ID :
72967
Thu, 07/30/2009 - 15:35
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/72967
The shortlink copeid
North Korea-weekly review-3
NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 65 (July 30, 2009)
*** NEWS IN BRIEF (Part 1)
N.K. Mobilizes University Students, Housewives for '150-Day Battle'
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea is mobilizing university students and even
housewives for an economic campaign called the "150-day battle" as it strives to
make the campaign a success, news reports said July 23.
Students of tens of colleges and universities in Pyongyang and other major cities
have been dispatched to cooperative farms, factories and enterprises in the
fields of metal, coal, electricity and railway transportation, Rodong Sinmun
said.
The students, mostly engineering majors, helped workers desperate to exceed their
production goals by rendering technological support, according to the newspaper
of the Workers' Party.
On the forefront of the "student science study group" activity were students of
Kimchaek University of Technology, the most prestigious engineering school in
North Korea, the report said.
They contributed to improving the efficiency of a device used to normalize the
production of an ultra high-power electric arc furnace. They also developed a
device for automatically adjusting the temperature and humidity in an incubator
for duck eggs, the newspaper said.
In addition, housewives are working for about seven to 10 days at construction
sites all over the country, Choson Sinbo said.
"The fever for opening the door for constructing a Kangsong Taeguk, or strong,
prosperous and powerful nation, by 2012 have changed the daily lives of women who
have devoted themselves to housework without an outside job," said the newspaper
of the pro-Pyongyang Koreans in Japan.
"The (North) Korean Democratic Women's Union is organizing storm brigades with
housewives and sending them to major economic units and construction sites," the
report said.
The North launched the intensive short-term campaign April 20 to advance its goal
of building a Kangsong Taeguk by 2012. The year marks the centenary of former
North Korean leader Kim Il-sung's death.
The campaign for the 150-day battle ends Sept. 17.
------------------------
North Korea Runs Class for Cultivating Dancers: Report
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea is running a class to cultivate the "world's
top-level" dancers with support from leader Kim Jong-il, a pro-Pyongyang daily
reported on July 23.
The North's Korean Dancers' Union opened a class for professional dancers in
February last year, Choson Sinbo, the newspaper of the pro-Pyongyang General
Association of Korean Residents in Japan, reported.
Nine talented dancers who graduated from the Pyongyang University of Music and
Dance are currently enrolled with the program, the report said. After undergoing
three years of intensive education from five teachers, the trainees will be hired
by state art troupes, it added.
"But not all can succeed as a dancer simply because they attend the class," the
daily said. "Those engaged in the dancing world say it would be great if one
shining elite can be produced a year."
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il watched performances by the nine dancers last
February on the first anniversary of the beginning of the class and evaluated
some of them, the newspaper said.
Pyongyang's state media reported Feb. 6 that Kim attended a performance by an art
troupe of South Hamgyong Province.
------------------------
First 'Fast Food' Restaurant Opened in Pyongyang
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea has opened its first "fast food" restaurant in its
capital of Pyongyang, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan said on July 25.
Chosun Sinbo, a mouthpiece for the North Korean regime, said the restaurant is
"becoming a subject of conversation among citizens who are sensitive to new
things."
The restaurant, named Samtaeseong, sells hamburgers, waffles and beer for prices
ranging from 0.4 to 1.2 euros (US$0.57 to $1.70), according to the report.
While the restaurant was set up by a company in Singapore, it is staffed by North
Koreans and uses domestically sourced food, the report said.
Croissants and hot dogs will be added to the menu in the near future, it said.
The report emphasized that Samtaeseong is "localizing" itself for North Korean
tastes rather than copying similar stores in foreign countries.
North Korea suffers from chronic food shortages. Private analysts estimate that
nearly 1 million North Koreans starved to death during the famine of the late
1990s.
------------------------
New Modern Hotel Constructed in Hamhung
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea has built a "world-class" hotel with various modern
facilities in a resort on the east coast, its state media reported July 28.
A ceremony to mark the completion of the "Majon Hotel" was held on site the day
before, with ranking Pyongyang officials attending, the North's Korean Central
News Agency (KCNA) said.
Located at the Majon recreation ground in Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province, the
hotel has "all modern cultural and welfare facilities, such as bedrooms of
various sizes and styles, restaurants, indoor swimming pool, saunas and bath
facilities... and a bathing resort," the report said.
"This is another edifice to be proud of in the Songun (military-first) era, a
product of leader Kim Jong-il's love for the people as he has always worked hard
to provide people with better conditions for their recreation," the North said.
Soldiers finished the extensive construction project in a short period of time
with the revolutionary soldier spirit, according to a report by the (North)
Korean Central Broadcasting Station on the same day.
The reports did not give details about the size of the hotel and its subsidiary
facilities.
Present at the ceremony were Premier Kim Yong-il, Kim Yong-chun, minister of the
people's armed forces, and Kim Ki-nam and Choe thae-bok, both secretaries of the
Workers' Party.
Built on 3 million square meters of land in the suburbs of Hamhung, the Majon
recreation ground is known to be one of the leading resort complexes on the
North's east coast. The ground also reportedly has 16 resort pavilions, 13 public
buildings, a beach and a boat yard.
(END)