InternalAffairs
Internal Affairs
o On the occasion of the 110th birthday (July 10) of the late Kim Hyeong-jik (Kim Jong-il's grandfather), North Korea held a central report session at the People's Palace of Culture July 9 with key functionaries from the party and the government attending.
o On the occasion of the 110th birthday of Kim Hyeong-jik, North Korea highlighted the ''ideology of Jiwon'' by media reporting, publishing his biography and making public a collection of his poems.
- The ideology of Jiwon refers to Kim's revolutionary ideology. The word Jiwon means that the people must fight any obstacle undauntedly for the cause of independence and that the great task of revolution must be inherited to the next generation if it was not realized in the present generation.
c. Around the end of June, North Korea reported that factories and enterprises in every sector had completed their "plans for the first half of the year."
o Pyongyang's Korea Computer Center set up its homepage dubbed ''Naenara (My Country)'' in June and began to provide data on the information industry, tourism and trade, according to the July edition of the monthly Joseon.
o In accordance with a decree issued by the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, Choi Ryeong-su was dismissed from his post of minister of security July 9 and general Ju Sang-seong was appointed to the post.
o Some 30 Goryeo-era relics were excavated recently in the Gaeseong area. They included stone statue of standing Buddha, a three-story round-shape stone pagoda, carved stones in the Daeheung Fortress, Goryeo celadon and bronze bowls.
- North Korea's trade with China reached $127.3 million in May, up 110.3 percent from a year earlier. Exports amounted to $23.5 million, down 6.1 percent from May 2003, and imports totaled $103.8 million, a surge of 192.3 percent.
h. North Korea held a report session July 12 to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of a branch of the Academy of Light Industries, according to Korean Central News Agency the same day.
I. The Pyongyang College of Foreign Languages is recently concentrating on fostering experts in 21 foreign languages to meet the needs of various sectors including politics, the economy and culture, according to the newspaper Joseon Sinbo July 13.
Relations with South Korea
o North Korea denounced South Korean authorities for their decision not to allow a private-sector delegation to visit Pyongyang on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the death of Kim Il-sung, describing it as an immoral act. The denunciation was aired in the form of a statement July 8 of the spokesman of the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland and a statement a day later of the spokesman of the (North) Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation.
o South and North Korea held the 10th round of inter-Korean reunion of separated families in Mt. Geumgang, on two occasions, first, July 11-13 and then July 14-16.
- North Korea reported that the reunion has renewed hopes for an end to the continuing tragedy of the separated families and relatives. It said the tragedy could be ended through mutual assistance between the people of the North and the South and by their dedication to the cause of patriotic missions of unity of the people and unification of the country.
External Affairs
o Concerning its nuclear issue, the spokesman of North Korea's foreign ministry said there existed wrong opinions in some quarters of the international community about the extent of nuclear freeze and verification methods, according to the Korean Central News Agency July 14.
- Reiterating its position that peaceful nuclear activities based on national sovereignty are feasible, North Korea claimed that verification following nuclear freeze should not be about the investigation of suspected areas but about the monitoring of the freeze.
o A military delegation led by Kim Il-chol, Minister of People's Armed Forces, visited China July 12-14.
- The delegation met with Cao Gangchuan, China's defense minister, on July 12, and vice premier Wu Bang Guo and other Chinese leaders on July 13, renewed traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries and exchanged views on matters of mutual concern.
o North Korea said through its commentary carried by the Rodong Sinmun on July 15 that reduction and redeployment of U.S. forces in Korea was a military step aimed at strangling North Korea with a qualitative superiority of troops.
