate meetings to denounce and swear revenge against the United States.
- Through the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry and an editorial of the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea urged not only the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Korea but also anti-American struggles.
o North Korea held a ceremony on June 19 to open the operations of the Daepyeong Youth Power Station dedicated in Singye County.
o On the occasion of the Dano Festival on June 22, North Korea held the second National TV Ssirum (Korean traditional wrestling) Competition for Big Bull Prize, Yut games (Korean traditional board game), agricultural music and dance events and food tasting sessions.
o North Korea held an international seminar on potatoes in Pyongyang on June 16-18, which was attended by delegates from Switzerland, Russia, Canada, the Netherlands and the International Potato Center (CIP) as well as by the Swiss envoy stationed in North Korea and officials from the CIP.
Relations with South Korea
o Quoting a report from Seoul-based MBC, North Korea said through its Central Broadcasting Station on June 24 that the South Korean government reconfirmed its decision to additionally send troops to Iraq despite abduction of a Korean civilian in Iraq. The Pyongyang media said the move would prompt a wave of denunciations from all walks of life.
External Affairs
o North Korea broadcast on June 19 about the departures of two delegations abroad: a government trade delegation to Malaysia and Thailand led by Trade Minister Im Gyeong-man and a Supreme People's Assembly delegation to Poland and Bulgaria headed by Assembly member Hong Seo-hern.
o In connection with the United States' release on June 14 of a "Report on Human Trafficking," the North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said that designating North Korea as a source of human trafficking was a fabrication, pointing to the United States as such a source. The spokesman, quoted by the Central Broadcasting Station, said human trafficking was essentially out of the question in a socialist system like North Korea's.
o North Korea concluded a protocol on scientific cooperation 2005-2007 with the Russian Academy of Sciences on June 18 in Moscow.
o An international bus service was launched on June 21 between Pyongyang and Donggan, according to the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the same day. Operators of the service are Ullim Forwarding Joint Venture Co. of North Korea and the China International Travel Agency in Dandong.
o On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the death (July 8) of Kim Il-sung, Poland and four other foreign countries formed "Preparatory Committees for Reminiscences," selected Committee chairpersons, and held speeches to mark Kim's greatness, according to the KCNA on June 19.
o The Central Television Station's report on June 15 that Forestry Minister Seok Gun-su was among the dignitaries who had watched the National Distinguished Military Choir's performance on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the first party activities by Chairman Kim Jong-il served as a confirmation that Li Sang-mu, 62, had been replaced by Seok Gun-su as the Forestry Minister.
