North Korea-weekly review-6

NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 40 (February 5, 2009)

*** CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The following is a chronological review of major developments
related to North Korea from Jan. 29- Feb. 4.

January
29 The Russian foreign ministry delegation visits Kumsusan Memorial Palace in
Pyongyang, where the embalmed body of late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung lies
in state, and the Tower of Juche Ideology.
29 Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun meets the Russian delegation.
29 Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly
(SPA), sends a message of greetings to Abdullah II, king of the Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan, in celebration of his 47th birthday.
29 Kim Yong-nam sends a message of sympathy to Pratibha Patil, president of the
Republic of India, at the news of the death of former president Ramaswamy
Venkataraman due to illness.
30 Kim Yong-nam sends a message of greetings to the 12th ordinary session of the
assembly of heads of state and government of the African Union.
30 A spokesman for the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the
Fatherland issues a statement threatening to scrap all political and military
agreements with South Korea and declaring their western sea border void.
31 The North's Korean Central News Agecny (KCNA) says Kim Jong-il inspected a
sub-unit of (North) Korean People's Army (KPA) Unit 131.
31 The KCNA says Kim Jong-il inspected Ryesong River Youth Power Station No. 1,
which
was newly built and commissioned in October last year.
31 The KCNA says a protocol on modifying and supplementing the agreement on the
promotion and protection of investment between the governments of North Korea and
the Slovak Republic was signed in Bratislava on Jan. 27.

February
1 Voters of constituency No. 333 hold a meeting at the April 25 House of Culture
in Pyongyang to announce Kim Jong-il as their sole candidate for deputy to the
12th-term SPA, attended by top military brass, including Jo Myong-rok, director
of the General Political Bureau of the KPA, Kim Kyok-sik, chief of the General
Staff of the KPA and Kim Il-chol, minister of the People's Armed Forces.
1 The North's Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) says the appointment of
candidates for the country's parliamentary elections has gotten underway.
2 A spokesman for the KPA General Staff says in a KCNA interview that North Korea
will hold onto its nuclear weapons until the United States removes "nuclear
threats" against it.
2 Voters belonging to constituency numbers 383 and 41 hold rallies before bronze
statues of late leader Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang to announce their choice of Kim
Jong-il as their single parliamentary candidate.
2 The KCNA says Kim Jong-il sent letters of greetings to leaders of various
countries, including Chinese President Hu Jintao and Cuban President Raul Castro
Ruz, on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.
2 The Union of Agricultural Working People holds its 57th plenary session in
Pyongyang to discuss ways to thoroughly fulfill tasks put forth in a New Year
joint editorial put out by the government.
2 Voters of the 118th constituency in Chollima County, South Pyeongan Province,
and the and 267th constituency in Haeju, South Hwanghae Province, hold rallies to
appoint Kim Jong-il as candidate for upcoming parliamentary elections.
3 The General Federation of Trade Unions holds a plenary session in Pyongyang to
discuss ways to thoroughly fulfill tasks presented in the state's New Year's
joint editorial.
3 The KCNA says Kim Jong-il visited the Tongbong Cooperative Farm in Hamju
County, South Hamgyong Province.
3 Voters of the 485th constituency in Wonsan Province and the 552nd constituency
in Hamhung Province hold rallies to appoint Kim Jong-il as candidate for the
parliamentary elections.
3 The KCNA says Kim Yong-nam sent a message of greetings to Obiang Nguema
Mbasogo, president of Equatorial Guinea, on Jan. 28 to mark the 40th anniversary
of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Equatorial
Guinea.
3 Kim Yong-nam sends a message of greetings to Mahinda Rajapaksa, president of
Sri Lanka, to mark the 61st anniversary of the independence of his country.
3 Premier Kim Yong-il sends a message of greetings to Sri Lankan Prime Minister
Ratnasiri Wickremanawake to mark the 61st anniversary of the country's
independence.
3 A British parliamentary delegation led by Lord David Alton, chairman of the
British-North Korea All-Party Parliamentary Group, flies into Pyongyang.
4 The Democratic Women's Union holds the 54th plenary session in Pyongyang to
discuss ways to thoroughly fulfill tasks presented in the state's New Year's
joint editorial.
4 Workers and builders of the Ryesong River Youth Power Station No. 1 hold a
rally resolving to thoroughly fulfill tasks presented by Kim Jong-il during his
recent on-site guidance tour to the plant.
4 The KCNA says Kim Jong-il inspected the February 8 Vinalon Complex and the
Ryongsong
Machine Complex in South Hamgyong Province.
4 Voters of electoral district numbers 21 and 9 hold meetings to announce their
choice of Kim Jong-il as their single parliamentary candidate.
4 The KCNA says Pak Ui-chun sent a message of greetings to Pastor Micha Ondo
Bile, minister of Equatorial Guinea's Foreign Affairs and International
Co-operation and Francophone Affairs, on Jan. 28 to mark the 40th year of
diplomatic ties between the two countries.
4 The British parliamentary delegation hold talks with the delegation of the
North's SPA at the Mansudae Assembly Hall.
4 Kim Yong-nam receives credentials from Blaise Godet, Swiss ambassador to North
Korea, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall.
4 Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun confers with the new Swiss ambassador to North
Korea during the latter's courtesy call on him.
4 Indian Ambassador to North Korea Zile Singh hosts a reception at the Taedong
River Diplomatic Corps Club in Pyongyang on Feb. 4 on the occasion of the day of
the Republic of India.
4 The KCNA says the Chinese government has recently decided to offer free aid to
North Korea without giving further details.
(END)