1. Domestic Affairs
Chairman of the National Defense Commission Kim Jong-il sent
the letters of appreciation and necessary equipment to economic entities and
educational institutions in an apparent bid to boost the public morale and
productivity.
Educational equipment was delivered to Kim Il-sung
University (May 12), a Sinuiju cosmetics factory, and the institute of Computer
Science at the Academy of Sciences (May 13), and Institutions maintaining
Sinhung County-based revolutionary sites (May 15).
Land plotting projects were launched in Pyongan Province
and two cities of Pyongyang and Nampo (May 16, Central Broadcasting Station)
Land plotting projects were initiated in July, 1998 under
Kim's instructions to secure larger farming land and improve productivity in
line with the national land development plans.
Ri Song-hui won the first place in her weight category in
the first Asian Weightlifting Masters Championships in Qatar (May 14, Central
Broadcasting Station)
North Korea developed seed antiseptics from wasted
anthracite coal (May 12, Central Broadcasting Station)
A power plant was under construction near Junggang
County, Province County (May 15, Central Broadcasting Station)
2. South Korean Relations
Kim hosted a dinner reception for a visiting South
Korean Rep. Park Geun-hye as a quasi-state guest (May 13).
- This meeting
between North and South Korean politicians is attributed to Kim's benevolent
policy to seek the national solidarity, (May 12 at the banquet hosted by the
Council for National Reconciliation) A group of South Korean residents from cheju Island
visited North Korea at the invitation of the Council for National Reconciliation
from May 10 to 15.
A spokesman for the Council for National Reconciliation
issued a statement condemning the South Korean government for the cancellation
of a working contact scheduled to be held at a hotel near Mt. Geumgang from May
14 and 15 (May 17)
- The statement said that the contact was scrapped not
because North Korea did not send its letters of invitation for the meeting, but
the South Korean Ministry of Unification disapprove the North Korean invitations
that were sent through the National Alliance for the Country's
Reunification.
3. External affairs
A Lao government delegation (led by Prime Minister
Boungnang Vorachith) paid an official friendly visit to North Korea (May 11 to
14).
Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers'
Party, denounced the plans of the United States to send one of its aircraft
carriers to the largest South Korean port of Pusan and fly a surveillance
airplane over the South Korean airspace during the World Cup soccer
championships. (May 12)
- Under the pretext of security guarantee, the
United States is moving its large aggressive forces forward to strengthen its
military presence," the newspaper commented.
Rodong Sinmun also denounced Japanese Prime Minister
Koizumi's remarks on his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine where the Japanese war
dead were enshrined. It called them a pitiful excuse. Koizumi said that he hoped
for his visit there not to affect Japanese friendly ties with Asian neighbors.
(May 13)
Pak Kil-yon, North Korean ambassador to the United
Nations, emphasized children-oriented policy and international cooperation in
his speech to the U.N. Children Summit on May 9 (May 16, Central and Pyongyang
broadcasting stations)
North Korea exchanged scientists and engineers with
Germany, China and Malaysia to strengthen international cooperation in science
and technology. (May 11 to 15, Central and Pyongyang broadcasting stations)
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