ID :
210146
Thu, 09/29/2011 - 07:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/210146
The shortlink copeid
*** NEWS IN BRIEF
NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 177 (September 29, 2011)
*** NEWS IN BRIEF
Laotian President Makes Three-day Visit to North Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Laotian President Choummaly Sayasone wrapped up a three-day official visit to North Korea on Sept. 23 after a meeting with leader Kim Jong-il, the North's media reported.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the two leaders met in the North's capital Pyongyang but gave no other details.
The Laotian president arrived in Pyongyang on Sept. 21 on what the North earlier called an "official goodwill visit."
In a separate report, the KCNA said Sayasone was seen off at the airport by a number of North Korean officials, including the country's titular head of state Kim Yong-nam.
Pyongyang and Vientiane established diplomatic ties in 1974. Laos also established formal diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1974, but severed them a year later. Both restored ties in 1995.
------------------------
N. Korea Belatedly Broadcasts World Championships in Daegu
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state broadcaster on Sept. 25 belatedly aired this year's World Championships in Athletics held in South Korea earlier September, editing the footage to hide any mention of the host city.
In an evening sports program, the (North) Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station showed clips of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Athletics held in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from Aug. 27 to Sept. 4.
A female announcer and a male commentator mostly introduced the final rounds of events, including the 100-meter hurdles, pole vault, javelin throw and men's 100-meter.
They also explained why Usain Bolt was disqualified for a false start in the men's 100-meter final on Aug. 28.
However, the broadcasting station deleted mentions of South Korean cities in subtitles, while putting its own station logo over the one for the original source of the broadcast.
------------------------
North Korea Names Kim Sok-jun as Construction Minister
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea named Kim Sok-jun as its minister in charge of land development and construction affairs, replacing Pae Tal-jun.
The replacement was learned of when the North's state radio, the (North) Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS), reported on Sept. 26 that Kim Sok-jun, in his capacity as state construction minister, accompanied the North's premier during his recent visit to China.
Kim appears to have replaced Pae Tal-jun, who held the post previously.
Little is known about Kim except that he served as the head of the North's semi-official Mount Paekdu Architectural Research Institute last year.
Kim's predecessor Pae has not been seen in public since the KCBS reported that he attended a ceremony to mark the completion of a project to expand a road in South Hamkyong Province on June 17.
The ministry, which is similar to South Korea's Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, oversees the North's land development and construction affairs.
Experts say the replacement may be aimed at reprimanding the former minister for slow progress in the construction of 100,000 new houses in Pyongyang ahead of 2012, the North Korea-set target year for building a strong and prosperous state, or be part of a generational change ahead of the power succession of Kim Jong-un, the third and youngest son of leader Kim Jong-il.
------------------------
Kim Jong-il Sends Condolences on Death of Widow of Rev. Moon Ik-hwan
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has sent a rare message of his condolences on the death of the widow of Rev. Moon Ik-hwan, a late South Korean pro-democracy activist, the North's media reported on Sept. 27.
Park Yong-gil died on Sept. 25 of a chronic illness at 93. Her late husband Moon, a Presbyterian minister who led the pro-democracy movement in South Korea, made an unauthorized visit to North Korea in 1989 and met then North Korean leader Kim Il-sung.
She had also devoted herself to reconciliation between the two Koreas. In a dispatch, the KCNA said Kim sent his message to the family of Park.
"Upon hearing the sad news that Pak Yong-gil, widow of Rev. Mun (Moon) Ik-hwan, died from illness, I express deep condolence to the bereaved family of the deceased," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
Park "passed away to our sorrow before seeing the spring of reunification she had longed for so much, but the patriotic soul she devoted to the national concord and reunification will always be remembered," it quoted Kim as saying.
Moon, who was jailed for nearly four years in South Korea for making an unapproved visit to Pyongyang, died of a heart ailment in 1994.
Kim's condolence message to the family of Park was highly unusual. In 2009, North Korea's Kim dispatched a high-level delegation to South Korea to mourn the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.
Meanwhile, the South's unification ministry in charge of North Korean affairs rejected a plan by the family of Park to visit the North Korean border city of Kaesong to meet North Korean officials.
The two Koreas remain in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. South Korea strictly restricts contact with the North without prior approval.
------------------------
N. Korea Sets up Tourism Offices in China, Malaysia and Germany
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea said on Sept. 27 it has opened tourism offices in China, Malaysia and Germany in an apparent bid to earn much-needed hard currency by attracting foreign tourists.
The North also plans to set up tourism offices in other countries, said Hong In-chol, a director of the State General Bureau of Tourism, according to the KCNA.
"We will diversify the tourist program with cultural, sports, bicycle, golf and treatment tourism and improve all services," the KCNA quoted Hong as saying. He made the comment while marking World Tourism Day on Sept. 27.
The KCNA said in a separate dispatch that the first batch of Chinese tourists arrived in North Korea via the air route linking Pyongyang and China's northeast city of Harbin.
The North has also recently launched a tourism program for Chinese by opening air routes with the Chinese economic powerhouse of Shanghai and the ancient city of Xian.
The move comes amid a dispute between South and North Korea over assets at a scenic mountain resort in the North.
North has recently expelled South Korean workers from Mount Kumgang and legally disposed of all South Korean assets there in anger over the suspension of the inter-Korean joint tour program.
South Korea halted the tour program at the resort, a key symbol of reconciliation on the divided Korean Peninsula, following the 2008 shooting death of a tourist by a North Korean soldier near the resort.
South Korea has asked foreign countries not to invest or engage in tourism activities at the mountain resort as part of its moves to protect its property rights there.
The North recently made a trial run of a cruise from its northeastern port city of Rajin to Mount Kumgang on its east coast in a move to revitalize the resort by attracting Chinese and other foreign tourists.
------------------------
North Korean Vice FM Urges U.S. Be More Proactive for Talks
NEW YORK (Yonhap) -- A senior North Korean diplomat demanded on Sept. 27 that the United States be more active in bilateral talks, claiming the nuclear issue on the peninsula stems from Washington.
Delivering a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Vice Foreign Minister Pak Gil-yon also reiterated Pyongyang's rhetoric that it will continue efforts for lasting peace on the peninsula.
"Accomplishing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and negotiations is a dying wish of (late) President Kim Il-sung," he said. "Now that the root of the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula lies in the U.S., it should actively pursue dialogue with North Korea."
His remarks came as Washington is apparently weighing additional high-level talks with the communist nation to pave the way for the resumption of the six-party talks on its nuclear weapons drive. South Korea's top nuclear envoy had another meeting with his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, last week in Beijing.
"Without the U.S. nuclear threats, the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula would have not occurred," Pak said. "Scrapping hostile policy on North Korea and removing the nuclear threat is the only way to attain the denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula."
North Korea will make "constant efforts to establish a solid and permanent peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula," he added.
On the Middle East, meanwhile, Pak said Pyongyang supports the Palestinian bid for statehood.
"In 1998, North Korea already acknowledged Palestine as a state. We support its U.N. membership and the aspiration of Palestinian people will be realized."
------------------------
N. Korea Stresses Justification of Hereditary Power Succession
SEOUL, (Yonhap)-- On the first anniversary of the conference of representatives of the North's ruling Workers' Party, North Korea stressed the justification of its ongoing hereditary power succession from the country's leader Kim Jong-il to his son Kim Jong-un.
Uriminzokkiri, an official North Korean website, emphasized on Sept. 28 the significance of succession and completion of the "Juche (self-reliance) revolutionary feat," referring to the political activities of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his father, Kim Il-sung.
One day earlier, the website carried an article that focused on the superiority of the family of the North Korean leader.
The KCNA said on Sept. 26 that "It is a review of the past one year of struggle that the (North) Korean people are sure to win the victory of a great surge oriented toward 2012 as well as the final victory of the revolutionary cause of Juche (self-reliance) when they remain loyal to the party's leadership while carrying forward the traditions of Mt. Paektu (sic) closely united around Kim Jong-il."
North Korea has reiterated "the traditions of Mt. Paektu," in order to justify the hereditary power succession since September last year when the conference was held.
"The traditions of Mt. Paektu" describe the kinship between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his father, Kim Il-sung.
North Korea held the third conference of the party's representatives on Sept. 28 last year, the first of its kind in 44 years. During the conference, the socialist country made public its hereditary power succession by appointing Kim Jong-un as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party.
(END)
*** NEWS IN BRIEF
Laotian President Makes Three-day Visit to North Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Laotian President Choummaly Sayasone wrapped up a three-day official visit to North Korea on Sept. 23 after a meeting with leader Kim Jong-il, the North's media reported.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the two leaders met in the North's capital Pyongyang but gave no other details.
The Laotian president arrived in Pyongyang on Sept. 21 on what the North earlier called an "official goodwill visit."
In a separate report, the KCNA said Sayasone was seen off at the airport by a number of North Korean officials, including the country's titular head of state Kim Yong-nam.
Pyongyang and Vientiane established diplomatic ties in 1974. Laos also established formal diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1974, but severed them a year later. Both restored ties in 1995.
------------------------
N. Korea Belatedly Broadcasts World Championships in Daegu
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state broadcaster on Sept. 25 belatedly aired this year's World Championships in Athletics held in South Korea earlier September, editing the footage to hide any mention of the host city.
In an evening sports program, the (North) Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station showed clips of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Athletics held in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from Aug. 27 to Sept. 4.
A female announcer and a male commentator mostly introduced the final rounds of events, including the 100-meter hurdles, pole vault, javelin throw and men's 100-meter.
They also explained why Usain Bolt was disqualified for a false start in the men's 100-meter final on Aug. 28.
However, the broadcasting station deleted mentions of South Korean cities in subtitles, while putting its own station logo over the one for the original source of the broadcast.
------------------------
North Korea Names Kim Sok-jun as Construction Minister
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea named Kim Sok-jun as its minister in charge of land development and construction affairs, replacing Pae Tal-jun.
The replacement was learned of when the North's state radio, the (North) Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS), reported on Sept. 26 that Kim Sok-jun, in his capacity as state construction minister, accompanied the North's premier during his recent visit to China.
Kim appears to have replaced Pae Tal-jun, who held the post previously.
Little is known about Kim except that he served as the head of the North's semi-official Mount Paekdu Architectural Research Institute last year.
Kim's predecessor Pae has not been seen in public since the KCBS reported that he attended a ceremony to mark the completion of a project to expand a road in South Hamkyong Province on June 17.
The ministry, which is similar to South Korea's Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, oversees the North's land development and construction affairs.
Experts say the replacement may be aimed at reprimanding the former minister for slow progress in the construction of 100,000 new houses in Pyongyang ahead of 2012, the North Korea-set target year for building a strong and prosperous state, or be part of a generational change ahead of the power succession of Kim Jong-un, the third and youngest son of leader Kim Jong-il.
------------------------
Kim Jong-il Sends Condolences on Death of Widow of Rev. Moon Ik-hwan
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has sent a rare message of his condolences on the death of the widow of Rev. Moon Ik-hwan, a late South Korean pro-democracy activist, the North's media reported on Sept. 27.
Park Yong-gil died on Sept. 25 of a chronic illness at 93. Her late husband Moon, a Presbyterian minister who led the pro-democracy movement in South Korea, made an unauthorized visit to North Korea in 1989 and met then North Korean leader Kim Il-sung.
She had also devoted herself to reconciliation between the two Koreas. In a dispatch, the KCNA said Kim sent his message to the family of Park.
"Upon hearing the sad news that Pak Yong-gil, widow of Rev. Mun (Moon) Ik-hwan, died from illness, I express deep condolence to the bereaved family of the deceased," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
Park "passed away to our sorrow before seeing the spring of reunification she had longed for so much, but the patriotic soul she devoted to the national concord and reunification will always be remembered," it quoted Kim as saying.
Moon, who was jailed for nearly four years in South Korea for making an unapproved visit to Pyongyang, died of a heart ailment in 1994.
Kim's condolence message to the family of Park was highly unusual. In 2009, North Korea's Kim dispatched a high-level delegation to South Korea to mourn the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.
Meanwhile, the South's unification ministry in charge of North Korean affairs rejected a plan by the family of Park to visit the North Korean border city of Kaesong to meet North Korean officials.
The two Koreas remain in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. South Korea strictly restricts contact with the North without prior approval.
------------------------
N. Korea Sets up Tourism Offices in China, Malaysia and Germany
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea said on Sept. 27 it has opened tourism offices in China, Malaysia and Germany in an apparent bid to earn much-needed hard currency by attracting foreign tourists.
The North also plans to set up tourism offices in other countries, said Hong In-chol, a director of the State General Bureau of Tourism, according to the KCNA.
"We will diversify the tourist program with cultural, sports, bicycle, golf and treatment tourism and improve all services," the KCNA quoted Hong as saying. He made the comment while marking World Tourism Day on Sept. 27.
The KCNA said in a separate dispatch that the first batch of Chinese tourists arrived in North Korea via the air route linking Pyongyang and China's northeast city of Harbin.
The North has also recently launched a tourism program for Chinese by opening air routes with the Chinese economic powerhouse of Shanghai and the ancient city of Xian.
The move comes amid a dispute between South and North Korea over assets at a scenic mountain resort in the North.
North has recently expelled South Korean workers from Mount Kumgang and legally disposed of all South Korean assets there in anger over the suspension of the inter-Korean joint tour program.
South Korea halted the tour program at the resort, a key symbol of reconciliation on the divided Korean Peninsula, following the 2008 shooting death of a tourist by a North Korean soldier near the resort.
South Korea has asked foreign countries not to invest or engage in tourism activities at the mountain resort as part of its moves to protect its property rights there.
The North recently made a trial run of a cruise from its northeastern port city of Rajin to Mount Kumgang on its east coast in a move to revitalize the resort by attracting Chinese and other foreign tourists.
------------------------
North Korean Vice FM Urges U.S. Be More Proactive for Talks
NEW YORK (Yonhap) -- A senior North Korean diplomat demanded on Sept. 27 that the United States be more active in bilateral talks, claiming the nuclear issue on the peninsula stems from Washington.
Delivering a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Vice Foreign Minister Pak Gil-yon also reiterated Pyongyang's rhetoric that it will continue efforts for lasting peace on the peninsula.
"Accomplishing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and negotiations is a dying wish of (late) President Kim Il-sung," he said. "Now that the root of the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula lies in the U.S., it should actively pursue dialogue with North Korea."
His remarks came as Washington is apparently weighing additional high-level talks with the communist nation to pave the way for the resumption of the six-party talks on its nuclear weapons drive. South Korea's top nuclear envoy had another meeting with his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, last week in Beijing.
"Without the U.S. nuclear threats, the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula would have not occurred," Pak said. "Scrapping hostile policy on North Korea and removing the nuclear threat is the only way to attain the denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula."
North Korea will make "constant efforts to establish a solid and permanent peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula," he added.
On the Middle East, meanwhile, Pak said Pyongyang supports the Palestinian bid for statehood.
"In 1998, North Korea already acknowledged Palestine as a state. We support its U.N. membership and the aspiration of Palestinian people will be realized."
------------------------
N. Korea Stresses Justification of Hereditary Power Succession
SEOUL, (Yonhap)-- On the first anniversary of the conference of representatives of the North's ruling Workers' Party, North Korea stressed the justification of its ongoing hereditary power succession from the country's leader Kim Jong-il to his son Kim Jong-un.
Uriminzokkiri, an official North Korean website, emphasized on Sept. 28 the significance of succession and completion of the "Juche (self-reliance) revolutionary feat," referring to the political activities of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his father, Kim Il-sung.
One day earlier, the website carried an article that focused on the superiority of the family of the North Korean leader.
The KCNA said on Sept. 26 that "It is a review of the past one year of struggle that the (North) Korean people are sure to win the victory of a great surge oriented toward 2012 as well as the final victory of the revolutionary cause of Juche (self-reliance) when they remain loyal to the party's leadership while carrying forward the traditions of Mt. Paektu (sic) closely united around Kim Jong-il."
North Korea has reiterated "the traditions of Mt. Paektu," in order to justify the hereditary power succession since September last year when the conference was held.
"The traditions of Mt. Paektu" describe the kinship between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his father, Kim Il-sung.
North Korea held the third conference of the party's representatives on Sept. 28 last year, the first of its kind in 44 years. During the conference, the socialist country made public its hereditary power succession by appointing Kim Jong-un as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party.
(END)
