NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 44 (March 5, 2009)

*** CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The following is a chronological review of major developments
related to North Korea from Feb. 26-March 4.

26 Liu Yandong, state councilor and member of the Chinese Communist Party
Political Bureau, meets in Beijing the visiting North Korean government cultural
delegation, headed by Mun Jae-chol. Mun is the acting chairman of the North's
Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.
26 The fourth national meeting of agitators opens at the April 25 House of
Culture in Pyongyang for a two-day run to discuss the political work that lies
ahead in building a Kangsong Taeguk (great, prosperous and powerful nation). The
meeting is attended by Kim Yong-nam, president of the Supreme People's Assembly
(SPA) Presidium, and Korean Workers' Party (KPA) secretaries Choe Thae-bok, Kim
Jung-rin and Kim Ki-nam.
26 The (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) says a reception was given in
Beijing by the Chinese Ministry of Culture on Feb. 24 to mark the 50th
anniversary of the conclusion of the agreement on cultural cooperation between
North Korea and China. The visiting North Korean government cultural delegation
was in attendance.
27 Kim Yong-nam meets with Conor Murphy, outgoing Irish ambassador to Pyongyang,
at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang.
27 The KCNA says Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun has sent a message of greetings to
Al Taib Al Fassi Fahri, Moroccan minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, on
Feb. 13 to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of diplomatic ties between
North Korea and Morocco.
27 The Mt. Paektu Prize Sports Contest closes with due ceremony at the Basketball
Gymnasium in Pyongyang, attended by Pak Hak-son, chairman of the Physical Culture
and Sports Guidance Commission.
27 An Egyptian foreign ministry delegation led by Assistant Minister Hussein
Haridy flies into Pyongyang.
27 The KCNA says that a new postage stamp has been issued in commemoration of the
90th Korean Independence Movement Day.
27 The KCNA says Pak Ui-chun on Feb. 6 sent a message of greetings to Miroslav
Lajcak upon his appointment as Slovakia's foreign minister.
27 Kim Yong-nam sends a message of greetings to Leonel Fernandez Reyna, president
of the Dominican Republic, to mark the 165th anniversary of the state's
independence.
28 The chief of "the military working group of the DPRK (North Korea) side in the
area under the control of the North and the South in the Eastern and Western
regions" sends a notice to the South Korean government warning of countermeasures
against alleged provocations by U.S. troops along the Military Demarcation Line.
28 Tarek Ahmed Mahpouz, charge d'affaires ad interim at the Egyptian embassy in
Pyongyang, holds a reception for Pyongyang officials at the Taedong River
Diplomatic Corps Club in Pyongyang to celebrate North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's
birthday.
28 The KCNA says Kim Jong-il has made an on-site guidance tour to various
economic facilities in Manpho, Jagang Province, including the Manpho Smeltery,
the Amnokgang Tire Factory, the Manpho Spinning Mill and the Manpho Restaurant.
28 The KCNA says Jia Qinglin, chairman of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference and member of the Communist Party's Politburo standing
committee, met in Beijing the visiting delegation of the North's Workers' Party
led by Ri Kwang-ho, a department director, on Feb. 25.

March
1 The City of Pyongyang holds a meeting at the People's Palace of Culture in
Pyongyang to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the March 1 Independence
Movement against Japanese colonial rule, attended by Yang Hyong-sop, vice
president of the SPA Presidium.
1 Kim Yong-nam sends a message of greetings to Moammer el Gaddafi, leader of the
revolution of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, to mark the
32nd anniversary of the proclamation of its Jamahiriya.
1 Kim Yong-nam sends a message to Abdelaziz Bouteflika, president of Algeria,
wishing him a happy 72nd birthday.
2 Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun holds talks with the visiting Egyptian foreign
ministry delegation.
2 Yang Hyong-sop holds talks with the Egyptian foreign ministry delegation.
3 Premier Kim Yong-il sends a congratulatory message to Nader Dahabi on his stay
in office as prime minister and minister of defense of Jordan. The Jordanian
government recently underwent a reshuffle.
3 Pak Ui-chun sends a congratulatory message to Nasser Judeh upon his appointment
as foreign minister of Jordan.
3 Kim Yong-il sends a message of greetings to Sergei Stanishev, prime minister of
Bulgaria, to mark the country's national day.
3 Kim Yong-nam sends a message of greetings to Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.
3 A ceremony is held in Manpho, Jagang Province, to convey gifts from Kim Jong-il
sent to the city's workers and citizens.
3 The KCNA says a North Korean delegate called for the disbanding of the U.N.
Command at a session of the U.N. Special Committee on Peace-keeping Operations on
Feb. 24, saying it is abnormal that the U.N. Command remains in Korea despite the
fact that a half a century has passed since the Korean War ended.
4 The Central Election Committee issues a report to announce the successful
completion of the nomination and registration process for candidates from all
constituencies in the March 8 parliamentary election.
4 The KCNA says Kim Jong-il inspected a historic site in the Samjiyon area near
Mt. Paektu, where his late father and state founder Kim Il-sung's anti-Japanese
guerrilla troops allegedly fought against Japanese soldiers in the 1930s.
4 Pak Ui-chun sends a congratulatory message to Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla on his
appointment as foreign minister of Cuba.
4 An annual meeting of the North-Cuba Solidarity Committee is held in Pyongyang,
attended by North Korean Minister of Education Kim Yong-jin, chairman of the
committee, and Jose Manuel Galego Montano, Cuban ambassador to Pyongyang, along
with embassy officials.
(END)