| July
2. | - North Korea holds the 14th
Political Bureau Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the
Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).
･ Assessed the
six-month work to prevent the spread of the malignant virus
and stepped up the state emergency anti-epidemic work; and
considered measures to guarantee human, material, and
technical resources for building Pyongyang General Hospital
and medical services. |
| July
4. | - Choe Son Hui, first
vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, issues a
statement.
･ (Regarding the DPRK-US summit) Is it
possible to hold dialogue or have any dealings with the
U.S., which persists in the hostile policy toward the DPRK
in disregard of the agreements already made at the past
summit?” |
| July 4. | - The South marks the 48th anniversary of
the July 4 South-North Joint Communique.
|
| July 7. | - Kwon Jong
Gun, director-general of the Department of U.S. affairs of
the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issues a statement.
･ “We feel sorry to see it trying so hard to become
the mediator, but it may try as much as it wants if it
cherishes such a strong wish to try it to the end. Time will
show whether its efforts will succeed or only suffer a loss
and ridicule.”
･ “Explicitly speaking once again, we
have no intention of sitting face-to-face with the
U.S.” |
| July 7. | - US President Donald Trump states in his
interview with Gray Television that he is open for another
summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying “I would
do it if I thought it was going to be helpful.”
|
| July 8. |
- The North marks the 26th anniversary of the demise of
President Kim Il Sung.
|
| July
7-9. | - U.S. Deputy Secretary of
State and Special Representative for North Korea Stephen E.
Biegun visits South Korea.
･ “The United States
strongly supports inter-Korean cooperation, and we believe
this plays an important component in creating a more stable
environment on the Korean Peninsula. We look forward to
fully supporting the government of the Republic of Korea as
it advances its goals with North Korea on inter-Korean
cooperation.” (in a briefing after a meeting with his South
Korean counterpart on July 8)
･ “In his meetings,
Deputy Secretary Biegun reaffirmed the strength of the
U.S.-ROK Alliance, U.S. support for inter-Korean
cooperation, and continued U.S. readiness to engage in
dialogue with the DPRK.” (in a press release of the US
Department of State on July 9). |
| July 10. | - Kim Yo Jong,
first vice department director of the Central Committee of
the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), releases a statement.
･ “What is clear, though, is that if the DPRK-US
summit is needed as someone says, it would be needed by the
US side, but there should be a telling on the part of the
DPRK to deeply consider the fact that it is unpractical and
does not serve us at all.”
･ “We do not have the
slightest intention of posing a threat to the US, and
Comrade Chairman has already made it clear to President
Trump. Everything will go smoothly if they leave us alone
and make no provocation against us.”
･ “I would like
to give my impression on the celebrations for the US
Independence Day that I've seen on TV a few days ago. I got
the permission from Comrade Chairman to personally obtain,
for sure, the DVD of the celebrations for Independence Day
in the future, if possible. Comrade Chairman has entrusted
me with conveying his wishes to President Trump that he
would certainly achieve great successes in his work. ”
|
| July 16. | - ROK President Moon Jae-in gives his
speech at the opening of the 21st National Assembly.
･ “Peace is the very foundation of sustainable prosperity.
Peace is also indispensable in our quest to lead a safe life
in the post COVID-19 era. We must not halt our march towards
peace. Dialogue is the only way to build trust between the
two Koreas.”
･ “We will do our best to jointly uphold
the three principles of zero tolerance for war, mutual
security guarantees, and common prosperity that we had
agreed upon with North Korea. If irreversible progress in
inter-Korean relations and peace on the Korean Peninsula can
be guaranteed by the National Assembly, the foundation for
peace-building on the Korean Peninsula will be even much
stronger.”
･ “I earnestly hope that the 21st National
Assembly manages to legally formalize all the outcomes of
previous inter-Korean summits and stage the first-ever
inter-Korean parliamentary meeting.”
･ “When the two
Koreas cooperate in trust, both will benefit. Merely
connecting the railways and roads of South and North Korea
to link them with the continent will make the two Koreas a
logistical hub and bring them enormous economic benefits.
Above all, peace will bring infinite opportunities for new
jobs. If the 21st National Assembly could join forces
together, we will be able to realize an East Asian community
of peace, security, and life with a spring in our
step.” |
| July 18. | - North Korea holds the fifth meeting of
the 7th Central Military Commission of the WPK.
･
“Comrade Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Central Committee of
the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and chairman of the
Central Military Commission of the WPK, presided over the
fifth meeting of the 7th Central Military Commission.”
“There was a closed meeting of the Central Military
Commission of the Party to examine the strategic mission of
the major units for coping with the military situation in
the vicinity of the Korean Peninsula and the potential
military threat and the alert posture and to
discuss the key issues of further bolstering the war
deterrent of the country. The meeting discussed and approved
major key munitions production plan indices.” (reported by
the North Korean media on July 19) |
| July 20. | - The North
Korean media reports that Chairman Kim Jong Un gave field
guidance at the construction site of Pyongyang General
Hospital.
|
| July 25. |
- North Korea convenes an emergency
meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of
the WPK.
･ Adopted a decision on shifting from the
state emergency anti-epidemic system to the maximum
emergency system; and regarding the reentry into the North
of a defector to the South, decided that it would get a
report on the results of an intensive investigation of the
military unit responsible for the defector’s case,
administer a severe punishment, and take necessary
measures. |
| July 26. |
- The North Korean media reports that
an emergency happened in Gaeseong when a person suspected of
having been infected with the vicious virus illegally
crossed the demarcation line into North Korea on July 19,
three years after having defected to the South.
|
| July 27. |
- Today marks the anniversary of the signing of the
Armistice Agreement in 1953.
|
| July 27. | - North Korea
holds the 6th National Conference of War Veterans.
･
“A war for defending our Republic in its cradle and at the
same time the beginning of the Cold War after the second
World War…. the first all-out war between the forces
aspiring after independence and the dominationist forces,
between socialism and capitalism.”
･ “We have
advanced along the road of self-development toward a nuclear
state. Thanks to our reliable and effective nuclear
deterrence, the word ‘war’ would no longer exist in this
land.” |
| July 29. | - ROK President Moon Jae-in awards a
letter of appointment to the new Minister of
Unification.
|
